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More Community Corner Workshops aim to boost small businesses
From The Beacon, Mass Innovations, November 2008
Somerville, a city with close to 5,000 small businesses, is helping to coordinate a range of workshops for existing businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs.
In partnership with the two Somerville members of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Main Street” program, the city has offered workshops run by business owners and finance specialists covering topics such as developing a business plan, managing inventory, commercial financing options, legal issues, negotiating skills, and marketing.
The aim, according to city officials, is to help small businesses prosper in a city with a relatively modest commercial tax base.
As of mid-October, more than 80 business owners and entrepreneurs had participated in one or more of 11 workshops, according to David Guzman, the city’s economic development specialist. Three more sessions were scheduled for November and December.
Guzman said that in setting up the program he drew on his experience in Puerto Rico, where he advised nonprofit organizations assisting local, independent businesses.
In Somerville, two nonprofits, Union Square Main Streets and East Somerville Main Streets, develop the content for the workshops. There is no cost to the city. Workshop presenters, such as Dima Berdiev, a local bank executive and author of a book on small-business lending, provide their services for free.
Guzman said small businesses are essential to Somerville’s economic vitality, even as the city seeks to lure larger enterprises as well. He said larger scale development expected at the site of a former mall near Interstate 93, known as Assembly Square, is likely to create a demand for small retailers as well, such as food services providers.
“Right now, the main task for me is the opportunity to engage more business owners, and keep tracking them and supporting them and offering more business services,” Guzman said. “From the city’s perspective, that has been very important.”
Global trends, according to Guzman, suggest that small businesses are becoming an increasingly important part of local economies and are generating a disproportionate share of job growth. Such home-grown businesses, he added, also make their communities more desirable places to live.
Adam Lantheaume, who is preparing to launch a business in Somerville related to cocktail accessories, participated in several of the workshops. He said they were useful in “reinforcing that I’m moving in the right direction” and helping him to better understand the licensing and permitting process and Somerville’s demographics. He said a session called “Understanding Markets and Somerville Business Districts” was especially helpful.
For more information, contact David Guzman at (617) 625-6600, ext. 2546.
More Community Corner Workshops aim to boost small businesses
Workshops aim to boost small businesses
From The Beacon, Mass Innovations, November 2008
Somerville, a city with close to 5,000 small businesses, is helping to coordinate a range of workshops for existing businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs.
In partnership with the two Somerville members of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Main Street” program, the city has offered workshops run by business owners and finance specialists covering topics such as developing a business plan, managing inventory, commercial financing options, legal issues, negotiating skills, and marketing.
The aim, according to city officials, is to help small businesses prosper in a city with a relatively modest commercial tax base.
As of mid-October, more than 80 business owners and entrepreneurs had participated in one or more of 11 workshops, according to David Guzman, the city’s economic development specialist. Three more sessions were scheduled for November and December.
Guzman said that in setting up the program he drew on his experience in Puerto Rico, where he advised nonprofit organizations assisting local, independent businesses.
In Somerville, two nonprofits, Union Square Main Streets and East Somerville Main Streets, develop the content for the workshops. There is no cost to the city. Workshop presenters, such as Dima Berdiev, a local bank executive and author of a book on small-business lending, provide their services for free.
Guzman said small businesses are essential to Somerville’s economic vitality, even as the city seeks to lure larger enterprises as well. He said larger scale development expected at the site of a former mall near Interstate 93, known as Assembly Square, is likely to create a demand for small retailers as well, such as food services providers.
“Right now, the main task for me is the opportunity to engage more business owners, and keep tracking them and supporting them and offering more business services,” Guzman said. “From the city’s perspective, that has been very important.”
Global trends, according to Guzman, suggest that small businesses are becoming an increasingly important part of local economies and are generating a disproportionate share of job growth. Such home-grown businesses, he added, also make their communities more desirable places to live.
Adam Lantheaume, who is preparing to launch a business in Somerville related to cocktail accessories, participated in several of the workshops. He said they were useful in “reinforcing that I’m moving in the right direction” and helping him to better understand the licensing and permitting process and Somerville’s demographics. He said a session called “Understanding Markets and Somerville Business Districts” was especially helpful.
For more information, contact David Guzman at (617) 625-6600, ext. 2546.
Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich
