St. Joseph's Small Business Plans

St. Joseph's College School of Professional and Graduate Studies hosted a breakfast meeting at the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership on Friday, December 7, to announce its plans to begin a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the school. The SBDC, in partnership with Lehman College, will offer small business development services, including workshops, seminars, and ultimately one-on-one counseling at its Brooklyn campus to existing small business owners as well as aspiring entrepreneurs.

Representatives from St. Joseph’s College, including the president of the college, Sister Elizabeth Hill, met for two hours with representatives of the local community, to request feedback about its plans. Representatives from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Fort Greene SNAP, the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation, the Brooklyn Business Library at Cadman Plaza, the Pratt Area Community Council and the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project contributed to a lively discussion of the mutual benefits such an initiative could provide to their organizations and the local community.

Last summer, in conjunction with The Bronx SBDC and the Small Business Administration, St. Joseph’s presented a series of small business information seminars entitled “Let’s Talk Business!” These seminars were held over a three week period and covered the following topics:

I. How to Start Your Successful Small Business and Its Legal Aspects

II. How to Write a Successful Business Plan and Market Your Business

III. How to Finance Your Small Business

These seminars brought over 150 people to the college and generated a number of requests for additional services to be provided.

For further information, contact John Keenan of the St. Joseph's College School of Professional & Graduate Studies at 718.399.2745 or jkeenan@sjcny.edu.

Photo (l-r): Clarence Stanley, St. Joseph's faculty member and Director of the Small Business Development Center at Lehman College; John Keenan (standing), Assistant to Dean, St. Joseph's College, School of Professional & Graduate Studies; Rupert Campbell, Organizational Management Chair and Director of Diversity Initiatives, St. Joseph's College; Sister Elizabeth Hill, President, St. Joseph's College.