About MicroBizNY - Our Goals
History and Mission | Our Goals | Economic development in New York State

MicroBizNY Will Work to Attain the Following Outcomes:

Advocacy/Education | Training | Resource Development

• Develop methods for practitioners, funders, and other support organizations to publicize the impact and success of the microenterprise strategy in the appropriate circles through the use of the media and internet technology
• Inform policy makers and the public of the growing importance of microenterprise and the need to support and fund programs that place emphasis on self-sufficiency among low-income and minority individuals.
• Strengthen the existing coalition of microenterprise providers by allowing the microenterprise community to speak with a unified voice on program policy and issues that will in turn build capacity of programs at the local level.
• Provide technical assistance and training to microenterprise development organizations
• Practitioners will be more informed on all aspects of microenterprise policy using conferences, list serves, websites, and regional training sessions.

Advocacy/Education

• Inform the public, elected officials and other non-profits on the importance of microenterprise development and advocate for increased resources at the state, local and federal levels.
• Develop a NYS Microenterprise Success Stories Publication documenting personal experiences of people who have successfully completed microenterprise development programs and started their business as well as the effect it has on their lives.
• Identify other New York State Microenterprise practitioners in the field and ensure they are actively involved in the MicroMizNY.
• Develop and disseminate a quarterly newsletter which would contain information on funding opportunities, FAQ, technical column (i.e. how to teach accounting to clients) , administrative information, legislative updates , best practices from the field, success stories and important dates of upcoming events

Training

Coordinate and host an annual MicroBizNY Statewide Microenterprise Conference. Examples of topics for discussion include best practices from the field, innovations in training, credit and recruitment, financial literacy and use of technology. Networking sessions will provide the opportunity for individuals to learn from one another in roundtables, discussions, sharing of materials, and testimonials.

Develop regional statewide training sessions to address policy and capacity building issues and concerns that were raised during the MicroBizNY Statewide Microenterprise Conferences. Program managers and staff will use that knowledge and information to train their program participants. MicroBizNY will coordinate training with such national partners as AEO and CFED.

Resource Development

• Develop a website dedicated to microenterprise and its related issues. This web site will contain vital information for small business programs, micro-funding streams, and serve as a Q&A resource. This site will also be used to link to other pertinent resources.
• Develop and keep current a list serve of providers, enabling the growing association to use the latest technology to interact and exchange ideas and information with other professionals. This will also allow MicroBizNY to coordinate events and issues.
• Develop and act as a repository for standard curriculums and training resources. This repository will not act as a lending library, but as a way to acquire and provide Microenterprise practitioners with access to information they need that is not readily available.
• Develop current NYS Microenterprise Directory containing information on each Microenterprise program such as location, service area, services provided, businesses developed, and populations served. The directory will be distributed to legislators, the media, and other programs that deal with microenterprise, be updated, and redistributed periodically as needed
• Develop a Buy MicroBizNY website where micro entrepreneurs can showcase their goods and services in an online format. MicroBizNY will make sure that people visiting this site can easily find the products or services they are looking for and will develop a mechanism for people to order online.