Community Corner
Small Biz Workshop Series Kicks Off
The three-part course at the Sayville Library will teach tips on using social media and cutting costs.
Starting this week, the will launch a series of courses to help small business owners establish good credit, cut costs and use cutting-edge social media.
The programs were the brainchild of John Cox, owner of .
"A lot the small businesses in Sayville are mom-and-pop organizations," he said. "Not everybody knows what's available to them."
Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Through the , Cox linked up with Stony Brook University's Small Business Development Center and the Sayville Library to design a series of workshops. The first will provide creative ideas to help business owners access credit. The workshop will also offer insights about how to improve your credit score.
The second, which focuses on the law, will give business owners the tools they need to negotiate with landowners and suppliers to reduce overhead costs.
Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The last course will offer tips on using social media like Twitter and Facebook to build a brand and advertise products.
Each will feature experts from the Stony Brook Small Business Development Center, as well as outside exprts.
"Local downtowns are facing particular challenges," said Ronni Rosen, a senior business advisor at Stony Brook who helped organize the workshops. "We're going to go through really relevant issues."
The idea for the program came from , D-Dix Hills, small business task force, of which Cox is a member. At one meeting, Israel said Congress had appropriated millions of dollars to help small businesses, but the money wasn't being spent.
"After they signed the bill into law, everybody said cheese and took a picture," Cox said, "but nobody took advantage of it."
Cox got in touch with Stony Brook University's Small Business Development Center, which hosts events all over the island. The center also has counselors on staff to help business people write business plans.
But Cox wanted to bring some of those resources to town. "Small business people are too busy to go out to those offices," he said. "So we decided to do it right here."
"Businesses have to find creative ways to survive," he said. "I think that's what we're going to give them."
The workshop dates are Sept. 28, Oct. 12 and Oct. 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. To sign up for the workshops, call the Sayville Library at (631) 589-4440 or stop by to sign up in person.
