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Growing to Scale Development Workshop
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The Growing to Scale Workshop is a program for small business owners to expand and improve their businesses exponentially. The workshop will deliver powerful strategies for increasing sales by joint ventures, strategic alliances; results based marketing and other proven strategies. The Growing to Scale Development Workshop is the blueprint to grow your business quickly and safely. Gain knowledge from a faculty that has actually grown successful businesses and can help you grow yours.
The Growing to Scale program will run for two and half days from Tuesday, February 18 through Thursday February 20. The program will take place at our MBE Training Room at 333 State Street in Bridgeport, CT. Please mark your calendars. Learn more here.
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NMSDC SAVE THE DATEs for 2014
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The American Dream Still Open to Immigrant Entrepreneurs
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 Immigrants face an endless list of challenges. But at a recent panel discussion, panelists reminded listeners to recognize the success many immigrant entrepreneurs experience and the economic contributions they make. "The best way to predict the future is to make the future," said Fred McKinney, president of the Greater New England Minority Suppliers Development Council. "I think a lot of immigrant entrepreneurs come with that in mind-to make their own future. They're determined to be successful." |
The Immigration and Immigrant Business Forum
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Grow your Business with Certifications
Looking for new markets for your small business' goods or services? Small business certifications are like professional certifications. They document a special capability or status that will help you compete in the marketplace. Unlike permits and licenses, you do not need to obtain certifications to legally operate. However, in order to take advantage of business opportunities, such as government contracts, you may need to obtain some certifications. Join us for this informative seminar. Time: 10:00am - 12:00noon Place: SBA, 10 Causeway Street, Room 177B, Boston, MA 02222 Dates: January 24, 2014 david.polatin@sba.gov Learn more here. |
Opportunities
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Full benefits including medical/vision/dental/life and 401(k). Learn more here.
Send resume to mroy@haynes-group.com. For any questions, please contact this office.
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Invitation for Bid
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Upcoming Events
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There are several events coming up on our calendar that are designed specifically for MBEs to learn about corporate opportunities. We know how busy everyone's schedule is, but these are events often hosted by our corporate members with the expressed purpose of finding out more about you and your business with the ultimate aim, to make you a valuable supplier to their companies. Here are some events you should consider:
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| FYI |
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| Small Business Innovation Research |
Small Business Innovation Research ( SBIR) is a highly competitive federal program that encourages small businesses to explore their technological potential. It provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization by funding qualified small businesses in the nation's R&D arena.
The permanent site, located on River Street in Bridgeport, is scheduled to open in late 2013. The Bridgeport factory has approximately 8,000 square feet and will be used for both Phase II research and the beginning of commercialization. Learn more here.
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| 4th Quarterly Meeting & Holiday Business Card Exchange |
 GNEMSDC would like to thank all our guests for attend the 4th Quarterly Meeting & Holiday Business Card Exchange. |
And Finally...
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| The following editorial was published by the Hartford Business Journal last Monday, December 16, 2013. The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) is the largest minority business development organization in New England. The GNEMSDC is a corporate membership organization that includes Connecticut companies such as Northeast Utilities, United Technologies, Xerox, Pitney Bowes, Cartus, General Electric, The MDC, The Hartford, Aetna, The University of Connecticut, Yale New Haven Health Care and over 200 more large corporations in the state and region. The mission of the organization is to help these large corporations source goods and services with certified minority business enterprises (MBEs). The GNEMSDC has over 500 MBEs in our direct network and as the regional affiliate of the NMSDC is part of a network that includes over 3,500 corporate members and 12,000 certified MBEs who in 2012 had combined sales of over $120 billion. It is from the perspective of the leader of this organization that I will share with the readers of the Hartford Business Journal, the State of Minority Business in Connecticut. Each for the past three years, the GNEMSDC has surveyed our certified MBEs to determine how they are doing. In addition, using data which certified MBEs supply as part of the certification process, we are able to track their sales, their employment and their general business performance. The data in this article reflects 2012 MBE data. It is also important to note that the data on certified GNEMSDC MBEs does not include all minority businesses in the state. The majority of minority businesses are not suppliers to large corporate organizations. They are retailers, barber shops, day care providers, attorneys, doctors, funeral homes, church based businesses and other business to consumer enterprises. The GNEMSDC however, does provide a barometer of business and economic conditions in minority communities throughout the state and the region. In 2012, the GNEMSDC has 124 certified MBEs with another 65 going through the process. The 124 MBEs had combined sales of $322,861,291. The average sales for certified MBEs was slightly over $2.6 million. These CT based certified MBEs employed 2,587 workers. The largest concentration of MBEs by industry is Professional, Scientific and Technical Service companies that represent 46 percent of certified MBEs. This followed by MBEs in construction (23%), Construction (12.1%), and Wholesale Trade (12.1). In a state with 3.6 million citizens, 88,000 business establishments, and 1.4 million workers, MBEs are barely a drop in the bucket. We are extremely proud of the MBEs that have overcome great odds and barriers to be significant organizations and leaders in their communities. But these numbers relative to size of the State's economy suggests that we still have a very long way to go before, MBEs play a role commensurate with the population of minorities in the state. In 2010, Hispanics (14.2%), Blacks (11.2%), Asians (4.2), Multi-Race (2.1%) and Native Americans (.6%) represented 32.2 percent of the state's population. All minority businesses (suppliers and minority retailers) represented 12.4 percent of business establishments. Based on these numbers, minority businesses are underrepresented among all businesses in the state. There are several reasons why MBEs continue to be underrepresented. The first is that MBEs suffer from a lack of personal wealth which impacts their ability to get loans from financial institutions. In the study done by Shapiro, Meshede,and Osoro of Brandeis University, they found that the Black - White wealth gap tripled between 1984 and 2009, from $84,000 to over $239,000. The median wealth of Black households nationally is less than $10,000. It is hard to finance a business if the owners and their families do not have the personal financial capital to grow the business. There are other problems related to discrimination in housing markets, poor education systems, lack of social capital and generally being unconnected that make it difficult for minority businesses to thrive in the state. But the one factor that perhaps could have the biggest impact, but hasn't, is the role of state government. The State of Connecticut is one of the largest buyers of goods and services in the state, yet purchased an anemic $4 million from certified MBEs (2008). This represents less than 1 percent of purchases by the state. In contrast, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with nearly twice the population of Connecticut, spends 70 times as much with certified MBEs and over 100 times as much from non-minority women owned enterprises. The only reason for this gaping difference between the two New England states is the culture of political leadership on matters of minority economic development. Two Massachusetts governors, Weld and Patrick, a Republican and a Democrat, have issued executive orders clearly stating that the Commonwealth understands the importance of minority business development and Connecticut leadership either does not or is and has been completely ineffective. These governors established goals for state agencies and a reporting mechanism for the leaders of those agencies to follow. The political culture can be changed in Connecticut, and I would add it does not require a disparity study. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been able to achieve these impressive results without a disparity study. If Connecticut spending with MBEs was similar on a percentage basis as spending with MBEs in Massachusetts, Connecticut MBEs would have an additional $100 million in sales. Imagine the multiplier impact of that spending in communities like Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and Waterbury. In the meantime, minority businesses in Connecticut will continue operate on the fringes. It will take both political and business leadership to change this, but I believe it can be done. This is the mission of the GNEMSDC. In your service
Dr. Fred
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