October 2015

Newsletter
Entrepreneur of the Month
Jessica Reisman
Homespun Foods

In searching out places to eat, looking for the genuine, the unique and the next can sometimes substitute for taste. Homespun Foods, a New American caf� serving breakfast and lunch in homey digs in Beacon and in the modern cavern that is DIA, satisfies on all counts.
The traditional home style ethos of chef/entrepreneur/owner Jessica Reisman is spread over a variety of regional, consistently tasty cuisines. On Main Street, Homespun Food teems with the vintage charm of exposed brick walls, tall china pitchers holding flatware, blackboard menus and vinyl dinettes. Local market finds set the stage for shared plates of gorgeous, fresh and generous tuna nicoise, tofu banh mi sandwiches mixing Vietnamese classics like carrot, cucumber and cilantro, chili chocolate cookies and chocolate-ganache covered cheesecake, washed down with New York beer or local hard cider.

A small business loan of $50,000 from Community Capital enabled Reisman to expand and grow her business to 22 employees and to a second location at DIA:Beacon, covering the cost of extra necessary equipment-like walk in refrigerators-and consolidating debt. "Community Capital really saved me - without the loan I could not have moved forward."...
 
Click here to read the full story on how Community Capital helped the business grow. Then visit the business' website here or visit them at 232 Main St., Beacon, NY 12508 or at DIA:Beacon!
A Million for Main Street
Hudson Valley Opportunity Fund

Community Capital New York is proud to have been selected to receive a NYS Regional Economic Development Council award of $1 million to help support small business and social enterprise in the Mid-Hudson Region. This matching grant makes it possible for us to provide $2 million in capital over the next 24 months to start up and growing businesses in the region. Using a personal approach and flexible underwriting, the Hudson Valley Opportunity Fund provides loans that traditional lenders cannot or will not make.

Click here to read the full story and see if your business is eligible. 
 
Get ready for the Holidays!
  
With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, you need to be working now on your small business' plans for the end of the year. To give your business a leg up, here are nine things to do now to get ready for the holiday season:

1. Know the trends. What's hot in your industry? Consumers will be looking for the must-have items and you want to make sure your business is carrying them. A way to track down what's hot is to talk to your vendors and current customers.

2. Review your inventory. To appeal to more consumers, your business should have good representation at various price points to accommodate different shopping budgets.

3. Examine past years' performance. The benefits of doing this are twofold. First, your business can identify who your customers really are and how to plan a marketing strategy to reach them. Secondly, by assessing the previous years, you can see if you'll need extra help and how many seasonal workers to hire.

4. Start the hiring process for seasonal help. You want to hire people who are enthusiastic about your product and have good customer service skills. Not everyone who applies for the job will have these qualities, so it's critical to start the hiring process early enough to be able to find those people.

5. Update your social media presence. Take a look at your current social media accounts. Do they need a revamping?  Does your business need to start using new platforms like Instagram and Pinterest?

6. Get customers excited by offering pre-holiday promotions. Your business will get a jump on the competition. One idea is to offer a wish list and then inviting spouses or significant others to shop on a special night over refreshments in a festive atmosphere.

7. Give customers a reason to visit. Determine what set you apart from the competition and look for ways to get that message out to the community.

8. Check those displays. Before your business needs them, go through the decorations and special store displays to see if anything needs replacing or repairing.

9. Get ready for the holiday rush. Make sure your store has enough packaging, boxes and gift wrapping. Plan for extended hours, both in supplies and workers needed to cover those times.

With some or all of these tips in place, all that's left is to open your doors to welcome the holiday shoppers!
  
Please join us for a cocktail party and the chance to solve all your holiday shopping woes while supporting local businesses.

When: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 From 6-9 pm
Where:
Ground Floor Co-working
547 North Avenue
New Rochelle, NY 10801

You will enjoy our enticing mix of products and services offered by independent locally-owned businesses. Come find great gifts for those on your list (or even yourself).

Click here for more information and to register 



Community Events and News
Newburgh Housing Remediation Fund
 
 
  
Community Capital and JP Morgan Chase have partnered to launch the Newburgh Housing Remediation Fund, a loan fund designed to increase the supply of safe, affordable homes for families in targeted locations in the City of Newburgh as part of a broad community development effort. A $150,000 grant from JP Morgan Chase catalyzed the initiative to redevelop neighborhoods in the downtown core, the Broadway corridor, by overcoming lead and asbestos remediation, cited by both not for profit and for profit developers as the biggest barrier to redevelopment. Click here to read more about the press conference and here for more information on the program. 
Support

 
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Opportunity is our mission.

Creating Opportunity is our mission. Community Capital is an economic catalyst that strengthens the prosperity of our communities. Through education and innovative financing we enable underserved people to become stakeholders in a more inclusive economy.

We believe:  

Access to opportunity is a path to prosperity and successSafe, decent, affordable housing create stronger communitiesFinancial and business education fosters economic independenceHardworking people willing to invest in their businesses deserve our support.
Community Capital New York
Wells Fargo
SBA
Empire State Development
  914 747-8020| 914 747-2049| www.communitycapitalny.org