SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, FREELANCERS, AND GIG WORKERS IN WINDSOR TERRACE AND SUNSET PARK: A SURVEY ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC

Community Board 7 understands that small business owners, freelancers, and gig workers in Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. CB 7 is interested in learning how they've been affected and what needs to be done to help them recover.

Dear Neighbor:

As we continue to figure out how we move forward in unprecedented times, with so many uncertainties ahead of us, Community Board 7/Brooklyn is seeking your help in resolving problems and eliminating barriers to recovery and success for our entire community.

One area we are choosing to focus on is the impact the shutdown and economic crisis has had on our local businesses and their employees. We are hopeful that we can reach out to all of the businesses in our district so we can get a greater understanding of their issues and needs as we advocate for better policies for our neighborhood’s recovery.

 

This is where you can help. We are certainly reaching out through business organizations, social media and email, but we do not have the ability to reach everyone on our own.

So we are asking you to help with outreach to your local businesses, freelance and gig workers, people who have their own businesses, any business that you can think of, to ask them to complete a brief survey to help us better understand their issues and concerns.

 

Please share the following link with every business you can in our district. Currently, it is available in English and Spanish, but we hope to have it in Chinese soon.

Additionally, paper surveys will also be available next week through the office, but our preference is email.

If you or a business owner have any questions, please contact us at bk07@cb.nyc.gov

 

Sincerely,

Cesar Zuniga

--

Cesar Zuniga
Chairperson

Community Board 7

City of New York 

4201 4th Avenue 

Brooklyn, N.Y. 11232

www.nyc.gov/BK07

Phone: 718-854-0003

SMALL BUSINESS & NONPROFIT VIRTUAL TOWN HALL

SMALL BUSINESS & NONPROFIT

VIRTUAL TOWN HALL 

From Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke:

This Thursday Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) will host a virtual (video) town hall for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Clarke will be joined by special guests House Small Business Chairwoman Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

WHAT: The town hall will provide information about available resources during coronavirus for local organizations and businesses from the CARES Act, which was enacted in late March. Lawmakers will also touch on the House-passed HEROES Act and discuss why it is important the Senate act and that measure be signed into law. 

WHEN: Thursday, May 21st from 5-6 p.m. eastern 

WHO: Clarke will be joined by House Small Business Chairwoman Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07); House Democratic Caucus Chairman Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08); New York State Assemblyman Robert Carroll; NYC Councilman Brad Lander; Robert Piechota, Long Island Branch Manager Small Business Administration; and Daniel Gonzalez, Director Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union. 

HOW: Join by streaming or calling in. Details directly below: 

Stream the town hall at: https://bit.ly/3bMclRl; event number 900 039 200; password ClarkeTownHall1 

-or- 
 
Listen only by dialing: (415) 527-5035; code 900-039-200# 

NOTE: Participants can submit questions during the event and ahead of time by emailing teamclarke09@gmail.com. 
 

SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: RELIEF THROUGH INTEREST-FREE LOANS IN CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 39 AND ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 44

From New York City Councilmember Brad Lander:

New Interest-Free Loan Opportunity for District 39 Small Businesses

In conversations with small business owners in our community, I’ve heard so many heartbreaking stories of the difficult choices they are facing. With so much uncertainty, local businesses don’t know how much longer they can pay rent, insurance, and utilities while their stores are shuttered, with little or no revenue. 

So I am glad to share that, thanks to the partnership of the Hebrew Free Loan Society and The Change Reaction, we are launching a new opportunity for small businesses and independent contractors operating in District 39 to receive interest-free loans up to $25,000. 

The Greg Perlman and Michael Clark Small Business Angel Fund at HFLS will offer 0% interest loans between $7500 and $25,000 dollars to businesses with 15 or fewer employees that are currently operating in City Council District 39 (or Assembly District 44). 

These funds are intended to help businesses that are struggling to stay open with reduced revenues. Loans of up to $7,000 will also be available for independent contractors and sole proprietors who are unable to operate due to the current shutdown orders. 

You can read more about the loans and start the application here. 

We are partnering with the office of Assemblymember Robert Carroll and the Hebrew Free Loan Society to offer these loans which are made possible by a generous donation from Greg Perlman and Michael Clark of The Change Reaction. 

The loans will be processed as swiftly as possible, so that we can get money into operations that need it immediately. 

We know that much more is needed to help businesses of all types get through this shutdown and begin to regain stability in the months ahead. 

We will continue to work on other proposals to open up streets for restaurant seating, force insurance companies to pay business interruption insurance, and urge our congressional leaders to address problems with existing federal loan programs. 

But we are glad to be able to offer these loans immediately as a source of support for our neighborhoods.  

Read more about the loans here and reach out to us with your questions at lander@council.nyc.gov. 

Brad

New York City Councilmember Brad Lander

456 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-499-1090 lander@council.nyc.gov

    

EL EQUIPO DE ACELERACION DE NUEVOS NEGOCIOS

NEW BUSINESS ACCELERATION TEAM

UN TALLER GRATIS PARA AQUELLOS QUE ESTAN INTERESADOS EN INICIAR UN PEQUENO NEGOCIO

BUSINESSES OPEN FASTER WITH NBAT

We've all noticed how long it can take for a new business to open in our neighborhood. Sometimes it seems like it takes forever for a business to open while the owners struggle to obtain the many permits from the many agencies required by the city before a business can be opened. City government has finally responded by establishing the New Business Acceleration Team (NBAT) to assist with opening new restaurants, bars, bakeries, and butcher shops.

NBAT streamlines the permitting process so that businesses only need to work with one city agency. The agency helps them through the permitting hurdles that lead to time and cost overruns. NBAT has cut the process from an average of three to four months down to just two weeks.

NBAT works with qualifying businesses to schedule and coordinate most of the inspections required by the Fire Department, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Buildings, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and other departments.

Since the program began, NBAT has helped more than 140 restaurants open in the five boroughs. Approximately 3,200 new restaurants open every year in New York City. Restaurants employ over 260,000 people.

Businesses that are best suited for working with NBAT are restaurants, bars, and bakeries that seat fifty people or fewer as well as butcher shops. The bars must serve food. Renovation of the space shouldn't include heavy alteration work.

If a business qualifies for the program, an introductory meeting will be scheduled--preferably at the future business's site--to review permit and license requirements. After the work has been completed and the requirements have been satisfied, the business owner can contact NBAT to request an inspection, which will be conducted within a week. If the business passes inspection, it will be ready to open. If it doesn't pass inspection, NBAT will notify the business owner immediately about which issues have to be corrected, and a re-inspection date will be assigned.

 

Website: http://www.nyc.gov/nbat

E-mail: nbat@nbat.nyc.gov

Phone: (212) 788-6722 

Fax: (212) 788-6834 

1 Centre Street, Room 1012N, New York, NY 10007

MAKING NYC A FRIENDLIER PLACE FOR SMALL BUSINESS

A letter from Christine Quinn, Speaker, New York City Council, about a piece of legislation that will be welcomed by our neighborhood's small business owners and potential owners:

September 23, 2010
 
Dear New Yorker,

We wanted to give you a quick update on our efforts to assist small business as we head into the fall season.

Preventing Unnecessary Burdens

To help make NYC a friendlier place for small business, this past month the Council passed legislation (Intro. 91) that will improve the City's rule-making process as well as the regulatory environment for members of regulated communities, particularly small business.

The bill, which we expect the Mayor to sign into law shortly, comes largely from the work of the Regulatory Review Panel and also incorporates principles first proposed by Council Minority Leader James Oddo.

Specifically, Intro. 91 will change the City's rule-making process to ensure, among other things, that:

• agency rules are not unduly burdensome; 
• agencies conduct outreach to those affected by the proposed rules;
• new or modified rules are clear and easy to understand;
• cure periods instead of automatic fines are included in rules whenever possible and appropriate so that businesses have an opportunity to fix problems before they are fined; and
• agencies promulgating rules carefully consider ways to prevent unreasonable compliance costs.

We'd like to thank the Mayor and his administration for their leadership and support in this effort.

We'd also like to thank Anthony Crowell, Council Minority Leader Oddo, Council Member Leroy Comrie, Council Member Karen Koslowitz and the entire Regulatory Review Panel for all of their hard work and effort seeing this bill through the Council.

For additional information on Intro. 91, click here or visit us online at http://www.council.nyc.gov.


3 Golden Rules to Help Small Biz

In an op-ed piece that we wrote that recently appeared in the September 13th edition of Crain's New York Business Weekly, we describe our three "golden rules" for supporting small business:

1. Help make it easier for owners to open their doors.
2. Help existing small businesses grow and expand.
3. Get out of the way of small businesses.

By sticking to these three simple rules, we can better support small businesses and keep our City growing and moving forward.

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council

Diana Reyna
Chair, Small Business Committee
NYC Council

SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, MEET THE LENDERS

Meet the Lenders
Tuesday, September 28th, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

At the Brooklyn Meet the Lenders conference, existing and start-up businesses will learn about the Small Business Association's (SBA) loan programs and lenders in Brooklyn who have been approved by the SBA.

Participants in the panel discussion will include

• Brooklyn's SBA representatives,
• Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE),
• Brooklyn Small Business Development Center at City Tech,
• Women's Business Center at the Local Development Corporation of East New York, and
• Women's Business Center at the Business Outreach Center.

The panel will share information about SBA's loan programs and give an overview of the business services they offer for Brooklyn's entrepreneurs.

Pre-registration is required to meet with representatives of these types of Brooklyn lenders in order to explore funding or loan programs: commercial banks, community development corporations, New York Business Development Corporation, micro lenders, and community federal credit unions. To register, click here.

Conference location: Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street.

Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.

The contact for the conference is Brooklyn SBDC at NYC College of Technology. E-mail address: SBDC@citytech.cuny.edu
Phone: (718) 797-0187

BUSINESSES CAN OPEN SOONER WITH NBAT

MAKING THINGS A LITTLE EASIER FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES

from our New York City Councilmember, Brad Lander:

The small, independently-owned businesses that line our commercial avenues are - as we so often say - a key part of what make our neighborhoods, well, real neighborhoods. We are lucky to live in a place where we can walk to do so much of our weekly shopping, where we are likely to see neighbors, where we know the proprietors, where we have a choice to support local businesses instead of only global chains. Whether its 5th Ave, Court Street, Church Avenue, Prospect Park West, 7th Ave, Smith Street, Columbia Street, or Fort Hamilton Parkway, so many of you have talked with me about the importance of working to help strengthen and support small businesses.

Unfortunately, our small businesses face big challenges. Real estate, energy, and other costs have skyrocketed in recent years. Too many of us these days are doing more of our shopping online. And the economic downturn has been especially hard on those businesses without deep pockets or cash reserves.

Government can't solve all of these problems, but we should do all we can to provide a level playing field. So I've been troubled when I've asked small business owners their biggest problem - and they've indicated it was agency inspectors who seemed bent on levying fines in order to raise revenue for the City, rather than attending to public health or safety, much less to help make our small businesses better and stronger.

So, I was proud this week when the City Council passed the "Small Business Owners Bill of Rights," an important first step towards ensuring that small businesses in the city are able to survive and thrive in these difficult economic times. The new legislation requires inspectors, upon entering a business, to give owners a written bill of rights, that lets them know how they can contest a claim (which they will soon be able to do online) or make a complaint, and sets a standard for fair and consistent enforcement.

The idea of a small business owner's bill of rights was one of 14 recommendations that were proposed by the Regulatory Review Panel, a joint task force between the City Council and the Mayor's office that reviewed City regulations and their impact on small businesses. Many local businesses and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce weighed in as part of the Panel's efforts. Find out more here.

The other recommendations include:

-Giving small businesses the opportunity to resolve some low-risk violations before fines are levied
-Providing the opportunity to settle or contest any violations without having to go to court
-Implementing customer service training for agency inspectors
-Expanding programs for immigrant small business owners
-Enhancing 311 to better assist small businesses
-Helping business owners avoid violations in the first place

I am working to make sure we continue to make progress on these and the other recommendations - and also to address some of the other problems small businesses face, like the rising costs of real estate and energy. The Bill of Rights is just a first step, as there is much more to do, but I believe it is a good one.

Closer to home, you can also check out the online presence of some of our neighborhood merchant associations, join their e-mail lists, and learn about events and opportunities to support the neighborhood businesses we treasure. We've also listed some other local business-related websites.

Park Slope 5th Avenue BID
http://www.parkslopefifthavenuebid.com/

Kensington Area Resident/Merchant Alliance
http://karmabrooklyn.blogspot.com/

Court Street Merchants Association
http://www.courtstreetmerchants.org/

Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association
http://www.atlanticavenuebkny.com/

Park Slope Chamber of Commerce
http://pschamber.tumblr.com/

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/

Borough President Marty Markowitz "I Shop Brooklyn" website
http://www.ishopbrooklyn.com/

Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
http://www.ibrooklyn.com/

Serving the neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope,
Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, and Kensington

456 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11215 * (718) 499-1090
http://council.nyc.gov/d39/html/members/home.shtml
http://www.bradlander.com
lander@council.nyc.gov

SMALL BUSINESS LEGAL CLINIC

Small Business Legal Clinic
Tuesday, June 15th, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Owners of small businesses and those thinking of starting one can meet one-on-one with an attorney to learn about the legal consequences of owning and operating a business in New York City. If you have questions about incorporation, contracts, intellectual property rights, or renting a storefront or renewing a commercial lease, volunteers from the Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project can help you.

Register for an appointment for a free individual consultation by filling out the form here or by calling (718) 368-6790.

The clinic will be held at Brooklyn Public Library’s Business Library at 280 Cadman Plaza West.

HEALTHCARE REFORM FOR EMPLOYERS

Wednesday, May 12th, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Healthcare Reform for Employers

Management Roundtable Series

Human Resources Network Forum

featuring
Diane Pfadenhauer, SPHR, Esq., President
Employment Practices Advisors, Inc.

Tuohy Hall, Alumni Room
245 Clinton Avenue, between DeKalb and Willoughby avenues

Light refreshments will be served.

For information, contact John Keenan (718) 940-5731.

PUBLIC HEARING ON BUSINESS OWNER'S BILL OF RIGHTS

Wednesday, April 21st, 11:00 a.m.
Business Owner's Bill of Rights

The New York City Council's Committees on Governmental Operations and Small Business will hold a public hearing about Intro. 118, a bill to create a Business Owner's Bill of Rights. The bill of rights will list the rules that inspectors must follow and the steps that business owners can take if they feel they have been treated unfairly.

City Council meetings are open to the public. Before going to the meeting, check the City Council's calendar to make sure that the date and time of the hearing haven't been changed. If you want to testify, register with the sergeant-of-arms before the hearing begins.

16th Floor Hearing Room, 250 Broadway, directly across from City Hall

THE HIRING INCENTIVES TO RESTORE EMPLOYMENT (HIRE) ACT

The Hiring Incentives to
Restore Employment (HIRE) Act

Do you want to hire staff? Are you waiting for the economy to improve? Stop waiting. There are new tax breaks for employers who hire unemployed workers.

HIRE
Congress just passed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment, or HIRE Act, to help businesses begin hiring again. Businesses who want [to] hire staff need to:

• hire people who have been unemployed for at least 60 days
• hire new workers between February 3, 2010 and January 1, 2011
• receive a 6.2 percent payroll tax cut (or their share of Social Security taxes) on wages paid between March 18, 2010 and December 31, 2010

The earlier a business hires, the more money they save.
Want a larger tax cut? the sooner you hire, the more you save. For example, if you hire a worker paid $60,000 in March, it will save your business $3,000 in taxes. The longer the person is on your payroll, the greater the savings. For each worker you retain for at least a year, your business may claim an additional general business tax credit of up to $1,000 per worker on your 2011 tax return.

This credit helps businesses get the skilled workers they need and puts people back to work, helping the nation’s economic recovery.

Who qualifies?

• Businesses, agricultural employers, tax-exempt organizations, public colleges and universities
• Hires for new positions, or people who fill an existing position vacated by a worker who left voluntarily or for cause.

Family members and other relatives DO NOT qualify. Household employers CANNOT claim this new tax benefit.

Are there other requirements?
You need to keep on file a signed affidavit from each new hire. The affidavit is their statement that they have been out of work for 60 days and have not worked more than 40 hours during that time. It is an IRS Form. Look for it on our home page: www.labor.ny.gov

How do I apply for the credits?
Businesses will claim the payroll tax on their quarterly federal employment tax filing with the IRS. Eligible businesses can claim the new tax incentive on their revised employment tax form for the second quarter of 2010. The IRS will post revised forms and further details on these tax provisions on their web site (www.irs.gov) shortly.

For more information, contact your local One-Stop Career Center to speak with a Business Services Representative.

PROTECT all Workers
ASSIST the Unemployed
CONNECT Employers and Workers

P486 (4/10) The New York State Department of Labor is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
www.labor.ny.gov

SUCCESSFUL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS PANEL: FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS

Wednesday, March 31, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Free Workshop:
Successful Women Entrepreneurs Panel
for Small Business Owners and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Celebrate Women’s History Month by networking with and hearing from a diverse group of women business owners and professionals who will discuss their extensive business experiences and life lessons.

Introduction: Pravina Raghavan, District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration

Moderator: Michele Smith, Associate at Exec|Comm Communications consultant and former entrepreneur

Panelists:

• Vera Moore, President & CEO of Vera Moore Cosmetics, will share her experience in getting this successful line distributed in Duane Reade stores.
• Veronica Rose, President, Aurora Electric, a veteran entrepreneur, will share her experiences about government contracting.
  
• Elisa Balabram, author of Ask Others, Trust Yourself: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Key to Success, will talk about her book and about women asking for advice.
  

Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
25 Thornton Street, Brooklyn
(between Flushing Avenue and Broadway)

G train to Flushing Avenue station
or
M/J trains to Broadway and Flushing Avenue station

Registration is required, as seating is limited.
Call (718) 797.0187 or e-mail .

The New York State Small Business Development Center (NYS/SBDC) program is a free program supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA’s funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions, or services. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

New York State Small Business Development Center http://www.nyssbdc.org
U.S. Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov

BUSINESS WORKSHOP: THE LOAN PROCESS FOR SECURING BUSINESS FINANCING

Wednesday, March 31st, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Free Workshop:
The Loan Process for Securing Business Financing

"THE BUSINESS OF BROOKLYN" ON BCAT

"Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn" is a weekly TV show that helps small business owners connect with tools and institutions that can assist them in marketing their companies, managing their employees, and dealing with problems that can arise while building or sustaining a business.

The program features studio interviews as well as videos shot on location throughout Brooklyn. Randy Peers, the host and the Executive Director of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, interviews respected business and government leaders on topics relevant to the Brooklyn business community and discusses the many resources available to support businesses and entrepreneurs.

The show airs on cable's BCAT TV Network (Brooklyn Community Access Television). You can watch it on Time Warner Cable channel 56, Cablevision channel 69, RCN channel 84, and Verizon channel 44. New episodes are shown on the third Tuesday of each month at 9:30 p.m. They are repeated on Tuesday and Friday at 1:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Episodes are also viewable online. Click on the "Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn" link on the left-hand side of the page.

A video highlighting the struggles of immigrant-owned small businesses in South Brooklyn is viewable here.

The Business of Brooklyn has a page on Facebook that "supports the content presented on the TV show Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn on Brooklyn Independent Television, and also provides additional resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the borough."

SUPPORT LOCAL INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES!

A NEW PLAN FOR OUR CITY

KARMA received this e-mail from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The portions of it that aren't relevant to Kensington have been omitted.

March 2, 2010

Dear New Yorker,

This past month, during my State of the City address, I laid out a new plan to help strengthen our economy, create more jobs and get us moving on the path to full recovery.

Included in this plan are a number of practical steps to help small business owners across the five boroughs. Specifically, our proposals will:

* Improve the City's inspection process - New York City has thousands of rules and regulations for small businesses that protect public safety and the rights of consumers. But one of the biggest problems we hear from small business owners is that these rules are enforced in a way that's unfair and inconsistent. That's why we're taking steps today to make the inspection process fairer for business owners. First, we'll educate businesses about their responsibilities. Second, we'll improve the way we train inspectors, putting a new level of focus on consistent enforcement. Finally, we'll introduce new legislation sponsored by Council Member Karen Koslowitz creating a Business Owner's Bill of Rights. This bill of rights will list the rules that inspectors have to follow and the steps that business owners can take if they feel they've been treated unfairly.

* Help small businesses get the loans that they need - Small businesses owners who've been turned down for loans will now get a second chance through our "Second Look" Program. Created in partnership with the New York Bankers Association, this new program will give business owners a second shot at securing the financing that they need. We'll also convene a summit with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce where participants from banking and small business can work to develop and propose ways to get credit flowing to small

* Provide training and support to minority- and women-owned businesses - This year we'll partner with the City's Small Business Commissioner, Robert Walsh, to launch a new executive management program for minority- and women-owned businesses. Individuals participating in this program will receive training and support in a number of critical areas to help them to successfully grow their business. This same program has already shown great results in Massachusetts, where three out of four participants increased their sales and were able to hire new employees.

* Provide tax relief for mom-and-pop retail stores - Last year we created a new tax credit to eliminate the double taxation on small unincorporated businesses and freelancers. This year we'll extend that same kind of relief to another group that's currently struggling - small mom and pop retailers. Together with Council Members Joel Rivera and Inez Dickens, we'll work with Albany to create a new tax credit exempting mom and pop stores from the City's corporate tax. About 19,000 small retailers will be eligible, saving them up to $3,400 a year.

If we're going to come out of this recession stronger than we were before, we need to continue doing everything that we can to help support the home-grown businesses that are so vital to our City's recovery. With this new plan we can help small businesses grow, create new jobs and set the stage for our long-term growth and recovery.

If you'd like to watch my speech online and share any comments or questions you have about these proposals, please click on the following link: http://council.nyc.gov/html/soc/main.shtml.

Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
New York City Council

WORKSHOP: DIAGNOSING THE HEALTH OF YOUR BUSINESS

Wednesday, March 24th, and Thursday, March 25th,
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Workshop: Diagnosing the Health of Your Business

Understanding your business's financial statements is crucial to improving your business operations. Knowing where to look for financial leaks and then monitoring them allows you to make shifts that will make your business more efficient and profitable.

Brendan Guastella will lead this free workshop. He is the owner of Soundview Business Consulting, a Brooklyn-based firm specializing in assisting entrepreneurs, start-ups, and other small businesses in the New York metropolitan area.

Part 1 will be held on Wednesday and Part 2 on Thursday at Capital One Bank, 356 Fulton Street, Brooklyn.

To make a reservation, call (718) 368-6790 or register on the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation's website.

More information about the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) is available at www.bedc.org.