State Sen. Charles J. Fuschillo, R-Merrick, hosted the fourth annual Small Business Networking Expo at the in Seaford this past Thursday. The event featured a number of amenities including business assistance programs, state and local government services and was attended by chambers of commerce from across Long Island.
Susan Raizer, a loan officer from the Community Development Corporation of Long Island, said that historically, the expo has been an extremely helpful tool for small businesses to network and find answers to their questions. “Last year we got a loan prospect and were able to close on not only one but two loans for the woman, and we were able to expand her business,” said Raizer.
While the purpose of the event is to help provide both current and prospective small business owners with information about different programs available to them, it also provides other valuable tools like how to write a business plan. Offices like the Nassau and Suffolk County Clerks offices were present, showing entrepreneurs how to register their business names and enroll in featured programs like the veterans discount program.
Chris Brown, the President of the , said that for business owners this event is so much more than just information. “This is by far one of the best networking events in our community,” said Brown.
“The success is meeting people, and that’s the whole intent of the networking group that we invite here," said State Sen. Fuschillo.
With this year marking the expo’s fourth, the Sen. Fuschillo indicated that he expects the event to continue.“I find it growing every year with the amount of vendors and people that participate in a two hour period,” said Fuschillo. "It’s really just to see what services are available that can help their business, the small businesses, but also network among themselves to get new potential customers and partners. It’s always been met with great success.
