Open, not closed.
That is the simple and pointed message that New York City regulators and business officials are forcefully seeking to convey to a commercial audience that they feel is underrepresented in metro business opportunities.
That group is the comparatively small but increasingly dynamic demographic of minority- and women-owned business enterprises (collectively, sometimes called M/WBEs).
The city’s clarion call to that sector is this: We want your business, because it enriches the local landscape and economy, and we’re out to prove it.
Increasingly, more members of that targeted group are noting the city’s effort to reach out, primarily in these two ways:
- Through a $40 million grant that provides M/WBEs with easier access to loans and an improved chance to get their services and products before a larger consumer audience; and
- Via an aggressive advertisement initiative aimed at grabbing the attention of minority-run and women-owned businesses and alerting them to the benefits of connecting with city programs
The owner of one enterprise who answered the city’s call to be proactive in reaching out for opportunities and help now sees her business widely featured as a success story. She advises company principals who are eligible to participate in the M/WBE program to do just that. Greater access to city contracts, she says, helps participants “really prove we’re just as qualified as anyone else” and “get those contracts that are out there.”
We certainly support the M/WBE program at R3M Law, LLP, knowing as an established metro business law firm that efforts to make business involvement across NYC more diverse and competitive enrich life for everybody.
We work with start-ups and proven companies of all types and sizes, helping them achieve their important goals across a wide universe of concerns. We welcome contacts to the firm and the opportunity to demonstrate how we work with our valued clients.