We’re celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) staff, services, and businesses we’ve helped. Currently, SBS offers a wide variety of business services for the Spanish-speaking community.
- NYC Business Solutions Centers are located near some of New York City’s vibrant Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, including Harlem and on Fordham Road in the Bronx.
- All seven NYC Business Solutions Centers can serve Spanish-speaking customers with free business services using interpretation services that are available through the City’s Language Line Services.
- The most popular downloadable online business resources from the NYC Business Solutions Library are also available in Spanish atnyc.gov/bizlibrary.
- To date, three NYC Business Solutions Courses– including Business Planning Basics, Understanding and Improving Your Credit, and Accessing Financing– have been translated and are being delivered in Spanish, with more to come.
- SBS has several staff members who can speak with clients in Spanish.
- We are launching the NYC Craft Entrepreneurship Programin Spanish, which helps unemployed and underemployed New Yorkers with craft skills earn supplemental income from selling their craft online.
- We have started tweeting on SBS Twitter accounts in Spanish to spread the word of SBS’ free services through new social networks – follow the conversation using #SBSEspañol
- SBS has increased outreach for NYC Business Acceleration services specifically to immigrant communities outside of Manhattan, with outreach materials translated into Spanish and a campaign to promote the program’s recent expansion into the retail and industrial sectors.
- Latino small businesses can also certify as a Minority-owned business with the City and compete on City contracts.
- SBS is expanding free business services to better help the Spanish-speaking community through the Immigrant Business Initiative. SBS will work with a Spanish-speaking community partner to develop and execute forward-thinking solutions to help immigrant-owned businesses that can include business courses, one-on-one counseling, and community based outreach. Details about free services available through this initiative will be announced shortly.