Adrian Shanker met representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration at the 2015 CenterLink conference for LGBT community centers. He was in the homestretch of opening his own center in downtown Allentown at the time.
“During this presidential administration, there was a directive to every federal agency to better include the LGBT community in programs that are happening,” Shanker said.
Now that the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center is up and running, Shanker has built on his relationship with the SBA to offer a series of workshops called “Start Your Business.”
The same three-hour workshop will take place 12 times over the next year, starting Sept. 28 and ending in August. They’re free to attend.
“These are meant to be small- to medium-sized attendance so people can really get a lot of attention and get their questions answered,” said Shanker, noting 10-30 people are expected at each workshop.
Shannon Degiglio, a lender-relations specialist with the SBA in Eastern Pennsylvania, helped Shanker organize the “Start Your Business” series. Tony Leta, director for the Eastern Pennsylvania district of the SBA, said the administration seeks to work with underserved communities.
“We view the LGBT community as underserved from the perspective of access to resources when starting or growing a business,” he said.
Several years ago, the SBA launched an LGBT economic-empowerment campaign called “Many Faces, One Dream.” Now, the “Business Smart Toolkit” helps underserved entrepreneurs find out how to become credit-ready and what agencies can provide additional support. This kit forms the basis of the presentations to be made at the “Start Your Business” workshops.
Representatives from the SBA will attend each workshop at Bradbury-Sullivan, in addition to some lenders the administration works with. Robert Mineo, financial assistance program director for the Small Business Development Center at Lehigh University, said Degiglio invited his center to participate as well.
Shanker said there will be some intentionality behind the business presentations taking place in an LGBT space, like discussing past instances of lenders denying access to capital. Some LGBT entrepreneurs may want to investigate incentives aimed at minority-owned businesses.
Mineo said his presentation will detail various financing options.
“It’s more about deciding what kind of business you want to start and evaluating financial options from there,” he said, adding he would talk about debt, equity and alternate options for raising capital online like crowd funding.
People are encouraged to register in advance at https://bizsmartbradbury.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit www.bradburysullivancenter.org.
All “Start Your Business” workshops run from 2-5 p.m. at the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, 522 W. Maple St., Allentown. The dates include: Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 16 and Dec. 14. The dates for 2017 will be scheduled later this fall. Sponsors for the first four workshops include QNB, People First Federal Credit Union and the LGBT Business Council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.