<!--Mark Scheer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Mark Scheer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com">mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Aspiring professional photographer Shawn Wright has always thought about opening his own business.
On Tuesday, the 32-year-old Niagara Falls resident moved a step closer to achieving his goal.
“There’s going to be a lot more work than I thought at first,” said Wright, who is interested in opening a photography business in the Falls. “I’m definitely better prepared. I have a better idea of what to expect.”
Wright and 51 other people were honored during a ceremony at City Hall for having completed the city’s Entrepreneurial Training Program, a 12-week course designed to teach the ins and outs of small business management.
At 52 members, the 2010 graduating class represents the largest number of individuals to successfully complete the program in its three-year history. This year’s crop of graduates included hopefuls like Wright and a few more seasoned business pros, including long-time Main Street property owner and manager Richard Hastings.
Others, like Bob Drozdowski, went through the course without a specific plan in mind.
“I’ve always had goals of owning my own business,” said Drozdowski, who works as the director of operations and marketing at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center on Pine Avenue. “My main reason for trying this was just to learn and gain information and knowledge for future reference.”
Drozdowski said he learned a great deal about what it takes to own a business and was most surprised by the level of assistance available through the city.
“I knew there were programs available, but I never looked at it in depth or paid attention to it because I wasn’t a business owner,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities.”
The training program is made possible through funding provided to the city by state Sen. Antoine Thompson, D-Niagara Falls. Representatives from Niagara University assist in the training sessions and provide guest lecturers for the program. Completion of the program allows graduates to qualify for the city’s micro-enterprise assistance program, which offers businesses with five or fewer employees grants of up to $10,000 or low-interest loans as high as $25,000. A total of 15 people graduated from the course the first year it was offered. Another 35 completed the program in year two.
Fran Iusi, director of the city’s lending arm, the NFC Development Corp., said at least five of the members of the 2010 graduating class intend to open their businesses in the city. She said the city is hoping to secure funding to offer the program again in 2011.
Mayor Paul Dyster attended Tuesday’s graduation ceremony and offered students both bad news and good news.
“The bad news is there are a lot of vacant storefronts and a lot of vacant commercial spaces out there ..,” he said. “The good news is there are a lot of vacant storefronts and a lot of vacant commercial spaces out there in the City of Niagara Falls and each one of those, I hope, you will come to see as the potential generator of income that can help raise a family, that can help send your kids to school, that can help send kids to college.”
For more information about the city’s entrepreneurial training program, call the city’s economic development office at 286-4481.
