Multicultural Expo Aims to Boost Business

The New York Multicultural Expo kicks off Thursday in Great Neck, aimed at bringing together business owners and executives of different ethnic backgrounds.

The day-long expo at Leonard's of Great Neck will include networking opportunities, seminars geared to minority-owned businesses, and VenturePitch 2012. Leading the VenturePitch program is Daymond John, panelist from the hit ABC-TV series Shark Tank, who will be joined by moderator Rob Basso of Basso On Business. They and others will judge submitted business proposals.

Among the sponsors are Nassau County, IBM, Advantage Payroll Services, the Asian-American Cultural Circle of Unity, Farmingdale State College, the Town of North Hempstead, LIDC/GNYDC and Latin Visions.

Elected officials from both Nassau and Suffolk Counties are expected to participate.

Suffolk County Legislator Williiam Spencer, D-Huntington, said, “This Expo is exactly the ‘out of the box’ event we need to stimulate our local economy and foster the inventive and the entrepreneurial spirit on Long Island.”

Maria Morales-Prieto is in the process of certifying as minority-owned her business networking firm, The Hispanic Network, which operates in Carle Place.

The reason?

"I'll be able to get RFPs [request for proposals] from various corporations and government agencies to grow my business," she said.

Certifying a business as minority owned provides added opportunities to conduct business with the government and other organizations that have contracting goals to work with minority owned firms. For an owner, that can open up new revenue streams. But understanding how to unlock these opportunities takes some expertise.

“People need to expand their circle of connections, especially in this economy,” said Mark Neuwirt, president of Jericho-based Expos Your Business, which is producing the show.

“We’re still culturally segregated,” Neuwirt said. The expo “brings people to a central location where you can see what other ethnic groups do better, or differently.”

According to the business information service Dunn and Bradstreet, in January 2012, there were 1,939 minority-owned small businesses. Yet tracking every minority-owned business in Nassau County is difficult, as an unknown quantity have yet to undergo the registration and certification process.

Nassau County’s Office of Minority Affairs said that nearly 400 businesses were certified and registered in its Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise Certification Program.

“We expect there to be more,” said Dr. Phillip Elliot, Nassau’s deputy county executive for minority affairs, adding that others are now going through the process. Through the county’s outreach efforts, minority owners are learning about the benefits of becoming certified, including receiving notification when opportunities arise to score new business, Elliot said.

That kind of support can make all the difference to a company’s bottom line. In 2011 nearly $20 million in contract vouchers were paid to certified women and minority owned businesses, a 10 percent increase from 2010, Elliot said.

While the expo may provide potential to grow a business and connect with new resources, Elliot saw additional benefits.

“It will help level the playing field” for women and minority owners, he said.

And there's more. The exhange would provide a shift to help foster social awareness, he said, “reducing other disparities and bringing the community together.”

As for Morales-Prieto, she will exhibit her company, The Hispanic Network, at the expo.

"It's a very good branding opportunity," she pointed out.

"I'll be able to expose my brand" to a diverse community "all at one time," she said.