A new push from lawmakers seeks to help small business owners in the Big Apple with the creation of digital pages where they can promote services and products.
An example of these activities is that of Andrea Gómez, who in addition to making and selling a tasty Colombian coffee, can ship it for free to your home anywhere in the United States via the Internet.
“The page helps us by being able to offer our coffee, which is our strength, is our main product,” said Gómez.
The idea from councilor Julie Menin, representative of district number five which mainly covers Queens County, was presented to the city council on Wednesday with the support of 25 of its members.
Menin wants to create a government office where everyone receives assistance, but he believes immigrant small business owners would benefit the most from his project.
“And I am thrilled that my bill to create a small business digitization office will be heard in this joint hearing. 1 in 4 small businesses in the US still does not have a website. Have a website! And a platform for online marketing is an integral part of sales! “, wrote the advisor in a post on social media.
And I am thrilled that my bill to create an office for the digitization of small businesses will be heard at this joint hearing. 1 in 4 small businesses in the US does not yet have a website. Having a website and an online marketing platform is crucial for sales! pic.twitter.com/oHHxf5kvAC
– Julie Menin (@JulieMenin) November 2, 2022
Diana Orellana lives in Astoria and buys 3 Café de Colombia from Andrea’s family business.
– Do you think a website would help them?
“I think a lot because it would attract more customers who sometimes search the internet. If they don’t find them, they won’t know, “Orellana said.
Another point of the proposal is to require that official documents be sent to entrepreneurs in the language of their choice.
“They are very hardworking people. People who try to move forward and if they don’t have the support, many times they can shut down, ”Orellana said.
Andrea opened her pastry shop four years ago and survived the pandemic thanks to the orders she received and delivered herself. Her coffee comes directly from the Valle del Cauca, she says. She already has her page and explains how other merchants like her can benefit from it.
“For us the advantage is to be able to give that possibility to customers who live in other states, in other neighborhoods, which remains for them, such as the ease of physically reaching the store”, said Andrea
Luckily, her husband studied computer science and it was he who designed the page. The cost of creating one, updating and maintaining it can be quite and impossible for some. She confesses that she has better results on the Instagram social network.
“The page is like a plus that we can offer to the customer, but ultimately, Instagram”, added Andrea.
The proposal has just been submitted and needs approval. Budget too. But the support it already receives from city politicians is encouraging.
