Johnson School students launch coaching and loan program for small local businesses

Microbusinesses in Tompkins County can now benefit from coaching and capital via Johnson School students through the recently launched BR MicroCapital.

A program of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, BR MicroCapital pairs first-year MBA students with self-employed entrepreneurs who live or work in the Tompkins County area. The students will review business plans with the entrepreneurs, offering guidance, support and access to resources.

"The top priority of our coaches is to help clients meet their business objectives," said Mike Pezone, MBA '09, BR MicroCapital's director of operations. "Our goal is to partner with clients so they can rapidly progress along the learning curve of business development, leading to business growth and/or expansion."

Through funding from the center, Alternatives Federal Credit Union and other sources, BR MicroCapital will also offer small business loans of up to about $5,000. The credit union will administer the financing through its Community Partnership Lending program.

With preference given to those who earn less than 80 percent of the county's median income, BR MicroCapital organizers are trying to reach people with limited access to financing due to poor credit history or limited collateral, organizers said.

Jeff Fuchs, MBA '08, developed the idea last year for BR MicroCapital, originally as a microfinancing operation for businesses around the world. With input from other students and faculty, the idea evolved into a locally targeted program, Pezone said, where similar needs were discovered.

The purpose of pairing students with eligible entrepreneurs, said director of marketing Kandea Mosley, MBA '09, is to offer supportive assistance and coaching, rather than specific advice on where the business should be headed. Ideally the relationship would last three to four months, she said.

"The idea is to create goals and objectives, and to work on them together," she said.

For more information, call 607-255-5551 or e-mail BRM@johnson.cornell.edu.

 

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Nicola Pytell