Entrepreneurial fair declared a winner

Businesses from White Plains to Albany came to the Poughkeepsie Civic Center earlier this month for the Gateway to Entrepreneurial Tomorrow”™s (GET) first business expo.

“This program is geared toward helping minority and low-income business entrepreneurs,” said Enrique Lunski., who founded the business expo. “Next time, they”™ll bring their friends, too.”

People thinking of starting a business as well as those already on the way to becoming business owners got tax tips from the IRS, learned the difference between being an independent contractor and an employee, and benefited from several breakout sessions conducted in both English and Spanish throughout the two-day event.

Lunski hosted a VIP reception on Thursday night, April 19, welcoming Dutchess County Executive Bill Steinhaus, Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Anne Conroy, Poughkeepsie Mayor Nancy Cozean and several other community leaders to what he hopes will be an annual event and a valuable resource for entrepreneurs.

“We had a wonderful turnout last night,” said Lunski, making the rounds at the fair Friday afternoon. “We are getting positive feedback and support from the people who lead our economy. We hope this event will become a spring rite of passage for anyone thinking of starting their own business or already in the entrepreneurial waters.”

 

Learning experience

Marist College students counted 700 people who took advantage of the two-day event. Lunski said he measured the event”™s success by the people who visited. “Preliminary responses were very positive,” he said. “It”™s the first time something of this magnitude has been brought to the Hudson Valley. We not only attracted local, but national companies.”

Fifty exhibitors along with 24 free workshops and seminars helped make the experience unique for the new or startup business owner. “The concept is definitely different from the usual trade show,” said Lunski. “We are going to learn from this year and improve on the concept for next year. One thing we are considering is shifting it towards the weekdays rather than trying to schedule it on the weekend.”

Lunski said the 80-degree temperatures and sunny skies after the nor”™easter just five days earlier might have kept some people away on Saturday. Nevertheless, he was gratified by the public”™s response and enthusiasm.

The bottom line for GET was the exposure the program drew and the attention it garnered from around the Hudson Valley. Lunski”™s next order of business will be to locate an office in Newburgh to set up a GET satellite for that city. He said he hopes to announce a new location for GET”™s next office by June.