SBA begins recruitment for this year’s Emerging Leaders program class

DeWITT, N.Y. — The Syracuse district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched its recruitment for the next class in its Emerging Leaders program.

The SBA describes it as a free business-training program for Syracuse small businesses.

The seven-month “intensive,” executive-entrepreneurship education series includes about 100 hours of classroom time per participant and provides the opportunity for small-business owners to work with experienced mentors; attend workshops; and develop connections with their peers, city leaders, and financial communities.

Interested small-business owners can find information on applying and eligibility criteria at www.sba.gov/ny/syracuse.

Since 2008, the SBA Emerging Leaders program has helped more than 5,000 small-business owners nationwide grow their businesses with support, resources, and skills to succeed, the SBA says.

With the 2017 class, more than 100 Central New York entrepreneurs have completed the program since it launched in Syracuse.

Recess Coffee, a DeWitt–based coffee company owned by Jesse Daino and Adam Williams since 2007, hosted a news conference Friday at its headquarters at 114 Boss Road in DeWitt to launch the recruitment effort.

Daino, a company co-owner, graduated from the Emerging Leaders program in 2016. Using the growth plan developed in the SBA program, Recess Coffee increased sales by 20 percent in 2017 and purchased its 16,000-square-foot headquarters building in October, the SBA said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com