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MIKE GETS IT. MIKE GETS IT DONE.

THE ENDURING LEGACY OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONTINUES TO STAND IN THE WAY OF CREATING WEALTH IN BLACK COMMUNITIES.

CHILDREN WITH A GOOD EDUCATION ARE MORE LIKELY TO ACHIEVE THE AMERICAN DREAM.

KEEPING KIDS OUT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS THE KEY TO A BRIGHT FUTURE. MIKE’S GREENWOOD INITIATIVE IS A COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL APPROACH TO CREATING GENERATIONAL WEALTH FOR BLACK AMERICANS. IT INCLUDES: • Creating 1 million new Black homeowners. • Supporting the development of 100,000 new Black-owned businesses. • Investing $70 billion in neighborhoods that need it most.

DURING HIS TIME AS MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY, MIKE: • Increased teacher salaries by 43% and Black student graduation rates by 53%. • Reduced crime to historic lows by cutting the murder rate in half and reducing juvenile detention by 36%.

MIKE BLOOMBERG IS THE ONLY DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WITH A PLAN TO BUILD REAL WEALTH FOR BLACK AMERICA AND A TRACK RECORD FOR GETTING THINGS DONE.

For more information visit MikeForBlackAmerica.com

Create your business and financial plans W rite up your plans for a targeted, profitable business. Starting a business can be excit ing, but that excitement may be overshadowed by anxiety if you start this new adventure without detailed re search and plans to guide you along the way. In addition to guidance, a • Branding: This is the personality and messaging behind your busi ness. Maybe you want the public to see your business as innovative and cutting-edge or maybe your business is more about establish ing a trusting relationship with customers. • Market trends: These are the market is everyday families with toddlers, you’ll have to create a mar keting plan to reach them in places they’ll be. This could mean phys ically locating to where they are, like down the street from a school or park, or paying for ads on websites they use most.

Your business plan may also be these costs. You should also con sider speaking with current professionals in your industry, such as vendors, suppliers, and indus try groups. • Break-even point: When your business brings in just enough money to cover expenses. If you need help figuring that out, The whether this is a worthy business opportunity.

Evaluate your financing op tions

There are many ways to fund your business, but you have to choose the one that works for you. “You can put in sweat equity, use credit, raise venture capital, or even solicit funds

business and financial plan can help to attract investors and open up more options for funding your idea.

After you’ve determined that you have a viable business idea and your market research has given you enough insights, it’s important to ap ply this information to your business planning — especially as it relates to money.

Create your business and mar keting plan

Using the results of your market research, you can outline: • Details for your service or prod uct: This means a description of what it is and what the market is for it. challenges facing your potential industry, what’s most popular useful when you reach the stage of hiring staff. You will want to hire

Balance offers a good rundown. Setting up a consultation with an with crowdfunding,” says Dr. Dennis Kimbro, a business professor and

with your competition, and how you plan to address those factors.

people that fit the personality of your business and whose values align

• Objectives: What is your top pri ority in each aspect of your business, including, funding, marketing, and day-to-day operations? • Strategies: How do you plan to accomplish everything? Remem ber to be very detailed.

By incorporating the results of your market research into the over all vision of your business, you can better align your marketing efforts to drive sales and give yourself a com petitive edge.

For instance, if your target with it. Referring to your plan can help guide you in that process.

Understand the financials Next, analyze what it’ll take to

start, grow, and manage your com

pany. A great source for business

finance insights is the Hands on

Banking ® website. Fundamentally,

you should know: • Startup costs: How much you’ll

need to pay to get your idea go ing. Free resources like the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can help you calculate accountant to help you estimate costs could also be helpful in the long run. • Projections for profitability: Pre dictions about future income. It’s important to be realistic with these: Forbes gives a helpful guide on how to best forecast the revenue your business will likely bring in. This is also where the market research you’ve done can play a big role by helping you determine market size and the de mand for your business.

Once you have these estimates, it will be much easier to pin down best-selling author. “But which way is best for your business?” The SBA suggests considering both your personal and business re sources to help you arrive at the right financing strategy.

For instance, do you have: • Savings that you can draw from to get started?

- Depending on your situation, you may think about investing your own savings. Although this may not pay for everything, doing so shows lenders how much you believe in your own idea. • Collateral to secure a business

loan request?

- If yes, you could be ready for a loan or line of credit from a financial institution. For this option, you’ll want to have a good relationship with your banker so they can assist you in setting it up.

When starting out, all of these questions may not apply to your business just yet. However, if you approach a bank or investors, these are the questions they’ll likely ask. They’re also factors to keep in mind should your business outgrow your initial plan.

As you get closer to launching, your financial and business plans may change, and that’s OK. Re gardless of how they evolve, having a plan in place to guide you on this venture could make all the difference for your success.

© 2019 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved.

Minority or Woman Business Owner?

Make NYC your

Find out how the Department of Small Business Services can help you get certified.

next customer.

nyc.gov/getcertified Call 311 or visit

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Plan for Harlem’s Iconic Lenox Terrace Approved by City Planning Commission T he largest private affordable housing initiative in Harlem took a major step forward as the City Planning Commission voted 11-1 (with one abstention) to approve the plan for Lenox Terrace. More than 60 years after The Olnick Organization built Lenox Terrace, the plan will add approximately 400-500 affordable apartments – including some 160 units available to people earning minimum wage – new neighborhood-focused shops and restaurants, six acres of landscaped green space, and a wide array of amenities available to all Lenox Terrace residents, all at no additional cost to current residents. The project is expected to create over 2,700 on-site construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs, and result in the spending of several hundred million dollars at area businesses. It also will include a new home and urban farm space for Harlem Grown, the beloved community-based nonprofit.

“The best way to keep Harlem affordable is to create more affordable housing, and at Lenox Terrace that is only feasible through the proposed rezoning,” said Seth Schochet, president of The Olnick Organization. “Today’s approval by the City Planning Commission puts the largest private affordable housing initiative in Harlem on a pathway to a fully approved project and we look forward to continuing our dialogue LT-ACT about how to maximize benefits for current residents.” On January 22 nd , Olnick modified its ULURP application in direct response to feedback from Lenox Terrace residents, Community Board 10, and Manhattan Borough President Brewer. The modified application eliminated a 6-story building previously proposed on Lenox Avenue to retain the grand entry and driveway at 470 Lenox Avenue, a feature residents and others in the community indicated is symbolically important. It also changed the requested zoning from C6-2 to R8 with a commercial overlay (by comparison, the current zoning is R7 with a commercial overlay) in response to concerns about the “commercial” designation of a C6-2 district. With the approval of the City Planning Commission, the project will go before the City Council for final approval.

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