EDWARD FITZGERALD

Regular Presenter At Startup Adk

“It dovetails well with what I do on a daily basis, because the matters I handle include business formation, sales, purchases, dissolutions, and also working with people when they run into issues when operating their businesses,” Fitzgerald said.

The legal considerations surrounding starting a business are just one of several subject matters covered in StartUp ADK. The course also includes presentations by professionals in marketing, market research, bookkeeping, tax issues and cash flow, financial projections, human resources, business insurance and more.

“You could do a whole semester on just the legal topics, and we try to cover it all in two hours,” Fitzgerald said.

The course is small enough that participants have time to ask questions, many of which, Fitzgerald said, center on whether to incorporate the business or make it a limited liability company.

they can recognize, ‘There’s a legal issue here that I might want to talk to an attorney about,’” Fitzgerald said. “We get it: Most of the people coming to this seminar are trying to be careful with limited startup resources and don’t have a blank check for legal costs; therefore, we try to impart on them that it’s cheaper to address certain matters — forming an entity or addressing responsibilities among business partners — up front.”

Fitzgerald provides some worst-case scenarios to prepare would-be business owners. “By the end, it can come across as doom and gloom, but we remind everyone that many legal issues can be avoided or have their impact reduced with advance planning,” he said.

Among the many topics he covers are entity formation, liability, zoning and risk management.

But he also stresses the importance of seeking counsel before something snowballs into a bigger issue. “We remind them that we’re not asking them to memorize everything; we’re just trying to give examples of decision points, so when a legal issue arises,

Providing a community service is why Fitzgerald has participated in StartUp ADK for the better part of a decade. “It’s always reinvigorating to see people thinking about starting a business and being reminded how much effort they have to put in. There are so many things they have to think through.”

“It’s a great resource for the community,” he said. “It’s great for people who want to start a business, to be able to get information from all types of areas in one resource, and to learn as much beforehand and learn less on the fly.”

At SUNY Adirondack, we talk a lot about how we can best support students while they earn a degree, pursue job training or “upskill.” The economic impact of our graduates is widely publicized, as is our work with regional officials and employers to ensure we meet their needs.

Less discussed but as important is how SUNY Adirondack supports small-business development. For more than a decade, the college has partnered with Warren and Washington counties local and economic development consortia to offer StartUp ADK, an eightweek course focused on business planning and skill development for entrepreneurs.

Thousands of local people with big ideas have taken the class, which features regional experts in marketing, market research, bookkeeping, taxes, financial projections, legal considerations for business owners, human resources and insurance, and introduces participants to local resources that support new business. Those who successfully complete the program are eligible for loans through the counties’ local development corporations.

The result is a thriving regional small-business sector that fosters creativity and community and boosts the economy.

Since Washington County started the program in 1995, its Local Development Corporation has provided nearly $2 million in business loans to program graduates. In turn, those businesses provide jobs, services, goods and local character, enriching our region and boosting its already-robust offerings to tourists, further driving an integral regional economic booster.

Among successful participants are such prominent businesses as:

• Advokate;

• Battle Hill Brewing Company;

• Caliva’s Cookies;

• Common Roots;

• Dancing Ewe Farm;

• Lake George Distilling Company;

• Locust Grove Farm;

• Love is on Lake George/ Love is in New York;

• Sidekick Creative;

• Slate Town Brewing Company;

• and many more

While SUNY Adirondack certainly cannot take credit for their accomplishments, we are proud to have provided them with a foundation for success. The contacts they make during StartUp ADK give them ties to the business community, a built-in support system and experienced professionals from whom to seek advice.

By starting their own businesses, these industrious entrepreneurs forge their own paths to create the careers they want. Just as we recognize not all students learn the same way, we understand the 9-to-5 life isn’t right for everyone. Instead, they see a need they can fulfill doing what they love — baking, landscaping, sawing, writing, brewing — whatever that may be.

Sincerely,