MADISON COUNTY — On Jan. 10, local small business owners, “solopreneurs,” and aspiring entrepreneurs were invited to SUNY Morrisville for the first Madison County Small Business Summit.

Presented by the Madison County Rural Equity Group, the event was geared toward small businesses of all types and in all stages. The wide range of topics covered included access to capital, regional resources for small businesses, access to international markets, cybersecurity, government contracting, workforce development, marketing, and women in rural business.

The Madison County Rural Equity Group consists of representatives of the following local, state, and national small business support agencies: the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA), Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Madison County, the Colgate University Entrepreneurship & Innovation program, The HUB – Partnership for Community Development (PCD), Mohawk Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Madison County Industrial Development Agency, Onondaga Community College SBDC, SCORE Central NY, SUNY Morrisville, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the WISE Women’s Business Center, and the Workforce Development Institute.

“[Our] mission is to promote outreach to Madison County businesses [to let] them know they aren’t forgotten about and that they have access to resources just like urban communities do,” said Melissa Davis, one of the summit organizers.

Davis is the director of The Hub, a NYS-certified business incubator in downtown Hamilton that is made possible through a partnership between Colgate’s entrepreneurship & innovation program and the PCD, a non-profit that works to enhance sustainable economic opportunity and community vitality in the village and town of Hamilton and the surrounding areas.

The HUB, which also works closely with the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, serves as the central location for the Madison County Rural Equity Group.

“The idea is that you can call Melissa at The Hub, and she will help you get in touch with the person who is going to help you with the question you have,” said Madison County Public Information Officer Samantha Field. “If you have a question about how to get your employees trained, [for example], she will help you hook up with workforce development. Workforce development has training money and things like that that you might not know about, but Melissa and The Hub know about those things, and they will get you connected with the right partner. That’s why we have everything at The Hub.”

According to Davis, 98 percent of NY businesses are small businesses.

“Madison County is a leader in small businesses,” Davis said. “We are a community that relies on each other to survive. Without our small businesses, our community members would lack products and services. Our businesses are a vital part of what makes living in Madison County so wonderful.”

The Madison County Rural Equity Group started meeting in November 2022 and has since met with local officials, distributed information at various community events, and dedicated more than six months to the massive effort of organizing its small business summit.

Leading up to the event, CACDA Executive Director Lauren Lines said the timing of the summit was particularly good for Cazenovia, as its small businesses are adjusting to the loss of Cazenovia College.

“CACDA has made small business development a priority over the last few years,” she said. “We have provided micro-enterprise grants to several small businesses, and we have recently been awarded $90,000 in two grants for marketing and advertising everything Cazenovia has to offer. We are looking forward to the summit and finding ways to continue these efforts.”

In addition to speakers, networking opportunities, and 12 different breakout sessions, the summit also featured one-on-one advising sessions with the Mohawk Valley SBDC, the Onondaga SBDC, CCE of Madison County, WISE, and SCORE.

The event’s keynote speakers were Dan Rickman, Upstate NY district director at the U.S. Small Business Administration; Dr. Suzan Harkness, provost at SUNY Morrisville; Corey Mosher, executive director of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources; Dan Kolinski, regional director at Empire State Development; and Brian Murray, NYS director at USDA Rural Development.

“We are finding in these times that if you try to go solo on any project, it’s just daunting,” said Murray, who is originally from Peterboro, NY. “Whether it’s housing projects or sewer and water or whatever, it’s just huge. The more partners that you can bring in, the more expertise you bring in, the more technical assistance you bring in, [the easier it is to] make it happen. Events like this bring those individuals together so that you can make those contacts and so that you can make a project actually happen.”

He also explained that USDA Rural Development supports economic growth in NYS by investing in everything from broadband and health clinics to housing and business programs.

“We kind of run the gamut as far as economic development in local communities,” he said. “We are definitely a partner of many of the agencies that are here.”

Special video messages from U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado were also presented during the summit.

According to Davis, the Madison County Rural Equity Group hopes to make its small business summit an annual event.

Field said the group is also planning to present information and Q&A sessions at all the Madison County libraries as a continuation of its community outreach efforts.

To learn more about The Hub and the small business assistance available through the Madison County Rural Equity Group, visit hubmadisoncounty.org/our-partners, call 315-228-8729, or email [email protected].