Queens Night Market to host free small business seminars

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Queens Night Market to Host Small Business Series for Third Year:

The Queens International Night Market, which recently announced plans to return for its fourth season (opening April 21st, 2018), is hosting a free series of small business seminars starting next week. The seminars will be held on February 13th, February 20th, and February 26th from 6:00-8:30pm at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City.

Since it launched, the Queens Night Market has welcomed more than 600,000 visitors, helped launch 200 new businesses in New York, and represented approximately 80 countries through its vendors and their food, art, and merchandise. In 2017, the event averaged 9,000 people each Saturday night.

This will be the third year that the Queens Night Market produces the seminar series, and this year’s program is in collaboration with Empire State Development (ESD), the economic development arm for New York State, and the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC).

The small business seminars are open to vendors interested in the Night Market, and also open to individuals and families interested in starting any type of business in NYC. Over 150 aspiring entrepreneurs enrolled for the seminar series the last two years.

John Wang, the founder of the Queens Night Market, said, “The Queens Night Market really rides on the shoulders of our vendors, who are all small businesses, and the majority of whom make their business debut at our event. They are critical to the success and popularity of the Night Market, so we make it our mission to promote and support small businesses as much as we can. We hope that aspiring entrepreneurs find these small business seminars helpful, informative, and encouraging.”

“Small businesses are essential to New York’s economy and ESD is proud to partner with Queens Night Market to facilitate this year’s Small Business Seminars,” said ESD President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky. “The seminar series will provide small business owners with the resources they need to make educated decisions about accessing new capital, business plans and marketing technologies necessary to grow their businesses and build strong local and regional economies.”

The seminars will cover a range of topics such as creating a business plan, branding and marketing, social media and technology, securing financing, and obtaining permits. Seminar presenters include experts from the Queens Economic Development Corporation, CAMBA Corporation, Business Center for New Americans, Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, BOC Capital Corporation, Kiva Zip, the Department of Health, and FoodtoEat.com.

The seminars will also cover Night Market topics and feature guest speakers, expert panels, networking, and Q&A opportunities. Popular Night Market vendors will share their stories, successes, and challenges with the attendees. The guest speakers will include Queens Thread, Sweet Zahra, The August Tree, In Patella, Joon, The Malaysian Project, Joey Bats Sweets, Theobucket, Burmese Bites, and Moon Man.

Aspiring entrepreneurs interested in attending the free seminars can find more details and RSVP for individual sessions here:

Session I – February 13th, 6:00-8:30pm: First Steps to Formalize Your Business: http://bit.ly/2018-session-i

Session II – February 20th, 6:00-8:30pm: Serving & Developing Your Customer Base: http://bit.ly/2018-session-ii

Session III – February 26th, 6:00-8:30pm: Tips for Running a Successful Business & Access to Capital: http://bit.ly/2018-session-iii

2018 Vendor Application Now Open:

The Queens Night Market has officially opened vendor applications for its 2018 season. Interested vendors should apply online by following this link http://bit.ly/qnm-vendor-2018, or directing questions to: vendor@queensnightmarket.com

Last year, the event received approximately 600 vendor applications. As in previous years, vendor curation will focus on featuring food and products from as many countries represented in NYC as possible, highlighting cultural heritage and telling stories through the vendors.

Website: queensnightmarket.com

Facebook: facebook.com/QueensNightMarket

Instagram: instagram.com/queensnightmarket/

Twitter: twitter.com/QnsNightMarket

About ESD’s Division of Small Business and Technology Development:

Empire State Development’s Division of Small Business and Technology Development directs a wide array of programs and initiatives to support small business growth and to help entrepreneurs maximize their opportunities for success. Small businesses – of up to 100 employees – make up 98 percent of all businesses in New York State. The Division supports small businesses by providing and implementing: access to capital, through partnerships with financial institutions, alternative lenders, direct lending and financial assistance programs; training and technical assistance that incentivize businesses to launch, grow and innovate; and access to information and resources, including industry-university partnerships through which businesses can develop and commercialize promising new products and technologies.