When Della Brown’s husband first suggested she open her own taco restaurant, it seemed like nothing more than a dream. Now, nearly three years later, Della Brown is the owner of her own small business, Tacolicious. 

This was made possible, in part, by services run through Syracuse University. 

SU recently received an $83,750 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, under the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs Act. The money will help the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship, an extension of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, assist disabled and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs work toward their goals.

‘It is designed to assist very low-income folks and expose them to what it takes to start a small business,’ said Bernard Paprocki, district director of the Small Business Administration Syracuse District Office. 

This is the second year the PRIME grant has been given to the university, and it can be renewed annually up to five times. Those who wish to receive the PRIME grant must apply and be reviewed by a committee. The university is one of 92 nonprofit organizations to receive PRIME funding.

The grant requires funds to be matched by at least 50 percent from the recipients, according to the Small Business Administration’s program announcement.

The Falcone Center will use the money for projects like the Start-Up NY program, which seeks to guide participants through their entrepreneurial endeavors. National unemployment rates among disabled people are between 65 and 90 percent, according to information published by the program.

The Start-Up NY program was an essential component of Brown’s success, she said. Brown has been working with the South Side Innovation Center, part of the Start-Up NY program.

‘While I did a lot of the work, I couldn’t have done it without the South Side Innovation Center and the Start-Up NY program,’ Brown said. 

The classes offered through the Start-Up NY program and other affiliates of the Falcone Center allowed Brown to refine her idea. She worked for a year and a half on her business plan with Nancy Ansteth, a certified business adviser at the New York State Small Business Development Center. 

‘The classes are very intense, but they cover everything you need to know,’ Brown said. ‘I’m living proof. I needed those classes to achieve my dream, and now I’m living my dream.’

Nearly 30 percent of those working through the Start-Up NY program end up opening their own business, said Mirza Tihic, a program administrator at SU. He said he believes one of the reasons for this success is the business counseling, something the grant money will be put toward.

Start-Up NY business counselors focus on finding strengths, weaknesses and passions before discussion of a business plan even begins, Tihic said.

‘Other places that counsel, they go directly and start using the jargon,’ Tihic said. ‘People get afraid.’

University students have an opportunity to consult with the small businesses in the program as a part EEE 443: ‘Emerging Enterprise Consulting,’ offered through Whitman. The students work with the small business directly and become the support team. 

Being able to work with real entrepreneurs gives the students needed real-life experience, among other opportunities, Tihic said.

‘It also helps them to understand what it means to be low-income or have a disability, while giving the entrepreneurs resources that, otherwise, they would not be able to obtain,’ Tihic said. ‘If you look at the success of businesses, the ones that did the business because they were passionate about it were successful.’

The funding the PRIME grant offers goes to services that help harness the passion of the entrepreneurs and turns it into business success, such as with Brown and Tacolicious. 

Joanne Lenweaver, director of the Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Women’s Business Center, is familiar with Brown’s efforts to form her own business. Tacolicious opened Oct. 4. The restaurant has six employees and is looking to schedule its official grand opening some time in the next two weeks. 

‘I know she is a very passionate woman,’ Lenweaver said. ‘And she can’t wait for her shop to be a success.’

mjfahner@syr.edu

Published on October 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm