Business Mentor NY Program

A message from Empire State Development’s Division of Small Business & Technology Development:

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and the urgent need for professional assistance and advice for NYS based Small Businesses, we are leveraging the Business Mentor NY system as a method of connecting small businesses in need of help with the growing number of business professionals that are stepping up to volunteer to help in this time of crisis.

From around the state businesspeople are stepping up to act as Mentors that can guide small businesses through this crisis with financial and related advice on acquiring capital and applying for and leveraging various disaster resources including the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and the SBA Paycheck Protection Program. This COVID-19 Volunteer Mentor Task Force is comprised of business people from various disciplines, and they have volunteered to try to help you!

Business Mentor NY is the state's first large scale, web-based, hands-on mentoring program geared to help entrepreneurs and established small businesses overcome challenges to grow. Mentor volunteers act as pro-bono advisors or sounding boards for the small business owners that are looking for guidance.

Providing a potential solution to accessing needed information and expertise through a streamlined process, enabled by technology.
It is as simple as visiting the website www.businessmentor.ny.gov and creating a 10-minute profile by clicking Join Now.

Simply use the search tool to select someone you think could help and start a conversation online. Once you connect you communicate in whatever way you both choose.

For more information refer to the “Walkthrough for Business Seeking Help with COVID-19” document.

Visit: https://esd.ny.gov/business-mentor-ny-covid-19-assistance or
https://businessmentor.ny.gov/learn-more/about for more information on Business Mentor NY.

Also you can visit: https://esd.ny.gov/small-business-administration-sba-covid-19-loans for other live resources such as our Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers, NY Small Business Development Centers, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) around the state.

Together we will survive and move forward!