Buffalo State Collaborates With Riverside Academy's Blue Economy Program to Create a Dual Credit Program

SBDC | Volume 16 | January 2021

Buffalo State Collaborates With Riverside Academy's Blue Economy
Program to Create a Dual Credit Program

Buffalo State College is collaborating with Riverside Academy’s Blue Economy Program to
launch a pilot dual-credit program for high school seniors during the Spring 2021
semester. The College Access Program simultaneously offers high school and college
credit for Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses taken at Riverside, giving
students an early start in college. Designated Buffalo State courses are taught by
Riverside faculty serving as Buffalo State adjunct instructors, enhancing the education of
students with instructional standards and learning outcomes the same as those of the
parallel college course. By providing students with the academic challenges of college-
level curricula during their senior year of high school, the College Access Program helps
develop skills and experience necessary for academic success in higher education.

For Riverside students, enrollment in these courses may provide future opportunities, such

as the ability to enroll in upper-level college courses or to complete a four-year degree in a
shorter amount of time. Upon successful completion of College Access Program
requirements, students will receive credit from Buffalo State for the courses in which they
have enrolled. These courses can be applied to additional study at Buffalo State or any
other SUNY school, and they may be eligible for transfer to other institutions.

For more information please contact Cecilia Pershyn at pershycm@buffalostate.edu or call
our office at 716 878 4030

Tom Longenecker
Owner and Head Trainer at Sit Means Sit

Tom Longenecker is the owner and head trainer at Sit Means Sit in Buffalo, NY. Tom has
always had a passion for dogs and has turned that passion into a career by bringing Sit
Means Sit to Buffalo. Tom began working as a trainer for Sit Means Sit Houston in 2015
and purchased his franchise in May 2018.

COVID 19 has obviously been a huge challenge, as it has for many small businesses.
Tom altered his programs to ensure strict compliance with social distancing regulations
and has a safety plan for his facility.

Ironically, COVID-19 has created a great training environment for dogs, as social
distancing is a built-in training tool! It also provided the SBDC Buffalo State office funding
used to support marketing needs of its clients. Clients of the center may receive up to five
hours of marketing consultation from local specialists – at no cost to them. These
services may include assistance in building a marketing strategy, branding, messaging,

and a critical eye to existing social media and website platforms.

As Tom was working with SBDC Business Advisor, Marilyn Roach, he took advantage of
these services. He wanted to promote his new facility while offering a safe, welcoming,
and memorable training experience. He worked with marketing consultant, Rob Hopkins
from Stronghold Media in collaboration with Tim Myers AKA Murkedelic to create a mural
of some of Tom’s canine clients. Hundreds of entries were made by current and past
customers and now the happy faces of six well-trained dogs grace the walls of the training
center.

Sit Means Sit offers a myriad of training packages including Private Lessons, Day Camps,
and Board and Train packages. If you are interested in a FREE consultation with Tom
please call 716.320.1565 or visit his facility at 3719 Union Rd in Cheektowaga. You can
also check out their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Buffalo Chess Association LLC
A Local Business Going Global During Covid-19

This Journey started with Mark Johnson. He started teaching chess in his free time to a
small group of kids in the local schools and libraries. Through those, he got to know the
parents of the kids involved who encouraged him to create a recurring group class. One
class turned into several and before long, he realized he needed a refined
curriculum. Mark knew John from high school and college. Mark was the Chess Club
President during his time at UB and had passed on the presidency to John before
graduating. John came on board with the idea of developing a business to offer Chess
lessons in Buffalo right away.

​Continuing on the trend of listening to good advice from their students’ parents, they came
 in contact with SBDC Business Advisor, Mauricio Canton Diaz. He assisted them in
 navigating the process of filing their formal business structure, developing a business plan
 and negotiating an arrangement with the local afterschool center Rainbow Bridge Culture
 Center.

Buffalo Chess Association started offering lessons to a group of 20 to 30 kids. In a matter
of six months, their customer base grew to 80 to 90 kids. Through the acquisition of Kids
Play Chess, they started offering Chess lessons at Elmwood Franklin School, Park
School, St Gregory the Great, Ledgeview Elementary, Tapestry Charter School and
Global Charter School. Business was growing and employees started coming in. Soon
they had 10 chess teachers working under the organization.

Everything changed when Covid-19 arrived. Schools closed, classes were put on hold and
their employees furloughed. Soon after, just days after lockdowns were declared in Erie
County, they decided to offer online classes via Zoom. Not sure if it was going to work,
they were surprised to see their client’s response. In fact, they found Chess lends itself
very well to be taught online. This realization expanded their ideas about how their
services could evolve. They began offering classes taught by a Chess Grandmaster living
in India. They offered online summer camps and suddenly, they received an opportunity
they could have never considered before – to teach online chess classes to students

throughout China.

The switch to online classes allowed them to take a more global view and realize that
chess as a service can be exported internationally. Chess helps teach kids invaluable
skills such as creative problem solving, risk assessment, thinking from another’s
perspective, and a healthy competitive mindset. These are benefits that are valuable to
anyone, regardless of their location. Mark and John hope to arm the next generation with
the tools they need to handle the world's challenges.

For more information, please contact them at:
Buffalo Chess Association LLC
(716) 622-4287
buffalochessassociation@gmail.com
www.buffalochessassociation.com

Business 4 Business
Monthly Small Business Owners Roundtable

What is B4B?
      A monthly roundtable for SBDC clients to re-energize
      A comfortable place to share ideas, challenges and best practices
      A forum to invite experts who members want to hear and learn from

Your own personal Virtual “board of directors”

Frequency: Every 2nd Thursday of the month from 4:00 to 5:00 pm from December 2020
to April 2021

Upcoming Sessions:

      TODAY! January 14th at 4:00 pm
      Thursday February 11th at 4:00 pm
      Thursday March 11th at 4:00 pm
      Thursday April 8th at 4:00 pm

Facilitated by: Bernie Aja – SBDC Business Advisor
Interested in joining? Contact: Bernie Aja - Ajab@buffalostate.edu or call our office 716
878 4030.

Intro to Quickbooks for Windows
Friday January 15

Small Business Tax Virtual Seminar
Tuesday January 19

New Year= New Opportunities Breaking Down
Government Procurement for MWBEs
Wednesday January 27

Funding Readiness 2021
Tuesday February 2

Canva, a Web-based Application for Easy Design

From social media to logos and business cards designs, Canva is a web-based
application that makes it very easy for anyone to create a wide variety of designs and
even order prints. It uses an extremely user-friendly interface and a “drag and drop” type
of interaction. Below a list of some of the designs you can create in Canva:

·   Logo
·   Instagram/Facebook post or story
·   Cards
·   Flyers/brochure
·   Postcard
·   Business card
·   Certificate
·   Label
·   Menu
·   Tag
·   T-Shirt
·   Magazine/book cover

You can upload your own pictures or pick from their photos, images, icons, videos and
other elements; they even provide customizable templates for all their design options. This
application is free to use and it also has “pro” version where you can upload your own
fonts and logos and get access to premium templates, stock photos, videos, audio and
graphics. The “pro” price is $12.95 per month. This application can save time and
resources for small business owners. Here a link to Canva and also Canva tutorials.

If you need assistance, please feel free to either call our office (716 878 4030)
or send one of our team members an email.

Dr. Susan A. McCartney, Director,
mccartsa@buffalostate.edu

Ms. Andrea Lizak, Associate Director and Business Advisor
Lizakal@buffalostate.edu

Ms. Cindi Thomason, Senior Business Advisor,
Thomascw@buffalostate.edu

Ms. Marilyn Roach, Business Advisor and Financial Specialist,
Roachma@buffalostate.edu

Ms. Karina Loera, Business Advisor and Innovation Specialist,
Loerabk@buffalostate.edu

Mr. Mauricio Canton Diaz, Business Advisor and MWBE Specialist,
Cantonm@buffalostate.edu

Ms. Bernadette Aja, Disaster Advisor,
Ajab@buffalostate.edu

Mr. Michael McCarley, Disaster Advisor,
Mccarlme@buffalostate.edu

Mr. Max-Mack-Hardiman, Business Advisor
mackhame@buffalostate.edu

Ms. Demetrice Jones-Davis, Office Manager,
Jonesdd@buffalostate.edu

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The Buffalo State College Small Business Development Center provides expert one-to-one
counseling, training, and instructional programs to help small businesses succeed. Any existing
small business, firm, or individual considering starting a small business may request assistance.
There are no charges for direct counseling by the SBDC under this program. Please contact the
center at (716) 878-4030 to set up an appointment.

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or
recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. Reasonable accommodations for
persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least 2 weeks in advance.