Long Island's Black and Hispanic-owned businesses to be surveyed about their economic challenges

A survey is being launched Friday to help identify the economic challenges facing minority-owned businesses on Long Island.

The Long Island Minority Small Business Survey is a study by the Long Island Association business group, Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce and Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. It is being conducted by Long Island University’s Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling, and Analysis.

Thousands of minority business owners throughout Long Island have been contacted to take the survey through the two chambers of commerce and LIA reaching out to their membership.

Representatives of the joint initiative said the results will be compared with national small-business trends. The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and responses will be accepted until Oct. 13. It is available in English at surveymonkey.com/r/D22GHG3 and in Spanish at surveymonkey.com/r/HJTLZGJ.

The survey “will provide critical information on how economic pressures are currently impacting businesses and will inform the advocacy and programs administered by the LIA, LIAACC, and LIHCC,” said Matt Cohen, LIA president and CEO.

“Minority-owned businesses are facing similar challenges of the larger business community like inflationary pressures, hiring and lingering supply chain issues,” Cohen said. But he added they also have difficulties with access to capital and other resources needed to operate successfully.

Phil Andrews, president of the African American chamber, noted that because many Black-owned small businesses are one-person operations, they also lack the expertise to handle tasks such as contract applications and cash-flow management that would be handled by specialized staff at larger businesses.

Luis Vazquez, president of the Hispanic chamber and an LIA board member, said the voice of Long Island Hispanic-owned small businesses is essential in shaping a post-pandemic recovery strategy

“Each survey response is a vital piece of understanding the unique challenges this community faces and the support they require,” he said. “Their insights will drive initiatives and empower us to foster an environment where Hispanic small businesses can thrive again.”