Atlantic City, NJ – City Hall – On February 24, 2020, the Office of the Mayor of Atlantic City hosted its first information session for its new Small Business Academy (“The Academy”) expressly for city residents. Mayor Marty Smalls Sr. was on hand to greet interested city residents and share his vision for the program.
The nine-week course will focus on the fundamentals of starting a business, including business planning, marketing, credit, and accounting. The Academy includes several opportunities for participants to network with successful entrepreneurs from Atlantic City and other business leaders.
Collaborating to produce the Academy are the Stockton University Small Business Development Center, led by Carol Waties, SBA SCORE’s Chivonne Hitchens, Atlantic Cape Community College, and LAEDA, represented by Jamila Powell and Ray Lamboy.
The series will begin on Tuesday March 24th at Stockton University and run every Tuesday through May 19th. Each session is scheduled to start at 5pm.
LAEDA has been asked to conduct two units of the nine-week course: Money, Banking, and Credit, and The Small Business Academy Pitch Competition. “I thank the Mayor and his team for inviting LAEDA to participate in this new endeavor,” said Ray Lamboy, President and CEO. “We look forward to assisting these Atlantic City entrepreneurs on their journey to business ownership.” Money, Banking, and Credit will orient the budding entrepreneurs on the importance of finances to their business success and how credit factors into the long term success of a business. “Credit is the key to capital,” said Jamila Powell, Program Manager of the LAEDA Women’s Business Center. “Capital for a business is like the air we breathe to survive; without capital, the business will die.”
To learn more about the series and to sign-up, contact the Mayor’s Office Director of Constituent Services – Bruce Weekes at 609-347-5400 or email at
bweekes@cityofatlanticcity.org .