Nonprofit group NY Pace is dedicated to growing small businesses in underserved communities.

Industry professionals volunteer as mentors to help out growth-oriented entrepreneurs. 

Johanna Edmondson, the director and founder of the Female Fight Club in Riverdale, used NY Pace to help boost membership by 30% for her fitness club geared toward helping women. 

“We see so many businesses just closing, and I didn't want to be one of those. This is a women only fitness club. So it's a different niche,” said Edmondson.

She told News 12 NY Pace came up with objectives to lead to growth. They added fitness class packages and worked on increasing brand recognition.

“My experience was incredible with NY Pace. It was a game changer," she said.

Agata Staszak was Edmondson’s mentor. She used her industry experience as a consultant to help the business grow.

“It's really good to be able to put those consulting skills in use and help smaller businesses like the Female Fight Club because they're so important to the community, they really create a thriving community around them, which really helps the neighborhoods," she said.

Staszak helped Edmondson through an eight-week mentoring program, where entrepreneurs from across the NY Metropolitan area were coached on growing their businesses for the long-term.

Through group and individual sessions, each entrepreneur had specific goals targeted to meet their businesses’ needs. 

“Transforming these communities little by little through jobs being retained and creating access to capital to them, being able to grow their bottom line. That is what NY Pace is focused on,” said Ibrahima Souare, the executive director of NY Pace. 

The eight-week mentorship program runs at least three cohorts per year. There are up to 12 entrepreneurs in each cohort. 

The group wants to focus on underserved communities. A total of 60% of the businesses they support are women-led, and 90% of the businesses they support are led by people of color. 

NY Pace is on a mission to support 500 entrepreneurs by the end of 2026. To learn more, visit their website here.

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