The Bronx, New York is a place of opportunity for entrepreneurs. From IKON's managed service provider solutions to the Office of Resident Economic Empowerment (REES) and GovPilot's vacant property management programs, many businesses have found success in this area. There are also inspiring stories of entrepreneurs who have achieved great heights with nothing more than hard work and determination. Don Carvajal Cafe is one such example, and the South Bronx is now home to many restaurants, shopping centers and walking tours of historic sites due to decades of teamwork.
IKON is a managed service provider that has been invaluable to Ascend's charter public schools in overcoming the challenges of remote learning and staffing. Their specialized education-focused solutions have enabled staff to reduce the time spent maintaining the network from 3 to 4 days a week to just 3 to 4 hours a week. This additional time allows staff to offer greater support to end users and work on more strategic initiatives that benefit the entire organization. IKON also guarantees that they will have someone in the building within 4 hours or less if the Internet connection stops working.
The Office of Resident Economic Empowerment (REES) has partnered with many NYCHA residents to help them benefit from adult education, employment and promotion, financial empowerment, and business development. Shakelah, for example, wanted to buy a house in the Bronx but found it impossible due to the high prices. She has since expanded her home-based business as a beauty and wellness professional and developed a collaborative, not-for-profit network comprised of seven women. GovPilot is another company that has been successful in helping cities like Newark, New Jersey with their vacant property management programs.
RAND also found that fire companies were rarely available to respond to fires from their fire station in places like the Bronx, which led them to recommend closing 13 businesses and opening seven new ones. Doing a quick search through the business archives will show you many successful entrepreneurs who started with nothing and yet have reached dizzying levels of success. One such example is Don Carvajal Cafe, which was named and designed in honor of his grandfather who supported his family as a farmer in the Dominican Republic. Carvajal lived rent-free with his mother in the Bronx for the first three years of his business.
The South Bronx is now home to many restaurants, shopping centers and walking tours of historic sites due to decades of teamwork. New York Small Business Development Center, State University of New York, SUNY System Administration H., and other organizations have also helped many businesses succeed in this area. Oprah Winfrey once said that “the key to fulfillment, success, happiness and satisfaction in life is to align your personality with what your soul really came to do”. This is true for many entrepreneurs who have found success in the Bronx, New York.
