Small Business Month launched in Dudley

Serghino René

Mayor Menino kicked off Small Business Month last week in Dudley Square’s Boston Business Development Center, where he introduced the “30 in 30” initiative — a campaign designed to recognize 30 different small businesses that have worked with the city as a means of fostering job creation, promoting entrepreneurship and showing community support during the month of June.

“Strong businesses make strong neighborhoods,” said Menino. “Small businesses are the nucleus of a neighborhood.”

Nubian Notion, a retail establishment in Dudley Square, was the first small business to receive recognition. The mayor presented Nubian Notion with a $35,000 check to assist them in responding to the growing demands of their customers.

Citing recent market research done by OKM Associates on the Dudley neighborhood, Menino pointed out the primary areas of potential market opportunity, which include 58,000 residents living within one mile of Dudley, 8900 employees working within a half-mile of Dudley and 16,000 commuters traveling through the neighborhood daily.

However, despite these great assets, there are also unmet needs within the Dudley Square district.

“We know that too many residents shop at other districts and too many district employees don’t eat lunch or shop in Dudley Square,” said Menino.

As a means of improving the economic stability of the neighborhood, business assistance teams at the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) and the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) have been working with the local Dudley businesses to develop a business plan. The plan will provide door-to-door outreach to all Dudley Square merchants, as well as BRA-led focus groups for merchants to identify new opportunities and grow their customer bases.

There will also be district-wide marketing assistance in which the DND will commit $10,000 and the DND and BRA will assist in raising $30,000 for Project Place — a nonprofit agency that serves homeless men and women in the Boston area — to improve the cleanliness of the neighborhood.

“Dudley Square is changing,” said Menino. “I’m mindful that growing pains can be challenging, but today I’m here to say that our commitment to this neighborhood remains strong.”