43
City launches 'get online' initiative
YOUNGSTOWN
Calling on Youngstown businesses to establish an online presence, Mayor John A. McNally on Monday kicked off the citywide “Get Your Business Online” initiative, aimed at helping businesses create their own websites.
A partnership with Google and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the program provides small-business owners with a custom domain name, web hosting and access to educational resources at no cost for one year.
“Although 97 percent of Internet users are now looking online to find local products and services, 58 percent of American businesses still do not have a website, and hopefully, through increased participation in Youngstown’s Get Your Business Online Program, we hope to close that gap in the city of Youngstown,” McNally said during a news conference at the Youngstown Business Incubator.
McNally said he first learned about Google’s program at the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he recorded a 40-second public-service announcement touting its potential to grow local businesses and create jobs.
“Businesses that are online are expected to grow 40 percent faster and are twice as likely to create jobs,” McNally said in the video, which is featured on the “Mayor’s Weekly Spotlight” section of the city’s website.
The city will host a 60-day social-media campaign, during which participating businesses can qualify to win a $5,000 technical-assistance grant to cover costs beyond the one year of free service provided by Google.
To promote the new initiative, the city has partnered with local organizations, including Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, the Youngstown Business Incubator, The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Empyra and Youngstown State University Small Business Development Center.
Representatives from those organizations were on hand Monday, as McNally urged them to continue to promote Get Your Business Online in their communities.
Al Stabilito, director of MYCAP’s Center for Family & Economic Success, said the initiative would help struggling low-income families to access assistance programs available within the city.
“Oftentimes, those people have computer access, but they don’t know where to find other programs that they may be eligible for,” he said. “If we get businesses in Youngstown to increase what they have available by putting a website up, at least for the year, then the people we serve will be able to find additional resources that we have.”
Meanwhile, McNally acknowledged that the impact of the Get Your Business Online program doesn’t have to stop at the city limits. “As the mayor of the city of Youngstown, I certainly hope this is something that residents of the city and businesses of the city of Youngstown take advantage of, but I don’t mind if people throughout Mahoning County and Trumbull County also take part in this program,” he said.
Since its launch in 2011, Google’s program has helped 300,000 businesses establish a presence online, the mayor’s office said.