I headed to Queens to visit her at her salon and esthetician school, and when I arrived she was busy running around helping students and greeting customers. She told me not to worry, she was used to it and was always busy. Lately, Carmen had been working harder than ever, but her efforts were paying off—she had just learned that she was going to receive “The Small Business of the Year Award” from New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion.

When things calmed down for Carmen, we sat down to chat about her and her business. Before 2003, Carmen was running a successful salon when she recognized a new business opportunity. Frequently, aestheticians and hairdressers with licenses from their home countries would visit her salon inquiring about how to obtain a license in New York. Originally from Paraguay, Carmen was compelled to help women new to the U.S. find work. So, she decided to start her own aesthetician school, focusing on the Latin community and holding classes in Spanish.

Carmen says most of her business was built thanks to her loans with ACCION USA (we know her hard work had a lot to do with it), she recalls that before her first loan she only had two hair dressers on staff, and now she has nine. She also employs two doctors, one aesthetician and four class instructors.

Still, achieving this success does not mean that Carmen is ready to take a vacation! Instead, she is ready to continue growing her business by opening a second school in Astoria, Queens.

And about her well-deserved award: she says that it was completely unexpected, but she does admit this makes her really happy and she dedicates it completely to her whole staff and everyone who was so perseverant about succeeding in this wonderful project—including ACCION USA!

From left to right: Robert W. Walsh, Commissioner, NYC Small Business Services; Mayor Michael Bloomberg; ACCION USA President and CEO Gina Harman; Kevin Burke, CEO, Con Edison; Eileen Auld, New York State Community Relations Director, Citi

Last week, the NYC Department of Small Business Services hosted its seventh annual Neighborhood Achievement Awards at Gracie Mansion, the vacant mayor’s estate. (If you’ve ever seen Mayor Bloomberg’s extravagant, Upper East Side residence, you understand why he doesn’t live there.)  Every year, the Neighborhood Achievement Awards, or the “hoodie” awards for those of you fluent in the local urban vernacular, honor NYC’s most dedicated community development organizations and inspiring small businesses.  As one of twelve proud recipients, ACCION USA was recognized for our work serving the minority and women small business community, taking home the Minority and Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Advocate of the Year Award.  Currently, ACCION USA’s NY portfolio consists of 96% minority and women clients.  This comes as no surprise given that both of these populations continue to be disproportionally affected by the lack of access to business credit in the U.S.

It wasn’t until I attended the ceremony last Monday that I realized just how big of a deal these awards are within the city’s small business community.  I guess mention of the Mayor as the event’s emcee in the invite was not an obvious hint for me.  I figured these awards were your standard media-powered vehicle for showcasing the city government’s dollars at work.  And, as an NYC taxpayer, I felt a catered evening at Gracie Mansion was deserved, seeing as how I pay one eight millionth of the rent.  As it turns out, fancy cocktails and photos ops aside, my assumptions and cynicism were unfounded.

The Neighborhood Achievement Awards were a refreshing look at the organizations and entrepreneurs who are creating real change in our local communities, whether it be economic, social, or aesthetic.  More importantly, it was a celebration of the close-knit network of neighborhoods that create the city’s five boroughs and make NYC, arguably, the city with the strongest sense of community.  Especially at a time when gloomy economic news floods the headlines, positive reinforcement is a worthy reminder to us small business folks that we continue to play significant part in revitalizing our local economies and communities.  I know I can speak for ACCION USA in saying we view our award as added motivation to advance our critical mission into our twentieth year serving the individuals who are the backbone of the NYC economy.