When Jonathan Ortiz first started his business, Creative Focus Designs, the biggest thing keeping him up at night wasn’t the work itself. It was the isolation.
“As a business owner, sometimes you feel like you’re in it by yourself,” Ortiz said. “The biggest hurdle is having access to the information.”
On Wednesday, Ortiz joined community leaders and bank executives to cut the ribbon on the new JPMorgan Chase branch at Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.
But for Ortiz, this wasn’t just a celebration of a new building; it was a celebration of the “Coaching for Impact” program that changed his career.
The program provided Ortiz with a “50-foot view” of his company, breaking down industry trends and financial gaps he hadn’t seen before.
“Someone else looking at your business and saying, ‘Hey, have you tried to do this?’ has been phenomenal,” Ortiz told the Press.
The new branch is part of a broader strategy by Chase to bridge the gap between big banks and local neighborhoods.
Nicole King, the Community Banking Lead for New York City and Long Island, emphasized that this location is designed to tackle historical barriers.
“We know that historically, in communities, there’s a mistrust for banks,” King said. “We want to make sure that every resident understands that they can walk into a Chase branch and get the help and resources that they need.”
King noted that while Chase has been on Long Island for over 100 years, this new model is about being “the bank for all.” Perhaps the most significant feature of the new community-focused model is accessibility. King confirmed that residents do not need to be Chase customers to utilize the branch’s financial health workshops or business mentoring programs.
Source: LI Press
