Long Island Business News (Long Island, NY), September 15, 2006, Friday

Copyright 2006 Dolan Media Newswires
Long Island Business News (Long Island, NY)

September 15, 2006

SECTION: NEWS

HEADLINE: President/CEO of Long Island Development Corp. uses long-range thinking to achieve success

BYLINE: Natalie Canavor

BODY:
The big stuffed Mickey and Minnie Mouse dolls occupying a chair in her office give only a glimpse of Roz Goldmacher's decorating predilection. At home, Mickey and Minnie take the form of seven-foot statues in the garden, a totem pole in the living room, dining room chairs, bathroom tiles and fixtures...
The collection expresses more than Goldmacher's love of things that make her smile. It reflects her admiration for her preeminent role model, Walt Disney.
"He looked at the Florida swampland and he saw Disney World," she says. "He was a true visionary, big-picture thinker. They are still building based on his plans from 50 years ago. "
Goldmacher has consciously built her own career on long-range thinking, supplemented by the ability to adjust vision to circumstance. She'd planned a career in union organizing while at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, but in her senior year, her mother suffered a stroke. Goldmacher decided to stay close to home, and chose law school.
After earning her degree, she worked in a law office representing non-bank lenders. Shortly after setting up her own practice, she heard about a new government lending program going through Congress. She envisioned how access to loans could help Long Island businesses, and in 1980, formed the Long Island Development Corp., the first company of its kind in the country.
Supplying SBA loans and a growing roster of business support programs, LIDC remained a side operation to Goldmacher's law practice until 1992. Today, Goldmacher is full-time president and chief executive not only of LIDC, but of the Greater New York Development Co., which plans to expand into New Jersey and Connecticut. LIDC's own building in Bethpage houses nearly 30 staff members.
What's worked for Goldmacher? "I don't know if it comes from being a woman or not, but I pay attention to details and to needs," she says. "My management style may reflect being a woman. "
She is proud that LIDC received the family-friendly award given by the Family & Children's Association a few years ago. "I was shocked, because everything we did just made good business sense," she says. "We had to create benefits that helped employees but didn't cost much. "
These have ranged from encouraging an employee to bring her new baby to work to weekly chiropractor visits. And she organizes company-wide conference trips. "You get much more efficiency and productivity with a team attitude," she notes. Goldmacher acknowledges that "even today, when it comes to commercial real estate and economic development, it's still a man's world. " Her theory about why this has not held her back: "Probably because I'm pushy, and professional credentials like my law degree help. Innocence has propelled me forward as well. I expect not to be treated differently. "
Another strategy: "Create your own group to deal with," she says. In 1984, she did exactly that, as an organizer of the Women Economic Developers of LI. "We wanted to create our own 19th hole," she says.
Nevertheless, the number of women involved in high-level commercial real estate is now lower than the number at that time, which was 15. Nor has she seen growth for women in commercial lending.
Goldmacher recommends aggressive participation in professional groups. "I need to feel I'm adding value to an organization, and to my own as well-to do that you need to be in a position of power," she says. "So I'm on the board or in a prominent role. "
How to get there? "Pay your dues, do the work, ask," according to Goldmacher. LIDC operates a program specifically for women entrepreneurs, the LI Small Business Assistance Co. It offers loans in the $2,000-$10,000 range, seminars, and technical help. This brings in many hopeful women business owners. Her advice to them: plan more. "Many small businesses have a good idea, but don't look at the whole picture," Goldmacher says. "Better planning can counter the likelihood of failure. "
Many women also need to overcome the lack of teamwork-building sports experience, she thinks. "Women give up too easily in negotiating, which loses you respect and negotiating ability," she says. "We need to work on standing and defending our territory. We're taught to do that for our families, but not for ourselves or the outside territory. "
And take the long view: "With a $10,000 loan I'm creating a customer 15 years from now, when that woman's business has grown and she's ready to buy a building," Goldmacher says. "People shouldn't always be out for the short-term fix. Look at the possibilities. "