The New York City Department of Small Business Services hosted its third-annual NYC Small Business Month Expo on Thursday, May 28, at 60 Pine Street in Manhattan, offering free resources, consultations, workshops and networking to business owners from all five boroughs. The free, citywide event brought all of New York City government under one roof, and the agency said more than 6,000 New Yorkers registered to attend the daylong event, which ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to the department, the expo was built around what it described as the six top challenges facing city small business owners: funding a business, growing a business, finding and retaining talent, building a customer base, saving time and money, and accessing legal services. SBS said the programming was aimed at owners at every stage of growth and across every industry, and that all New Yorkers planning to start, grow or operate a small business were encouraged to register online or through the NYC Small Business Month website.