In the movie "Miracle on 34th Street," Macy's department store generated goodwill among shoppers by referring them to its competitors when it didn't have desired merchandise in stock. These days, Macy's wants to lend a helping hand to budding businesspeople - who, by the way, might one day end up supplying Macy's with original fashions and other items.

If you have the rights to sell products intended to be sold in a "department store" environment, you have until Jan. 22 to apply for The Workshop at Macy's, a vendor development program. Approximately 20 women or minority businesspeople will be chosen to work with Macy's in four-and-a-half days of sessions at its corporate offices in New York City to develop their businesses to the next phase of their growth. Classes, which will be held this spring, will cover strategic planning, branding, merchandising, and sales and marketing, and access to capital.

A few of those selected are expected to begin selling their products through Macy's in the future, and possibly as soon as next year. This is the second year of the program.

"The Workshop at Macy's is a program geared to businesses that are owned by women or minorities," says Macy's spokesperson Orlando Veras. "It is part of our ongoing commitment to supplier diversity. Our goal is to offer products that meet the wants and needs of the wide variety of customers we service."

When asked, Veras said there were no small, home-based businesses among the 22 chosen to participate in the program last year - "with the eligibility requirements, the participants tend not to be home-based entrepreneurs," he said.

Examples of the types of items that applicants already produce include apparel and accessories, home goods and confectionery items such as chocolates, he said. Those chosen this year will receive "tools, expert advice and real world knowledge" to take their enterprise to the next level. "It may mean an expansion or refocusing of priorities for some or it may be moving on to fulfilling orders from a national retailer like Macy's," said Veras.

To find out more about the program and to fill out an application, go to the workshop's overview page.

About the Author
Greg Holden is EcommerceBytes Contributing Editor. He is a journalist and the author of many books, including "Starting an Online Business For Dummies," "Go Google: 20 Ways to Reach More Customers and Build Revenue with Google Business Tools," and several books about eBay, including "How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business," second edition, and "Secrets of the eBay Millionaires, both published by Osborne-McGraw Hill. Find out more on Greg's website, GregHolden.com, which includes his blog, a list of his books, and his fiction and biographical writing.