In response to COVID-19, entrepreneurs are leveraging the internet to generate new customer leads and sales channels. Selling online gives you access to millions of potential customers, and with a little re-framing, this webinar series provided registrants with tools to tap into their talents to provide additional revenue streams.

In this three-part series, Pace University Adjunct Professor Julie Gauthier covered online sales techniques and tools, drawing on her experience selling web development tutoring services, distributing digital learning materials, and operating an online custom gift shop. 

Part 1: Selling Services Online

What do your friends go to you for advice for, or compliment you on? How can you translate that knowledge, or those innate talents, into an online business? Is it a service or product? In this session, Gauthier lead a brainstorm and covered strategies for taking one's business online and which platforms are commonly available.

This webinar provided an introduction for the small business owner and entrepreneur with issues related to contracts and risk management, including the importance and significance of:

• Contracts and mutual assent;

• Risks and responsibilities of the contractual relationship;

• Assessing business risk for working with Letter Agreements, Memoranda of Understanding, Letters of Intent, and other less formal contract documents;

• Understanding key contractual elements and clauses to mitigate risk and spot issues on which to seek legal assistance; and

• Working effectively with counsel.

Hosted by the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC), this session was led by Jessica Magaldi, the Ivan Fox Scholar and Professor of Business Law at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business and a legal and business advisor to emerging technology companies.

Are  you looking to identify the purchasing power or demographics for your  business’s target area, or understand how your business’s expenses compare to industry norms? What about securing a targeted list of  business development contacts to land new sales?

If you’re interested in learning how to secure market research data like this for your business, all at no cost, then join the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) as we partner with the New York SBDC’s Research Network to explore the power of Market Research to build/launch your small business. 

In  this session, Research Network Director Darrin Conroy reviewed a  range of market research options available to NYSBDC clients in a  facilitated discussion with Pace University Regional Director Andrew  Flamm.

Join the Pace University SBDC for a visit to the Shopify New York Space. Learn how to leverage pre and post holiday traffic for quick wins. We will enjoy a guided tour of the Space, including the photo and podcast studios, and discuss best practices for holiday sales, offer tips for postseason planning to carry you into a successful 2022, and make time for Q&A. This event will be in-person at 131 Greene St. New York, NY. All persons must register in advance and proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required to attend.

¿Qué es Shopify? ¿Cómo funciona la venta online? ¿Qué características tiene disponibles? ¿Cómo puede Shopify ayudarte a hacer crecer tu negocio?

En este taller, cubriremos la historia de Shopify, cómo funciona para ayudar a los negocios a vender y escalar, así como obtener una comprensión de los costos que implica. Esta es una clase esencial para cualquiera que esté considerando abrir un negocio o exapandir sus ventas por internet.

Did you know that businesses lose on average 5% of their gross revenues to fraud each year? Understanding how to identify and eliminate fraud is essential, as it can be the difference between whether a business remains profitable or not.

In this webinar hosted by the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Yigal Rechtman, CPA, and Adjunct Professor at Pace University's Lubin School of Business, reviewed internal controls to help protect small businesses from fraud in the workplace. He also helped attendees understand and assess risks to internal controls, and how to develop soft skills in addressing instances of suspected fraud.

The Pace  University Small Business Development Center (SBDC)partnered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to offer a Trademark Basics webinar. As part of the session, the USPTO's Jason  Lott, Attorney Advisor, Trademarks Customer Outreach, navigated through the intricacies of trademarks and reviewed:

- how trademarks, service marks, domain names, and business names all differ.

- benefits of federal trademark registration over common law rights.

- critical factors in selecting a trademark that will be federally registrable and legally protectable.

- clearance searches and whether to use an attorney to help avoid cease-and-desist letters.

- how to avoid "scams" perpetrated by companies not associated with the USPTO.

- what happens after registration and how to keep a registration alive.

Cybersecurity should be of high  concern for every small business because of the persistent threat of  cybercrime and the many increasing legal requirements. Help us celebrate  National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and learn foundational information plus practical tips to secure your  organization and the personal information you are entrusted with. Attendees learned how this can translate to compliance with important cybersecurity and  breach notification laws you should be aware of, such as New York's new  SHIELD Act. With proper attention to cybersecurity, organizations can  prevent serious cybercrime, protect customer and employee personal  information, and improve upon efficiency and information governance.

This webinar was hosted by the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and presented by John Bandler.  John is the author of "Cybersecurity for the Home and Office" and  "Cybercrime Investigations", runs legal and consulting practices, and  teaches about cybercrime, cybersecurity, technology, and law at Pace  University’s Haub School of Law and Seidenberg School of Computer Science & Information Systems.

A  critical decision facing many small business owners is capital  expenditures or CAPEX. A business that wants to grow by launching new products or service lines or expanding into a geographical region may  have to undertake capital expenditures. The investment usually calls for  a substantial upfront outlay of cash, in exchange for uncertain future  profits.

This webinar examined several criteria that can be used to make the investment decision, including:

• payback period

• return on investment

• internal rate of return

• net present value

The session was hosted by the Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and led by Padma Kadiyala, Professor at Pace's Lubin School of Business. The webinar covered each investment criterion, and compared their relative advantages and disadvantages.

The Pace University Small Business Development Center (Pace SBDC) partnered with Grow with Google Speaker Petia Abdur-Razzaaq:

Participants learned best practices and how to analyze trends about how customers engage with their businesses online, then turned these insights into well-informed, actionable decisions. This session covered:

• An introduction to Google Analytics

• Creating and understanding reports

• Making goals

• Using Analytics with other Google tools