E-Commerce Boom Leads to Event

By Sholom Ber Nemanow

An unprecedented coalition of Jewish business advocacy organizations will unite to host a massive eCommerce business and entrepreneur event, billed as the biggest of its kind to date for the U.S. Jewish community.

Featuring speakers and organizations from Flatbush, Boro Park, Crown Heights, The Five Towns, Marine Park, and Baltimore, this event will cross all levels of affiliation and sect, to help Jews earn an honorable living.

“Finding Success in eCommerce” will take place on Tuesday, March 1, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm at Agudah of Avenue L at 2913 Avenue L, Brooklyn, NY.

It is being organized by Crown Heights Young Entrepreneurs (CHYE), Employment Parnassah Initiative (EPI), and The Jewish Entrepreneur (TJE).

Organizers say the event will encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to take the plunge, provide those already in the game with the resources to grow, and to give both an amazing opportunity to network with their peers and learn from industry experts.

“Starting a business and making it a long-term success is really hard to do,” says Sam Schnitzer, Director of TJE. “4 out of 5 businesses don’t make it to their 5th year.”

Schnitzer says businesses that are guided by mentors “have a much better chance of making it, as high as an 80% percent success rate; and that’s why putting aspiring entrepreneurs in touch with experienced businessmen is such a priority for us.”

The event will open with Chaim Piekarski, the Executive Vice President of C&A Marketing and a true eCommerce pioneer, delivering the keynote speech.

Piekarski will speak about his story, and experiences, and share some advice and inspiration to those hoping to achieve their own dreams. The keynote will be followed by networking and roundtable discussions.

John Kelly, the Senior Director of Seller Acquisition Services at eBay, will be giving a presentation about the opportunities that are available through eBay to grow your business. He will also seek to address the concerns that vendors have with maximizing their eBay accounts.

There will be 15 different roundtables on topics essential to eCommerce such as the basics of manufacturing your own products, or how to transition your business from retail to online.

Meny Hoffman of The Ptex Group, a veteran of the marketing industry who has specialized for years in the unique needs of eCommerce, will be hosting a roundtable on lifecycle marketing.

“In eCommerce, many people focus on acquiring customers but then forget about them once they’ve become a customer. That’s a wasteful practice,” he explains. “Customer acquisition is so expensive these days, not extracting maximum value is going to really hurt your bottom line.” Hoffman will discuss strategies for keeping those customers you’ve acquired for the long-term.

Another fascinating roundtable topic is “How to use the media to promote your business,” hosted by Ari Zoldan of Quantum Networks.

“I’m going to share tips and know-how about getting your company attention in the media, which is a necessary step in a company’s growth,” he says. “Most people don’t have the connections or knowledge it takes to get their company on TV and Radio, but it’s easier to do than you might think, and I plan on explaining how.”

The event will feature plenty of time for networking, and with the expected size of the crowd this is likely to be an incredible opportunity to bump into someone you can do business with. There will also be a mini-industry trade show and presentations from some vendors.

Organizers see the event as an incredible opportunity to throw their work into overdrive.

“Events like this one are synergistic, it helps launch and grow businesses by putting entrepreneurs in touch with experts and industry leaders, and then those entrepreneurs become the experts and industry leaders who can assist the next generation coming up behind them. It’s exponential growth on a community scale,” says Zisha Novoseller, Director of EPI.

Rabbi Yehoshua Werde of CHYE, the mastermind behind the event, put it very simply: “The goal is that people should walk away from this event inspired and empowered to take their business to the next level.”

For more information about the event and to register, please visit http://www.chye.info/new-events/2016/2/11/finding-success-in-e-commerce