By employing student research assistants from the College of Business and Center of Entrepreneurial Finance (CEF), the Stony Brook Small Business Development Center (SBDC) developed a small business recovery and resiliency webinar series to provide tools to assist small- and medium-sized businesses recover from the devastating ongoing pandemic and unprecedented economic disruption. Sponsored by BNB Bank, the student research assistants gained hands-on experience for their future endeavors.
Funded by the State and Federal Government, the SBDC provides free and confidential, one-on-one business counseling to business owners. Statistics compiled by the SBA indicate that between March and September, those virtual counseling sessions assisted more than 900 small businesses in processing more than $35 million in Economic Injury Disaster and Paycheck Protection Program Loans, thereby helping those Suffolk County businesses save more than 1,450 jobs.
“The students have done an outstanding job in providing research for the three hardest-hit industries — restaurant, retail, and construction — and now understand the devastating economic effect of COVID-19 as it adversely affected and shut down small businesses throughout the country,” said SBDC Administrator Martha Stansbury.
Jacob Rueb ’21, a business management major, specializing in finance and operations management, said that during his research, he learned that many businesses were not ready for the restrictions brought by the pandemic because they did not have an online presence that allowed for revenue generation while their physical locations were restricted or shut down. He added that those who implemented online ordering or curbside pickup achieved a measure of success.
“We did make recommendations,” Rueb said. “Those recommendations included where to cut costs depending upon the industry and adjusting their digital marketing strategy.”
Read the full story: SBDC, Business Students Team Up to Help Local Firms Cope with Pandemic