Reimagine Your Purpose and Create Your Dream Business
What is T.E.E.S?
The Entrepreneur Essentials Series (T.E.E.S) is QEDC’s newest business educational program.
This innovative series offers a range of skill-based and special topic mini courses, designed to equip you with the fundamental tools and knowledge needed to make informed business decisions. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, T.E.E.S provides a comprehensive academic-style education that’s accessible to everyone, regardless of their previous educational background. Keep reading and discover how T.E.E.S can help you create a strong foundation for your business success.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
This program is for you if:
- You are unemployed, and you are thinking about exploring the possibility of starting your own business, but do not know where to start.
- You are underemployed or are not getting paid enough, so you want to start your own part time business for extra income.
- You want to learn more about starting and running your own business, but going back to school is not an option for you.
- You are looking for an affordable/ free course that will build your skillset.
- You have a business idea, but do not know where to begin, and you are someone who needs to do a ton of research before committing yourself to an idea.
- You are an existing business owner, but you are weak in a specific area of business management and therefore need to sharpen your knowledge (see below for the different classes offered).
- You love learning, but are frustrated with the quality of instruction currently being offered by many online zoom classes.
- You love learning, but are frustrated with the quality of instruction currently being offered by many online zoom classes.
WHEN DOES THIS SERIES START?
It already has!
There are a minimum of six classes offered, each with its own curriculum, schedule, instructor, and registration. You will not have the option to register for the entire series at once because scheduling them depends on the instructors who will be teaching them, which are currently being finalized.
To receive updates about the courses, click here to sign up for alerts.
Upcoming Courses
In this course, you will develop a thorough understanding of the legal implications of running a business. You will also learn how to decipher legal agreements, and decide on how to best protect your business and personal assets. Lastly, you will be able to find key resources that you refer back to when you need them.
Class Dates: April 22 to May 13, 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Course Schedule:
Class 1 – Who is a Power User of ChatGPT?
Class 2 – What do I need to become a ChatGPT Power User?
Class 3 – How do I become a ChatGPT Power User?
Class 4 – Capstone – Build a GPT
Instructor: 
Jai Bhagat is an engineer and professor focusing on human computer interaction and AI research. Upon doing his research, Jai has decided to dive into the world of applied AI by exploring the wellness industry via breathwork. He’s testing how he can teach at scale using AI as the backend of his business.
Price: Free! There will be no cost to this program.
If you attend all four sessions In this course, you will receive a certificate of completion.
In this course, you will develop a thorough understanding of the legal implications of running a business. You will also learn how to decipher legal agreements, and decide on how to best protect your business and personal assets. Lastly, you will be able to find key resources that you refer back to when you need them.
Class Dates: TBA
Course Schedule:
Class 1 – Licenses and Permits in NYS
Class 2 – Business Registration: The different structures broken down
Class 3 – Important Tax Numbers: EIN and Sales Tax
Class 4 – Taxes 101
Class 5 – Intellectual Property 101
Class 6 – Contracts 101
Class 7 – Hiring Employees: What You Need to Know
Class 8 – Insurance
Instructor: TBA
Price: Free! There will be no cost to this program.
If you attend all eight sessions In this course, you will receive a certificate of completion.
Previous Courses
This course is the first of six essential courses that TEES offers. In this course, you will dive deep into the basics of the business model canvas, define and understand the elements of the canvas, examine case studies and decipher existing business models, put together an experiment, and learn how to analyze your data. By the end of this course, you will learn the different types of business models that exist and how to create models that will be profitable for yourself.
Course Schedule
Class 1 – Business Model Canvas basics
Class 2 – Customer Discovery: live demonstration + question creation
Class 3 – The Art of Pivoting Your Business Model
Class 4 – Deciphering Business Models: Case Studies
Class 5 – Creating an MVP and The First Experiment
Class 6 – How to Sell and Scale Up Going Forward
In this course, you will learn the marketing basics needed to make your business a success! You will learn how to create a marketing plan, marketing lingo, how to market on social media and how to promote your business beyond social media. You will also learn what it takes to have a “marketing mindset,” enabling yourself to be creative and adaptable to your business’ and customers’ needs. By the end, you will have created your own marketing plan that you can implement right away.
Course Schedule:
Class 1 – Know Your Brand & The 4 P’s of Marketing
Class 2 – Planning: Marketing Plan, Social Media Plan & More
Class 3 – Digital Marketing Basics
Class 4 – Marketing and Promotions, Beyond Social Media
Class 5 – Marketing Mindset
Class 6 – You’ve Planned, You’ve Executed. Now What?
In this course, you will receive a college level, accounting 101 understanding of business finance. You will gain a foundation of numbers and accounting principles that enables you to build, read and analyze financial statements within minutes. By the end of the class, you will be taking charge of your financial systems.
Course Schedule
Class 1 – Introduction & Being a Small Business Owner
Class 2 – Income Statements
Class 3 – Balance Sheets
Class 4 – Cash Flow Statements
Class 5 – Ratio Analysis – Income Statement Metrics
Class 6 – Ratio Analysis – Balance Sheet Metrics
Class 7 – Business Model Construction
Class 8 – Business Model Forecast
Course 4: WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT 101
In this course, you will learn the essential website skills you need to have your been business succeed on the internet. This class is intended for beginners, and will get you started in how to build website, sell online, analyze traffic, and use search engines to promote your business.
Course Schedule
Class 1 – Getting Started with Your Website
Class 2 – Creating Effective Landing Pages for a service based business using WordPress
Class 3 – Creating Effective Landing Pages for a storefront using Square
Class 4 – Analytics for Action
Class 5 – Optimizing for Search Engines
Class 6 – Mobile-Friendly and Secure
Class 7 – Creating Effective Landing Pages for a product based business using Shopify
Marketing is a cumbersome chore and tools like ChatGPT and MidJouney have proven to be effective in coming up with a marketing strategy, organizing and creating content, and even generating images and videos! When used correctly, these tools are a time saver and game changer. This intensive will cover multiple AI tools that you can utilize in your daily life to market your business more easily and efficiently, and elevate your marketing materials
By the end of this intensive, you will achieve the following:
- You will understand how important and valuable AI will be in the world
- You will organize your content pillars and generate social media posts much faster
- You will utilize ChatGPT and Google Bard and know when to use one over the other
- You will practice engineering prompts and how to manipulate them to get the best possible response
- You will save countless hours trying to figure this out all on your own
Course Schedule:
Class 1 – AI 101: Understanding AI’s impact and Use Examples – Jai Bhagat
Class 2 – Generating Pictures for your Business Using AI – Mitch Tobol
Class 3 – Generating Videos for your Business Using AI – Mitch Tobol
Class 4 – Planning Content and Strategy Using AI – Femi Lewis
Class 5 – Storytelling for Your Media Platforms Using AI – Femi Lewis
Class 6 – Developing Email Sequences and Lead Magnets Using AI – Femi Lewis
Class 7 – Analyzing Popular AI Tools for Efficient Use – Joe Apfelbaum
Human Resources for Small Businesses
What makes a business succeed? The people! Take this class with Nikolas Tartamella, ADP Associate District Manager, and learn how to thrive in the heavily regulated environment of human resources.
Commercial Leasing for Small Businesses
Steven Lutt and Julia Garcez work in the Real Estate practice of White & Case LLP, an international law firm with offices in NYC. During this webinar, you should expect a “101 on Commercial Leasing for Small Businesses” training: an introductory class on a tenant’s most common questions and important rights and obligations in a commercial lease. They will go over the fundamentals in leasing agreements for commercial purposes, such as components to look for and to avoid during the negotiations of a lease.
Cybersecurity for Small Businesses
Learn how to protect your business online with Cybersecurity Specialist Nancy Uddin as she reviews cyber defense strategies to ensure a secure and equitable cyber experience for everyone, including those harmed by digital malfeasance . Nancy graduated from New York University and gained technical training at The Knowledge House.
Insurance for Small Businesses
Make sure you have coverage in case things go wrong. Ume Memon of Intellivision Insurance will lead this discussion on the types of insurance available and what policies you would need to make sure your business is safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is T.E.E.S, and how have I never heard of it before?
The Entrepreneur Essentials Series (T.E.E.S.) is a brand new program created by the QEDC. Through this program, QEDC will be hosting several skill and knowledge building classes designed to increase your business acumen in 2023 and 2024. To sign up for alerts, make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter, which you can do by clicking here.
How will I know when the future classes will start?
We are currently in the process of scheduling future classes. Make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter to get alerts and updates on future classes. You can also come back to check this webpage at the end of May!
How is this series different from QEDC’s usual EAC business training course?
Great question! QEDC’s annual business training course is one of our core programs, and has been for over 30 years! It is a 60-hour bootcamp/ accelerator course designed to get your business up and running in 10 weeks! It is a lot more hands on, and requires you to be able to sell your products and services from the start. T.E.E.S, on the other hand, is a series of short term courses that dives deep into different business topics. You are flexible to choose which subjects you want to focus on.
How are you able to offer so much information for free?
We are thankful to our sponsors for this program, NYS Department of Labor, and the NYS Empire State Development Corporation.
Will there be any in-person sessions?
We are As of now, we have nothing scheduled for in-person. If we get enough interest, we will be happy to host some of these classes in person. To express your interest, email us at info@queensny.org.
Will all classes be recorded?
Yes! These classes are held online, and will be recorded, available to everyone in our video library.
Will there be any industry specific classes, like for food or manufacturing?
Yes! We are working on adding industry specific classes, like food based business training and construction. If there is a specific industry you are interested in learning more about, email us at info@queensny.org.
Will there be any classes offered in Spanish?
As of now, we have no Spanish classes scheduled. If we get enough interest, we will be happy to host a Spanish class. To express your interest, email us at info@queensny.org.
This program is funded and supported by the NYS Empire State Development Corporation and NYS Department of Labor.
