NJEDA’s Small Business E-commerce Support Program

Partnering with the NJEDA & building websites for small businesses since 2020

In partnership with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Positive Solutions are proud to be one of the select agencies for the Small Business E-Commerce Support Program. Originally developed in 2020 to assist small retail and restaurant businesses with improving their online presence, and sales avenues through E-Commerce and Online Ordering, Positive Solutions was the only agency brought back for the second and expanded round of this outstanding program.

Interested? Find out if you’re eligible

What is the Small Business E-Commerce Support Program?

The program, fully funded by the NJEDA and executed by a select number of state approved marketing & creative agencies, is designed to provide small businesses in New Jersey with:

  1. A new or re-designed website

  2. E-Commerce capabilities

  3. Online Ordering capabilities

  4. Appointment Booking capabilities

Program Benefits:

Our role in this journey with you, is to make sure you get the website you love, and the revenue to match:

  1. A fresh, modern looking website, that doesn’t just talk the talk - but walks the walk. 

  2. Expand your customer base - Implementing E-Commerce allows potential customers from all over to experience what you have to offer

  3. Share the love - Good food should never go to waste, implementing online ordering connects you with new and existing foodies in your area

  4. Stay booked and blessed - Implement appointment booking on your website and soon enough you’ll have to be scheduling your free time instead!

  5. Bonus: All approved businesses receive a Digital Marketing Plan, specifically tailored to your business and marketing strategy.

Who is eligible? 

The NJEDA has provided eligibility requirements, to be checked and enforced by each agency. To be eligible for the program your business must be:

  1. A Restaurant, Retail Store or Personal Care business  (e.g., barbershop, hair salon, nail salon, etc.)

  2. Situated in a commercial location with a physical storefront in New Jersey

  3. Small business as defined by the US Small Business Administration (SBA)

  4. Able to provide a current NJ Business Assistance or Incentive Clearance Certificate

What Positive Solutions does for you:

You schedule your initial intake call with our project manager

  1. Provide all relevant documentation to the project manager or the NJEDA

  2. Attend a diagnostic interview with one of our talented web designers

  3. We provide you with your personalized project proposal for you to sign

  4. We sends the proposal and relevant documentation to the NJEDA for approval - Approx 2 weeks wait time

  5. Once approved we have around 2 months to complete the project per the NJEDA guidelines

Why choose us?

We work with you, not for you. You know your business better than anyone, and only you can speak your vision into existence, it’s a team effort!

  1. We never go live or delete your existing site without your expressed written approval first

  2. We are a small business, dedicated to helping small businesses - it’s our passion

We won’t let you slip through the cracks - we carefully manage our workload to make sure each and every one of our clients gets the same attention, specialized care and quality end product.

The proof is in the pudding

We have successfully made over 25 small business’s website dreams come true since the program launched in March 2023.

Schedule your intake call today

If you have any questions regarding the eligibility, required documentation or proposal process please click here and our project manager will be in touch.

  • "We are absolutely thrilled with the new website that the team at Positive Solutions created for our hair salon suite. Their attention to detail, creativity, and understanding of my brand's vision exceeded all expectations. The site is not only visually stunning but also user-friendly, making it a breeze for our clients to book appointments and explore our services. Thank you!!!!"

    Chantel Howard, The Mane Event

FAQs

  • Unfortunately, at this time the Digital Marketing Plan is only an add on to the website, e-commerce, online ordering or appointment booking services. 

    If you are interested in digital marketing outside of the NJEDA program, we work with budgets of all sizes - contact us today for a quote.

  • Unfortunately, the NJEDA does not allow us to implement the marketing plan, or create content. However, included are:

    • Recommendations for social media

    • SEO analysis and keyword/search term recommendations

    • Recommendations and step by step guide to Google Ads

    • And more!

    If you are interested in digital marketing outside of the NJEDA program, we work with budgets of all sizes - contact us today for a quote.

    • Your business must be a retail, restaurant or personal care business

    • You must be a small business

    Ultimately, the agencies determine eligibility at the start of the process, under the guidance of the NJEDA. If you are unsure, please email njeda@positivesolutionsteam.com with your NAICS code (your 6 digit business identifying number found on your tax return). 

  • Yes - however the NJEDA categorizes them as retail businesses - meaning they are only eligible for website and e-commerce services (not appointment booking)

    If you are a medical practitioner looking to implement appointment booking, outside of the NJEDA program, we work with budgets of all sizes - contact us today for a quote.

  • Latest tax return (if you filed an extension, you can provide the previous year and the IRS approval notice)

  • Our web designers work with a whole host of platforms, including but not limited to:

    • WordPress

    • Shopify

    • Squarespace

    • Wix

    • GoDaddy

    • Lightspeed

    Don’t see yours on the list? Or do you not like what platform you are on and want to try something new? Reach out to njeda@positivesolutionsteam.com. 

    • Retail businesses: Website & E-Commerce

    • Restaurants: Website, E-Commerce and Online Ordering

    • Personal Care businesses: Website, E-Commerce and Appointment Booking

  • This program is for online sales only.

    If you have any questions regarding point of sale (POS) or inventory management systems as part of the program, please reach out to njeda@positivesolutionsteam.com.

  • Once the website is complete, we hand the reins back over to you, and provide you with up to 3 hours of training, in your preferred learning format, before lastly notifying the NJEDA that we have completed the project. 

    If you are interested in having our web design team maintain your website on an on-going basis, visit our Solutions Plus page to learn more.

  • This program comes at no cost to your business - however certain elements like monthly subscriptions are your responsibility. In some cases, the NJEDA will cover the cost of a new template, new domain or first month of a plug in, but this has to be agreed upon during the proposal phase. 

    If you have any questions regarding the cost and budget, please reach out to njeda@positivesolutionsteam.com.  

  • We tend not to focus on the award amounts, as each business, and each project is different. The NJEDA states that the maximum for: 

    • Restaurants is up to $11,400  

    • Retail Stores is up to $10,800 

    • Personal Care Businesses is up to $11,400 

    The award number is calculated at the proposal phase, based on business/website needs, hours allocated and additional costs as needed. 

    If you have any questions regarding the award amounts, please reach out to njeda@positivesolutionsteam.com.