New York SBDC Research Network

This past week or so, an executive staff member in my office has been putting a little more effort into his business attire. He has been wearing elegant ties with coordinating shirts and while this is not a huge change from his normal button down shirts and nice slacks, the tie seems to add something. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with his attire when he is not wearing a tie. On the contrary, I have never seen this co-worker, or any other in this office, wear anything that could be deemed inappropriate. But there have been times in my life when I have been visiting other businesses or places of work where I see attire that in my opinion is entirely unsuitable and basically just wrong for the work environment. Sometimes, I even wish that dress codes were more formal, like they used to be, so that there is less opinion involved in deciding what to wear. Read articles on how to write dress codes , how some companies are reverting back to more formal dress codes , and defini...

There was a recent discussion on a listserv I monitor about what a florist might do who is suffering in the recession. One participant suggested "expanding their offerings beyond just flowers...some gifty/crafty stuff to compliment the flowers and get feet through the door and create incremental volume." Good idea, that. One of my favorite resources is looking at the Economic Census for the Product Lines documents. The one for Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45) can be found here . For NAICS code 45311, found on page 173, you'll see that of the 22,750 florists in 2002: 3719 sell candy, 1209 sell other food stuff or 4061 selling some sort of grocery item (some sell both) 9268 sell some sort of kitchenware 603 sell jewelry 364 sell books 4810 sell games and toys Again, these are 2002 numbers - the 2007 numbers don't exist yet - but it does provide some guidance for how an entity might diversify its line. There are similar product line reports for: NAICS 22: Utilities NAICS 42: W...

This is now old news, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention it. Last Tuesday (11/17), Goldman Sachs announced that it was partnering with Warren Buffet to provide $500 million in a "10,000 Small Businesses" plan. I learned about it from the Wall Street Journal last week . The article focuses on the actual plans for the fund. These won't be direct loans to just anyone. $200 million is earmarked on "education and training programs" (they're big on mentoring), and the remainder will be (according to their press release ) "a combination of lending and philanthropic support to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)". The education and training programs will be targeted primarily at "underserved" small business owners, and will be taught primarily at community colleges and universities. Our own SBDC at LaGuardia Community College in Queens will be the first to offer such training, in the spring of 2010. As the WSJ arti...

Less companies are throwing holiday parties. Companies are planning their parties later in the year than usual. Companies are planning potlucks instead of hiring caterers. These are just a few of the methods that companies are using to save money this holiday season. Instead of scratching the holiday festivities altogether, read the below articles on ways to save money this holiday season while still celebrating with your employees and customers. Party Poopers - Holiday Parties Take a Hit in Hard Times Small Business - Partying simply with smaller events, iPods instead of DJs Small Businesses - Still giving holiday gifts to customers

NACS State of the Industry Report of 2008 Data New addition to our collection! "This comprehensive report provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with analysis of 2008 data and serves as a premier benchmarking resource." The 2008 edition does not include the CDROM unlike the 2007 edition but is still packed with lots of good data on the convenience store/forecourt and petroleum retailing industry.

Wait, there's a fee if I buy the tickets online or I stop by the box office ? Concert ticket handling costs are just one of the annoying ways that companies sneak in some profit-boosting fees into your bill. Cell phone plans, online airline tickets, and receiving a printed bill are all frequent offenders. According to a survey from the consumer privacy research group the Ponemon Institute, these "sneaky fees" add up to about $950 dollars a year for the average American. It's tricky to totally avoid these fees, but it's good to be on the lookout, and sometimes there are steps you can take to keep from paying. Read more in these two articles from PC World: Sneaky Fees Oct 27, 2009 Sneaky Fees: 7 New Ways You're Paying More Oct 28, 2008

From onlineclasses.org: If you’re preparing for a career in the business world, you’re undoubtedly devoting a lot of time and effort to your schoolwork, internships and networking. But keeping up with business news is equally important, and these websites can help you apply what you learn in class to real-world situations, from the stock market, to international business, to starting up your own company to social media marketing. Here are 100 best websites for your business news and know-how . The list includes General Media (Forbes, Fortune), Blogs (the Curious Capitalist), Social Media (Fast Pitch, PartnerUp), Stock Market and Finance (CNNmoney, Business Index), Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurship.org, SBA), Business Education (Harvard Business Publishing, MIT Sloan School of Management), Tips, Tools and Tutorials (All Things Workplace, Business Owner’s Toolkit), Career (Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist, Wisconsin School of Business Careers), and my favorite, of course, Green Busines...

H1N1 is everywhere. By now, it is extremely likely that you know someone, or at least know of someone, that has contracted H1N1, or the swine flu. Getting the vaccine is not easy unless you are an individual that can be categorized as high-risk. Businesses are being faced with many decisions about how they should handle H1N1 if (some people might say when) it infects their business. Should managers send employees home that exhibit symptoms? What precautionary measures should be taken to alleviate the impact of the flu? How will employers know that their employee really has the flu and isn't lying to get time off? These and many other questions should be asked before the flu strikes. Below are links to resources on the H1N1 Flu and Small Business Preparedness. Guide - Planning for 2009 H1N1 Influenza: A Preparedness Guide for Small Business from Flu.gov Survey - Harvard School of Public Health National Survey of Businesses - Four-Fifths of Businesses Foresee Severe Problems Maint...

Want your marketing efforts to reach moms on their iPhones ? There’s a new study , showing that mothers frequently let their children play with their phones , and use their phones to make purchasing decisions, particularly in price comparison, shopping list applications and locating the nearest store. Now I imagine that most of us are excellent and super-polite smartphone users, but just in case you need a refresher , if you must text during a holiday party, do it in the bathroom, and turn ‘em off during religious events, dates and social occasions .

A site I've come across only recently, but which may be of use to advisors and their clients without going to various locations. From the Census Bureau: USA Counties features over 6,500 data items for the United States, States and counties from a variety of sources. Files include data published for 2008 estimates and many items from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, the 1990 census, the 1980 census and the 2002, 1997, 1992, 1987, 1982 and 1977 economic censuses. Information in USA Counties is derived from the following general topics: age, agriculture, ancestry, banking, building permits, business patterns, crime, earnings, education, elections, employment, government, health, households, housing, income, labor force, manufactures, population, poverty, retail trade, social programs, veterans, vital statistics, water use, and wholesale trade. Files contain a collection of data from the U. S. Census Bureau and other Federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis,...

Last night, I watched the segment on "60 Minutes" that cast light on just how much vigilance is required to protect electronic sytems designed to operate critical financial, social and defense systems in this country (and elsewhere). It was sobering to watch, to say the least. News lives in an echo chamber, it seems. An article from last week's PCWorld dwelled on the proliferation of cyber theft into the world of small and medium-sized businesses and organizations. The bulk of the article focuses on the FBI's awareness of the growth in ACH (automated clearinghouse) fraud, where thieves manipulate online banking systems to create false payees, whereby significant sums can be then transferred out of the country by (sometimes unwitting) online payroll clearinghouse operations. Vigilance, again, is the key word here. Many of these scenarios unfold by an employee unknowingly triggering malware embedded into an email (the article cites the example of Microsoft sending out...

I have read many articles dealing with the use of social media and employees. Some employees have been reprimanded and in some cases even fired for things they have said online about their workplace, pictures they have posted of them doing illegal activities, etc. The other day, I read an article about a boss who found himself in a sticky situation after posting pictures on his Facebook page of him attending the annual "weeklong anything-goes festival" Burning Man. The CEO of Joie de Vivre, a company that operates a collection of boutique hotels in California, posted pictures of himself (including one of him in a tutu) having a good time while off work. The reaction from his employees was less than favorable. In the end, he decided to keep the pictures online, despite the recommendations of some of his executive staff. It makes me wonder about rules for social media usage for both employees and the boss. Should your employer (or employees) dictate what you can and can't ...

I love that there is an association for just about everything. The National Association for Sick Child Daycare is one you may not have come across yet. This association has been around for a number of years and supports those running quality childcare services for sick children. With so much in the news about the challenges faced by workers with little or no sick time or single parents who bear the brunt of sick season, the issues are significant and the solutions thin on the ground. "Obstacles exist that hamper the development of needed sick child care programs. There is an absence of providers largely due to lack of information, lack of licensing procedures for sick child care, difficulty getting insurance, and funding challenges. " We have occasionally had requests for clients starting specialized daycare programs and this association offers a number of how-to documents for reasonable prices - most are about $30, with the directory of sick childcare facilities costing quit...

You can find details on the religious composition of the United States, including religious makeup, religious beliefs and practices in the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey . More than a study of religion, the Pew survey also includes the social and political attitudes affiliated with religious traditions in the United States. The survey is based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans. One element I found particularly interesting is A Brief History of Religion and the U.S. Census . From the document: The U.S. Census Bureau has not asked questions about religion since the 1950s, but the federal government did gather some information about religion for about a century before that. Starting in 1850, census takers began asking a few questions about religious organizations as part of the decennial census that collected demographic and social statistics from the general population as well as economic data from business establishments...Although the census takers did not interview indiv...

We so often get requests for ideas to help market existing businesses and occasionally I see businesses that are doing little things that we can learn from. This Halloween weekend I took my daughter and a friend to breakfast and afterwards stopped into Candyland, a local candy shop, cake and candy supply retailer. I spoke with the owner, who told me about the classes they offer in candy and cake-making and decorating. shop was answering the question from more than one perspective. They offer a way for businesses to get themselves noticed and they share their expertise as well as their product, by offering classes and recipes both online and off. By giving a little away, they build goodwill. The owner showed me some beautiful and delicious chocolate favors in novel designs, explaining that she had corporate clients who ordered these gifts from her for employees or their clients. Another product that seemed like a clever alternative to the typical holiday card was a chocolate card with a...