New York SBDC Research Network

February is heart month. We wear red, we have heart healthy screenings, and we are reminded that heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans. During the month, we learn how to mitigate heart disease. While our bodies and our small businesses may not be an exact parallel, it makes for a good analogy. Your small business is like your body. The heart of your small business is finance related. Most businesses fail because of lack of financial management - lack of capital. Finance, generally speaking, pumps life in (or out of) your business. Your financial statements are like an EKG. It can help identify problems or underlying issues. While you should have a check-up on both your body and your business frequently, it's advantageous to at the least have an annual checkup. But what good is your EKG if you don't know how to read it? More from the ASBDC .

Khalid Abouelhouda said he knew little about running a business before opening Pita Kebob, a Mediterranean restaurant and catering company, almost a year ago... “Initially I didn’t know where to turn,” he said. But then the Ruskin resident discovered the Small Business Development Center at Hillsborough County, which operates out of rented space in the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce. “They helped me from day one,” Abouelhouda continued. “And they’ve been with me all the way.” That’s exactly what the SBDC is for, said Lynn Schultz, onsite business consultant and special projects coordinator for South Shore. “He walked into the office one day, and then based on our consultation, feedback and six months of workshops he attended, successfully started his business.” “I benefited from every single one of them,” Abouelhouda said of the workshops. “They were all free, even the consultation.” The SBDC provides free, confidential advice to entreprenuers who want to start or expand a smal

The risk for cyber espionage continues to evolve as perpetrators are targeting small businesses at an alarming rate. Symantec, a bellwether in the web-security space, recently announced that attacks surged almost three-fold for small businesses or those with less than 250 employees. Small businesses now account for more than 31% of all web attacks or greater than 300 million incidents annually. Given this backdrop, should your business consider investing in greater security measures and cyber liability insurance? Why are small businesses being targeted? Attackers are recognizing now that it’s more effective to go after the weakest link than to focus on the largest companies in the world. If they can attack a million different websites with ease versus one large website, it’s more strategic for them to go after the small players. The data that these cyber criminals are targeting include bank account information, customer data and intellectual property. More from America's SBDC

While we are knee-deep in the holidays, 2014 is right around the corner. And if you’re like the majority of small businesses, email marketing will play an important role in your promotional efforts throughout the New Year. Don’t let the following small but common mistakes keep you from achieving your marketing goals! Making it difficult for people to recognize you For 68 percent of consumers, familiarity with the person sending the email is the top reason why they decide to open. Take the time to double check the “From Name” and “From Email Address” you’re using to send your emails. More from the ASBDC .

Burke, VA - The America's SBDC 'Biz Blog' was featured on Forbes.com on November 12, 2013 as one of the "100 Best Websites for Entrepreneurs." The article stated that they searched high and low for the best of the best. Whether an entrepreneur was seeking capital, growing their business or just looking for general assistance the Top 100 sites listed were "worth reading." Natalie Robehmed, Forbes Staff wrote "America's Small Business Development Center blog presents friendly lessons from founders who have been there and done that." "Recognition from Forbes is a real tribute to our blog contributors and partners. Content from leaders like Gina Watkins of Constant Contact, Ramon Ray, Eric Spellman, Benetrends and so many others is what makes us successful, relevant and a premier resource for our SBDC business advisors and their small business clients," said Charles "Tee" Rowe, President & CEO, America's SBDC.

Venture capitalists (VCs) make you work hard for their money by inundating you with question after question about your fundraising process, your company goals, your founding team, among other things. Many of these questions will seem reasonable. Some will seem ridiculous. But no matter the question, you must have an answer. And your answers better be good. Behind all of this interrogation, there is one key underlying question: what makes you different? Regardless of the variation on the theme, your potential VC is really asking why your business — as compared to others vying for their money — is worth their investment. If you’re ready to join the ranks of funded entrepreneurs, you need to be prepared to answer this key question. How? Read HOW from the ASBDC .

If you want your readers to click “like” or “retweet” or “reblog” or “pin” or “plus,” you gotta ask for it. Not for nothing do two of the web’s most popular sites--BuzzFeed and Mashable--serve up big buttons at the top of each article, beseeching you to “share me now!” What’s more, these icons now include the number of shares in real time, boxing you in with peer pressure: “Don’t share me--I dare you!” This is marketing at its finest: so subliminal, you think you’re making a considered choice. Too often, however, those in the communications field blanch at making an explicit ask. We think of ourselves as marketers, not salesman. We trust in the purity of our craft, rather than tricks of the trade. Yet there’s a reason “marketing” and “business development” often find themselves in the same job title. More from the ASBDC blog .

Small businesses often struggle to survive. In fact, 50% of American small businesses close up shop within their first year. So what are the secrets to staying in business and locking down success? This infographic from Intuit takes a look at small businesses— what industries they’re in, what cities they thrive in, and what they’re doing to stay in business. When it comes to longevity, small business is often the tortoise in the race. And we all know how that particular story turned out.

From ASBDC : What do established companies looking to expand and start-ups in the earliest planning stages have in common? They want access to money and credit without having to provide a personal guarantee. This sentiment is consistently and strongly expressed by entrepreneurs... It’s no secret that building and expanding a business credit profile has become a greater challenge over the last few years. Many established small companies’ cash flow sheets were hit hard during the recession and as a result, many lenders and suppliers have either added a personal guarantee policy or modified their current policy. Most business owners know Experian, Equifax and TransUnion as the three major credit bureaus that provide information about their personal credit; however, they also may provide a credit profile about your company's creditworthiness.

Baby Boomers — nearly 80 million of them in the U.S. – will redefine traditional retirement. The first boomers turned 65 in 2011, and year after year for the next 18 years, masses of them will choose to work beyond the ages of 62 to 65, the range long thought of as retirement time. There’s been a lot of conversation lately about boomers and the ‘unretirement’ movement. In fact, AARP predicts that a whopping 80% of boomers will have to work into their retirement years. The vast majority of them will move away from high-pressure corporate positions to reshape their professional lives as small business owners, consultants, part-time workers or “giving back” careers such as teaching or non-profit management. And what we’re seeing right now is the tip of the iceberg. More from the ASBDC .

Many small businesses can’t afford or may not even require full time IT staff, but that doesn’t mean technology challenges don’t arise. Fortunately, there are many ways for small businesses to access IT expertise even without a full time technology expert on the payroll. Educating yourself on basic technology issues that affect small businesses can go a long way toward helping you navigate IT problems that arise. Many Small Business Development Centers offer free or low-cost technology training. You can also look into what other local business organizations and chambers of commerce have on tap in the realm of technology training. More from the ASBDC HERE .

From the Business Review : John Skrobela, a business adviser with the Small Business Development Center at the University at Albany, is the New York winner of the Association of Small Business Development Centers’ State Star Award.

Albany – The State University of New York and New York State Small Business Development Center (NYS SBDC) today announced that James King was recently elected Chairman of the Board for the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) at the organization’s 2012 national meeting in New Orleans. King is State Director of SBDC. SUNY is the lead host for the statewide SBDC network, which includes the City University of New York (CUNY), Pace University, and Columbia University. "Jim King’s election as chairman of the national small business development network is a well-deserved recognition of his outstanding leadership in New York State and of SUNY’s progress toward driving economic development," said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. "We are pleased to have Jim represent SUNY as he helps shape a national agenda for economic support in communities throughout New York and across the nation." "I am honored and privileged to lead such a distinguishe

"Coffee Break with Game-Changers" with Bonnie D. Graham. Don't miss this episode with ASBDC President Tee Rowe and others for some high-energy, interesting and, most important of all, informative content.

From Tee Rowe, ASBDC President: The Senate Resolution on the 30th anniversary of our nation's SBDC network recognizes the role of SBDCs in small business and economic development over the course of 30 years. Special thanks go out to the Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Senator Mary Landrieu, and to the Ranking Member of the Committee, Senator Olympia Snowe, for their leadership on this legislation. For the text of the Senate Resolution [S. Res. 638] on the 30th anniversary of the national SBDC network, click here .

Over the years, I've gone to at least three workshops by Joel Saltzman. My recent trip to Chicago was no different. He did three different presentations there: CHANGING THE WAY WE REACT TO CHANGE, Shaking that ETHICS Brain and Shaking That INNOVATION Brain. I had gone to the first two before, so I went to the innovation session. It's difficult to capture the essence of the talk, but the notion of taking some item and repositioning it for another use - wax paper was microwave safe, even before there were microwaves - at least touches on it. Check out some of Joel Saltzman's articles on assumption busting, reframing the question, persistence in the midst of mistakes, and the value of bad ideas. He uses this quote that, modified, is useful for baseball, racquetball, other sports and life in general: "I skate to where the puck is GOING to be, not where it has been." -- Wayne Gretzky. Photos (c)2008 by Mary Hoffman.

As some of you know, Roger and I will be presenting at next week's ASBDC conference in Chicago. As part of our presentation, "Blogging for Your SBDC: Implementing Web 2.0 Technologies at Your Center", we've created a page of resources related to blogging and other Web 2.0 stuff. Some of these resources I've blogged about before, but now they are in one place, along with with links to blogs and other 2.0 creations from SBDC centers around the country. Enjoy: Blogging for Your SBDC: Resources (This list is by no means exhaustive, but is designed to give you a few more ideas about how to use Web 2.0 technologies, and how they are being used by other SBDC centers.) Blogs & Blogging: 40+ Free Blog Hosts from Mashable.com Trading Links - Any Real Value? by Gail Hornback Copyright & Fair Use Overview: Website Permissions from Stanford University Existing SBDC Blogs: Clarion SBDC (PA) Knowledgebase Hawai`i Business Research Library News Blog Coastal Bend SBD