New York SBDC Research Network

From SUNY Communications The New York Small Business Development Center (SBDC) announced its client honorees of the New York State and National Small Business Week Awards, sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). “We are proud that our clients were recognized by SBA for their extraordinary contributions to small businesses in New York State,” said NY SBDC State Director James King. “Their hard-work and dedication have helped them attain success and accomplish their dreams, while at the same time making a very positive impact on the economy. The NY SBDC is well represented by clients in the SBA’s award categories. This is a reflection of the outstanding clients and staff we have throughout the state, and their steadfast commitment to achieving professional excellence in small business.” For more than 50 years, SBA has recognized the outstanding achievements of America’s small businesses for their contributions in their local communities, and to the nati...

Albany – State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher and New York Small Business Development Center (SBDC) State Director James King today announced the winners of the Entrepreneurs of the Year Awards, presented annually by the SBDC in recognition of existing businesses and startups achieving assisted success. Through its network of 24 regional centers administered by SUNY across the state since 1984, SBDC has worked with more than 380,000 businesses, helping them to invest more than $5 billion in New York's economy and create or retain nearly 170,000 jobs. “The SBDC is a unique and highly valuable resource for new business owners and entrepreneurs, helping thousands each year to bring their ideas to market,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “SUNY and the SBDC are proud to honor this most recent group of innovators who have each advanced their respective fields while creating jobs and driving regional economies across New York.” “We are pleased to reco...

The winner of the 2013 Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award is John A. Narciso, small business adviser at the New York State Veterans Business Outreach Center through The Research Foundation of the State University of New York. Narciso, who works out of the Farmingdale SBDC office, has had a 30-year career as a talented and successful U.S. Naval officer and decorated combat veteran, followed by two decades advising veterans in entrepreneurship. This was announced last week the during National Small Business Week in the Entrepreneurial Development category.

The client had extensive experience in the specialty tool and die industry, producing roll dies for radiator and automotive cooling components. After working for over a month without pay, the client was displaced when his former company became insolvent. Given his design and sales background he wanted to pursue this niche manufacturing market. The client needed help determining the feasibility of the proposed project and finding financing. Client was additionally challenged by a credit rating that had been impaired while working without pay – because he and remaining colleagues eventually left, they were initially denied unemployment benefits which further exacerbated the client’s personal credit issues. SBDC assisted client with a feasibility analysis, credit repair, and the development of a business plan. Many financing options were explored due to credit issues. The SBDC facilitated the client’s application process to local public loan funds. Other assistance included job cost...

The idea for Slick Text was born in 2012 when founder Matt Baglia worked for a company that was considering adding text messaging to its marketing mix. After reviewing several providers Matt recognized some common flaws among all of them. Each platform was fairly difficult to understand and use. None of them placed emphasis on educating their customers on how to be successful with their product, and all lacked personal customer service. Matt and his partner Ryan Kinal realized that if they could create a service without those flaws, there would be an excellent opportunity for a piece of the industry’s pie. “When Slick Text first launched, the platform had very few features. It was intended to be a minimum viable product so we could get it in front of customers and start covering our costs. Even though it was relatively basic, we stuck tight to the core ideology of simplicity and it really resonated with the early adopters,” commented Matt Baglia. “Over the past year, new customers...

Black Willow joined the Niagara Wine Trail in January of 2011. This fulfilled a longtime dream for the owners. They converted a 35-year-old pole barn into their tasting room and production area. They hired a local winemaker as a consultant to ensure the quality of their wines. Black Willow is open seven days a week and currently offers nine wines. They have several new varieties in development. In addition, they have 500 peach trees and 30 cherry trees. Black Willow has product in the SBDC Wine outlet in China. Cindy joined Jinshui Zhang of the NYS SBDC, and Empire State Development on a trade trip to China in the fall of 2012. She has shared what she has learned with others on the wine trail. The Niagara SBDC (Maureen Henderson) helped the clients put together their loan package/business plan to obtain their start-up funding. Additional assistance included aiding the development of their marketing strategy including a comprehensive branding approach and helping them connect with ...

Red Castle Bakeries was founded in 1996 by Marco and Lucille Minuto. The Minutos started this business after Marco was laid off from a 15 year sales and marketing career with a beef patty company located in NYC. The two decided to start their own manufacturing and distributing company delivering beef patties throughout the Long Island and NYC region. They moved their growing business to their own building in Bayshore in 2007 and grew to employing 25 local residence. Shortly after the expansion, Mrs. Minuto was left a widow. She was faced with selling the business or to continue as the new President and running the operations with her sons. She felt compelled to stay as so many employees and her own children were so vested in the business. She and her son Marco continued to operate and work hard to preserve what had been created. Mrs. Minuto came to the Small Business Development Center in Farmingdale on November 14, just 15 days after Super Storm Sandy devastated so many...

When he was in the Air Force, while traveling extensively throughout Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the United States, Peter DelCotto developed a wealth of knowledge about food and exotic cultures. He came to believe that food tells a certain story about the people and their environment. He decided to become a chef to share his experiences in other cuisines by highlighting the most popular dishes of each respective culture. In 2011, Peter expressed his passion for cooking in an essay submitted to a ChefUniforms.com contest and won a trip to the National Restaurant Association conference. After earning a degree in Hospitality Management from the Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business at Trocaire College in Buffalo, Peter consulted the SBDC for assistance in refining his business plan and financing. With the help of Business Advisor John McKeone, he got funding and founded The Woodshed , a family owned and operated restaurant that serves up traditional Southern style ...

In 2011, Jason DiBenedetto and Leo Rentzis, friends with a shared vision, started Noble Wood Shavings (NWS). NWS is Central New York’s only manufacturing facility dedicated to producing the absolute best quality bedding for horses. They use an exclusive recipe of soft wood species to ensure a top quality product that is consistent, super absorbent, and rot free. The product is super-heated during the drying process to kill bacteria, fungus, and molds. Business Advisor David Lerman worked extensively with the partners to draft a solid business plan and projections. The business plan included several letters of interest from prospective customers, which proved to be key to the successful funding of the project. Locating the business in Sherrill Manufacturing Park with low cost power and overhead helped keep NWS’ operating costs competitive, as did an abundance of local low cost raw material. NWS opened for business with financing from Alliance Bank (an SBA guaranteed loan), Mohawk V...

Graduate of Monroe Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology and St. John Fisher College, Kaye holds an A.S. degree in Computer Science, a B.S. degree in Computational Mathematics and an M.B.A. In 2011 Kaye retired from a 25-year career at Xerox Corporation where she spent several years as a senior executive in their North American Service organization. In late 2011, she and her husband Ross formed Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. and in February 2012, Stone Goose Enterprise, Inc. purchased Smith’s Gravel Pit in Sodus, New York . Kaye is currently the President / CEO of Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. and President / Owner of Smith’s Gravel Pit. In her roles she runs the day-to-day operations of Smith’s Gravel Pit, an aggregate mining facility; which also provides trucking and excavation services and works strategic development / business expansion for Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. Kaye was one of the Rochester Business Journal 40 under Forty recipients in 2004 and in 20...

Founded in 1986 by Roger and Shelley Gray, Center Line Studios (CLS) builds scenery for Broadway shows, opera, and television. After 9/11, the industry went into a recession. They downsized and moved to a smaller location. They were limited by physical space constraints and were unable to accept projects that would enable the company to grow. In March 2011, they purchased a large building. Vacant for many years, it needed substantial work. They spent the summer cleaning and doing construction. In August 2011, with Hurricane Irene, the creek flooded by taking the most direct path, through the building, delaying their move. In January 2012, their small shop caught on fire. They moved the office to their dining room table. The shop continued to function in the area where the fire damage wasn’t as bad. In February 2012, they met with Mid-Hudson SBDC adviser Myriam Bouchard with the goal of securing a loan to finish the renovations. A few months later, they moved the office out ...

From the Rockland SBDC Oscar Nordstrom, a Service Disabled Veteran, founded Nordstrom Contracting & Consulting, Corp (NCC) in 2004 as a family-owned and operated small business. NCC provides a variety of construction and renovation work for Federal Agencies, including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, interior fit-outs and finish trades. In that time NCC has performed projects totaling more than $10 million and NCC is especially proud that all projects have been completed on or before required completion and within original budget! NCC’s trademarks are attention to detail, responsiveness, integrity, and genuine pride in its work. Since its inception NCC has grown consistently every year. Mr. Nordstrom says “By aligning the client’s goals with ours, working as a team on each job, we develop and maintain close working relationships with every client. Our past projects, current service contracts and ever-growing portfolio are a testament to the abilities and superior performance of...

I was asked earlier this week to find out who got a contract for a specific service within a specific Congressional district. Normally, these questions fill me with dread. I've never had a reliable source that kept up-to-date information on awardees of Federal contracts, presented in a fairly easy-to-understand format. It was very surprising, then, to discover USASpending.gov. Its mission has a tinge of populism about it: "Have you ever wanted to find more information on government spending? Have you ever wondered where Federal contracting dollars and grant awards go? Or perhaps you would just like to know, as a citizen, what the Government is really doing with your money." Well, as a matter of fact, earlier this week I was very interested in knowing what the Feds did with a specific contract. So, I navigated the site, and arrived here: http://www.usaspending.gov/fpds/index.php?reptype=a Note the left-hand side. It allows you to search for contract awards by a specif...