New York SBDC Research Network

 There are the trends we read about in journals and newspapers and then there are the observations we make from our own perspective - and they don't always match. Throughout this pandemic, we have been able to see with our own eyes the businesses that have closed temporarily or permanently. Friends can tell us how they have been affected by COVID-19 and it is no surprise.  While we see all these outward signs of a shrinking back, there are also indicators of new growth. We have been busy despite COVID-19. This article in Forbes describes what we have seen as supporters of small business owners: Small businesses were hit hard by COVID-19 but there were also a staggering number of new business starts. Small Business Struggle While New Businesses Surge: A Paradox? by  Dane Stangler "Existing small businesses continue to struggle. New entrepreneurs are seeking opportunities. That is what the data appears to be saying about the state of small business and entrepreneurship amid...

Written by Dan Lewis  Article from Now I Know  More than 200 years ago, a New York City man named William Colgate made a living making and selling soap and candles.  Today, his name makes up half of that of a multi-billion dollar consumer goods corporation known as Colgate-Palmolive.  They, basically, make three types of stuff: soaps (one being Palmolive itself) toothpaste and other oral care products (under the Colgate brand) and, perhaps surprisingly, pet food.  In 1976, Colgate-Palmolive, via a series of mergers whose history isn’t worth going into, added the Hill’s Science Diet product line (and related ones) to their offerings. They decided not to re-brand the pet food under the Colgate brand because that would be, well, stupid. Who wants to feed their dog toothpaste-flavored kibble? Could you imagine pet food being included among these products?

From News From Me I have a New Concept for the Target Stores: Having salespeople who can actually sell you stuff…and this goes for Home Depot, as well. In the last month, I've had two instances, one at each chain, where I wanted to buy something, the store's computer system seemed to be doing everything possible to prevent that transaction from transacting and human beings were of little use to override it. I'll start with the Home Depot story…

How can you recognize that your project is headed for disaster? Look for these warning signs. Not every project we work on is our crowning achievement. Only a few projects make us rush to our LinkedIn profiles to record how much wonderfulness we accomplished in how little time, with a budget this tiny. Into every project manager’s life a few clunkers must fall. Some failures are preventable; others are out of our hands. But all of us like to imagine we can avoid the worst of the catastrophes… or at least escape with our reputations intact. How can you tell that your project is aimed directly at #headdesk territory? Take heed of these warning signs. If you identify the uh-oh moments soon enough, perhaps you can take remedial action and save the situation. Maybe you can walk away, take a deep breath, reanalyze the requirements, and reset the team. We’d like to think so! See more at Quickbase .

The owner set the business up in such a way, that his risk and financial investment was as close to zero as possible. That way, if it failed, his losses would be minimal. So... With no investment in making the business work and no penalty for failing, he did indeed fail – and extremely fast. You see, whilst he was playing at being in business, his hungry competitors outworked him and outsmarted him. Business today is extremely competitive and competing retailers are working damn hard to make their businesses work. Going into that marketplace, without the willingness to work hard or invest the money required, he could never have succeeded. More HERE .

As BoingBoing noted: Media coverage of successfully Kickstarted projects sometimes makes it look like an easy source of funds for any old half-baked idea. Nope . On the other hand, these were the #1 Kickstarter projects at various points.

The mortality rate for small businesses is still scary. Approximately seven out of 10 new small businesses survive at least two years, half almost five years, a third more than 10 years, according to the most recent United States census... The reasons for the high mortality rate changes little year-to-year, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. High on the list are insufficient funds, poor product or service, unqualified entrepreneurs, and lack of commitment. But the most important, yet seldom discussed, reason most small businesses fail is fear of failure... Read the rest of the Mark Cox article HERE .