New York SBDC Research Network

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...

Why does anybody swap suppliers? Sometimes it’s because there is a cheaper alternative but mostly it isn’t. Would you swap dentists because a cheaper one set up next door? This is very unlikely. In reality people keep the status quo and only move on for a reason and in most cases whether they stay or go is up to you. Here are three of the most popular causes for client departures:  -“Perceived indifference”: The client thinks you don’t care anymore even though you do. They feel neglected and can only look back with wistful fondness to the days when you were courting them and couldn’t do enough for them. They just want to be loved and cared for but sadly you’re just not hitting the spot any more. -Poor quality: You simply aren’t delivering the quality they expect for the money they’re paying and because of point 1 above you don’t even know it. Regardless of the product or service you offer great quality is the best form of protection you can get. -Knock-out deals: One o...

The following appeared originally in the October 2007 "LaGuardia SBDC Quarterly Newsletter". It is an interview with an owner of a successful manufacturer & distributor of ethnic food items. I think that it could be of interest to any number of our clients. It is reproduced here with the permission of the LaGuardia SBDC. My thanks to them. *** House of Spices was started in 1970 with one store in Jackson Heights, New York by brothers G.L. Soni and Kumar Soni. In the following years they experienced extraordinary growth and opened up warehouses around the U.S. that import, store, manufacture, and distribute over 3,000 different food items from all over the world to the ethnic as well as mainstream markets. The following interview was conducted with Mr. G.L. Soni: Q: House of Spices has grown to be a large and successful wholesaler with exclusive distributorship of major food labels including several of its own. However, it all started as a small retail store. Lookin...