New York SBDC Research Network

The folks at Bplan.com have completed the first full season of their podcast, The Bcast. They're on hiatus now, so this is a great time for you to catch up on all the episodes. Click here to check out The Bcast » Season one covered a wide range of topics to help you start and run a better business, from bank loans and lean business planning, to niche marketing and customer service. Subscribe to The Bcast on iTunes » Here are some of season one's most popular episodes:

Peter and Jonathan talk about business buzzwords they hate, and false assumptions you can make about your business. Joe Pulizzi (Founder, Content Marketing Institute) also joins in to talk about the six steps of the Content, Inc. model. The Bcast is the official podcast of Bplans.com, hosted by Jonathan Michael and Peter Thorsson. Tune in weekly for a fun and informative discussion that will help you grow your business. Every week, we bring in business experts to discuss the latest trends in marketing, sales, and entrepreneurship. Skip the stuffy MBA classroom and get information and advice that will actually help you grow your business today—and have some fun while you’re doing it. To listen, see itunes

I have suggested the language podcasts on iTunes . They also have business podcasts on various issues. I've been listening to one called How to Give Feedback About Attire on Manager Tools by Michael Auzenne and Mark Horstman. It's free and you can also get it from their website . One of the sessions I listened to was about talking to employees about dress codes. It is interesting and talks to this team's approach to managing employees in general. For the purposes of this topic they discuss the ways managers talk to employees - making judgements versus offering feedback on employee behavior with an explanation of impacts. In this scenario, not criticizing clothes specifically, but talking to the choices employees make and how to separate the person from the behavior. They describe situations where a dress code is too specific and tries to codify clothes. The difficulty is where a person is not breaking rules but is making choices that creates less than positive results. Th...

I “attended” a webinar on podcasting a couple of weeks ago. While the focus was on the use of podcasting by libraries, here are a few tidbits that would be useful to anyone: Looking for podcasts to subscribe to? Check iTunes or PodcastAlley . Or even a podcast network like the technology-related TWiT Netcast Network . Want to create your own podcasts? It doesn’t have to be too tricky or expensive. Audacity offers free, and easy-to-use sound recording and editing software. About.com has a step-by-step tutorial, “ How to Create Your Own Podcast ” that will lead you through the process. The Research Network has been pondering how we might use podcasting. Any suggestions for topics you’d like to see?