New York SBDC Research Network

Let’s be honest. Walking away from a job with benefits and regular pay doesn’t seem like the greatest idea right now with the economy the way it is. But think about this ideal situation: keep your current job while you start a business on the side. This is commonly called “absentee” or “semi-absentee” business. Many people look would love this scenario, but don’t realize understand exactly what it means. Before you get started, here are four helpful tips as you search for that perfect absentee opportunity: More from the ASBDC .

Think about it: Most customers will hear your business name before they know anything about your products or services. Like all first impressions, you only get one, so you better make it count. Leonard Green, professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College, suggests that a name be quick, unique and easy to remember. “You have 10, 15, 20 seconds to catch people’s attention,” he says. “Just get in there and do things differently than what everybody else is trying to do, because that’s where the home runs come from.” More HERE .

If you’ve ever started a business, been involved with a Startup, or know somebody who has; a business plan in a static state is good for a matter of days. It is not that the process of planning is bad. It is that fact that things in the business world change at warp speed. I recently found a solution to this problem that I am going to share in the post below. Recently I came across a tool called www.fundingroadmap.com . In their own words they are a “..fast and easy multiple choice planning platform built in the cloud.” So….what does that mean? It means it has never been easier to build a business plan. It means it shows you everything you need to take your idea and put some meat to it. It means that when you show this to an investor it shows you know what the hell you’re doing. More HERE .

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides access to a variety of useful statistics, but there are two publications that I find particularly useful while doing research. Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-2011 - The Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information for hundreds of different types of jobs, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Outlooks include: Nature of the Work Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Employment Job Outlook Projections Data Earnings Related Occupations Sources of Additional Information Career Guide to Industries 2010-2011 - The Guide is a companion to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, providing information at the industry level, for dozens of different kinds of industries. Categories for each industry include: Nature of the Industry Working Conditions Employment Occupations in the Industry Training and Advancement Outlook Earnings Sou

Clients come to the NYS SBDC with business ideas ranging from the norm to the weirdest business you can think of, and then some. While we never want to discourage an individual from following their dream, the reality is that not all small businesses will succeed. Often times the more specialized business ideas have more of a chance than the norm because the norm is what everyone else is doing. Yahoo Small Business recently published an article on the 7 Most Overrated Businesses . "The problem: Many would-be entrepreneurs are drawn to businesses they like to patronize or the ones that are cheapest and easiest to start. Instead, experts argue, aspiring entrepreneurs should create firms in which they have professional experience so they have a competitive advantage in the market." So if you were thinking about starting one of these types of business and I have now discouraged you, what can you do now? Well, you can check out the Most Successful U.S. Startups 2008 . Or, if you ar

It's been almost two years since I first wrote about this resource in our collection. I guess our blog has reached the age where we can dip into the archives once in a while to review some older posts. I won't repeat it verbatim (no need to plagiarize myself). However, I have done a few searches for venture capitalists this week, and, in both occasions, lacked information to create a more focused list. Most advisors, when requesting such a search, will let us know the industry in question. Also, as a general rule, we limit our results to those firms with an office somewhere in New York. However, there are two other factors worth knowing: 1) The amount of funding being sought (many firms have a minimum and/or maximum amount that they're willing to invest); and 2) The development stage of the business Galante's defines some of these development stages: Seed - Concept or idea stage. Money needed to research market and concept feasibility. Startup - Pre-operational f