New York SBDC Research Network

There are times when you or your staff are feeling less than inspired but creative problem solving is essential. And there are some people— maybe even you—who fear the blank page or any situation in which they must use their creativity (technical term: getting creative-now-o-phobia). Getting started is often the most difficult part of the creative process. Rather than worrying about the finished project, start by creating sparks. Think of them as embryonic ideas that still need a lot of nurturing before reaching maturity. Don’t worry about the finished project just yet—instead, focus on rough concepts that ultimately can be molded into a final version. HERE are five fun techniques that will help generate creative sparks.

Check out this inspiring talk on women entrepreneurs.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s February web chat will offer business start-up advice for entrepreneurs. If you are considering starting a business in 2012, SBA can be valuable resource to help you find a mentor, improve your business skills and get training to help boost your ideas. WHO: Janice Washington, state director of the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network, will host the February web chat on "New Year, New Business: How to Start it Right." An experienced business consultant and former business owner, Washington will answer questions about the early steps to take when starting a business, and the tools and resources that can help to get a small business idea off the ground. WHAT: SBA’s web chat series provides small business owners with an opportunity to discuss relevant business issues online with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs. Chat participants have direct, real-time access to the web chats via questions they su

Minimalism can be seen as a design movement, a philosophy, a way of life, a set of guidelines or a combination of all of those. There's no hard and fast definition of minimalism, but there is one common principle that's shared wherever it's defined: focus on the essential and eliminate the non-essential. So what's that got to do with your business, and making it better ? Well, it's about perspective. In a culture that's very stuff-oriented, examining a philosophy that's at least partially about "less stuff" can help you gain some fresh perspective. More HERE .

Presented by the Internal Revenue Service February 15, 2012, 2 p.m. EASTERN, 1 p.m. CENTRAL, Noon MOUNTAIN, 11 a.m. PACIFIC This FREE webinar is for: • Tax practitioners • Small business owners & industry organizations • Payroll professionals • Tax exempt and Government entities Learn about: Employee and Independent Contractor issues and the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program including: • Defining workers as employees and independent contractors • What to consider in determining a worker’s status • Looking at important Forms SS-8 and 8919 • How to treat corporate officers • Determining if you qualify for federal employment tax relief under Section 530 • Details about the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program Note: CPE credit is not being offered for this webinar Register & Attend: Click on the link to register for the session Information: • Visit www.IRS.gov and search Webinars for information about other events. • This event will be ar

Ever feel that your employees don’t respect you? You may think: “So what!” But that would be a mistake. The trouble is that when an employee starts to lose respect, your authority and control can quickly be undermined. Even if you are not aware of a problem employee, the effect can be toxic. Productivity levels drop, accountability diminishes, and the problem behavior can spread to others. But there are things you can do to develop, maintain, and even recover the respect of your employees without resorting to disciplinary measures. Read more .

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ---- a.k.a. 'Obamacare' ---- remains unpopular with many Americans. Richard Kirsch, a Rockefeller Institute fellow and author of the newly released book Fighting For Our Health, writes in a new commentary that there are several reasons for Americans' dislike of the law, but those reasons have little to do with the law's value. Chief among them is the fact that key provisions don't go into effect for another two years, leaving many people with the idea that the act has achieved little. The challenge for the law's supporters, Kirsch says, is to convince people that help really is on the way. To read Kirsch's commentary, visit the Institute's Web site .

The U.S. is still the leading manufacturing nation on earth and the percent of GDP that manufacturing occupies has remained about the same for the past 30 years. More here .

The Office of Advocacy’s Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories supply data on small businesses in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The publication also provides national-level data and limited data on the U.S. territories. The usefulness of the publication is the great detail it provides about small businesses at the state level. The following topics are covered: the number of firms, demographics of business ownership, small business income, banking, business turnover, industry composition, and employment gains and losses by size of business. 2011 Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories 2011 Small Business Profiles for New York State [PDF]

In response to a common question to the RN: The Provider Manual to the New York Medicaid Program offers a wealth of information about Medicaid, as well as specific instructions on how to submit a claim for rendered services.

"Each year, schools, school groups, PTAs, PTOs, youth sports leagues and other non-profit organizations raise nearly $2 billion by selling merchandise to the public (product fundraising). This web site is designed to assist these non-profit organizations and fundraising companies in determining the sales and use tax implications, if any, resulting from product fundraising drives. The goal is to provide a publicly-accessible clearinghouse of information about the States' provisions, practices and procedures related to the transactional taxation of fundraising sales, products and organizations. Source of the Information The information on this site was provided by the state revenue departments through a survey distributed by the Multistate Tax Commission.... States are asked periodically to review this information for accuracy. The site reflects updated information as provided by individual states. This site contains information from only those states that affirmatively in

"Power is the ability to get things done. You could say that management is the art of ensuring that things get done. Yet what's so striking about most organizations is that so little management is effective. "That's what academics Heike Bruch and the late Sumantra Ghoshal discovered when they investigated what they called 'decisive purposeful action.' Most companies, far from being hives of busy, effective executives, could instead be seen as "a few isolated islands of action amid an ocean of inaction," the researchers found. Does this ring any bells? It certainly reminded me of many places I've worked -- and run -- where a small number of people always seemed to be doing the majority of work that mattered." More HERE .

Audio podcasts are a great (and free!) way for local business owners to further their own education. Carmen Sognonvi shares the 3 best business podcasts that every local business owner should be listening to .

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration’s national network of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) plays an essential role in the economic development of their states and local communities through their direct, face-to-face counseling for small businesses, according to a report released by the SBA. The report, produced by the National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board, focuses on SBDCs’ impact on small business access to SBA’s programs and services, including access to SBA capital, procurement, disaster and international trade programs. “SBA’s Small Business Development Centers give new and growing small businesses the resources they need throughout the year to grow and create jobs,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “The soundness of our economy depends on stable small businesses across the country and SBDCs are front and center helping entrepreneurs start, grow and expand their companies. These institutions reflect the diversity and individuali

On January 18th, 2012 the internet, or a good chunk of it, including Wikipedia, is going on strike to stop the web censorship bills in Congress. Here's why.

Mashable is a great web site for all things "social media". It is a one stop locale to find out what's trending in various sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Some great infographics and videos re: technology, business, entertainment and more.

From the Wall Street Journal : President Barack Obama is expected to announce Friday that he will exercise his executive authority to elevate the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration to a cabinet-level position, according to two senior administration officials. The announcement will come along with a broader proposal from Mr. Obama to combine the Small Business Administration with five other government offices that would become a single, streamlined agency. It was unclear if the SBA would retain cabinet-level status if the consolidation went through. [The President delivers remarks on government reform at 11:20 a.m., according to White House calendar]

From HERE : "Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are partnerships between the government and colleges/universities administered by the Small Business Administration and aims at giving educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs." If you are a business owner and you have not worked with the SBDC in the past, then 2012 is your year. There are 5 key reasons that you need to develop a relationship with your local SBDC .

From The Dreamspeaker : Although the June 2011 report published by the McKinsey Global Institute states that the recession has caused a decline of seven million U.S. jobs since December of 2007 as well as a drop of 23% in the rate of new business formulation we face a shortage of qualified workers. Quoting the McKinsey report, “In our survey 64% of companies reported having positions for which they often cannot find qualified applicants, with management, scientist and computer engineers topping the list.” More than ever, the skills of job seekers don’t fit the demands of job openings.

Disaster Planning Tips Discussed During Free Webinar Hosted by SBA and Agility Recovery Solutions WASHINGTON – Natural disasters exacted a significant financial toll on the United States in 2011. The Insurance Information Institute reports that insured losses from a series of disasters – which included devastating spring tornadoes in the Midwest, floods in the southeast, wildfires in the southwest, and Hurricane Irene – totaled $35.9 billion. Small businesses were hit particularly hard as many were forced to close during these disasters, causing economic injury to many that were already struggling. The factors that cause financial losses after a disaster, however, can be offset by having a recovery plan in place. On Tuesday, January 17, Agility Recovery Solutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration will host a free webinar that looks at how natural disasters in 2011 caused business interruptions, with a focus on business continuity lessons learned. Agility President and