New York SBDC Research Network

Since May 6th, we at the Research Network have been damn lucky to be borrowing Amy Peker to help us out with the research. She started out in early 2009 as student help. We brought her back for a summertime gig because, well, we needed the help. Some of you (well, 57, to be exact) have been on the receiving end of her work, which I consider to be professional grade. Today, sadly, we have to bid her goodbye, and good luck. She's a librarian now . . . all grown up, and no longer an intern. Amy learns quickly, and has a laser-like focus. She was getting the hang of learning the art of reading between the lines of research requests (something that she'll never really stop learning), and then pick among the resources at our disposal to best answer what was asked. We'll miss her unique sitting posture, her love of Wheat Thins & all manner of snack crackers, and her adventures in dog training. We've never had a rugby player/librarian before - such a person is good t...

Remember the intern at Morgan Stanley who shocked his bosses when he reported that he and his peers weren't all that into Twitter ? According to a recent New York Times article, he seems to be correct about teens and Twitter. " Who’s Driving Twitter’s Popularity? Not Teens " examines the demographics of Twitter users, and argues that technological tools can succeed, even without the trendsetting prowess of the teen crowd. It's a good lesson - not every online tool needs to be marketed to the under-18 crowd, after all they are notoriously fickle, and some applications are just better suited to adults.

I found two interesting articles at ConnectIT USA last month. They seem to be two sides of the same coin. In Risky Business: How repeat customers may jeopardize your future , Jeff Mowatt suggests the possibility that "some folks who spend their money with your organization may not enjoy doing business with you at all. As a manager, how do you know that your customers are in fact loyal? Ask. In a round-about way, that is." When you read his example, I'm guessing many will nod with pained recognition. Mark Cox, in Strengthening customer relationships in times of crisis , posits: During times of economic crisis, organizations struggle to communicate unfavorable news, from lower earnings and shrinking market share, to cuts in service and increases in prices. The conventional wisdom is that bad news damages customer relationships and breeds mistrust among consumers. However, a new Simplicity Survey...finds that delivering bad news is an opportunity -- if done in the right ...

Haven't stolen borrowed from the Hill Library lately: A couple great resources to find statistics and resources on industry and business in Canada. Industry Canada is the place to go if you're looking for information on the state of Canada's industry. It includes business tools for start-ups, as well as information on electronic commerce. Use the company directories to research companies, or search for information on statistics, financing, innovation, research, science and technology, regulations and standards, and more for Canada. Canadian businesses and start-up entrepreneurs can use Canada Business to reduce "the complexity and burden of dealing with various levels of government" when attempting to start or run a business. Canada Business covers a range of relevant topics, from starting a business to taxes to selling to government. You can access Canada Business services via Web, email, or phone.

On the New York State Small Business Development Center's website today we have debuted a new section titled Recession Survival Guide for Small Business . The guide is intended to help small business owners' throughout the recession by focusing on certain topics that are universal to any small business. The subjects discussed are Advertising, The Internet, Doing Business with the Goverenment, Labor Force, Economizing, and Going Green. Each section is designed to help a business owner re-evaluate their current way of thinking to maximize the expenditures and effectiveness of each business aspect. As an ongoing document, we would welcome any comments regarding other topics business owners would be interested in reading about.

We see a lot of information on making the most of referrals, having reciprocal relationships with other businesses, but they all assume you've had your first customer. These are a few articles on starting somewhere to get that first customer. Getting Your First Customer Strategies: Getting your first customer takes work 8/7/2009 3:58 AM By Rhonda Abrams USA TODAY Recognizing the difficulty of getting the ball running, the author suggests some ways to build clientele. OnStartups Startup Diaries: Getting Your First Customer This blog entry offers a different point of view for a software developer. Getting Your First Customer: 2007 Entrepreneurship Conference Interactive presentation by Chuck DeVita, Growth Process Group. This is a video presentation from Stamford University on the same issue.

Based on how often I talk about it, you would think that I really enjoyed the movie, “Minority Report.” Well, I didn’t hate it, but there’s one part that made me really excited. You remember in the beginning, where Tom Cruise is pushing around holographic images with his hands? I want that. I’m almost there, now that I have two computer screens and can drag open windows from one screen to the other, but it's still not quite as much fun. If those holographic screens are the vision of the future for projecting images, what do you think the communication devices of the future will look like? Designers at Motorola had a go, and the results look like they’d fit nicely in almost any futuristic flick. Which one do you want? I like the bracelet…. Design World: What will communication devices look like in 2033?