New York SBDC Research Network

This past week or so, an executive staff member in my office has been putting a little more effort into his business attire. He has been wearing elegant ties with coordinating shirts and while this is not a huge change from his normal button down shirts and nice slacks, the tie seems to add something. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with his attire when he is not wearing a tie. On the contrary, I have never seen this co-worker, or any other in this office, wear anything that could be deemed inappropriate. But there have been times in my life when I have been visiting other businesses or places of work where I see attire that in my opinion is entirely unsuitable and basically just wrong for the work environment. Sometimes, I even wish that dress codes were more formal, like they used to be, so that there is less opinion involved in deciding what to wear. Read articles on how to write dress codes , how some companies are reverting back to more formal dress codes , and defini...

There was a recent discussion on a listserv I monitor about what a florist might do who is suffering in the recession. One participant suggested "expanding their offerings beyond just flowers...some gifty/crafty stuff to compliment the flowers and get feet through the door and create incremental volume." Good idea, that. One of my favorite resources is looking at the Economic Census for the Product Lines documents. The one for Retail Trade (NAICS 44-45) can be found here . For NAICS code 45311, found on page 173, you'll see that of the 22,750 florists in 2002: 3719 sell candy, 1209 sell other food stuff or 4061 selling some sort of grocery item (some sell both) 9268 sell some sort of kitchenware 603 sell jewelry 364 sell books 4810 sell games and toys Again, these are 2002 numbers - the 2007 numbers don't exist yet - but it does provide some guidance for how an entity might diversify its line. There are similar product line reports for: NAICS 22: Utilities NAICS 42: W...

This is now old news, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention it. Last Tuesday (11/17), Goldman Sachs announced that it was partnering with Warren Buffet to provide $500 million in a "10,000 Small Businesses" plan. I learned about it from the Wall Street Journal last week . The article focuses on the actual plans for the fund. These won't be direct loans to just anyone. $200 million is earmarked on "education and training programs" (they're big on mentoring), and the remainder will be (according to their press release ) "a combination of lending and philanthropic support to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)". The education and training programs will be targeted primarily at "underserved" small business owners, and will be taught primarily at community colleges and universities. Our own SBDC at LaGuardia Community College in Queens will be the first to offer such training, in the spring of 2010. As the WSJ arti...

Less companies are throwing holiday parties. Companies are planning their parties later in the year than usual. Companies are planning potlucks instead of hiring caterers. These are just a few of the methods that companies are using to save money this holiday season. Instead of scratching the holiday festivities altogether, read the below articles on ways to save money this holiday season while still celebrating with your employees and customers. Party Poopers - Holiday Parties Take a Hit in Hard Times Small Business - Partying simply with smaller events, iPods instead of DJs Small Businesses - Still giving holiday gifts to customers

NACS State of the Industry Report of 2008 Data New addition to our collection! "This comprehensive report provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with analysis of 2008 data and serves as a premier benchmarking resource." The 2008 edition does not include the CDROM unlike the 2007 edition but is still packed with lots of good data on the convenience store/forecourt and petroleum retailing industry.

Wait, there's a fee if I buy the tickets online or I stop by the box office ? Concert ticket handling costs are just one of the annoying ways that companies sneak in some profit-boosting fees into your bill. Cell phone plans, online airline tickets, and receiving a printed bill are all frequent offenders. According to a survey from the consumer privacy research group the Ponemon Institute, these "sneaky fees" add up to about $950 dollars a year for the average American. It's tricky to totally avoid these fees, but it's good to be on the lookout, and sometimes there are steps you can take to keep from paying. Read more in these two articles from PC World: Sneaky Fees Oct 27, 2009 Sneaky Fees: 7 New Ways You're Paying More Oct 28, 2008

From onlineclasses.org: If you’re preparing for a career in the business world, you’re undoubtedly devoting a lot of time and effort to your schoolwork, internships and networking. But keeping up with business news is equally important, and these websites can help you apply what you learn in class to real-world situations, from the stock market, to international business, to starting up your own company to social media marketing. Here are 100 best websites for your business news and know-how . The list includes General Media (Forbes, Fortune), Blogs (the Curious Capitalist), Social Media (Fast Pitch, PartnerUp), Stock Market and Finance (CNNmoney, Business Index), Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurship.org, SBA), Business Education (Harvard Business Publishing, MIT Sloan School of Management), Tips, Tools and Tutorials (All Things Workplace, Business Owner’s Toolkit), Career (Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist, Wisconsin School of Business Careers), and my favorite, of course, Green Busines...