New York SBDC Research Network

Excerpt from an article by Krista Garcia To read more, visit   eMarketer "According to an April 2018 survey of US internet users by verification services company SheerID and Kelton Global, more than two-thirds of respondents said an offer just for them is more important than a promotion sent to everyone, and 94% would take advantage of an offer that wasn’t made available to the public at large. What would these consumers do if they were given an exclusive offer? Nearly half said they would make a purchase sooner than normal, while 41% would look for products to buy so they could use the offer, and 38% would treat themselves to something they wanted but didn't really need. This would be the nudge to make a purchase, but fewer would spend more or buy a more expensive product. As many studies have shown, consumers want personalized offers, but they also want control over how much a brand or retailer knows about them."

Excerpt from an article by Megan Ray Nichols To read more, visit Thomasnet "You probably already know about consumer sharing services such as Uber and Airbnb. These services involve the peer-to-peer acquiring or providing of goods and services, which are selected by users via an online platform or app. This system is mutually beneficial, since the people who rent out their cars or houses on these marketplaces and platforms can earn money and develop a positive reputation, and the people purchasing have a viable, often much more affordable and personalized alternative to traditional services. When the greater economy subsides, the sharing economy rises. In these situations, people generally have less individual wealth to devote to temporary goods or services, prompting them to search for shared resources. The sharing economy is also growing as the supply chain shifts. Consumers now expect fast deliveries, from anywhere in the world. As a result, shared fulfillment centers...

Excerpt from an article by Bob Coleman To read more, visit  ColemanReport "Paypal, Amazon and Alibaba pose more of a threat to traditional lenders than the Fintech industry. As Fintech ebbs and flows, these high tech giants are starting to put up some serious small business lending numbers. Amazon just passed $3 billion. Last year Paypal also topped $3 billion in small business lending in the United States. In the US, PayPal offers two financing programs, including one that is similar to the UK program, which takes a percentage of merchants’ PayPal revenue and is underwritten primarily on PayPal sales without a credit check. The other program available in the US is closer to a conventional business loan, taking into account a variety of credit factors and repaid with weekly payments from a business bank account."

Article by Scott Kirsner Read more in the Boston Globe When things start going south at a startup, no one wants to talk about it. The stream of self-congratulatory press releases and social media messages dries up, and executives suddenly stop replying to interview requests. Laid-off employees have typically been asked to sign nondisparagement agreements, so they clam up, too. Those reasons combine to make it tough to write about the most challenging stage of a startup’s existence: when it has burned through its bankroll, and will either die, get acquired by another company, or figure out some way to survive. [Cue Gloria Gaynor ]

Excerpt of an article by Megan Ray Nichols To read more, visit  Thomasnet "According to recent studies, approximately 2.6 million industrial robots will be active by 2019 — or one million more units than just a few short years ago. It's a record-setting pace that yields mixed reactions from the public. While some are skeptical of the role of robots in the future workplace, others are more than willing to embrace industrial robots and all the opportunities they provide in Industry 4.0. Big data is just as critical to Industry 4.0 as industrial robots. Many of these next-gen, AI-powered machines utilize advanced data sets to monitor day-to-day operations, provide recommendations, and even learn from their mistakes. Robots are especially popular in predictive maintenance. By monitoring the condition of production hardware and comparing it to recent trends, industry benchmarks, and manufacturers’ specifications, automated robots diagnose machines before they fail. This fun...

From Health.ny.gov As part of the New York State Fiscal Year 2018‐2019 budget, a new law was enacted which places a two‐ year moratorium on the processing and approval of applications seeking the licensure of Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs). This moratorium became effective on April 1, 2018 and will continue until March 31, 2020.  The full language of the moratorium can be found in Section 9‐e of Part B of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2018. To comply with the statute, no LHCSA application can be accepted for processing unless it meets one of the statutory exceptions.

Excerpt from an article by Amy Newcomb To read more, visit  Census.gov "Women continue to earn less than men in nearly all occupations, but this is more pronounced in fields that predominantly employ men and in professions with a comparable mix of men and women. The largest pay gap is within the finance and sales professions. Overall, women are also more likely to be employed in lower-paying jobs. “The pay gap has narrowed over the last 50 years,” said Lynda Laughlin, chief of the Industry and Occupation Statistics Branch at the U.S. Census Bureau. `However, the gender pay gap continues across the board in almost all occupations. In 2016, median earnings for women was $40,675, compared with $50,741 for men.'"