New York SBDC Research Network

Once upon a time, there was a client starting a gourmet food store. The client wished to obtain a list of business fax numbers for the neighborhood immediately surrounding the store with the intent of faxing lunch menus. A bit of digging at the Research Network revealed that while this advertising method appears inexpensive it is unlawful and therefore could end up costing the client quite a bit. According to a notice on the Federal Trade Commission web site , the Telephone Consumer Protection Act bans unsolicited fax advertisements. "The Act makes it unlawful for anyone to fax an unsolicited ad to another individual or business if there is no prior business relationship - and the penalty for each violation is $500 or up to $1,500 if a company willfully and knowingly violates the law." Now, what if the gourmet food store had established a prior business relationship with the recipient of the fax? Then, the gourmet food store could send the unsolicited fax. However, afte

There are many, many sources for franchising information but I’ve outlined a few here: FranchiseOpportunities.com describes itself as the “web’s largest database of franchise and business opportunities” and offers a search facility by industry or investment level with various industries broken out into type of situation. It also offers articles and news on franchise business. BestFranchiseOpportunities.com This site offers a similar look-up including a good resources list naming well-known sources for franchise information. One can also look up company names directly. The International Franchise Association Also includes a franchisor directory as well as a supplier directory, books and reports. Entrepreneur.com Franchise Zone Slices and dices the similar information in some useful ways. Like Top-Home based , Fastest Growing , Top New and Top Low Cost among others. For a quick overview HowStuffWorks.com has an article on How Franchising Works by Lee Ann Obringer that offers pros and

I had a reference question recently. The bottom line was that the client thought that if he typed in a domain name and he didn't find it, it meant that it was available. Wrong. Your clients should be checking the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers , which will direct them to several other locations. Perhaps the most useful is the InterNIC , which provides: a roster of ICANN-accredited registrars (legitimate organizations that sell the domains), information regarding registered domains (who owns the domain names), a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding domain name registration , and more. I like to look at a couple sources for registered domains, so I also look at Whois Source . When I type in ibm or ge or fedex into Whois, I find the domains at .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .us, and are no longer available. Even if they were open, your client should be wary of using them. If a website is a variation of an existing URL that would likely create &

More about those Entrepreneur Start-Up Guides . . . Recently, I e-mailed a Word file that listed the remaining guides in the Research Network collection. While we were busy winnowing our holdings, we received a notice from a center that wondered why we allow only 2 weeks to view these books. This is one of those vestiges of the days when the Researh Network served the entire country. Back then, we had a much greater demand for the guides than we do now. Two weeks was a reasonable duration to allow people to view the guide, but not so long that others would have to wait too long. Obviously, we're not national anymore. As of now, the Research Network will allow these guides to be on loan to SBDC advisors & their clients for a period of three weeks. This includes the mailing time. It's something that should've been done many years ago. Sorry for the delay. This clause will appear in the upcoming revision of the SBDC's Standard Operating Procedures manual. In the near

By now you can probably recognize an Internet scam in your e-mail inbox. But, sometimes the text is so persuasive that you consider forwarding it to one hundred of your closest colleagues and friends. How can you tell if it's for real or not? Do a bit of research at one of these sites: Hoaxbusters: http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/ Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp To discern whether you received a computer virus , search: Symantec: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html Vmyths: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html And if you get spam e-mail that you think is deceptive, forward it to spam@uce.gov . The Federal Trade Commission uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive e-mail.

Many of our clients are setting up or growing businesses in rural settings. A source that looks at rural economics is the USDA’s Economic Research Service: Key Topics: Rural America . It looks at rural industry including farm labor, issues facing farms, how many farms are set up and federal funding distribution. You will also find Characteristics and Production Costs which looks at how production costs vary among producers. Agricultural Outlook: Statistical Indicators includes data on specific commodities, prices and expenditures. Rural America at a Glance is at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/AIB793/ and State Fact Sheets: New York is a summary of farm income and employment for NYS.

Everyone in the country should soon be able to get a FREE copy of his or her credit report from each of the credit reporting companies once every 12 months . The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports , explaining your rights and how to order a free annual credit report. The free reports have been phased in during a nine-month period, starting on the West Coast last December 1, to the Midwest on March 1, to the South on June 1. Starting September 1, the free reports will be accessible to everybody, including those in CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY , NC, PA, RI, VT, VA, WV, DC, PR, and all U.S. territories. There’s a toll-free number to order the report: 877-322-8228, or complete the request form on the FTC site and mail it. The instructions read: "When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, lik