New York SBDC Research Network

The Research Network will be giving a 90-minute presentation on Monday, April 30th, from 1:30 to 3:00. The four of us will each spent 15-20 minutes on certain topics that we feel would be of benefit to you in our new electronic age. The presentation is still a work in progress, but the issues we'll focus on include: * Overview of our new way of doing things * Tips on using Adobe Reader, Internet Explorer 7.0, Windows Outlook, blog features, etc. * Discussion of future projects And other stuff, too. We'll be sending out e-mail invitations as the date draws nearer. (Obviously, the date and time might still be subject to change. The e-mail invitation will have the official info.) Obviously, we'd love to have you all there. However, we realize that there'll be other interesting presentations going on at the same time. To help you plan that block of time, we'll be sending out an e-mail that gives a rough idea when each of the four segments will begin. If you can m

Red Flag Indicators Bureau of Industry and Security Things to Look for in Export Transactions Use this as a check list to discover possible violations of the Export Administration Regulations. You may also wish to visit our page that provides "Know Your Customer Guidance". • The customer or its address is similar to one of the parties found on the Commerce Department's [BIS's] list of denied persons. Case example. • The customer or purchasing agent is reluctant to offer information about the end-use of the item. • The product's capabilities do not fit the buyer's line of business, such as an order for sophisticated computers for a small bakery. • The item ordered is incompatible with the technical level of the country to which it is being shipped, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment being shipped to a country that has no electronics industry. • The customer is willing to pay cash for a very expensive item when the terms of sale would normally call fo

Survey Based Assessment of Financial Institution Use of Credit Scoring for Small Business Lending: The introduction of credit scoring by banks for small business loans may help increase small businesses’ access to credit, according to a study released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The report also found that relationships continue to be the dominant factor in banks’ decisions to lend to small businesses. Written by Drs. Charles and Adrian Cowan with funding from the Office of Advocacy, A Survey Based Assessment of Financial Institution Use of Credit Scoring for Small Business Lending, shows that banks, particularly those in urban areas, are moving towards the use of both owner and business credit scoring as a key metric in the small business loan decision. A copy of this report can be obtained here , and the research summary here . Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Charles Ou at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov . **

You may have seen this already, but, in February, SBA's Office of Advocacy released a 40-page PDF version of a study called " Small Business and State Growth: An Econometric Investigation ". (If you want to just read the highlights, go to the summary presented here .) The authors looked at several years' worth of data that measures small firm "births" and "deaths" by individual state, and its effects on statewide personal income, employment, and other econometric tidbits. Interesting (though not surprising) results came out of this. Check out the bulleted "highlights" from page 1 of the summary to read about them.

WANTED: Customer Service Champs Fast Company FC Expert Blogs “It’s interesting to me that every time I read articles and newsletters about leadership, I find references to how true leaders treat their employees with respect and dignity, value their opinions, and ask for their feedback. When we feel treated fairly, we are better disposed towards others. A company culture spills onto the experience you have of its customer service.” Microsoft Small Business Center Keep your customers happy and coming back for more By Joanna L. Krotz Best Customer-Service Practices “Today, competition is fierce, and customers have more options than ever -- a tough combination for smaller companies trying to gain market share. Read the articles below for tactics and case studies for improving customer-service for profit and gain.” A good selection of articles on various techniques used by real companies that have made a name for themselves.

While this may not be hot off the presses, I still thought Brandchannel's 2006 Product Placement Awards interesting enough to merit a little blog space. 2006 was the third year for this series, distributing such honors as "Lifetime Achievement Award for Product Placement," (Everlast. Every boxing movie has a set of gloves), " Wayne's World Award for Product Placement" (for making fun of product placement. 06 winner = Thank You for Smoking ) and 2006 Award for Those Who Were Paying Attention (In mocking War of the Worlds , Scary Movie 4 created a scene with the same Penzoil box held by Tom Cruise in WotW ). The grand winner? Ford. Ford cars appeared in 17 of 41 of the top grossing movies of 2006. If this is all too frivilous for you, check out some of the other offerings at Brandchannel.com , including articles, case studies and papers on modern branding and marketing concepts.

Since there seems to be some understandable confusion about the ACS, I was pleased to see that the Brookings Institution sponsored an internet class for journalists in November 2006. The class was given by D'Vera Cohn, Cynthia Taeuber, and Andrew Reamer. The presentation, slides, and transcript are all available on the Brookings site . The webcast provides a good overview to working with the ACS. It is targeted towards journalists so it is not very technical at all. The formal presentation lasts about 30 minutes and the rest of the time (20 minutes) is questions and answers. Or you can just ask your favorite librarians for help.