New York SBDC Research Network

The state tax department is portraying its website thusly: "Business taxpayers can refer to our new and improved web pages designed to help them comply with New York State tax law throughout the business lifecycle." For more information, select the links below: Starting or buying a business Expand a business Close or end a business

Demographics are a very important part of the research that we do here at the Research Network. While demographic is defined on dictionary.com as "a statistic characterizing human populations (or segments of human populations) broken down by age or sex or income etc", this definition does not cover the many uses of demographics. Demographics can help a small business owner decide where to open a new business, who the business' target audience should be, and many other essential aspects of operating a small business. Below are links to demographics information that is available for free. Bureau of Labor Statistics Demographic Data American Fact Finder - Demographics from the U.S. Census Social Statistics Briefing Room - The White House I also found a useful pathfinder from the University of Michigan Documents Center on Statistical Resources on the Web - Demographics and Housing

Two new items we have in our library are: National Coffee Drinking Trends 2008 What You Need to Know, When You Need to Know It Table of Contents Highlights Background Research Methodology Overview Detailed Sections Coffee Consumption Frequency Coffee by Type Coffee Consumption by Age Coffee Consumption by Region Coffee Consumption by Time of Day Coffee Consumption by Location Drivers and Barriers Country Origins/Certifications Coffee Additives Consumer Profiles Appendix A Guide to Developing a Community Farmers' Market from the Farmers' Market federation of New York, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. Table of Contents Introduction Building Interest Market Research & Assessing a Need for a Market Market Organization Preparing for the First Season Evaluation Appendices: Checklist for Developing a Farmers' Market Sample Survey for Farmers Sample Survey for Consumers Sample Rules and Regulations for a Farme

We all know that it is increasingly difficult for even well-established small businesses to get credit. But your SBDC can help! Tom Morley (and I think I saw Geri Kavanah too) from the Westchester Small Business Development Center, and their client, Carol Conolly of Discovering Me Nursery School, discuss these issues with Business Week TV. Watch it here:

Stolen from J.J. Hill Library blog because I found out about some sources I didn't know about before. Trade shows are a tried and true way of reaching out to and interacting with numerous potential customers in a short period of time. But they can take some finesse to do right. The Trade Show Handbook can help you put together that "just right" show. The site offers guides and tutorials for choosing and maximizing a trade show presence, links to directories of trade shows by industry , and a listing of convention centers by state . You'll also find lists of event planners and suppliers for help bringing it all together. Trade shows, as with any form of marketing, should be entered into with forethought and a solid plan. Formulate that plan with the Trade Show Handbook.

Here's an article that offers a few tips on screening employees through the Internet. Some of it is rather obvious (check Google . . . really?). It also cites a few fee-based sites that help with background checks. On a similar note, the Degree Check website is a useful tool to see whether or not a candidate for a position really has that MBA. There are likely dozens of additional sites that perform similarly useful functions. Anyone know of any off the top of their head?

Happy Fiscal New Year to everyone on the Federal calendar. Tuesday saw the end to what's been a turnaround year for our library. We hired Alexis in March, and she seems to be the final piece to the puzzle. We just finished the busiest September in our 16-year history. Requests are up 31% over last year, to a point not seen around here since 2003. A few weeks ago witnessed the 25,000th request in our history. Turnaround time has been cut in half. In addition, we've incorporated an SBDC presence on Facebook , LinkedIn , and Twitter . We've been defined in Wikipedia . We've been slowly building a Spanish-language collection, and a long-overdue LISTSERV has been built for SBDC personnel. There's miles to go . . . we're about to embark on rigorous training in GIS services. We'd like to explore podcasting, both for what we do & how to help our clients do the same. There's lots more to come. It's been a fun year. We're looking forward to the next o