New York SBDC Research Network

A few weeks ago, I received an email from BNet titled "BNET's Recession Survival Guide: 12 tactics for surviving the economic storm -- and even coming out ahead." Below are links to the 12 tactics listed. 1. Refiance Your Debt 2. Prioritize Your Debt 3. Land a Private Placement to Fund Critical Investments 4. Exploit Revolving Credit 5. Raise Cash Through “Factoring” 6. Sell Off Non-Critical Assets to Raise Cash 7. Take Advantage of Training Programs 8. Cherry Pick Top Talent Away from Rivals 9. Rebalance Compensation From Top to Bottom 10. Price Optimize for Your Best Customers 11. Double Down on Strategic Advertising 12. Capitalize on Affordable Luxuries

On December 9, 2008, the Census Bureau will release the first set of three-year American Community Survey data for all geographies with populations greater than 20,000. The release will provide the first look at detailed socioeconomic and housing characteristics for geographies between 20,000 and 64,999 since Census 2000. The type of data released and geographies covered can be found here . Different from a point-in-time estimate Before I talk about multiyear estimates, it’s important to understand the concept of a period estimate because all ACS estimates are period estimates. The ACS produces period estimates of socioeconomic and housing characteristics. It is designed to provide estimates that describe the average characteristics of an area over a specific time period. In the case of ACS one-year estimates, the period is the calendar year. For example, the 2007 ACS data describe the population and housing characteristics of an area from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007, not

Intellectual property, as defined by Wikipedia, is "a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical, literary, and artistic works; inventions; and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, and related rights." Often times our clients who have created an original product or idea become confused when they want to protect their creation over whether they need to apply for a copyright, trademark, or patent. Below are explanations on the three types of protection and what is protected by each. Copyright is for original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. Copyrights are registered with the United States Copyright Office and have an expiration date. The length of the copyright depends on when the work was first created. Trademark covers words, names, symbols, and devices used to identify goods or services in commerce. Federal regulations are available through the United Stat

I spotted Ira Davidson quoted in the December issue of Entrepreneur Magazine in an article entitled Smart Moves in a Bad Economy . Good on you, Ira. This is a hot topic and one we are all interested in hearing more about. Increasingly we asked how small business owners should handle their marketing during lean times. This article encourages owners to think carefully about where they cut and warn against cutting valuable people or marketing dollars so severely they spite themselves. Please remember to let us know when you are interviewed in print or broadcast. We want to know!

"We continue to discuss how to best use a single Twitter channel for a 17,000-person agency covering many complex, interdisciplinary issues." This was the first post I read on the EPA's Twitter feed . So apparently we're not alone in trying to figure out this Twitter thing! At least there are less than 200 of us... Want to see how more government agencies are using Twitter? Use the GovTwit directory to find Twitter accounts for state, local and federal, as well as contractors, reporters, academics.

Here's a Census website I did not know about until recently: the International Programs Center (IPC) "conducts demographic and socioeconomic studies and strengthens statistical development around the world through technical assistance, training, and software products." I knew Census had a world population clock , but didn't notice that IPC was the source the information. IPC assists "in the collection, processing, analysis, dissemination, and use of statistics with counterpart governments throughout the world." Also note these handy links to international statistical agencies .

Here's an article that appears in today's Los Angeles Times : http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-smallbiz1-2008dec01,0,5978675.story According to it, accountants in this part of the country are talking to their small business clients about: deferring deductions and accelerating income; increasing the deduction for expenses; taking a bonus depreciation deduction; and taking a deduction for losses.