New York SBDC Research Network

I just returned from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, where I presented on the demonstrable benefits that a well-designed sign can bring to a small business. Yes, I'm still involved in the subject of signage. For those of you who don't know, we wrote a book on the subject ( What's Your Signage? ) in 2004, and created a website for it in 2006. The New York SBDC is seen by many people in the signage industry as great advocates in this area. I was one of four people who spoke to a collection of 100 or so building inspectors and code administrators from around Massachusetts. These are the people who are charged with enforcing the sign code ordinances of their town. An ordinance in one town can be completely different from the town next door. Just as easily, an ordinance in one town can be friendly to its business community, while the one next door can be terribly restrictive. These folks are the people who have to judge a sign and whether it should exist. They straddle the line betw

An article in the Wired Blog Network recently discussed YouNoodle , a social networking site for startup entrepreneurs. The website has "introduced a dynamic scoring system purports to indicate the viability of early-stage ventures." "A YouNoodle Score is a quantitative measurement, on a scale of 0 to 100, of a startup's impact and importance based on its traction, activity, and buzz. The score is based on information pulled in from thousands of online sources: traffic, mainstream media, the blogosphere, conversations on Twitter, and other key factors." Currently in it's Beta phase, click here to go directly to the You Noodle website.

RS Means Site Work & Landscape Cost Data 2009 " A successful project is built on the foundation of an accurate and dependable estimate. This book will enable you to construct just such an estimate." Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009 "The national data book." Engagement is Not Enough Keith E. Ayers "You need passionate employees to achieve your dream... light a fire within your employees, not under them!" Fresh Customer Service Michael D. Brown "Treat the employee as #1 and the customer as #2 and you will get customers for life." Long Island Business News - Book of Lists 2009 "LI's Best on Display"

Interested in knowing more about "green" jobs and the "green" economy? The following reports may be particularly useful for those of us in New York State. Cleantech : A New Engine of Economic Growth for New York State From the New York City Investment Fund, January 2007 Central Upstate New York’s Green Industry Sector: Opportunities and Prospects Prepared for Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York and Creative Core’s Regional Green Team, November 2007 Current and Potential Green Jobs in the U.S. Economy From the US Conference of Mayors, October 2008 Includes statistics on the number of existing and projected green jobs by metro area. This is just the tip of the iceberg. For more, check out California’s Employment Development Department's Digest of "Green" Reports and Studies - they are doing a great job keeping track of reports from around the country.

Google recently launched an application, Latitude , that tracks users’ location using GPS and cell-tower triangulation. "Latitude" is an opt-in application meaning users can choose to share their geographic location with friends. This application broadcasts the users’ location but is equipped with "fine-grained privacy controls" built into the application that allow the user to control how precise the location they broadcast is. The location can be as specific as available through "Latitude's GPS and cell-tower triangulation technologies" or as broad as city-level. Users can also control who is allowed to view their location by limiting the audience to a circle of friends or a specific person. Is this creepy or is it another way to minimize geographic distance and provide another avenue for information? Google Latitude video - Amy Peker

SBA has upgraded its podcasts to offer additional resources to the nation’s entrepreneurs. The podcasts, available here , provide an introduction to a variety of small business topics, and provide useful business information and advice. The newest podcast topics include Marketing to the Federal Government, Getting Your Small Business Ready for Tax Season and Online Reporting of Employee Wages. Existing podcasts for entrepreneurs are Is Entrepreneurship for You and Checklist for Starting a Business. New podcasts will be added regularly to provide insight and tips on such topics as downshifting in a slowing economy, going green and business plan development, along with programs for veterans and information to help entrepreneurs start, grow and succeed. Each podcast delivers a broadcast quality recording that can now be downloaded through RSS feeds, in addition to portable media players and personal computers. RSS is a format for delivering regularly changing Web content, such as pod

The 2008-2009 New York State Budget Act has drastically altered the way that franchise taxes will be determined for businesses. Last night CBS 6 News reported that the Tax Changes Anger Small Businesses . A Mr. Subb franchise owner in the Capital Region had his franchise tax jump from $425 last year to $3,000 this year. The franchise tax used to be based on payroll and is now based on receipts. A more in depth article was published on January 1st, 2009 in the CPA Journal . Written by Mark H. Levin, a copy of the article can be found here . The below tables were found in the original article.