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Energy Efficient Business

A recent article in the Albany Business Review brought to my attention an important program available through National Grid, the core business of transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers in New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Small Business Program was designed for business customers with an average demand use of 200 kilowatts or less (or 40,300 kilowatt-hours or less) per month, National Grid can help you reduce your company's energy costs by installing energy efficient equipment. •National Grid can provide a free energy audit and report of recommended energy efficiency improvements •National Grid will pay 70% of the cost of the installation of energy efficient equipment and you can finance the remaining 30% interest free for up to 24 months. •Cost-cutting, energy efficient equipment available through this program include: ◦Lighting Upgrades ◦Energy Efficient Time Clocks ◦Photo Cells For Outdoor Lighting ◦Occupancy Sensors

No business like snow business

It's getting a little chilly up here in Upstate! With that in mind, here are a few resources related to winter sports: SIA- SnowSports Industries America : Research includes sales by state and region of Nordic, Alpine and Snowboarding equipment. National Ski and Snowboard Retailers Association : The site offers participation figures and articles on industry trends (including the impact of the recession ) Transworld Business : "The leader in boardsports news and information" will keep you up-to-date in snowboarding equipment trends and the hottest cold-weather companies. National Ski Areas Association : Industry statistics include participation figures, number of ski areas by state, and helmet usage data.

State of the Blogosphere 2009

From the description by Eric Olsen, Publisher of Blogcritics/Technorati Earlier this month, denizens of the blogosphere descended on Las Vegas for three days of networking and socializing at the 2009 BlogWorld & New Media Expo. Besides the conference and trade show, there was much to learn from the keynote speakers, and of particular interest was the 2009 State of the Blogosphere delivered by Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra. The 2009 State of the Blogosphere Introduction : Why the results of the survey are displayed according to four different types of bloggers. Day 1: Who Are the Bloggers? We delve into the demographics. Day 2: The What and Why of Blogging : Why we do what we do. Day 3: The How of Blogging : How often we blog, what technologies we use, and whether or not we track our traffic. Day 4: Blogging Revenues, Brands and Blogs : Branding and monetizing our blogs. Day 5: 2009 Trends: Political Impact of Blogging, Twitter Usage . In addition to the survey results, you

It's Too Early . . . or is It?

Yesterday, the 12-year-old in my house reminded me that it was just two months until Christmas. It dawned on me that I'd not yet heard a single holiday song in a store, nor have I seen aisles of pharmacies or supermarkets turned over entirely to that season. I thought this to be a big change from recent years, when I began to think that the Halloween season had been absorbed in to Christmas, much like how small towns in the country wake up one morning to find out that they've become a suburb to a big city. Coincidentally, I would up reading this press release heralding the 2009 Online Buyer Economic Trends Study from Performics. This firm conducts consumer surveys every six months regarding their attitudes towards spending. This survey focused specifically on holiday shopping. Its findings include: - Almost 20% of the respondents had begun their holiday shopping in mid-September; - Nearly 75% of shoppers plan on buying fewer items overall; and - Friends, co-workers, and exte

Information you need...to start a restaurant

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In today's fast-paced world, eating out at restaurants has become a normal aspect of life, with convenience a main factor in choosing where to eat. According to Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Total, there are over 30,000 eating places in New York State. With so many restaurants, is it a feasible option to choose a restaurant as the business that you want to start? In one word, yes. If you can fill a need or create a new and exciting option for locals to eat at, a restaurant can be a very viable business idea. Below are resources to help you start your restaurant. How to Start a Restaurant (Entrepreneur Start-up Guide) How to Run a Restaurant - Start-up Costs (Forbes) Evaluating Restaurant Opportunities (University of Wisconsin-Extension and the Wisconsin Main Street Program of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce) Food Services and Drinking Places Industry Snapshot (2007 Census) The National Restaurant Association

From Theory to Practice

I think the trouble with a lot of marketing ideas is that they fall outside our comfort zone. I imagine that a lot of small business owners are good at making lasagna or tables or cleaning yards but the marketing of the business is where they are not comfortable. Especially when the business is home-based, the "business" doesn't feel that different from the individual. When we send a bunch of great marketing ideas on to the client, I wonder what proportion are useful in that they feel capable of executing them. What I notice in my daily travels are businesses who seem not have taken very simple steps to promoting their businesses. My biggest peave are shop windows that look so dark and uninviting that business appears closed. Lighting a window, improving a sign, finding a niche and capitalizing on it seem like steps even the shyest business owner can implement. While some suggestions sound modest and not necessarily worthy of a literature search, proposing that owners c

"How-To" with social media

I'm pretty sure I've blogged about specific articles from Mashable - The Social Media Guide , but if you have any questions about social media and how to use it, this site has a lot of helpful information. Today I discovered their neat-o " How-To " section. Topics are diverse and include " How to Integrate Facebook with Your Blog ," " How to Get Started With Google Wave " " How To Customize Your YouTube Channel ," and even " How to Plan a Wedding on the Web " (I'll be reading that one on my own time). There are lots of comments and suggestions from other readers, so one way or another, you're likely to learn something pretty practical.