New York SBDC Research Network

My washing machine died around the holidays. Thanks to my procrastination and the laundromat around the corning, I managed to go hold out on buying a new one until this Saturday. Good timing, Amelia! Buying a new energy efficient machine this weekend made me eligible for New York's Great Appliance Swap Out , New York's energy-efficient appliance rebate program. If you're thinking about buying an ENERGY STAR refrigerator, freezer or washer there's still time to apply for the rebate. The program runs until February 21st, and according to the website, there's still more than $12,000,000 in remaining funds. If you're planning to recycle your older model, you could get $105 for a refrigerator, $75 for a freezer or $100 for a washer. If you need a refrigerator, washer and dishwasher you can get a bundled package and save $555.

The SBDC at Onondaga, along with the Syracuse District SBA is presenting Operation: Start Up and Grow on Thursday, March 18 in Syracuse, NY. This is a resource day for veterans and has been a very successful event in the past. The SBDC and SBA have received a lot of good feedback from veterans who attended this event. This all day event, is at no-cost to veterans, and includes breakfast and lunch. Please feel free to pass the information on to any veteran that may be interested in attending.

from the THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary, via the SBA Press Office President Obama Outlines Latest in a Series of New Small Business Proposals Successful SBA programs expanded to increase working capital, help businesses refinance WASHINGTON – Friday, February 5, in Lanham, Maryland, President Obama proposed the expansion of two critical Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs, aimed at allowing small businesses to refinance and increasing limits for working capital. These are both legislative proposals designed to help small businesses through what continues to be a difficult period in credit markets. President Obama said, “The true engine of job creation will always be businesses. What government can do is fuel that engine: by giving entrepreneurs and companies the support to open their doors, expand, and hire more workers. Today, we're taking another step towards assisting small business owners get the capital they need to grow and hire.” SBA Administr

For some reason, I have always thought that a password should be super-secretive and only understood by a few select individuals. When I first heard in a movie that the four most common passwords were "God", "Love", "Sex, and "Power" (which the below articles do not list as the four most common), I thought that those 4 words were very poorly-chosen passwords. Later, I learned that weak passwords involve many elements, including a lack of variation in capitalization or not using numbers and/or symbols. The below articles let you know what the weakest passwords you could pick are and how to make sure your password isn't easy to figure out. Top 20 most common passwords of all time revealed: ‘123456,’ ‘princess,’ ‘qwerty’ The top 500 worst passwords of all time If you find your password on one of these lists, I highly recommend changing it.

In view of recent news, here is a useful site sent to me by a friend: www.recalls.gov Here you can look up recalls by class of product and see if you have anything to worry about. You can also search by agency, as well as simply read about recent recalls. It's most useful if you have a product in mind, since there are about a million products say, in the medical category that would never apply to the lay person. So rather than wade through everything, you can type in the product to see what comes up.

Next time you have a tax question, consider going to Twitter for the answer. TurboTax now has a group of folks on Twitter, prepared to answer tax questions on the fly. You can read more abou their set-up here: http://mashable.com/2010/02/01/turbotax-twitter/ Or just go straight to the source and their Twitter feed here: http://twitter.com/teamturbotax To see the questions they are answering, click on any of the @username links in the answers. Will they be able to keep up with the questions as the tax deadlines approach? It’s hard to tell. Still, it’s a good example of a useful service application for Twitter. Do you know any small businesses that might be able to create goodwill with their customers (or SBDC clients?) by answering their questions on Twitter?

Though it may feel as though it is a losing battle, concerns about privacy permeate the national dialogue, from fears about identity theft to potential TSA full-body scans at airports. For many businesses, engaging in customer research can mean walking a fine line between gathering vital information for you and intruding on the customer's privacy. It's a tough nut. You need to know who your customers really are and the reasons behind their buying decisions. But crossing the line to find out too much can be downright perilous. Here are seven tips.