New York SBDC Research Network

WASHINGTON – A new technology tool for small businesses is now available to help them grow and create jobs. The new education resource, Business Technology Simplified, helps small business owners connect the dots between entrepreneurship and technology to give them a competitive edge. The U.S. Small Business Administration and Microsoft have teamed up to develop this free, comprehensive guide on how technology can improve the small business owner’s chances for success. The Business Technology Simplified guidebook includes fundamentals on the importance of technology, and on how it can be used to achieve a business’s goals. In the guidebook’s foreword, Earvin “Magic” Johnson writes about his journey in developing a multimillion dollar company and the value of technology to remain competitive... Business Technology Simplified offers straightforward tips on how to use technology and innovation to make businesses work more efficiently. The guidebook incorporates relevant and practical

WASHINGTON – A very popular initiative that in just three-and-a-half years has provided more than $560 million in loan guarantees to nearly 7,000 veterans to start or expand their small businesses is being renewed for three more years, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Patriot Express, a streamlined pilot loan product based on the agency’s SBA Express program, offers an enhanced guaranty and interest rate on loans to small businesses owned by veterans, reservists and their spouses. Over the past two years, due in part to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, loan volume increased dramatically. “America’s veterans have the leadership skills and experience to become successful entrepreneurs and small business owners,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “The impact of this program over the last three-and-a-half years has meant thousands of veterans and their families have had the resources to pursue their dreams as entrepreneurs, and at the same time create j

The New York State Department of Labor provides very useful statistics on wages, both by occupation and industry . Annual wages for each occupation are divided into mean, median, entry, and experienced levels. Wages can be examined at both the state level and by region. This is the best way to determine what a business owner should pay their employees.

A nifty source. Tip of the hat to Hill Libraries: Free5500.com contains PDFs of Forms 5500 from companies of all shapes and sizes. What is a Form 5500, you ask? It's a disclosure form required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Depending on the Plan type and other factors, the accompanying schedules may include information such as ESOP (employee stock ownership program) information, financial information, service providers, financial transaction schedule, retirement plan information, and more. Free5500.com requires free registration to access, but registration lets you search by company name, EIN, state, ZIP, area code, plan type or class, assets, and number of participants, and includes up to 10 years of historical forms. You can also print the PDF formatted documents. Note that the free access may limit you to forms that are at least 2 years old or so (a subscription may net you more current data, as well as other perks such as more robust searching). Free5500.com

American FactFinder is the primary tool for accessing data on the 2010 Census, the American Community Survey, Population Estimates and eventually the Economic Census. This link will help you navigate the new version of the American FactFinder page on the Census website. Please take some time to become familiar with the site before it goes live in January 2011.

Here's a link one of our SBDC advisers found. It's from 1997, and you have to wait for the commercial, but it's useful stuff.

Release Date: December 2010 Volume 29, number 8 The Small Business Advocate is a periodic newsletter that details economic developments and regulatory trends related to small business as well as the latest initiatives of the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. In This Issue Broadband Survey Published Chief Counsel Calls for Repeal of 1099 Requirement Where Will the Jobs Come From? FCC Broadband Comments H-2B Program Changes and more

December 2, 2010 letter from Karen Mills, SBA Administrator Dear Small Business Owner, As I’ve traveled the country this year, I have heard from many of you who are looking forward to the new tax credits, health insurance exchanges, and other tools that will help you provide health insurance coverage to your employees as a result of the Affordable Care Act. The most immediate benefit of the new law is a tax credit that will help America’s smallest employers and nonprofit organizations (less than 25 full-time equivalent employees with average annual wages below $50,000) who have been hit hardest by premium increases in recent years. Today, I’m pleased to announce that the Administration is releasing a one-page form and instructions on how to claim this credit for the 2010 tax year . In addition, new guidance released today answers questions that many of you have asked related to: your current contribution arrangements, eligibility for certain religious institutions, and participation by

An estimated 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV, and yet one out of five don’t know it. World AIDS Day (December 1) is an opportunity to take action.

The mortality rate for small businesses is still scary. Approximately seven out of 10 new small businesses survive at least two years, half almost five years, a third more than 10 years, according to the most recent United States census... The reasons for the high mortality rate changes little year-to-year, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. High on the list are insufficient funds, poor product or service, unqualified entrepreneurs, and lack of commitment. But the most important, yet seldom discussed, reason most small businesses fail is fear of failure... Read the rest of the Mark Cox article HERE .

I believe there are some really good aspects of the new health care bill. This is not one of them: Over-the-counter medications will require a prescription to buy them with flexible spending account funds next year under new health care reform regulations. "The health care reform law sharply restricts FSA reimbursements for OTC purchases such as nonprescription pain relievers, cold medicines, antacids and allergy medications." Insulin is specifically excluded from this ruling. Specifically, "the IRS says OTC reimbursements require a prescription, which it defines as a 'written or electronic order for a medicine or drug that meets the legal requirements of a prescription in the state in which a medical expense is incurred and that is issued by an individual who is legally authorized to issue a prescription in that state,'" whatever THAT means.

The majority (82%) of small business owners feel that their interests are typically overlooked by the government, according to a new survey by Regus. More than half (56%) in the U.S. believe banks should be forced to lend more to entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses. Seventy-five percent of U.S. entrepreneurs also stated that government venture capital funds should be available to support entrepreneurs and their business initiatives, indicating that maintaining cash flow continues to be of concern for businesses. More HERE .

A recent article in the Albany Business Review brought to my attention that New York State has set aside $25M for small business loans. The board of Empire State Development Corporation approved the funds Nov. 18. The money, in the form of a revolving loan fund, was included in the current state budget as an attempt to combat the problems small companies have had accessing credit during the recession. The lenders are to provide an equal amount of matching funds—generating $50 million for lending to small businesses, particularly minority- and women-owned firms, over the next two years. The low-interest capital will flow through 20 “alternative lenders,” such as credit unions and community development financial institutions. The money will support micro-loans of $25,000 and below, as well as larger loans of up to $250,000. To see a list of the financial organizations receiving the money and to learn more, click here .

Thanksgiving: thanks to the Census Bureau . The "event became a national holiday in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt clarified that Thanksgiving should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month to encourage earlier holiday shopping, never on the occasional fifth Thursday." We are thankful that FDR provided that extra shopping period. Otherwise, Thanksgiving would have been a week later in 2000, 2006 and 2007, and would be a week later in 2012, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2028, 2029... Seriously, I am thankful for all sorts of good things.

As supply costs in the food and beverage industry are inflating at alarming rates, now is a good time for effective food service managers to revisit their menus and develop some pricing strategies to position them for continued success in the marketplace. Quite a few operators are rightfully concerned about recent price increases. Still, this actually provides a nice window of opportunity to make some changes to menu prices and actually increase profit. While I would like to provide a tried and proven formula food service managers could use for pricing their menus, the fact is that menu pricing is more of an art than a science. There are just too many different factors that come in to play and probably one of the biggest mistakes managers make is to price their menu offerings based on formula rather than thinking about some of these factors.Any business that is considering their menu prices should not only consider their supplier costs, but also a competitive analysis and some form of

Succeeding in business is all about accurately analyzing information and then making smart decisions. Falling for BS is antithetical to both. But with the world awash in half-truths, partial distortions, aggrandizing exaggerations and out-and-out lies you’ll have plenty of opportunities to fall prey to other people’s bull. How can you protect yourself from being led astray by their nonsense? Read HERE .

Many people come to the SBDC for assistance with creating a business plan. This is always a necessity when applying for financing at a bank or credit union. When someone is going to agree to give you money, they darn well want to know what the plan is for, how it will be spent, and how it will be paid back. But it is also a good idea to create a plan or the rest of the pack - the lone wolves who just want to get the business started, the folks who are self-financing or who have loads of experience in the field in which they are creating their start-up, or the individuals who have small-beans goals. Why is this the case? Your plan can also be used internally by yourself as a living document as a way to understand your thought processes over time. This allows you to make adjustments to your life - err, that's a diary or journal and I mean business - but you see the similarity in the purpose of this type of writing, right? Of course, if you ever wanted to bring in a partner or

Noted pop culture writer Mark Evanier wrote: I went into the first [sandwich shop], which was not a Subway, and scanned the menu, taking note of a meatball sandwich which was described as containing meatballs, marinara sauce, mozzarella and green peppers, all served up on a french roll. I told him I'd like one of them but without the green peppers. I do not like green peppers and what's worse is that they do not like me. Check out the response!

The Census Bureau has introduced a new, user-friendly Internet tool that takes all the guesswork out of finding, downloading and using data from economic indicators. For the first time, users can access data from multiple indicators in one place and all in the same format. This tool provides an easy way to create data tables in ASCII text or time series charts in your favorite spreadsheet format. Users can select an indicator and choose data by item, time period and other dimensions using drop-down menus. Of the Census Bureau's 12 economic indicators, four are operational in the new tool now — international trade, manufactures' shipments, monthly wholesale trade and quarterly services; the remainder are expected to be available in this database throughout the course of 2011. See also a blog on this tool.

Recently I received a request that asked if there were any "federal programs for hiring the unemployed". Through the course of my research, I found three programs that might entice employers to hire new employees regardless of the current state of the economy. HIRE Act Under the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, enacted March 18, 2010, two new tax benefits are available to employers who hire certain previously unemployed workers. The first, referred to as the payroll tax exemption, provides employers with an exemption from the employer’s 6.2 percent share of social security tax on wages paid to qualifying employees, effective for wages paid from March 19, 2010 through December 31, 2010. In addition, for each qualified employee retained for at least 52 consecutive weeks, businesses will also be eligible for a general business tax credit, referred to as the new hire retention credit, of 6.2 percent of wages paid to the qualified employee over the 52 week per