New York SBDC Research Network

For a growing immigrant community in the United States, setting up shop means blending tools of the trade from home with discoveries made in the new country, and there’s a strategy that’s threading through an array of small businesses. Leila Rodriguez a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of anthropology, presents her research, “Traces of Home, Legacies of Culture: Business Development Among Nigerian Immigrants in New York City.” Minding Their Own Business – UC Research Examines a Growing Immigrant Population’s Self Employment in the U.S.

From HERE Cyber Monday shoppers looking to score NFL jerseys, DVDs or fancy handbags [had] a better chance of getting the genuine article, after federal enforcement agencies spent Black Friday taking control of 150 websites reputed to deal in counterfeit goods. As part of the ongoing Operation in Our Sites, the Justice Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized control of the sites’ domain names in the largest crackdown to date on online knockoffs, the department said in announcing the crackdown. The domain name servers for the sites — the majority of them selling bogus NFL and other sports gear, along with some offering DVDs, UGG boots, Louis Vuitton bags and other goods — were switched to seizedservers.com, a server run by ICE. Many of the sites were registered to people in China, the Register reported. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that in this fight against piracy, there is much more far-reaching legislation proposed. From HERE The Sto

From FedEx The Memphis hub and flight operations experienced substantial disruptions Monday night due to snow and ice. Potential delays are possible for shipment deliveries across the U.S. FedEx is committed to provide service to the best of our ability. Continue to check fedex.com for service updates as well as track the status of your shipment. Consistent with the provisions of the FedEx Service Guide, the money-back guarantee is suspended for U.S. packages and shipments inbound into the U.S. from international locations with a delivery commitment of Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy produce the Fuel Economy Guide to help car buyers choose the most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets their needs. ... This Guide provides annual fuel cost estimates for each vehicle. The estimates are based on the assumptions that you travel 15,000 miles per year (55% under city driving conditions and 45% under highway conditions). More HERE .

Saturday, November 26, 2011 is Small Business Saturday® – a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. Please join the SBA and organizations across the country in supporting your local small business by shopping at a small business.

Everyone has to increase their prices eventually. If you’re fortunate your customers won’t notice. But in a budget conscious economy, the chances are they will. However, done right, raising your prices should not alienate your customers – particularly if they value you and your services READ MORE .

From Transparency International: Bribing public officials when doing business abroad is a regular occurrence, according to a survey of 3,000 business executives from developed and developing countries. Transparency International’s 2011 Bribe Payers Index ... ranks 28 leading international and regional exporting countries by the likelihood of their firms to bribe abroad. Companies from Russia and China, who invested US $120 billion overseas in 2010, are seen as most likely to pay bribes abroad. Companies from the Netherlands and Switzerland are seen as least likely to bribe. More HERE .

Here is a link to Federal Product Service Codes and Federal Supply Codes . Revised Product Service Codes and Federal supply codes Effective 10/01/2011. The red codes expired 09/30/2011 and the blue codes have been added as of 10/01/2011 Product service codes are used by the United States government to describe the products, services, and research and development purchased by the government. Government procurement specialists and government contractors alike require a solid understanding of these codes in order to produce quality partnerships between buyers and suppliers.

From New York's Libraries Information Network offers this advice from the Office of Cyber Security 1.Use Strong Passwords: Passwords should have at least eight characters and include letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers and special characters. It is important to maintain separate passwords for different accounts to reduce the likelihood of one password being compromised, which may make other accounts vulnerable as well. Developing good password practices will help keep your personal information and identity secure. ALSO 2.Limit the Use of External Devices 3.Avoid Phishing and Social Engineering Attempts 4.Be Cautious When Shopping Online 5.Limit the Use of Administrator Accounts 6.Update Your Software 7.Protect and Secure Mobile Devices 8.Enable Your Firewall 9.Use Anti-virus and Anti-spyware Programs 10.Secure Wireless Networks

From blogger LisaF So how do you select which com­pany to sup­port with your money? Usu­ally it’s the one with the lowest price at our house. But what hap­pens when all pricing is equal? What tips the scales and get the nod? More HERE .

The Foreign Labor Certification Data Center includes an Online Wage Library with Download Data Files, plus Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) disclosure data for the Permanent, H-1B, H-2A and H-2B programs.

And the SBDC was cited: Harry C. Alford's presentation to the Signage Foundation Inc.; Mr. Alford is the President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce In these turbulent economic times, small businesses rely on effective signage to help ensure the continued viability of their companies. While regulations are a necessary part of a complex society, regulatory flexibility is needed to ensure that businesses have the ability to attract new customers and bring back existing ones. Every law and regulation should be evaluated against its impact on jobs. On premise signs[are particularly important to black-owned business, especially those located in economically disadvantaged areas. Therefore, policymakers should develop and implement zoning laws and regulations for signs in a commonsense, business-friendly manner. More HERE NOTE that 10 of the 57 footnotes, starting with #13, are to New York State Small Business Development Center, What’s Your Signage? How On-Premise

If you are a consultant or freelancer you’ll be familiar with this often asked, yet perplexing question: Do I need to incorporate? Legally, the answer is no. The truth is over 70 percent of U.S. businesses are owned by sole proprietors, and operate successfully without incorporating. So, if you can legally operate and be successful without it, why would you want to incorporate your business? READ MORE .

With the Census Bureau's Legacy American FactFinder ending by the end of 2011, you may find this how-to guide from Michigan’s Dept of Technology for AFF2 helpful.

Explore economic activity in your own community - and across the country. YourEconomy.org is a business census containing more than 24 million active establishments (over 41 million total) providing detailed information about the performance of businesses from a local to a national perspective.