New York SBDC Research Network

County Business Patterns (CBP) is an annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry. This series includes the number of establishments, employment during the week of March 12, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll. This data is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark for other statistical series, surveys, and databases between economic censuses. Businesses use the data for analyzing market potential, measuring the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, setting sales quotas, and developing budgets. Government agencies use the data for administration and planning. ZIP Code Business Patterns data are available shortly after the release of County Business Patterns. It provides the number of establishments by employment-size classes by detailed industry in the U.S. These two programs cover most of the country's economic activity based on establishments.

By John Jantsch, from SmallBusinessNewz It's great to have a plan. Even better to charge out and begin to execute the plan. But, to keep your plan alive day in and day out, you've got to have a routine that holds everyone accountable for all things big and small. To keep commitment high and reinforce a culture based on your objectives you need to install a systematic approach to meetings that allows people to be heard, get help, pose ideas, participate, learn, grow, move projects forward, and stay connected. This will include annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly and even daily planned sessions designed to accomplish specific tasks. I can almost hear some collective groaning coming from my readers, but trust me on this. If you do this right, you'll wonder how you ever succeeded without it. You may find that more gets done in terms of actual work and real team building in a month using this system than at any time in your business.

New statistics showing the industrial specialization and diversification of U.S. businesses are now available from the Census Bureau's Enterprise Statistics Program . In developing a complete series of reports to be published with the 2012 Economic Census results, Census Bureau researchers have created an Enterprise Classification System and prototype tables based on the 2007 Business Register. The statistics provide a new perspective for the analysis of enterprises, businesses and their establishments under common ownership or control.

From starting and growing a business to managing operations day-to-day, one thing is certain in business – dealing with laws and regulations. Whether you are hiring your first employee, formalizing your business structure, or applying for a license, you’ll encounter a hairball of ever-changing federal, state and local rules and regulations. To help business owners unravel the hairball and get answers, SBA.gov offers a variety of helpful tools and resources.

Do you know how much privacy your employees are entitled to? For example, if you feel employees are abusing their work privileges, is it legal to intercept emails or phone conversations to find out what they’re up to and confirm your suspicions? Can you ask potential job candidates for their Facebook profile log-on information? Here are some general guidelines that can help.

Do you know your business credit score? Do you rely on your personal credit score for business transactions? Taking steps to separate your personal and business finances is a smart strategy. Here are tips to help you implement a strategy to build good credit in your company’s name.

Benefits.gov can help you identify grants, loans, financial aid, and other benefits from the U.S. government for which you may be eligible and tell you how and where to apply. When looking for financial assistance, remember that there are differences between grants and loans. You are required to pay back a loan, often with interest. You are not required to pay back a grant, but there are very few grants available to individuals. Most grants are awarded to universities, researchers, cities, states, counties, and non-profit organizations. You can search for these type of grants on Grants.gov .

Vol: 31, No: 5 The July edition of The Small Business Advocate focuses on research. The Office of Advocacy’s 2012 round of economic research RFQs are announced in its pages, and Chief Counsel Winslow Sargeant discusses the history and successful record of the 30-year-old Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Also includes are news about a new online information series, Small Business Facts, developments surrounding the complex issue of “Incorporation by Reference” of industry standards

"Partnerpedia, a leading provider of enterprise application store and marketplace solutions, today released findings from its Corporate Mobile App Strategy Survey. Respondents included executives in IT, sales, and marketing, and offered insight into the various approaches and opportunities to procure mobile apps." Large and Small Businesses Reveal Mobile App Strategies

"Time is a resource that must be utilized wisely in order for professional and personal goals to be achieved. Goal setting is one of the best ways to make sure time is managed in a manner designed to reach success. A recent video article posted on the online source inc.com highlighted five great time management techniques that are easily understood and employed. The video was created by Scott Gerber. Leadership development within an organization must account for time management work with all leaders. Again, goal setting is the key to effective time management for any successful leader." Time Management: 5 Useful Tips

"Unfortunately, the whole B2B/social media relationship isn’t without its own set of growing pains as well. Which is, naturally, to be expected; as exemplified by the aforementioned cat videos and pop stars, figuring out exactly how your business ought to engage on these platforms isn’t perfectly intuitive, nor have these channels been around quite long enough for their to be a widespread, well-established protocol. As a result, a great many businesses are not only failing to maximize the benefit of being present on social media, but they might also be hurting themselves." Here are a few common mistakes in B2B social marketing and how you can avoid them: B2B Social Marketing Mistakes You're Probably Making

Here is a great article from the Up and Coming Blog by Bplans. Having viewed several business plans over the years, a common (and very important) item missing from most plans is a breakdown of the company’s TAM, SAM and SOM in the marketing section of their plan. Wondering what these acronyms mean? Well you’re not alone – many entrepreneurs are not familiar with these terms. Here’s a quick explanation of what they mean, followed by an example: TAM, SAM and SOM - huh??

From SBA : Do you know your business credit score? Feel unnerved about relying on your personal credit score for business transactions? As a business owner, taking steps to separate your personal and business finances is a smart strategy. Obviously, this means implementing a strategy to build good credit in your company’s name. What is Business Credit? Business credit is much like your own personal credit score – it’s a proxy for your business’ ability to repay its debts. When you start a business, this type of credit may not be at the top of your agenda. But as you plan to expand and grow, establishing good business credit will be helpful if you decide to apply for a business loan. Who Monitors Your Credit? Business credit, also known as trade credit, is the single largest source of lending and is monitored by business credit bureaus. These bureaus gather data on trade credit transactions and produce business credit reports for the benefit of credit issuers. Credit is measur

There is a great blog I came across called China Law Blog , which anyone wanting to export items to China. For instance, I discovered in this article that there are Fake China Law Firms...where companies "thought they were paying money to a Chinese law firm for something like registering a trademark in China or drafting a manufacturing agreement. Instead, they paid money to somebody that had set up a temporary website with the sole intention of bilking the unwary." Also check out Protecting Your China IP. Me Thinks Thou Dost Worry Too Much . A most useful site.

Or so says online marketing expert Tim Peter: "A few days ago, Mike Moran noted "nobody needs both Pinterest and LinkedIn." And, generally, Mike's absolutely right. Too many guys in black turtlenecks and very cool eyeglasses try to fit their standard portfolio of tricks and tips to your business, without really considering how to various social channels fit your brand's needs. But…Why don't you need both Pinterest and LinkedIn? Actually, you might. Read on to find out why. " Since I don't even have a Pinterest account, I'm behind the curve...again.