New York SBDC Research Network

he 2012-2013 flu season arrived earlier than usual, so it's time to prepare yourself, your business and your employees. Prevention is important for physical health, as it may impact your bottom line if your staff are out sick. These tips can help you avoid illness and maintain business continuity. More HERE .

From CBS News MoneyWatch : If you told people you were going to launch a small, independent snack food company, with essentially no marketing money, most would tell you to get your head checked. Going up against the likes of Nabisco and Keebler for supermarket shelf space is -- and this is a gross understatement -- a very low odds proposition. But that's exactly what two concerned dads did with their niche-market munchies, and their business is taking off, thanks to the unstoppable social power of an audience with a very personal, vested interest in their success. ...[The founders] ...both have children who are among the estimated 6 million people with Tree Nut and Peanut Allergies (TPA). TPA is one of the most prevalent and serious food allergies...and it affects many more than just the people who have it: There are millions more who care for, feed, coach, play with, teach and otherwise interact with them. ( My daughter has a peanut allergy as well. )

Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab From Computing for a Scattered Mind: From desktops, files, folders and garbage cans to flat surfaces, apps and cloud services, consumers are increasingly turning their backs on a computing paradigm for the focused mind. Instead of sitting at a work desk and completing tasks, there has been a shift in favor of a computing paradigm where things are handled on the spur of the moment and with one hand – subject to the flow of events as we stand in a shopping line, talk to someone at a café, or run between buses during the commute. In our study, 18 percent intend to purchase a tablet, compared to 15 percent who plan to buy a desktop PC. The PC at the work desk becomes the tablet on the living room table, used while watching TV – or on the kitchen table, picked up during a breakfast discussion with the family. Tablet interest is particularly high in Australia, China and Russia. Infographic

FROM the World Bank : Poland was the global top improver in the past year. It enhanced the ease of doing business through four institutional or regulatory reforms, making it easier to register property, pay taxes, enforce contracts, and resolve insolvency. Besides Poland, nine other economies are recognized as having the most improved ease of doing business across several areas of regulation as measured by the report: Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Burundi, Costa Rica, Mongolia, Greece, Serbia, and Kazakhstan. Worldwide, 108 economies implemented 201 regulatory reforms in 2011/12 making it easier to do business as measured by Doing Business. Reform efforts globally have focused on making it easier to start a new business, increasing the efficiency of tax administration and facilitating trade across international borders. Of the 201 regulatory reforms recorded in the past year, 44% focused on these 3 policy areas alone. Singapore topped the global ranking on th

Albany – The State University of New York and The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (RF) today announced the creation of the SUNY Entrepreneur-In-Residence Program (EIR), which will support campuses and SUNY Innovation Hubs in securing the time and skills of proven, private-sector entrepreneurs who bring startup experience and expertise that drive discoveries in SUNY’s research portfolio. “This year, we will pilot an Entrepreneur-in-Residence program to help identify the milestones necessary to move a discovery-based idea to market,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “This program supports New York’s innovation capabilities and competitive future, and will ensure that startup companies are well-positioned to attract the outside capital and managerial talent that allows them to thrive locally.” “Educating faculty and student inventors, making sound licensing determinations, and increasing the opportunities for success for SUNY spin-off ventures are the outcomes we see

From CBS News MoneyWatch : Want the secret to never being stressed out, always knowing where your car keys are, meeting every deadline at work and never receiving a message from your child's teacher saying, "Are you aware that it's been three weeks since your precious snowflake turned in her French homework?" Me too. Unfortunately, much like losing weight, there is no magic pill you can take that allows you to achieve a zen state at work and home. When I start to get overwhelmed, I ask myself the following question: Is this important? So much of what we do isn't important, or it seems important in the moment but doesn't have true impact. Because it's sometimes difficult to distinguish the important from the unimportant, here are some clarifying questions...

From SBA : The 2012-2013 flu season arrived earlier than usual. As the nation braces for increased flu activity, now is the time to prepare yourself, your business, and your employees. Not only is prevention important for physical health, it may impact your bottom line if your staff are out sick. Here are some tips to help you avoid illness and maintain business continuity.Flu 1. Identify a Workplace Coordinator [Note: many of the suggestions would also be useful in case of a disaster.]

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor In 2011, women working full time in management, business, and financial operations jobs had the highest median weekly earnings of any major occupational category ($977). Within this occupation group, women who were chief executives and computer and information systems managers had median weekly earnings of $1,464 and $1,543, respectively.

From Small Business Newz I read about...a restaurant in Los Angeles that offers a 5% discount for tables that turn in all their cell phones for the duration of the dinner. So, instead of jamming cell calls and other onerous ways of forcibly stopping people from using their favorite screen, this establishment is going for something different. It’s very smart and there is a lot that we can learn from their approach, regardless of what business you are in. Think about what problem most of these other restaurants are trying to solve. They are catering to people who want a quiet dinner without listening to other people’s phone calls. So, they forcibly collect phones and declare themselves an oasis of technology. What’s wrong with that? You drive customers away.

Many people don’t know much about Native Americans, even though their contributions to society are significant. And that’s especially true when it comes to the world of business; in some states, Native American-run businesses employ thousands of people and generate millions in revenue. In Oklahoma, the Chickasaw Nation paid $318 million to employees in 2011, and counting auxiliary affiliated jobs, that total was about $528 million. Following are some of the more prominent Native American businesses: Read more

WASHINGTON – A new award has been added by the U.S. Small Business Administration in celebration of National Small Business Week 2013. The Small Business Exporter of the Year award will recognize a small business that is successfully engaged in exporting. A national award winner will be selected from among state award winners from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. The announcement of the Small Business Exporter of the Year award will be made during World Trade Month in May 2013. Detailed information including eligibility and required documents for the national Small Business Exporter of the Year award are available. Nominations for the Small Business Exporter of the Year award are being accepted through the online portal, launched last month , and in hard copy. The dedicated web portal was designed for easy submission and tracking of award nominees for Small Business Week 2013, and is actively accepting nominatio

New this year, you could get a tax break when installing solar energy equipment in a commercial building, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced . Beginning January 1, 2013, the State's 4% sales tax won't be charged on the sale or installation of commercial solar energy systems equipment. The exemption also applies to the 3/8% sales tax imposed in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. The new law also allows cities and counties, including New York City, to provide a similar exemption from their local sales taxes.

Google is introducing Friday 15 , a series of talks with industry experts designed to help small businesses succeed online. It promises to provide small business solutions in 15 minutes or less. You have an opportunity to join the live Hangout with Google on Friday, January 11, 2013 at 11am PST/2pm EST. The topic will be Google Trends; an industry expert explains how to use Google Trends to grow your business. Visit www.gybo.com/friday15 to learn how to join the Hangout, sign up for email reminders, and watch previously recorded sessions.

On September 17, 2012, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented seven provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA). The new rules are intended to spur innovation and economic growth by streamlining the patent application process and introducing new procedures to ensure patent quality. Other provisions of the AIA will go into effect on March 16, 2013, including the shift to a first-inventor-to-file system. Read the USPTO press release here . Other provisions of the AIA will go into effect on March 16, 2013, including the shift to a first-inventor-to-file system. USPTO announced a new, user-friendly, web-based search tool to make its patent and trademark examining manuals more accessible to the public. Also, this week, the USPTO and the European Patent Office (EPO) announced the formal launch of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system , a global classification system for patent documents.

From Open Forum : Over 500,000 businesses get started in the U.S. every year, and unfortunately not everyone is a success. (Many of them are bad ideas, and poorly executed.) If you’re thinking of starting up a business in 2013, heed our warning and watch out for these 13 bad business ideas. While you’re at it, check out the best business ideas that we think are winners for the coming year.