New York SBDC Research Network

WASHINGTON – National Small Business Week 2013 will feature business industry leader Angie Hicks, the founder of Angie’s List®, who will take part in an arm chair forum with U.S. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills. This year’s National Small Business Week events will be June 17-21, and will take place across the country featuring events designed to help small businesses start, grow and succeed. Online registration for National Small Business Week opens today to take part in all the essential forums discussing the small business landscape, business coaching services, matchmaking events as well as networking opportunities and award ceremonies. Interested small business owners, business groups, and other aspiring entrepreneurs can now register for National Small Business Week online at www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek . Small businesses that attend will interact with small business experts, federal government officials, representatives from national businesses and local elected l

From CBS News MoneyWatch : There is a proven way to stop the mediocrity pandemic: Perform a quick diagnosis of the biggest problem in the company. If the problem is systems, tightening up is the right thing to do. But if the problem is something else -- strategy, what the company offers to its customers or culture, "the way people talk about themselves, their work and each other" -- then tightening up creates an organizational death spiral. Tightening up is to companies what antibiotics are to a human body. Given the right diagnosis, antibiotics can save a life. Given to a person who has a different problem, they can make a person sicker and vulnerable to superbugs that science can't stop.

The purpose of the research study on states’ regulatory flexibility activity was to evaluate to what extent states went to mitigate the impact of state regulations on small businesses. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) at the federal level requires agencies to minimize the impact of their regulations on small entities without compromising their regulatory objectives. States versions of the RFA, the research indicates, are/have been following different paths to the requirements and are having mixed results. Get the full report or summary . Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Radwan Saade at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

The client had extensive experience in the specialty tool and die industry, producing roll dies for radiator and automotive cooling components. After working for over a month without pay, the client was displaced when his former company became insolvent. Given his design and sales background he wanted to pursue this niche manufacturing market. The client needed help determining the feasibility of the proposed project and finding financing. Client was additionally challenged by a credit rating that had been impaired while working without pay – because he and remaining colleagues eventually left, they were initially denied unemployment benefits which further exacerbated the client’s personal credit issues. SBDC assisted client with a feasibility analysis, credit repair, and the development of a business plan. Many financing options were explored due to credit issues. The SBDC facilitated the client’s application process to local public loan funds. Other assistance included job cost

http://www.sba.gov/advocacy/7540/621871 This study investigates whether the age of a business is linked to innovation and productivity, specifically whether young firms have an edge on older firms. Previous research on innovation has shown that small businesses are more efficient at innovation than large businesses. Background/History Innovative productivity is closely related to the life cycles of firms: the flow from exuberant startup to mature firm. Large and older firms are expected to have an innovative advantage because of their resources (large labs, equipment, financing, experience, etc.); small and younger firms have a different kind of innovative advantage in the ease with which they may engage in unrestrained brainstorming (with no cost justification needed).

The idea for Slick Text was born in 2012 when founder Matt Baglia worked for a company that was considering adding text messaging to its marketing mix. After reviewing several providers Matt recognized some common flaws among all of them. Each platform was fairly difficult to understand and use. None of them placed emphasis on educating their customers on how to be successful with their product, and all lacked personal customer service. Matt and his partner Ryan Kinal realized that if they could create a service without those flaws, there would be an excellent opportunity for a piece of the industry’s pie. “When Slick Text first launched, the platform had very few features. It was intended to be a minimum viable product so we could get it in front of customers and start covering our costs. Even though it was relatively basic, we stuck tight to the core ideology of simplicity and it really resonated with the early adopters,” commented Matt Baglia. “Over the past year, new customers

From the SBA Office of Advocacy : According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the Great Recession commenced in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. This research examines whether observable differences in patent behavior between small and large firms occur during this 2007-2009 period. According to NBER, recessions are typically indicated by a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.1 Research and development (R&D) plays an important role in economic productivity. The United States spends approximately 3 percent of its GDP on R&D, and labor productivity growth has been linked with high levels of R&D. Further, the United States accounts for more than 50 percent of the world’s patents.

From SmallBusinessNewz : If you want clients and prospective clients to think of you as the go-to person, for whatever service you provide, I believe you’ll find this post really useful. It’s based around 3 steps you can take, which will change the way people think and feel about you, so you become their irresistible choice. What is a go-to person? Firstly, I’d like to confirm what I am referring to when I use the term, go-to person. I’m talking specifically about those valued people in business, who we immediately think of when we have a need, related to their area of expertise. When someone thinks of you as their go-to person for a particular need, they go direct to you. •They don’t ask a friend for a recommendation. •They don’t poll their friends on Facebook. •They don’t take their need to a search engine. •YOU get the call! Clearly, the commercial value of being the go-to person for your marketplace is huge. Not only will you retain your existing clients for longer

Black Willow joined the Niagara Wine Trail in January of 2011. This fulfilled a longtime dream for the owners. They converted a 35-year-old pole barn into their tasting room and production area. They hired a local winemaker as a consultant to ensure the quality of their wines. Black Willow is open seven days a week and currently offers nine wines. They have several new varieties in development. In addition, they have 500 peach trees and 30 cherry trees. Black Willow has product in the SBDC Wine outlet in China. Cindy joined Jinshui Zhang of the NYS SBDC, and Empire State Development on a trade trip to China in the fall of 2012. She has shared what she has learned with others on the wine trail. The Niagara SBDC (Maureen Henderson) helped the clients put together their loan package/business plan to obtain their start-up funding. Additional assistance included aiding the development of their marketing strategy including a comprehensive branding approach and helping them connect with

Rep. Michael G. Grimm (R-SI/Brooklyn) was joined by Small Business Development Center of CSI (SBDC) Director Dean L. Balsamini and local small business owners impacted by Sandy on May 20th, 2013 to announce the opening of an SBDC Satellite in New Dorp. The satellite office will be staffed by Business Advisor Joseph Bottega and will offer a variety of services, including disaster recovery assistance. For 20 years the SBDC at CSI has offered free business assistance at the College of Staten Island. Now with the expanded services into New Dorp with a new satellite office, located at 1361 North Railroad Avenue, this location becomes SI SBDC's second satellite office in addition to the office in Bay Ridge Brooklyn which opened in 2011. Both locations have expanded the SI SBDC's footprint in assisting small businesses throughout the local area communities. Small Business Development Center New Dorp Satellite Office Empire State Bank 1361 North Railroad Avenue Staten Island N

Red Castle Bakeries was founded in 1996 by Marco and Lucille Minuto. The Minutos started this business after Marco was laid off from a 15 year sales and marketing career with a beef patty company located in NYC. The two decided to start their own manufacturing and distributing company delivering beef patties throughout the Long Island and NYC region. They moved their growing business to their own building in Bayshore in 2007 and grew to employing 25 local residence. Shortly after the expansion, Mrs. Minuto was left a widow. She was faced with selling the business or to continue as the new President and running the operations with her sons. She felt compelled to stay as so many employees and her own children were so vested in the business. She and her son Marco continued to operate and work hard to preserve what had been created. Mrs. Minuto came to the Small Business Development Center in Farmingdale on November 14, just 15 days after Super Storm Sandy devastated so many

Signs.com Announces Small Business Sign Giveaway Signs.com is launching its Business Hours Giveaway. As a part of the event, the Salt Lake City, UT company is giving 5,000 small businesses a free business hours decal to place on their local store or office window. According to Signs.com communications director Daniel Royer, local businesses will "spend money on banners and yard signs but many times having a nice looking business hours decal on their front door or window is an afterthought. We owe much of our success to the small business community and we wanted to show our appreciation by giving them a great decal absolutely free.” The Business Hours Giveaway is completely free to the first 5,000 businesses who visit www.signs.com/business-hours-giveaway and redeem their sign. There are 11 different professionally designed templates to choose from and each design is completely customizable to meet the needs of any business. For more information about the Signs.com Busine

The owner set the business up in such a way, that his risk and financial investment was as close to zero as possible. That way, if it failed, his losses would be minimal. So... With no investment in making the business work and no penalty for failing, he did indeed fail – and extremely fast. You see, whilst he was playing at being in business, his hungry competitors outworked him and outsmarted him. Business today is extremely competitive and competing retailers are working damn hard to make their businesses work. Going into that marketplace, without the willingness to work hard or invest the money required, he could never have succeeded. More HERE .

When he was in the Air Force, while traveling extensively throughout Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the United States, Peter DelCotto developed a wealth of knowledge about food and exotic cultures. He came to believe that food tells a certain story about the people and their environment. He decided to become a chef to share his experiences in other cuisines by highlighting the most popular dishes of each respective culture. In 2011, Peter expressed his passion for cooking in an essay submitted to a ChefUniforms.com contest and won a trip to the National Restaurant Association conference. After earning a degree in Hospitality Management from the Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business at Trocaire College in Buffalo, Peter consulted the SBDC for assistance in refining his business plan and financing. With the help of Business Advisor John McKeone, he got funding and founded The Woodshed , a family owned and operated restaurant that serves up traditional Southern style

Lending commitment will support estimated 2,000 Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Add $475 Million in Capital WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the SBA Veteran Pledge Initiative, a commitment by its top national, regional and community lenders to collectively increase their lending activity to veterans by five percent per year for the next five years. Oftentimes, veterans face challenges in raising capital or have trouble receiving a conventional loan. With the support of SBA’s top 20 national lending partners, and approximately 100 additional regional and community lending partners across the United States, SBA expects to assist an additional 2,000 veterans obtain loans to start or expand small businesses by increasing lending by $475 million over the next five years. This equals a five percent increase above historic veteran lending activity by the SBA. The initiative also complements SBA’s existing partnership with the National Association o