New York SBDC Research Network

US Business Leadership Network companies recognize that the “gold standard” of disability-inclusive hiring starts with building the talent pipeline through effective partnerships. While internships have long been recognized as an essential strategy in this regard, since Disability Mentoring Day was launched as a White House Initiative back in 1999, mentoring youth with disabilities has also gained prominence. Today, Disability Mentoring Day is hosted annually by the American Association of People with Disabilities and celebrated on the third Wednesday of each October. During the 2011 USBLN Annual Conference, the discussion topic for the Industry Sectors Roundtable was, “How does your company develop the current and future applicant pipeline including young adults with disabilities?” Participating Fortune 1000 companies shared that their DMD involvement resulted in the recognition that mentoring youth with disabilities is a business strategy to increase sourcing of qualified future jo

You still need to hand over a paycheck for a snow day in most cases, according to the Labor Department. - A "snowmageddon" such as the storm experienced by much of the United States this week isn't just a logistical nightmare for those trying to travel – it can create conflicts between workers and managers at small businesses. The most-common question: Do you have to pay employees for snow days? (And the inevitable follow-up question: How much will they hate you if you don't?) Here's what the U.S. Department of Labor wrote about snow days in a pair of opinion letters. (Opinion letters aren't the same as law, but courts tend to defer to them and they're a useful guide to how the DOL would rule, according to Business Management Daily .)

Ideas for blog posts are endless, but sometimes it helps to have a little spark to get your ideas flowing. In this post you’ll find 103 “sparks” for you along with 50 more places to look for inspiration. These ideas range from serious to silly and you’ll find some are a better fit than others for your style of blog and your goals. But before you choose any of these ideas, stop to answer these two questions: 1. How can I make this post valuable for my readers? 2. Will this post create value for me? More from Michelle Shaeffer .

After two major retailers, Target Corp. and Neiman Marcus, revealed that massive data breaches had compromised tens of millions of customers' data records, everyone from consumers to politicians has asked how such spectacular security blunders could occur. But if experts' anecdotes and insights on the numerous weaknesses in retail point-of-sale (POS) systems are any indication, it may be surprising major breaches don't happen more often. ... And more retail breaches are likely to be revealed soon. A recent Reuters report indicated that other retailers also suffered data breaches during the holiday season. Undisclosed sources told the news agency that "at least three other well-known U.S. retailers" were breached, and the attack techniques utilized were similar to those in the Target breach. Why are attackers currently having so much success penetrating retail environments? While some may look to cast blame on weak legacy point-of-sale security, others say reta

An Issue Brief published by the Office of Advocacy shows the changing makeup of America’s business owners. The composition of U.S. business owners shifted slightly between 2007 and 2012. During this five-year period, the share of minority and Hispanic business owners had a moderate increase. These changes largely reflect the growth of Hispanics and minorities in the overall U.S. population and workforce. Meanwhile, women’s business ownership rates were stable. Read Advocacy’s Issue Brief #2: Demographic Characteristics of Business Owners . For press inquiries or to speak with Advocacy’s Chief Economist Janemarie Mulvey, Ph.D., contact Elle Patout, Public Affairs and Media Manager, at (202) 205-6533 or elle.patout@sba.gov.

In 2013, organizations finally began in earnest to integrate social technologies into recruitment, development and engagement practices. In 2014, this social integration will become the status quo. The digital immigrants have now caught up to the digital natives – we are now all digital citizens. The fastest growing demographic on Google+ is 45-54 and on Twitter it is 55-64! And it’s a good thing that baby boomers and other older generations have embraced these tools, because using social media inside companies will be increasingly important in 2014 and beyond. More from FORBES .

“What if you realize that you have indeed overpromised on what you can deliver?” The best advice when something goes wrong is to communicate early and honestly with your client. When you make a mistake, take ownership and communicate honestly. In fact, if handled properly, you might end up in a better place than you imagined. Here are common scenarios where you may need to recover after overpromising to a client. The most important thing to remember is that the sooner you can reset expectations, the better. More from Grow My Revenue