New York SBDC Research Network

According to the Small Business Administration, "Veteran business owners are responsible for nearly one out of every ten small businesses in America, employ nearly six million workers, generate over 1.5 trillion dollars in receipts each year and are 45 percent more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans". So what exactly makes veterans so well suited for entrepreneurship? 1. Work Ethic See more at: the New Jersey SBDC for Monmouth and Ocean Counties

It happens to the best of us. You're sitting in class or in a meeting and you suddenly find yourself daydreaming, losing focus, and not paying attention. In one study of over 2,000 adults, people reported that their minds weren't really on the task at hand almost 50 percent of the time. Perhaps even more importantly, people report feeling less happy when they are distracted. So what can you do to improve your attention, increase your focus, and prevent your mind from wandering? Researchers have discovered a few different things that might help. More from About Education

Brazzlebox, the exclusive social network for small and home based business, has announced it is launching nationally as of September 18, 2014. Small, at home, Veteran owned and start-up businesses will be able to go to http://www.brazzlebox.com/web/guest/home www.brazzlebox.com and sign up FREE. They can quickly develop their profile page and immediately start connecting with businesses in their community or industry. Brazzlebox is the brainchild of serial entrepreneur Glen Zinszer. Brazzlebox will be working to fill the current B2B and B2Community social networking void. More from America's SBDC

It's possible to become a real farmer with 25 square feet of space, even if skyscrapers are your neighbors. But it does take a bit of planning and innovation. Luckily, there is a core group of artists, designers and farmers leading the charge to help city-dwellers lower their food costs, eat local and turn their urban homes into homesteads. With the "moderate cost" of food for the average 19 to 50-year-old man in the U.S. at $295.90 per-month, according to the USDA, why wouldn't you want to feed yourself from the land where you're already paying to live? Plus, filling an urban space full of leafy vegetables, fruit trees, roosting chickens and buzzing bees is a lot more beautiful than covering one in concrete. More from CBS News .

There are many reasons that companies fire employees. If you take a look at the stories about getting fired shared by About.com readers you'll find a variety of reasons people were fired from their job, including for posting on Facebook , for having a bad attitude , and for stealing , just to mention a few. Unfortunately, for many fired workers, in most cases employers don't need a reason to fire you unless you are covered by a bargaining agreement or employment contract. It's called employment at will. Employment at will means that an employee can be terminated at any time without any reason and without notice. That said, most employers won't fire an employee without cause. Most firings are termination for cause, which means the employee is fired for a specific reason. More from About Careers .

Constant Contact has long been an advocate for permission-based marketing. [It is] the best route to developing the long-lasting customer relationships that small businesses work so hard to achieve —the relationships that can drive customer engagement, and encourage repeat sales and valuable word-of-mouth for your business. Over the summer, this topic was brought to the fore in the world of email marketing, as Canada began enforcing a new Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). The legislation requires all those that market to Canada with commercial electronic messages (email, some forms of social media, etc.) regardless of where in the world they are located, to adhere to the some of the strictest anti-spam regulations in the world or risk serious penalties: up to $1 million for individuals and up to $10 million for businesses. Even if CASL doesn’t affect your business, it serves as an essential reminder of how important it is to get your customers’ permission before adding them to your em

Whether or not your company’s financial house is in order has a big impact on post-disaster recovery.  Having a plan in place to save your organization’s assets from business interruptions will ensure a quick recovery, satisfied clients and long term-economic stability. Get tips on how to protect your core operations, revenue flow, and your company’s reputation at a free webinar on Thursday, Nov. 20, hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Agility Recovery. The webinar will also cover essential planning strategies, with a discussion on how corporate preparedness can protect a company’s market value and establish financial resilience, regardless of whether the disaster comes in the form of a flood…or a lawsuit.

Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 106.9 million full-time wage and salary workers were $797 (seasonally adjusted) in the third quarter of 2014. Women who usually worked full time had median weekly earnings of $722, or 82 percent of the $880 median for men. After adjusting for inflation in consumer prices, women's earnings have changed little over the past decade and men's earnings have declined slightly. More from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

WASHINGTON – The accomplishments of Veteran small business owners around the country will be celebrated during National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) November 3-7.      U.S. Small Business Administration district offices and resource partners nationwide will host more than 100 local events, including entrepreneurship training such as Boots to Business: Reboot classes, veteran access to capital workshops, and government contracting roundtables.   Veteran entrepreneurship workshops will also be held at U.S. military installations in Germany and Korea.  On Friday, Nov. 7, the ABC television network will host a special “ Shark Tank ” episode featuring veteran entrepreneurs

This publication is a comprehensive guide to New York State and local sales and use taxes for businesses that sell taxable tangible personal property, perform taxable services, receive admission charges, or operate a hotel or motel, and restaurants, taverns, or other establishments that sell food and drink . For basic, easy-to-understand explanations of particular sales tax topics, see the sales tax bulletins, available on the Tax Department’s Web site at www.tax.ny.gov. The Tax Department has issued a number of these sales tax bulletins and continue to add new bulletins on a regular basis. It is the department’s goal that all taxpayers meet their sales tax obligations and pay the correct amount of tax due. If your business makes sales of property or services that are subject to sales tax, it must register for sales tax purposes and obtain a Certificate of Authority. You should thoroughly read all the information contained in this publication so that you become aware of your obliga

In today's fast-paced world, we want what we want when we want it.  And we want it where we are.  But there is barely enough time to do what we need to do, regardless what we want to do.  Food trucks have answered this demand with trucks for every type of food imaginable to satisfy every type of food craving imaginable.  But that is just food.  What about other wants, like clothing?  Well, that problem is also being solved, thanks in part to one woman in Washington, D.C.  Lia Lee sells trendy clothing and accessories out of a truck she calls Street Boutique.  Starting the fashion truck cost Lee a fraction of what a brick and mortar store would have cost, and now she can go to her clients instead of hoping they find the time to come to her.   Read more about Lee and the trend  here . Want to find a Fashion Truck in your area?  Check out  The Fashion Truck Finder !

By  Caron Beesley Internships represent a burgeoning market.  According to Internships.com , 67 percent of 2013 graduates completed at least one internship during college, and a separate study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that approximately 90 percent of student interns said they’d accept an offer for a full-time job from their internship employer. If you’re looking for enthusiastic, low-cost labor, internships can provide your small business with many benefits. After all, internships don’t just help you meet your immediate work needs, they can also help you test drive talent and assess potential future employees. Internships are also great for your brand and demonstrate that you’re giving back to the community and its students. If you’re serious about hiring interns, then it’s time to implement an internship program – one that ensures you attract the right talent for your needs, keeps them busy, drives development and covers all your legal bases.

What’s important to remember is that the future of business has been widely speculated but not documented. This means that the future is being written as we go by what we say and do and also by what we do not say and do. [Interview with ] SDL CMO Paige O’Neill to discuss our role in the future of business and what possibilities will unfold when we put people first in this digital era. The resulting video... Read more HERE .

Here’s one of the tricky things about credit scores: They’re about more than credit. Sure, it’s extremely important to make loan payments on time and use credit cards responsibly, but there are plenty of non-credit things that can do serious damage to your scores, potentially making it more difficult to get loans at an affordable rate in the future. Your credit score may not be top of mind while you’re driving to work or browsing the Internet, but if you’re not careful, you could jeopardize your financial future when you least expect it’s at risk. 1. A Speeding Ticket More from Credit.com

The irony did not escape Paula Thompson. As a regional vice president of a firm helping scores of companies administer wellness programs for their employees, the 58-year-old Ohio executive was not practicing what she preached. Years of job stress and a road-food diet left her out of shape, overweight and exhausted. So she did what many people with her income and awareness level do. She went to a spa for two weeks in January — but not the type of pampering-and-yoga spa you might have in mind. Rather, she chose what some might not consider much of a vacation at all: A spa, yes, but also a regimented diet and fitness camp cum clinic where doctors evaluate you and nurses stick needles in you. And no booze is allowed. More from the New York Times .