New York SBDC Research Network

On a bright day in the flats of San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, the busiest restaurant around is a Panda Express tucked into a shopping center dominated by a Walmart. Running a fast-food operation isn't like other restaurants — here, we dive into the big picture, the tiny systems, and the daily struggles of keeping a quick-service shop humming. Walnut Grove Avenue is a relatively barren stretch between the 10 and 60 freeways in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, some 12 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles. There are two big anchors to the suburb: a large Edison utility headquarters, and the corporate headquarters of Panda Restaurant Group, parent company of Panda Express. One of LA's few Walmarts looms at the end of a huge parking lot, flanked by a strip mall with a collection of standard-issue retail slots. While many diners still think of Panda as a shopping mall staple, the chain — founded in 1983 inside the Glendale Galleria mall just a few miles to the northeast —

 SBDC is a huge advocate for small  business development by our veterans. Here is how veterans are receiving a spark of support in entrepreneurial ventures. To learn more about StreetShares visit: Forbes Forbes speaks on how businessmen and veterans are uniting 

For the entrepreneur, New York offers a stable environment, a large economy, and access to one of the world's busiest regions. Small business owners and professionals in the state don't expect that to change and are largely optimistic about what the future holds. While New York's economy has grown slower than the nation as a whole, it remains the third largest in the country at a GDP of nearly $1.4 trillion in 2014, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). That means plenty of business opportunity, both in New York City and outside, where there are large markets in places like Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. New Yorkers are, on average, wealthier than their national counterparts as well, meaning more money to spend on the goods and services small businesses have to offer. However, the heightened cost of living can prove difficult to manage. Still, entrepreneurs said that if they can overcome the steep expenses associated with payroll and rent, not to mention

Each year the New York Small Business Development Center recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the  North Country SBDC  appears in our  2015 Annual Report .  Leonardo Lopes-Gomes Lake Champlain Physical Therapy North Country SBDC Lake Champlain Physical Therapy is a new clinic in Crown Point owned and operated by Leonardo Lopes-Gomes, a board-certified physical therapist. When working at a local hospital, Leo noticed that patients were willing to wait two to three weeks to schedule an appointment with him, and was inspired to start his own successful practice. After eight years at the hospital, Leo took the plunge and decided to start his own business. Lake Champlain Physical Therapy offers outpatient physical therapy treatments. Leo may expand the practice in the future to include other therapies and wellness services such as massage therapy, acupuncture, fitness classes and wellness programs.  Due to limited collateral, t

There are so many options these days for learning opportunities, often for free. I have only listened or viewed a couple of these in the past but today checked out a course that our clients would be invaluable to a lot of our clients, in particular tech clients. I was searching for a podcast for training people on how to sell. A course on iTunes U that jumped out to me is How to Start a Startup by Sam Altman. It's free! There are over 40 lessons, some video-based units and some podcasts. I jumped to the unit on Sales & Marketing: How to Talk to Investors. It concisely works through the steps of what questions an entrepreneur needs to be able to answer. What to say, when to shut up, and what attitude to you need to be successful. This was a section that I thought would be very interesting for businesses starting out and trying to get funding. Other interesting units are on how to manage, hiring, accounting, and simply "building product and talking to users". There

Have there been reasons to make drastic changes to your business? If you are in the stages of possibly rebranding the SBA has a STEP-BY-STEP process to help guide you back onto the road to success.Here is what you need to do when going back to the drawing board. Rebrand Your Business, Step By Step

We all aspire to work better together. Technology is making some of that effort easier. But digital tools are only part of the answer. It’s people who ultimately make the difference. The problem is that technologies for collaboration are improving faster than people’s ability to learn to use them. What can be done to close that gap? A year ago we set out to find the answer, drawing on the collective experience of dozens of collaborative communities and learning organizations. Here’s what we found. In most organizations, there’s a standard set of tools we use to form, lead, and manage teams. These include personality tests, skill profiles, and team roles. When you put a team together, you consider people’s personalities: are they an introvert or extrovert, risk-taker or risk-avoider, analytical or intuitive? You consider their skills: What is their specific area of talent, experience, or expertise? And you consider their potential role on the team: What will their contribution be to

Blood pressures are rising at many small businesses now that tax season is underway. Owners can make the process easier by being organized and watching out for tax pitfalls, accountants say. Here are four tax issues small business owners should be thinking about now and year-round: Here are the major keys Star Tribune has to give: Keeping records matters Tax time, a teachable moment Employees and freelancers Your home office and car To learn more visit: Startribune

You know the feeling: You’re motivated, excited and focused as you work toward your dream. Then, life happens. The initial excitement you felt fades away. You want more traffic for your blog or website, but it becomes harder and harder to make yourself sit down and write. You find yourself creating excuses. Days and then weeks go by. Those ambitious goals you dreamed up are nothing but far-off fantasies dancing around in your head. You feel guilty for not following through, and you say to yourself: -I’ll never be able to stick to my goals. -I don’t push myself hard enough. -I need to stop being so lazy. -I’m a failure. But, I have great news for you: Your dreams don’t have to fizzle out like a defective Fourth of July firecracker. In this post, you’ll learn: -Why getting crystal clear about your goals will amplify your results -How to achieve goals by measuring your progress to stay on track -How to break goals down into smaller, manageable chunks (so you don’t feel o

Each year the New York Small Business Development Center recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the Albany SBDC appears in our 2015 Annual Report .      Michael Taylor Creative Sports Concepts Albany SBDC Creative Sports Concepts specializes in the sales, service, and rental of interior and exterior sports surfaces, primarily basketball flooring. Additionally, the company offers related equipment for sale and rent, special event production, and logistics coordination under its current service umbrella. Under the direction of owner Michael Taylor, Creative Sports Concepts has grown since its formation in 2012 into a trusted industry solution provider for organizations needing permanent court installations or floor resurfacing, as well as those pursuing high-end temporary events and customized private gymnasiums. The company, a regional authorized dealer for Connor Sports Flooring, now has a national presence with mainstream custo

The HIPAA Rules apply to covered entities and business associates. Individuals, organizations, and agencies that meet the definition of a covered entity under HIPAA must comply with the Rules' requirements to protect the privacy and security of health information and must provide individuals with certain rights with respect to their health information. If a covered entity engages a business associate to help it carry out its health care activities and functions, the covered entity must have a written business associate contract or other arrangement with the business associate that establishes specifically what the business associate has been engaged to do and requires the business associate to comply with the Rules’ requirements to protect the privacy and security of protected health information. In addition to these contractual obligations, business associates are directly liable for compliance with certain provisions of the HIPAA Rules. If an entity does not meet the def

The truth is that being an entrepreneur is harder than running Merrill Lynch. (And I’m not just saying that; I actually ran Merrill Lynch.) It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Sure, it’s great not to have to attend the Operational Risk Committee meeting and sit through the page-by-page review of the 226-page deck. I can’t tell you how great. But for those of you thinking of leaving your big-company job to be an entrepreneur, here’s why you shouldn’t: Read more at: LinkedIn

Sometimes, parody narratives are far too real. From The Onion : Warning of severe consequences if he didn’t see results, Pantheon Digital Consulting COO Daniel Abelson, 59, told employees Monday he wants a relaxed, friendly company culture implemented by the end of the week, sources within the organization confirmed. “I don’t care how you make this a laid-back, fun place to work, just get it done, and get it done fast,” Abelson said.

Recent in-depth interviews with chief financial officers from companies in a variety of industries revealed a set of fascinating insights. The CFO of the future is finding success by going “soft” – getting out of spreadsheets and spending more time thinking about strategy, people, and culture. Over just the past few years, CFOs in vanguard organizations have become strategic leaders. Rather than merely supporting the company’s operations, CFOs and their teams are working directly with department heads and business units to make the strategic choices that drive the best returns on investment, enhance shareholder value and long-term growth, and beat the competition. This shift requires the modern CFO to actively collaborate with all parts of the business and untangle questions such as: What is our unique value proposition? What is our market potential in each business in which we participate? How can we increase value to the customer? Do we have the capabilities needed to win? It de

Nearly all businesses, whether they are small or large, are comprised of intellectual property (IP) and trade secrets, which can serve as the foundation for commercial success. The World Intellectual Property Organization defines IP as, “creations of the mind,” which, depending on the business, can take many forms. One thing is certain: The more valuable the IP and trade secrets, the more vulnerable they are to theft and infringement. When starting a business in today’s digital age, one of the most important actions one can take is protecting the intellectual property and trade secrets of that enterprise, from the very beginning. The intellectual property of a business, which in many instances functions as the lifeblood of a company, is almost always financially valuable and that value increases as the company grows and starts generating revenue. For any business, it is critical to establish evidence for the creation date and authorship for all IP at the earliest point possible,

Interesting new information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Where should new graduates look for jobs? What about career changers? In what direction should career counselors and job placement programs direct clients? Which statistics can government officials use to help determine how to stimulate job growth? How do employers know if their turnover and worker demands are typical? Industries differ in employee turnover patterns, demand for workers, and ability to hire the workers they need. Understanding the labor turnover characteristics of the different industries may help jobseekers, those assisting them, employers, and government officials better focus their efforts. Each data element in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)—job openings, hires, and separations—provides information about the labor market. However, when all three data elements are studied together, an even more informative picture emerges. The job openings data tell us about the unmet demand for wor

Here are a few links discussing point-of-sale systems that are open-source: The Top 6 Free and Open-Source POS http://blog.capterra.com/the-top-6-free-and-open-source-pos-solutions/ 3 Open-Source Point-of-Sale Systems for Small Business http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/ProductReviews/Software/3-open-source-point-of-sale-systems-for-small-business.html The Best Point of Sale Software for 2016 TopTenReviews.com   Top Point of Sale Software Products Capterra http://www.capterra.com/point-of-sale-software/  Software Advice Compare Retail Point of Sale Software Other reviews of open-source software: Bossie Awards 2015: The best open source applications By  InfoWorld staff ,  InfoWorld  | Sep 16, 2015

The folks at Bplan.com have completed the first full season of their podcast, The Bcast. They're on hiatus now, so this is a great time for you to catch up on all the episodes. Click here to check out The Bcast » Season one covered a wide range of topics to help you start and run a better business, from bank loans and lean business planning, to niche marketing and customer service. Subscribe to The Bcast on iTunes » Here are some of season one's most popular episodes:

Today's small business success story comes from the Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College. Christopher R. Resig Christopher R. Resig, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, became President and owner of N.K. Bhandari Architecture & Engineering, P.C. (NKB) in January 2015. Chris has been with the firm a total of 18 years. For over 35 years, NKB has provided architectural and engineering services for Federal, State, Health, Corporate, Industrial, Higher Education, K-12 Education, and Facilities clientele. Representative projects include: Customs and Border Protection Renovations at Robert McEwen Custom House in Ogdensburg, NY; Hanley Federal Building Façade Restoration, Syracuse, NY; Massachusetts National Cemetery Phase III Expansion, Bourne, MA; New Parking Structure, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Juan, PR; Corning Inc. Process Research Center North Addition, Corning, NY; and Grant and Scott Barracks Restoration at USMA, West Point, NY.

Have you found a mistake in one or more of your credit reports?  The Mid-Hudson SBDC has compiled guidance on how to fix an error on your report.   How To Dispute an Error in Your Equifax Credit Report If you find an error in your Equifax Credit Report or in any of the products that contain information from your file, you should initiate an investigation with us free of charge using one of the three methods described below. We will investigate your concerns directly at the source (creditor, collection agency or courthouse), respond to you within 30 days, and send you an updated copy of your Equifax Credit Report via US Mail. If you are in the process of applying for a loan, immediately notify your lender of any incorrect information in your file. Your lender will need to reorder your credit file and score once any changes have been made to your information at Equifax. To initiate an investigation, you will need to have a current copy of your Equifax Credit Report. If you do not h