New York SBDC Research Network

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics : Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $33.94 per hour worked in March 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Wages and salaries averaged $23.25 per hour worked and accounted for 68.5 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged $10.70 and accounted for the remaining 31.5 percent. Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $32.06 per hour worked in March 2016. Total employer compensation costs for state and local government workers averaged $45.23 per hour worked in March 2016. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), a product of the National Compensation Survey, measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for nonfarm private and state and local government workers. Metropolitan area costs in private industry Total compensation, wages and salaries, and benefit costs in private industry are included in this release for 15 combined and metropolitan statis

On May 31, 2016, the Office of Advocacy submitted an ex parte letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking the FCC to further analyze the small business impact of its proposed rules under Section 629 of the Communications Act.   The FCC proposed rules that would require multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to supply certain programming information in formats that conform to specifications set by open standards bodies.  The FCC published an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) with its proposal, but did not attempt to quantify the impact that the rule would have on small MVPDs.  Numerous commenters, including small MVPDs, as well as public interest groups and technology companies supporting the rule, have indicated to the FCC that the proposed rule will disproportionately affect small MVPDs.  These stakeholders have also suggested that the FCC can exempt small MVPDs from the regulations, while still achieving its Section 629 goals.  In comment

The U.S. Small Business Administration and AARP are renewing their “Summer of Encore Mentoring” educational events targeting entrepreneurs over the age of 50 who want to start or grow their small business.  Building on the success of last year’s “Summer of Encore Mentoring,” the SBA and AARP will match encore entrepreneurs with successful business owners, community leaders and advisers for advice, counseling and training assistance during the months of June, July and August 2016.   “The face of entrepreneurship is changing in America and more of those faces today belong to entrepreneurs over the age of 50.  Here at SBA, we are focused on building ladders of opportunity that are open, accessible and available to all entrepreneurs,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.  “We are fortunate to have a great partner in AARP, which has been dedicated to helping those over 50 take control of their future.” The “Summer of Encore Mentoring” will consist of nationwide events that pair

From CNBC : In the fourth annual Disruptor 50 list, CNBC features private companies in 15 industries — from aerospace to financial services to cybersecurity to retail — whose innovations are revolutionizing the business landscape. These forward-thinking starts-ups have identified unexploited niches in the marketplace that have the potential to become billion-dollar businesses, and they rushed to fill them. Some have already passed the billion-dollar mark at a speed that is unprecedented. In the process, they are creating new ecosystems for their products and services. Unseating corporate giants is no easy feat. But we ranked those venture capital–backed companies doing the best job. In aggregate, these 50 companies have raised $41 billion in venture capital at an implied Disruptor 50 list market valuation of $242 billion, according to PitchBook data. Already it's hard to think of the world without them.

Each year the New York Small Business Development Center recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the  Watertown SBDC  appears in our  2015 Annual Report .  David Farrell Medical Gas Technology Watertown SBDC David Farrell was working with a private contractor doing work on Ft. Drum when he learned that the contractor had lost his contract. Meanwhile, his friend Bryan Benson, was working part-time with a local company, Medical Gas Technologies, Inc. (MGT), that services, tests and performs maintenance on medical gas and vacuum systems. The market for the company’s services includes hospitals, doctors’ offices and even veterinary clinics. MGT’s owner wanted to retire, and Bryan needed a partner to help purchase, operate and expand the business.  David entered the NYS Department of Labor Self Employment Assistance Program to retain his unemployment benefits and attended the Watertown SBDC’s seven-week Entrepreneurial Training co

There are a growing number of entrepreneurs, investors, consumers, and governments worldwide that are embracing the power of business to create positive social change. Social entrepreneurs are starting businesses that generate earned income (like traditional for-profits) while simultaneously generating a social benefit (like traditional non-profits), and an increasing number of consumers, job-seekers, and investors want to be a part of this emerging social enterprise sector. Andrew Delmonte, Social Enterprise Coordinator at the Buffalo SBDC , has created the Benefit Corporation Guide. Intended to be a legal roadmap for the small business social entrepreneur, the guide introduces the New York State benefit corporation, and guides prospective social enterprises through both the process of incorporation and the procedures necessary to meet the ongoing requirements of benefit corporation law. Download the Benefit Corporation Guide here.

Eligible small business owners now have more options to refinance eligible fixed assets and business expenses through the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Refinance Program . SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet made the program permanent through an Interim Final Rule in The Federal Register released May 26, 2016. This change will help small business owners ease their financial burdens and create incentives for potential expansion and further job creation. In making the announcement, Contreras-Sweet said: “As both a former small business owner and a banker, I know firsthand that access to capital is the single most important factor in the survival and growth of a small business. The 504 loan program with its long term fixed-rate can help refinance debt from adjustable rate loans with significant savings to borrowers. Paying off existing loans with a new loan at a lower cost can help increase cash flow, which can be especially helpful in a resurgent economy. That’s why