New York SBDC Research Network

From BizWomen : In every state, women earn less than men, according to a new report published by Payscale.com. The gaps vary by industry, with larger gaps in finance and insurance and smaller gaps in education... The survey also found that both men and women said they would be more likely to leave their employer if they knew the company wasn't addressing pay equity. The key to having a diverse management team at the highest levels is to have a diverse pipeline of future leaders in the development track, said Joan Koerber-Walker, president and CEO of the Arizona BioIndustry Association... The PayScale data also shows that women with MBAs feel they are underpaid and also experience inequity in the promotion system. Also, Pumps and Power Suits: The Evolution of Women's Corporate Dress Code (infographic)

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing checks to nearly 350,000 people who lost money running Herbalife businesses. The checks are the result of a July 2016 settlement with the FTC that required Herbalife to pay $200 million and fundamentally restructure its business. This represents one of the largest redress distributions the agency has made in any consumer protection action to date. “We are pleased to announce that hundreds of thousands of hard-working consumers victimized by Herbalife’s deceptive earnings claims will receive money back,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Along with changes the company will make to its business structure, this is a win for consumers.” The FTC used Herbalife’s records to determine who would receive a refund and the amount of each check. Generally, the FTC is providing partial refunds to people who ran an Herbalife business in the United States between 2009 and 2015, and who paid at least $1,000 to Herbal

From Tasting Table : When Roy Choi and Daniel Patterson debuted LocoL, a revolutionary fast-food chain with a social mission, it seemed they could do no wrong. With locations in Oakland and L.A., as well as a food truck, the beloved chefs were riding high. LocoL serves healthy alternatives at low prices to underserved neighborhoods. The mayor of Los Angeles even attended the opening of the first location last year. Leave it to New York Times dining critic Pete Wells, who spares no one, to bring the LocoL chefs back down to earth with a no-star review published this week... So was Wells feeling restless since his last feather-ruffling review? Or is LocoL too good to be true? Choi could have picked a fight if he wanted to but instead...

From the Harvard Business Review Bringing new technology and tools into your organization can increase productivity, boost sales, and help you make better, faster decisions. But getting every employee on board is often a challenge. What can you do to increase early and rapid adoption? How can you incentivize and reward employees who use it? And should you reprimand those who don’t? According to a study by MIT Sloan Management Review and Capgemini Consulting, the vast majority of managers believe that “achieving digital transformation is critical” to their organizations. However, 63% said the pace of technological change in their workplaces is too slow, primarily due to a "lack of urgency" and poor communication about the strategic benefits of new tools. "Employees need to understand why [the new technology] is an improvement from what they had before," says Didier Bonnet, coauthor of Leading Digital and Global Practice Leader at Capgemini Consulting, who worked

Info from Macy's. Already Completed 2016 Closings Laurel Plaza, North Hollywood, CA (475,000 square feet; opened in 1995; 105 associates); Ala Moana Jewel Gallery, Honolulu, HI (2,000 square feet; opened in 1986; 9 associates); Valley Fair, West Valley City, UT (106,000 square feet; opened in 1970; 53 associates); Already Announced Year-End 2016 Closings Final clearance sales at the following Macy’s stores closing in early 2017 will begin on Monday, January 9, and run for approximately eight to 12 weeks (with the exception of Lancaster Mall*, where final clearance sales are already in progress): Greenwood, Bowling Green, KY (124,000 square feet; opened in 1980; 63 associates); Carolina Place, Pineville, NC (151,000 square feet; opened in 1993; 69 associates); Douglaston, Douglaston, NY (158,000 square feet; opened in 1981; 144 associates); Downtown Portland, Portland, OR (246,000 square feet; opened in 2007; 85 associates); *Lancaster Mall, Salem, OR (67,000 s

From Bplans : If you feel restless working for someone else and have come up with your own idea for starting a business, you should consider the challenges that you will face ahead of time. Owning and running a business is incredibly rewarding—but it comes at a price. Stress, painful mistakes, and sacrifice all accompany the pride, excitement, and sense of accomplishment that comes with creating your own money making machine. By knowing and preparing for these potential pain points, you will be better equipped to deal with complications when they arise. For an entrepreneur, challenges are almost guaranteed. Even so, no matter how prepared you are, you will need to use your own creativity and innovative skills to overcome some of the difficulties that you will encounter.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. export prices experienced a major decline in 2015, as evidenced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) export price index. Prices for U.S. exports, published in dollar terms, decreased 6.6 percent in 2015, the largest calendar-year decline since the index was first published in 1983. However, the large decline in the U.S. dollar export price index did not tell the entire story. When measured in foreign currency terms, export prices were actually higher because of the strong dollar. The value of the dollar strengthened against the euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, and Canadian dollar. Continued slow global economic and trade growth dampened demand for U.S. exports and influenced U.S. export price trends. The meeting of the strong dollar and lackluster demand for U.S. exports was particularly challenging for the U.S. agricultural industry. This Beyond the Numbers article analyzes what impact the strengthening dollar had on certain agricultura

From Patreon : When I got to PatreCon— Patreon’s first conference for creators— I’d hit a wall in my career. My novel trilogy had just been rejected by publishers. Not because it wasn’t good, but because almost no one wanted to commit until all three volumes were finished. Which meant I’d just spent three years writing for free, and was looking at two more years of doing the same. I arrived at PatreCon feeling pretty helpless. The first night of the conference, we got a tour of Patreon headquarters. As soon as we started walking around, I felt better, though I couldn’t say exactly why. I just felt like I’d come to a safe space... In talking to other creators, I realized that everyone had stories like mine. Everyone had hit a wall—realizing that even if they were talented, worked hard, and did everything “right,” the game was rigged against them. In fact, that’s how musician Jack Conte came up with Patreon in the first place: he’d once spent $10,000 of his own money building a set

Here’s a link for a curated list on Pinterest: Funny Business : from academic lessons about humor to corporate blunders, to university journal abstracts on laughter research, to that all-important emergency clown nose. Business and academic use of humor. Humorous stories of real-world blunders, and cartoons with business-related themes, photos, videos, and books. Humorous stories of real-world blunders,and cartoons with business-related themes, photos, videos, and books. The new Pinterest board has racked up more than 10k views in less than two weeks.

As our nation prepares to ring in the new year, the U.S. Census Bureau projected the U.S. population will be 324,310,011 on Jan. 1, 2017. This represents an increase of 2,245,347, or 0.70 percent, from New Year’s Day 2016. Since Census Day (April 1) 2010, the population has grown by 15,564,473, or 5.04 percent. In January 2017, the United States is expected to experience one birth every 8 seconds and one death every 11 seconds. Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person to the U.S. population every 33 seconds. The combination of births, deaths and net international migration will increase the U.S. population by one person every 16 seconds. The projected world population on Jan. 1, 2017, is 7,362,350,168, an increase of 77,849,375, or 1.07 percent, from New Year’s Day 2016. During January 2017, 4.3 births and 1.8 deaths are expected worldwide every second. The Census Bureau’s U.S. and World Population Clock simulates real-time growth of the United States

From SBA : Access to cash via a line of credit is an important safety net for a small business. Although there are various types of credit lines available, it is the flexibility it provides that makes it so popular among small business owners. A line of credit is more like cash on demand for a set amount. You can draw funds up to the credit limit set when your company needs it, and you only pay interest on the funds you withdraw. Best of all, every dollar of principle you pay back becomes available for the company to use again. The important thing to remember is credit lines for businesses have received an overhaul in the past several years. No longer is a credit line being issued just by banks down the road. Today, there are completely different lines of credit issued to businesses from alternative lenders rather than by banks alone. In addition, small business owners can also get credit lines secured by specific types of collateral such as equipment and accounts receivables.

Go here to get information provided by the New York State Workers' Compensation Board to give businesses quick and direct access to workers' compensation information. It is not intended to serve as an endorsement of the State Insurance Fund or any other insurance carrier. This includes: The Players in the System Who Is and Is Not Covered by the Law Who Is An Employee? Who Is an Independent Contractor? Business Permits - Licenses - Contracts Out-of-State Employers Working in NYS Employers' Rights and Responsibilities Complying with the Law Obtaining Insurance Penalties for Not Having Insurance Understanding Insurance When an Accident Happens Return to Work Construction Employment Payroll Limitation Workplace Safety State Insurance Fund Information

From the Social Security Administration: The new tax filing deadline for both paper and electronic W-2s is now January 31st. Don’t wait until the last minute. Start filing early since Business Services Online (BSO) experiences delays when there is a high volume, especially at the end of the month. Specifications for Filing Forms W-2 and W-2c Electronically (EFW2/EFW2C) Dates to Remember December 12, 2016 - BSO is available for accepting Tax Year 2016, prior year files, and W-2 Online inputs. January 1, 2017 - Update payroll systems to reflect the 2017 wage base rates. Visit 2017 Cola Factsheet January 31, 2017 -Deadline for filing paper and electronic W-2s, AND Deadline for providing W-2s to employees. Use AccuWage to Test Your Wage Reports before Filing with Social Security AccuWage is Social Security's free service that allows you to test your wage reports before you upload them to Social Security. AccuWage reads the file and informs you of any formatting errors i

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics A total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries reported in 2014. There were 2,054 fatal work injuries involving transportation incidents, an increase from the previous year. Within the transportation category, roadway incidents increased in 2015. Roadway incidents accounted for 26 percent of all fatal work injuries. Almost half of these fatalities involved some kind of tractor-trailer truck. Fatal injuries involving pedestrians were lower in 2015, as were rail and water vehicle incidents. There were 800 work fatalities due to falls, slips or trips in 2015. Falls to a lower level accounted for 81 percent of all fatal falls.

This festive season, or simply the holidays, is a time for gathering and celebrating with family and friends, gift giving, reflection and thanks. To commemorate this time of year, the U.S.  Census  Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures from its collection of statistics.           Rush to the Stores $23.8 billion The estimated retail sales by the nation’s department stores (including leased departments) in December 2015. A decrease of $0.4 billion in retail sales from December of the previous year.  Source: U.S.  Census  Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Survey www. census .gov/econ/ currentdata/dbsearch?program= MRTS&startYear=2014&endYear= 2015&categories=4521I& dataType=SM&geoLevel=US& notAdjusted=1&submit=GET+DATA& releaseScheduleId Note: Leased departments are separately owned businesses operated as departments or concessions of other service establishments or of retail businesses, such as a separately ow