New York SBDC Research Network

 Obtained From: MarketingProfs When planning a website for your business, half the battle is won if you can successfully identify your target audience : You can better customize your website to meet your audience's needs when you have a clear idea of who your prospective consumers are. But what do those visitors want, exactly, and how do those wants differ by age? In its infographic on generational marketing, custom writing service Handmadewritings examines what online content different age groups prefer . The graphic is based on several research reports and studies, and it offers insights that you might consider factoring into your marketing strategies and analysis as you plan efforts to reach the six major consumer generations in the US. To learn more about the various generations and understand where you might need to tweak your website and content to attract more visitors and improve customer engagement, check out the graphic.

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  2016 Annual Report .  Jamie Wood   Page Fitness Watertown SBDC Jamie Wood is the proud owner of Page Fitness, located in downtown Watertown. Page Fitness has been internationally recognized by Woman’s Fitness magazine as a World Fitness Elite Game Changer, and was named Fitness Business of the year for North America by Net Profit Explosion for providing exceptional results in Canada and the United States. The Page Fitness program is centered on individuals who are looking to lose 10-50 pounds and interested in living a healthier lifestyle.  Page Fitness was founded by Jessica and Christopher Page in 2009 and Jamie was hired as their first physical trainer. Jamie is certified in Hardstyle Kettlebell, Crossfit Gymnastics, Crossfit Olympic Lifting and LesMills. In 2015, when the Pages decided to

Obtained From:   New York Times If you weren’t expecting an income tax refund but discover a big deposit from the Internal Revenue Service in your bank account, don’t be quick to celebrate. You may have been the target of a clever new scam. The latest twist in tax-time identity fraud involves thieves who pilfer personal and financial information, often from professional tax preparers. They then use those details to file fake tax returns and have refunds — sometimes as large as $20,000 — sent electronically to your account with plans to collect it later.  The I.R.S. initially warned about the scam on Feb. 2, urging tax professionals to “step up security and beware of phishing emails that can secretly download malicious software that can help cybercriminals steal client data.”

From Open FOIL NY Open FOIL NY provides a convenient, centralized location to file a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to more than 50 New York State executive agencies and authorities. You can easily select a specific agency and submit a FOIL request. If the entity you seek is not listed, please access the New York State All Agencies website for more information. If you seek records from the following agencies, please visit their website before completing the web form, as certain records may be produced pursuant to a different statute, may require additional documentation or coordination, or have different fees: Department of Financial Services Department of Health Department of Labor Department of Motor Vehicles Department of Taxation and Finance Division of Military & Naval Affairs Higher Education Services Corporation Homes and Community Renewal New York State Insurance Fund New York State Police For more information about FOIL, please visit the follow

Obtained From:   Federal Trade Comission The Federal Trade Commission has charged a business opportunity scheme with falsely claiming that people who buy the defendants’ expensive  “Amazing Wealth System”  will learn “secrets for making money on Amazon” and likely earn thousands of dollars a month. According to the FTC, the defendants, who have no affiliation with Amazon.com, have made false or unsubstantiated earnings claims, such as, “Get started on Amazon and Make $5,000-$10,000 in the next 30 days. . . even if you have never sold anything online before.”  They charge from $995 to more than $35,000 for a purported exclusive “plug-and-play system” that allows consumers to create a profitable online business selling products on Amazon.com. Contrary to the defendants’ promises, most, if not virtually all, purchasers do not earn the advertised income. Many of the strategies and techniques included in the “system,” such as posting fake product reviews, are deceptive and violate

From Medium Dear budding entrepreneur: Your local library is one of the most powerful tools you have to launch a successful business. As EveryLibrary writes, “Librarians can serve as an extension of your staff and will help you harness the power of these resources to grow your business.” Sometimes misidentified as repositories for dusty books, today’s libraries are actually cutting edge information hubs designed to help people get the resources, materials and connections they need, whether for work, school, pleasure or all of the above. Library staffers and resource librarians are some of the smartest folks around — and they’re on a mission to help you get information. If you’re an entrepreneur, an established business owner, or just thinking about starting a business, head down to your local library. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the role the library staff and resources can play in helping you start and grow a business. Here are just a few ways libraries support entrepre

Obtained from: eMarketer If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Online buying scams were the biggest type of consumer fraud in 2017, according to the Better Business Bureau's (BBB's) annual scam-tracking report—up from fourth place a year earlier. The rise of digital shopping and growing comfort with sharing personal information online are factors in this growing category of fraud. At its most basic, consumers pay for something they never receive, which according to the BBB involves pets and clothing more than other types of online purchases. Most cases involve credit card payments. The report broke down susceptibility and loss by age, and very clear patterns emerged.

We've recently moved to using Google Drive to share folders of research. For some of our advisors and clients, this may be quite different to how they've worked before. Maybe you've used Google Drive for your own folders and files but have not shared files before. This video can help you navigate Drive, move files and folders to your own library. This is another video with tips on how to organize and search your folders. Add files to "My Drive" If you want to organize shared files, add them to "My Drive." Go to  drive.google.com . On the left, click  Shared with me . Click the files or folders you want to add to your drive. In the top right, click Add to my Drive  . Click  Organize . Choose the folder you want to add to. Click  Move here . To download files to your PC, there are  2 options: Download as zip:  On drive.google.com, right-click the folder and choose "Download"... This will download one zip file with all files in i

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Stony Brook SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report .  The Lieblein Family   Port of Egypt Stony Brook SBDC Port of Egypt, located on Southold Bay, is a full-service marina offering boaters a wide range of amenities including boat service, parts, storage, and dockage, and is well known for carrying the prestigious brand of Grady-White boats. Family owned and operated with 10 employees, the company was founded in 1946 by the Lieblein family. Katie Sepenoski, a member of the family, is the Operations Manager and has run the business since 2003. Katie worked tirelessly with the Stony Brook SBDC to submit an application to the New York Rising program after Super Storm Sandy. The business experienced flooding, wind damage and an extended power outage when the hurricane hit and there was substantial damage to the property, build

Obtained from:   MarketingProfs At many companies, the frontline of customer experience—the contact center—isn't meeting customer expectations. Although brands are adopting new technologies to better interact with customers and understand their wants and needs, the answer to delivering the right experience may be simpler than that. At the very core of customer experience is human interaction, so to truly see return on customer experience investments, brands should invest in their most valuable assets: agents in the contact center. According to  new research  from Calabrio, customer demands are increasingly complex, the number of inquiries are swelling to new levels, and agents feel ill-equipped to solve the ever-growing list of customer requests. There's a lot riding on agent interactions, and the lack of support has many representatives feeling stressed out, abandoned, and stuck in a pressure cooker of expectation. The effects of a burned out contact center workforce can b

Obtained from:   IRS Learning the A-Zs of taxes seems overwhelming. But with a little planning, research, and attention to detail, it can be easier than you think. Credits and deductions are an important part of the process—though sometimes it's difficult to tell them apart.  You s ubtract tax credits from the amount of tax you owe. There are two types of tax credits: A nonrefundable tax credit means you get a refund only up to the amount you owe. A refundable tax credit means you get a refund, even if it's more than what you owe. An example is  the Child Tax Credit. You s ubtract tax deductions from your income before you figure the amount of tax you owe.  Deductions, such as the Tuition and Fees Deduction for qualified education expenses, can help lower the amount of your taxable income

From the Federal Trade Commission : Online peer-to-peer, or P2P, payment systems let you send money to people quickly... The use of these services is a growing trend... estimates [suggest] there will be more than $700 billion in peer-to-peer payments in the U.S. in 2018. There are several mobile peer-to-peer apps out there already and banks are also getting into the game. If you use a peer-to-peer payment system, here are some tips to keep in mind. *In many apps, when you receive a payment, the money is added to your P2P system balance. It’ll remain there until you transfer it to your bank account or use it for another transaction within the system. If you transfer the balance to your bank account, confirm that the deposit went through. The transfer could take a few days or even longer if it’s flagged for additional review. *Scammers try to get you to pay them in many different ways—including by sending money online—so make sure you know who you’re sending money to. If you use

Obtained from:   eMarketer One of the most significant changes is that, as the global financial crisis recedes in memory, consumers tend to be less focused on saving. In 2010, 70% of respondents said they were increasingly looking for ways to save money. That number has gradually dwindled down to a low of 40%.  The McKinsey survey also probed attitudes among those who said their buying behavior changed last year. It found that there was a rough split between those who said they tended to have shifted toward purchasing private-label or less-expensive brands, and those who said they had tended to trade up to more expensive purchases. The results indicate more buoyant spending patterns than some other recent surveys. For instance, an  IRI  survey from Q3 2017 found that 65% of US internet users said they anticipated purchasing more private-label products in the future.  

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Staten Island SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report .  Robert Whiteaker   Nunzio's Pizzeria & Restaurant Staten Island SBDC Robert Whiteaker, owner of Nunzio’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, has been a Staten Island SBDC client since January 2013. The family owned restaurant known for its Italian cuisine began as a beachside concession in the 1940’s and moved to its current location in 1960. Nunzio’s Pizzeria has been a legacy in Robert’s family for four generations and was an inspiration for other small businesses in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. The business was severely impacted by the storm with floods over four feet of water throughout the entire restaurant, but Robert and his family were determined to rebuild after the storm.  Working with Robert to secure an SBA disaster loan, SBDC Advisor George Telmany

From the New York Times The balancing act plays out every day in restaurants across America: Servers who rely on tips decide where to draw the line when a customer goes too far. They ignore comments about their bodies, laugh off proposals for dates and deflect behavior that makes them uncomfortable or angry — all in pursuit of the $2 or $20 tip that will help buy groceries or pay the rent. There was the young server at a burger joint in Georgia whose customer held her tip money in his hand and said, “So you gonna give me your number?” She wrote it down but changed one of the digits. There was the waitress in Portland, Oregon who swallowed her anger when a man patted his lap and beckoned her to sit, saying, "I’m a great tipper." "You can’t just say, 'No, don’t talk to me that way,' or else you won’t get a tip."