New York SBDC Research Network

One of the SBDC regional centers actually reproduces much of the information it receives from the Research Network and puts in into a vertical file, by category. Now, I’m not suggesting that YOUR center do that, but you might consider making copies of frequently requested data, information that many clients, and the center itself, could make good use of. Most of what we send out does not change on a weekly or monthly basis. Some of this includes: Traffic patterns Demographic information, especially from the print sources: -Community Sourcebook of County Demographics -Community Sourcebook of ZIP Code Demographics -Lifestyle Market Analyst Industry data specific to the region A new center director came up to Central and visited the library. He indicated that the demographic information we pulled for him will be of use for several of his clients. Also, a center may have a number of requests for the same type of general information, the type included in the DOL packets. Maybe there are

Now that you're accustomed to reading the Research Network blog, you may want to branch out to read other blogs. For example, do a search in Google for "small business blogs" and the results show a plethora from which to choose. Here are a few worth noting: The Small Business Blog from AllBusiness.com Small Business Trends Fresh Inc., the Inc.com Weblog Entrepreneur.com The Entrepreneurial Mind Once you start reading, it's hard to stop. Let us know what your favorite blogs are.

Visual Artists and Craftspeople The New York Foundation for the Arts tops my list for information on the business of art. They offer articles on all the key topics for any working artist – money, legal issues, marketing, mental health, and also include interviews and profiles on working artists. They also include a classified section and lots of information on grants, fellowships and residencies. Arts Marketing.org A walk through the steps an arts organization (in the broad sense of the word) needs travel to reach their marketing goals. Includes case studies like a look at a successful direct marketing campaign completed by an arts museum, rebranding and attracting the family audience. The Graphic Arts Guild An essential resource for graphic artists, they publish the GAG Pricing & Ethical Guidelines Handbook that every graphic designer should already know but also have a good website that has one immediately useful feature: Ask Mark, a tip sheet with intelligent answers to common

I went to a workshop on Census data this summer, and I foiund some things that may not be clear to you or your clients: Census does economic surveys on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis, depending on the survey. These tend to be of limited detail, and mostly national. Census conducts the Economic Census every 5 years, the years ending with 2 and 7. The data are industry specific and addresses a detailed geography, often down to the county level. While the Economic Census does get sent out to businesses, the Census Bureau also relies on administrative records, such as filings of federal tax schedules relating to businesses. The Economic Census does NOT cover Agriculture or Government. The Census of Agriculture is run by the USDA. while the Census Bureau does a separate Census of Governments . A reminder: Census Bureau surveys are CONFIDENTIAL, which means that it does not give individual or business data to the IRS, or USCIS (the former INS). This allows more effective gather

In 2003, the FCC was proposing a revision to Federal law that would mandate all for-profit businesses to have express written permission from a recipient before sending them a commercial fax. Small business owners complained that faxes were an established marketing tool for many of them. The proposed rule change would have made it illegal to send unsolicited faxes to even long-time customers. However, the FCC relented. In July 2005, the Junk Fax Prevention Act was signed into law. Among other things, the Act recognizes the "established business relationship" rule. Now, unsolicited faxes can be sent if 1) the sender can prove an established business relationship with the recipient, and 2) the fax contains a conspicuous notice on its first page enabling the recipient to opt out of any future faxes. Businesses must obtain fax numbers directly from the recipient, or from published sources such as phone directories, company advertisements, or the company Web site. The phrase

Looking for basic information on insurance coverage for businesses? Check out the following links: You are not required by law to have liability, property damage or other types of business insurance, but very few businesses can realistically operate without some form of optional coverage. Read more on the different types from Empire State Development . The Insurance Information Institute has launched an online edition of Commercial Insurance to help businesses better understand the basics of commercial insurance -- what it is and how it works. The site, which will be updated as new data comes in, can be accessed at http://www.commercialinsurancefacts.org . A business owner's policy protects against economic losses caused by damage to the owner's property and by legal liability to others for bodily injury and property damage involving the business. This page begins a section covering the three basic types: liability, special business forms and property insurance: http://www.fin

I’ve seen a number of articles on good web design but I sometimes wonder if anyone reads them. Maybe it looks so straight forward – like a page in Word, but really it is a unique venue and some guidelines are needed for a business to put their best foot forward. Issues to face are the overall impression of a site, the actual content, including language usage and grammar, the speed of access to your information, the design of the site, text that one can actually read organization, navigation and privacy. These books take various approaches: Don’t make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steven Krug A quick low-down on what web users are looking for and how to evaluate sites and all doe with a sense of humor. Web Pages That Suck: Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad Design by Vincent Flanders, Michael Willis . Vincent Flanders also maintains a blog highlighting more examples of what not to do on http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/ Creating Killer Web Sites 2nd ed. By David

The Census Bureau has some statistics on the number of folks affected by Hurricane Katrina here and here . A PDF report on the construction and real estate implications in New Orleans Unfortunately, the Red Cross and FEMA had been working different systems while trying to find the missing, but appear to be working more closely now. Another sad occurrence: as with every disaster of late, there are unscupulous people operating in the alleged name of Katrina victims . The National Restaurant Association has planned a Dine for America event to help hurricane victims on October 5. After Katrina, and also after 9/11/01, there has been a greater emphasis on anticipating the possibility of fire, flood and other natural and human-made disasters at home and at the office . FEMA has a 204-page document about citizen preparedness . Generaslly speaking, FEMA's plan expects that individuals should have a 2- to 3-day supply of food, water and other necessities before expecting to be rescued.

Recently, I answered a request for a client who wished to retail her products at fairs and festivals. She wanted a list of such events in a given region of the state. During research, I came across a site called EventsCrazy.com. It's managed by Events Media Network, Inc., who, among other things, publish selected events directories. The site can be reached at www.eventcrazy.com , and it had the answers I needed for this client. If you've clients with similar needs, I recommend going there. On your first visit, you (or your client) will have to register. It's free, but you can't search until doing so. The site allows you to search for events and attractions in three different ways: 1) those within a given radius around a ZIP code that you provide, within dates that you specify; or 2) those by a city & state that you provide, within dates that you specify; or 3) by clicking among a list of states (say, New York), and then clicking on a given city.

Recently, I read about this scam in TVC Alert, an e-newsletter I receive daily. Thought this might be of interest to you and your clients. The Federal Trade Commission put a stop to a small business directory scam . The Montreal-based businesses, Datatech Communications Inc. and 9102-3127 Quebec, Inc. (doing business as I-Point Media), and 3 businessmen contacted small businesses in the U.S. about renewing a company directory listing when no prior relationship existed. "The defendants routinely denied requests to cancel the directory listings and harassed customers who refused to pay." The settlement and default judgment against one of the businessmen bans them from the business directory industry and from assisting others involved in the industry. SEE: FTC v. Datatech Communications FTC Filed Documents, Civil No. 03 C 6249, 25 August 2005 (Amended complaint, stipulated order, default judgment, order of dismissal, news release) < http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/datatech/dat

For current events, I like to check a few international papers to see their take on the news. There are a number of aites that make short work of listing international papers and sometimes magazines in one place. Here are a few. http://newslink.org/ NewsLink Associates is an academic and professional research and consulting firm studying electronic publishing and visual journalism. http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/ “Thousands of world newspapers at your fingertips” Simple drop menus arranged by region, the site does not list the total number of papers. Like many other sites, once you find the list of papers by region or city, unless you are familiar with the papers there is no way of knowing which are the major papers. All You Can Read.com http://www.allyoucanread.com/ Described as “the largest database of magazines and newspapers on the Internet, with listings for about 22,800 magazines and newspapers from all over the world. AllYouCanRead.com is a complete guide to world media sources

The sight of crossing guards and bright yellow buses mean the "dog days of summer" and the traditional summer break have come to a close — our nation’s schools have reopened! This edition of Facts for Features highlights the many interesting statistics evolving from students and teachers returning to the classrooms. >Back-to-School Shopping $6.0 billion The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2004. Only in October, November and December — the holiday shopping season — were sales higher. Similarly, bookstore sales in August 2004 totaled $2.0 billion, an amount equaled in 2004 only by sales in December and January. (The dollar volume estimates have not been adjusted for seasonal variations, holiday or trading day differences or price changes.) If you’re not sure >where to do your back-to-school shopping , choices of retail establishments abound: In 2003, there were 24,065 family clothing stores; 6,457 children’s and infants’ clothing stores; 27,352 s

For those inventors looking to develop a prototype, the eMachineShop may be one way to produce it. A recent article at Wired.com, The Dream Factory , describes how it's done. Read on. "Boot up your computer and design whatever object you can imagine, press a button to send the CAD file to Lewis' headquarters in New Jersey, and two or three weeks later he'll FedEx you the physical object. Lewis launched eMachineShop a year and a half ago, and customers are using his service to create engine-block parts for hot rods, gears for home-brew robots, telescope mounts - even special soles for tap dance shoes. 'Designing stuff used to be just for experts,' Lewis says. 'We're bringing it to the masses.' The eMachineShop software, he explains, includes artificial intelligence that operates like a 'virtual machinist.' In the background - invisible to the user - it runs a precise emulation of the real-world machines that fabricate parts, to determine whet

As Hurricane Katrina pounds the south, with damage estimated in the billions of dollars, businesses are forced to activate disaster plans, backing up systems and many are already trying to deal with the aftermath. This brings to mind how often many businesses are not fully prepared for catastrophic events. There is an enormous amount of information available about how to go about it. I’ve listed just a few sites that offer tips and checklists. Something to think about. SBA’s Disaster Preparedness Considerations on the SBA website offers tips on creating a disaster planning toolkit covering issues such as operations, insurance and communications. Expect the Unexpected Create a monster plan to disaster-proof your business.Business Start-Ups magazine - January 1997 By Julie Cook Books in our collection: Alesch, Daniel J. ; Holly, James N.; Nagy, Robert Organizations at risk: What happens when small businesses and not-for-profits encounter natural disasters Schneid, Thomas D. Disaster

[Here's an article from the Census Bureau. The nformation particularly pertinent to New York State is in italics .] The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary. By 1893, more than half the states were observing a "Labor Day" on one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday was passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day. Who Are We Celebrating? 149.1 million Number of people age 16 or older in the nation's labor force in May 2005. Among the nation's workers are 80.0 million men and 69.1 million women. These men and women represent 66 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized adult population. Employee Benefits 82% Percentage of full-time workers age 18 to 64 covered by health insurance during all or part of 2

Not long ago, Mary Beth posted a blog on Web sites & other resources that exist as forums for people to report scams. Good thing I knew about some of them, because recently we've had our very own scam to contend with. Last March, I received a faxed invoice from ProMedia Resources, a company reputedly based in New Jersey. Soon after, a rep from the company called as a follow-up. He claimed that, five years earlier, we entered into an agreement to have our library contact information included on a CD-ROM directory of theirs titled the "American Business Resource Guide". The five years, he said, were up, and we owed them $400. This smelled fishy, as we don't enter into multi-year agreements as a matter of practicality. Nor are we interested in marketing our private services to the general public - we exist solely to serve the New York SBDC staff. I do research for a living. A preliminary investigation of mine found that no one affiliated with the Research Netwo

Mark Wan called the Research Network recently. Besides asking a reference question, he added a personal note: He's engaged! We at the Research Network extend our congratulations to Mark and his bride-to-be. Best, Darrin, Josée, Mary Beth and Roger Today's blog is the first of a new series, "The Occasional Friday Blog," providing news of interest to the NYS SBDC community on an irregular basis at the discretion of the Research Network. If you would like to contribute, please call the Central office at x.149.

Have you had a news article printed about your center? Send us articles and press releases to add to the News page —examples include: center quotes for articles profiles of clients in the news press releases generated internally or by your host college, and anything else noteworthy. Electronic copies are preferred, but not required. Also, the Central office will need to get permission from the publisher to post articles on the Web site so be sure to include the date the article appeared and the name of the newspaper/magazine. Visit the News page for updates from around the state at http://www.nyssbdc.org/News/news.cfm . Send news items to Mary Beth, m.bobish at nyssbdc.org.

JK3430.P976 2001 New York Public Sector: JK671.F43 2005 Federal yellow book: JK3430.N49 2005-2006 New York State directory 2005/2006 Peachtree accounting 2005 (software) HD62.5 .L53 1996 Gregg A Lichtenstein; Thomas S Lyons Incubating new enterprises: HD30.28 .R644 2004 Rogoff, Edward G., Bankable business plans / TK5105.888.N54 1996 Niederst, Jennifer. ; Freedman, Edie. Designing for the web: HV7936.S56 1999 The NRA range sourcebook HD61 .R378 2004 Author Reiss, Claire Lee. Title Risk management for small business /

How Many People Move Each Year – and Who Are They? By David Bancroft Avrick Over the past quarter century I’ve heard dozens of different statistics about the percentage of people that move every year. These guesstimates have varied from a low of 10 percent to a high of 25 percent. When people move, your database takes a hit. So let’s look at who moves and why. Using the information provided by the U. S. Census Bureau, let’s clear up the confusion and misinformation. Out of a population of 282,556,000 people, 40,093,000 moved. That’s an overall percentage of 14.19 percent annually. These 40-plus-million people break down as follows: 23,468,000 (58.51%) moved within the same county, 7,728,000 (19.28%) moved to a different county within the same state, 7,628,000 (19.03%) moved to a different state, and 1,269,000 (3.17%) moved to a different country. The percentage of population that moves, when broken down by age, varies considerably – from a low of 1.55 percent to a high of 17.84 per

Once upon a time, there was a client starting a gourmet food store. The client wished to obtain a list of business fax numbers for the neighborhood immediately surrounding the store with the intent of faxing lunch menus. A bit of digging at the Research Network revealed that while this advertising method appears inexpensive it is unlawful and therefore could end up costing the client quite a bit. According to a notice on the Federal Trade Commission web site , the Telephone Consumer Protection Act bans unsolicited fax advertisements. "The Act makes it unlawful for anyone to fax an unsolicited ad to another individual or business if there is no prior business relationship - and the penalty for each violation is $500 or up to $1,500 if a company willfully and knowingly violates the law." Now, what if the gourmet food store had established a prior business relationship with the recipient of the fax? Then, the gourmet food store could send the unsolicited fax. However, afte

There are many, many sources for franchising information but I’ve outlined a few here: FranchiseOpportunities.com describes itself as the “web’s largest database of franchise and business opportunities” and offers a search facility by industry or investment level with various industries broken out into type of situation. It also offers articles and news on franchise business. BestFranchiseOpportunities.com This site offers a similar look-up including a good resources list naming well-known sources for franchise information. One can also look up company names directly. The International Franchise Association Also includes a franchisor directory as well as a supplier directory, books and reports. Entrepreneur.com Franchise Zone Slices and dices the similar information in some useful ways. Like Top-Home based , Fastest Growing , Top New and Top Low Cost among others. For a quick overview HowStuffWorks.com has an article on How Franchising Works by Lee Ann Obringer that offers pros and

I had a reference question recently. The bottom line was that the client thought that if he typed in a domain name and he didn't find it, it meant that it was available. Wrong. Your clients should be checking the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers , which will direct them to several other locations. Perhaps the most useful is the InterNIC , which provides: a roster of ICANN-accredited registrars (legitimate organizations that sell the domains), information regarding registered domains (who owns the domain names), a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding domain name registration , and more. I like to look at a couple sources for registered domains, so I also look at Whois Source . When I type in ibm or ge or fedex into Whois, I find the domains at .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .us, and are no longer available. Even if they were open, your client should be wary of using them. If a website is a variation of an existing URL that would likely create &

More about those Entrepreneur Start-Up Guides . . . Recently, I e-mailed a Word file that listed the remaining guides in the Research Network collection. While we were busy winnowing our holdings, we received a notice from a center that wondered why we allow only 2 weeks to view these books. This is one of those vestiges of the days when the Researh Network served the entire country. Back then, we had a much greater demand for the guides than we do now. Two weeks was a reasonable duration to allow people to view the guide, but not so long that others would have to wait too long. Obviously, we're not national anymore. As of now, the Research Network will allow these guides to be on loan to SBDC advisors & their clients for a period of three weeks. This includes the mailing time. It's something that should've been done many years ago. Sorry for the delay. This clause will appear in the upcoming revision of the SBDC's Standard Operating Procedures manual. In the near

By now you can probably recognize an Internet scam in your e-mail inbox. But, sometimes the text is so persuasive that you consider forwarding it to one hundred of your closest colleagues and friends. How can you tell if it's for real or not? Do a bit of research at one of these sites: Hoaxbusters: http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/ Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp To discern whether you received a computer virus , search: Symantec: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html Vmyths: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html And if you get spam e-mail that you think is deceptive, forward it to spam@uce.gov . The Federal Trade Commission uses the spam stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive e-mail.

Many of our clients are setting up or growing businesses in rural settings. A source that looks at rural economics is the USDA’s Economic Research Service: Key Topics: Rural America . It looks at rural industry including farm labor, issues facing farms, how many farms are set up and federal funding distribution. You will also find Characteristics and Production Costs which looks at how production costs vary among producers. Agricultural Outlook: Statistical Indicators includes data on specific commodities, prices and expenditures. Rural America at a Glance is at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/AIB793/ and State Fact Sheets: New York is a summary of farm income and employment for NYS.

Everyone in the country should soon be able to get a FREE copy of his or her credit report from each of the credit reporting companies once every 12 months . The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports , explaining your rights and how to order a free annual credit report. The free reports have been phased in during a nine-month period, starting on the West Coast last December 1, to the Midwest on March 1, to the South on June 1. Starting September 1, the free reports will be accessible to everybody, including those in CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY , NC, PA, RI, VT, VA, WV, DC, PR, and all U.S. territories. There’s a toll-free number to order the report: 877-322-8228, or complete the request form on the FTC site and mail it. The instructions read: "When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, lik

When doing research on non-profits, I often check GuideStar.org . GuideStar provides data on more than 1.5 million non-profit organizations. When you search the GuideStar database without registering, you find a non-profit by its name, city, and state. You'll see its NTEE (National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities) code, and whether contributions to it are tax deductible. If you register (for free), however, you get much more, including: Address Mission and program descriptions Goals and results Three most recent Forms 990 received from the IRS* for an organization Any documents a nonprofit has posted through the eDocs service *Form 990 is an annual reporting return that certain federally tax-exempt organizations must file with the IRS. It provides information on the filing organization's mission, programs, and finances. If you're looking to work with a non-profit or thinking about donating to an organization, GuideStar.org can help you become better-informed, and make more ef

To follow on Darrin's earlier post... No doubt everyone has visited the DOL site for data at some time for employment law or other tips and stats. I tend to get in and out, going straight for what I need without really looking around, especially since there is such an alarming amount of information jammed in there. A few spots that are worth a visit if you haven’t been recently are: OSHA - Injury and Illness: Recordkeeping Reports on Computer and Internet Use at Work Temporary help agency workers report Occupational Outlook Quarterly We often go straight to Occupational Outlook Handbook and certainly you will recognize the reports from that source from enquiry packets. A source you may not check as often is the Occupational Outlook Quarterly Online. While poking around I came upon the You’re a What? feature. This quarter they focus on a modelmaker , past issues have been flavorist , and perfusionist . But they also covered acupuncturist , corporate concierge , dog walker , and gree

I was looking for more cool resources for you when I came across a November 2003 article in Entrepreneur magazine online , with the title shown. While the other librarians and I have cited some of the sources they've included, there are a few others that you might want to check out. Business Basics Business.gov : "Sponsored by the SBA, this site asserts that its purpose is to make the relationship between business and government more productive." U.S. Postal Service : "The USPS delivers when it comes to helping you figure out the ins and outs of shipping your precious letters and packages. Of particular interest: a section on direct mail—how to do it, rates and mailing info, templates, FAQs and more." Also in this section: SCORE and something called the Small Business Development Centers . Business Opportunities Cited here: Export.gov : "Register to receive the Export.gov newsletter, and you'll get monthly updates on feature articles, trade events and n

Sometimes, a library is improved by what it removes, rather than what it adds. Since 1992, the Research Network has been buying, cataloging, and lending Business Start-Up Guides, as published by Entrpreneur magazine. These are guides that are regularly borrowed by you on behalf of our clients. At the beginning of 2005, we had exactly 200 guides in the collection. However, a recent review of our holdings shows that 75% are more than 10 years old. I knew we had some dated guides on the shelves - however, I didn't realize it was that prevalent. In traditional public & academic library settings, items that are this old are kept as a matter of historical record. We don't have that luxury here - there's simply not enough space, nor are these guides of any practical value to the clients we serve. (In fact, they can do more harm than good. A recent evaluation came back to the Central office, specifically noting a client's disappointment with "very old" info

You have by now likely seen or used a wiki . A wiki is a simple but useful web tool to learn about any number of things. A natural outgrowth of email and blogs, it is server software that lets users to communally control content. A group of people can edit parts of text on the wiki, tweaking the information found there. The strength of the wiki comes from so many eyes constantly improving it. It is the closest thing to the original concept of what the web should be – an open tool for people to share information. While abuse does exist, moderators can correct incidents. One highly visible wiki is wikipedia , there is also wiktionary , wikiquotes , but they are well suited to collaborative projects. Organizations that are interested in knowledge management may be looking in this direction for information sharing. For more information on wikis check out HowStuffWorks.com for an article by Marshall Brain entitled “ How Wikis Work ”.

As a librarian, I tend to be cognizant of, and pulled by, two often conflicting values, the widespread distribution of information versus the desire to honor intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, patent), the latter so the creators will be willing and able to "do it again." So, I was very interested in reading an article in the July/August 2005 Searcher, "The Magazine for Database Professionals" . The article, "Generosity and Copyright" by Laura Gordon-Murname , asked the question, "How can you help patrons identify public domain content...?" The copyright law has become more skewed towards the copyright holder over time, with longer periods and more lenient applications, so that the doodle on a napkin or a quick e-mail becomes copyrightable. According to Gordon-Murname, there are many critics who believe these changes fly in the face of the law as envisioned by Jefferson and others. She quotes Larry Lessig, who says this "per

I frequently prepare usage statistics for presentation at meetings. A blog seems a good place to present them, too. Here's a few items of note: As most of you know, the Research Network has been serving the SBDC community since September 1992. On May 31st of this year, we received our 20,000th request for information. Thanks to John Narciso at our Farmingdale SBDC for being the one to help us reach this milestone! We answered 146 requests asked during the month of June. This is about right - we've averaged exactly 146 for every June since 1993. To put that number in perspective, know that our busiest month ever was April 2002, when a whopping 217 requests came to our doors. The lowest? October 1998, when there were but 74. Generally, March is our busiest month of the year, and (unsurprisingly) December is the slowest. In June, we devoted 1.4 hours of prep time per question. This isn't unusual - historically, we've spent 1.5 hours on a request. I'll try to re

In this age of rising costs for proprietary information, the Research Network librarians have to be creative in their research strategies. One of the ways we track down industry trends is to look at Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings . Maybe your client sells a product in a retail establishment. Check out the manufacturer's filing for a discussion of the industry as well as competitors. Form 10-K is a good place to start. The 10-K is the annual report to the SEC, however, it's generally different from the Annual Report to Stockholders . The 10-K follows a standard format as mandated by the SEC and doesn't contain the colorful charts and graphs found in the glossy Annual Report to Stockholders. The 10-K describes how the firm does business, lists ownership and management, may provide estimates of market share and competition, discusses research and development activities, lists subsidiaries, and reveals legal proceedings and other matters that affect the compa

While working on a question for an advisor, I came across a term I had not heard before: ‘ home-shoring’ . At a time when there is so much written about out-sourcing and off-shoring, it piqued my interest. We come across a lot of buzz words, and this was a new one on me. Naturally coined here in the US, home-shoring refers to the outsourcing of functions in this case to those working from their homes. Off-shoring has not worked out in many cases, particularly for call and customer services, and with increasing security fears, this seems to be a viable alternative. And apparently about as cost effective as off-shoring to India, while employing those within the market they serve. Not that we haven’t seen many home-based businesses offering outsourced services to industry, but now we have the lingo. Star Tribune Let's hear it for 'homeshoring' October 7, 2004 at 11:46 AM By Nick Eian September 19, 2004 FORUM0919 http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4983779.html CNet News 

There's a U.S. Census activity now taking place that will eliminate the need for the long form in the 2010 Census, and beyond. The American Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide information more quickly, rather than having users wait for 10 years. Yet it it has received very little publicity, because the Bureau has little or no budget for promotion. "The decennial census has two parts: 1) the short form, which counts the population; and 2) the long form, which obtains demographic, housing, social, and economic information from a 1-in-6 sample of households. Information from the long form is used for the administration of federal programs and the distribution of billions of federal dollars. "Planners and other data users are reluctant to rely on [out-of-date data] for decisions that are expensive and affect the quality of life of thousands of people. The American Community Survey is a way to provide the data communities need every year instead of once

We receive a number of requests for average wages paid - either hourly or per year - for a given occupation within a given geographic region. If this is something you're asked repeatedly, then you should bookmark this site: http://www.bls.gov/oes/oes_data.htm It presents wage estimate data generated by the Occupational Employment Statistics division within the U.S. Department of Labor. Right now, the most current data is available from May 2004. Data can be generated by a) the U.S. in general, b) an individual state, and/or c) selected metropolitan areas. (Metropolitan areas are usually defined as a collection of one or more contiguous counties, not necessarily within the same state. However, not all counties are part of a metro area. To find out, visit this section: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/msa_def.htm .) Back to the wage tables. You'll notice the far-left column is titled "SOC Code Number". Occupations are organized according to the Standard Occupationa

At a librarian conference in June, I learned about this free service from MelissaData. Go to the Free Home Sales Alert by ZIP Code page . Sign up to receive a weekly email with the home sales in a ZIP Code for the previous 7 days. You'll get information on the sales price, street and date the sale was recorded. You must be a registered user to take advantage of this service. The Lookups section of MelissaData has lots of other free services (up to a daily limit) including: Campaign Contributors - Contributors to federal campaigns by ZIP Code Climate Averages - Monthly low, average and high temperatures by ZIP Code ZIP Codes in a County - List of ZIP Codes in any county in the United States Fatal Accidents - Number of fatal vehicle accidents by county People Finder -Locate anyone nationwide. Search public records. Try it out for yourself and post a comment when you do.

Rainey, W.T. 10th Annual Disaster Resource Guide 2005/2006 2004 Automatic Carwash Operations Benchmarking Report. 2004 Self-Serve CarwashingBenchmarking Survey Report. Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association AOBA Farm & Ranch Guide 2005-2006 Hall, Stephen F. From Kitchen To Market: Selling Your Gourmet Food Specialty 4th Ed. 2005 Getzips: Zip Codes By County. 2001. Morrison, David A. Marketing To The Campus Crowd: Everything You Need To Know To Capture the $200 Billion College Market. 2004 Barletta, Martha Marketing To Women: How To Understand, Reach, And Increase Your Share Of The World’s Largest Market Segment. 2003 Valuationresources.com Small Business Valuation Formula Multiples. 2004 Gross, T. Scott When Customers Talk... Turn What They Tell You Into Sales. 2005 Based On A National Survey Of 100,000 Customers

Here are some recreational and entertainment sites to check out. While some of them (notably SGMA) sell a lot of material, there is something of use, and FREE, to recommend the site. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association has a number of expensive reports, but the Sports Participation Topline Report , delineating how many play various sports, is free. Clients seeking to compete with the big music chains should check out the site of The Coalition of Independent Music Stores . Speaking of music, there are great demographic statistics at the Recording Industry Association of America webpage. Paul Rapp is a lawyer dealing with intellectual property issues, especially in the areas of art and music. He was also the drummer in the legendary Albany band Blotto. He's put out a series of articles about copyright myths, trademark infringement, work for hire, fair use and similar topics. If you fill out the form on the Motion Picture Association of America website, you will be se

Recently, I came across an article that might be of interest to clients of yours who run e-commerce businesses. It explains the results of recent studies of how visitors to the Web go about searching for what they need. It answers such questions as "How do they phrase their searches?" "At what sites do they begin their search?" "How many results are they willing to wade through before choosing a destination?" Very useful for those businesses with a significant customer base in cyberspace. (By the way, this article was found on a Web site called Search Engine Watch . If it sounds familiar, Mary Beth cited this in her blog of June 23rd.)

When you call the Research Network, you may ask for a list of competitors in a certain region, say, Western New York. When a librarian starts work on your question, (s)he needs to define what counties make up that region. To do this, I use Empire State Development's definitions : (1) Western New York : Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany (2) Finger Lakes : Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Ontario, Yates, Seneca (3) Southern Tier : Steuben, Schuyler, Chemung, Tompkins, Tioga, Broome, Chenango, Otsego, Delaware (4) Central NY : Cayuga, Oswego, Onondaga, Cortland, Madison (5) North Country : Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, Essex (6) Mohawk Valley : Oneida, Herkimer, Hamilton, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie (7) Capital Region : Warren, Saratoga, Washington, Schenectady, Albany, Rensselaer, Greene, Columbia (8) Mid-Hudson : Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester (9) New York City : Bronx, Kings, New York, Que

Every small business owner will at some point realize the need for competitive intelligence. We often get requests for lists of competitors in a given area but the real questions concerning the competition: how much of a threat they pose to the business owner is one that requires closer attention. They will likely learn a fair amount about the competition from their own clients. Besides the typical sources of information: annual reports, corporate web sites, national and local papers; there are also job postings, legal filings, patents and interviews with people to gather the pieces that will come together into a fuller picture of the market. Clients could take advantage of tracking services, join professional associations, and attend trade shows and network. Clipping competitors ads can help keep on top of what their offerings are. Business owners should also be aware of competitors from new corners – those with aligned products or services. Approach the competition as a customer to s

Sometimes, you or your client need to make contacts with state and local governments, perhaps out of state. There are a number of different strategies to achieve your informational needs: You can use Google or Yahoo! or another search engine. Be aware, however, that you might hit the commercial, rather than governmental site for the entity. The ending .com will generally be the tipoff, but not always. You can access state web pages by using the formula http://www.state.xx.us/ , where xx stands for the two-letter postal code of the state. (Need the postal code? Check with the U.S. Postal Service .) This methodology can be helpful when you want to look at several aspects of a state's governance. These sites also tend to have links to the localities within their respective states. You can go to a portal of state and local government sites, regularly updated, such as the one here . FirstGov.gov , "the U.S. Government's Official Web Portal," not only has alphabetical

When the Press calls, you need statistics fast. How many small businesses are there? What is the survival rate for new firms? How many businesses open and close each year? How many new jobs do small firms create? These and many more Frequently Asked Questions are answered by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy in this PDF document or on the web . If you need New York State-specific statistics , check out SBA's State Economic Profiles . These annual profiles show the number of small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses for each state; business turnover (new firms, bankruptcies and terminations); employment; small business income; sources of financing; firms by industry and firm size; and non-farm establishment job gains and losses by firm size. The 2004 New York profile is available in two formats: PDF or plain text . This data is also available on the NYS SBDC web site at: http://www.nyssbdc.org/News/SmallBizStats/smallbizstats.html .

I am attracted to the human aspect of business which is why I find marketing so interesting. Here are few articles and books that may be of interest: Targeting People of Caribbean Heritage: 4 Common Errors by Xavier Murphy June 28, 2005 MarketingProfs.com http://www.marketingprofs.com/5/murphyX1.asp “Marketers who ignore people of Caribbean heritage are missing on the opportunities to showcase their products and services to a fast-growing segment with significant buying power.” 5 illustrious strategies to explode your web site traffic by Benjamin Scott The Marketing Resource Center http://www.marketingsource.com/articles/view/1917 “Are you spending hundreds of dollars on advertising campaigns, only to find out that you have earned a very small profit or none at all? Here are 5 illustrious strategies that will help you explode and create viral traffic to your web site.” Mind over market: over 20 years ago, Jay Conrad Levinson changed the way entrepreneurs thought about marketing with h

The Federal Trade Commission is my first destination when I get a variety of reference topics that involve making sure that individuals are not being "ripped off" by an entity: CREDIT : Consumers have important protections under the Fair Credit Reporting Act IDENTITY THEFT : How to fight it PRIVACY : A delineation of the rights of the consumer CONSUMER INFORMATION : Things to know about Lasik eye surgery, indoor tanning, product labeling CONSUMER PROTECTION : Deciphering advertising and marketing practices, avoiding scams FRANCHISING : Certain states (including) NYS) have tougher regulations for would be franchisers Another valuable national tool in consumer protection is The Consumer Protection Safety Commission . It describes itself as an "independent US regulatory agency that helps keep American families safe by reducing the risk of injury or death from consumer products." These are the folks who issue the product recalls that sometimes make the papers. New York

One of the benefits of the NAICS Code classification system is that it classifies the PC- and Internet-based businesses that often defied description in the SIC Code Manual. I've noticed in WebMQS, however, that there's an attempt to classify e-commerce businesses by the product line being sold, or Web-based services by the service being offered. The 2002 NAICS code system has removed the guesswork from these situations. Just keep these codes in mind the next time you have a Web-based business client: 454111 - "Electronic Shopping" - For those establishments that retail all types of merchandise using the Internet, regardless of the product being sold . 454112 - "Electronic Auctions" - For businesses akin to eBay. 518111 - "Internet Service Providers" - For businesses that promise Internet access & other services to their customers. 518112 - "Web Search Portals" - For those businesses that maintain informational databases that vis