New York SBDC Research Network

These  reports  provide selected economic and demographic characteristics of U.S. respondent firms and their owners.  Data aggregates are presented by gender, ethnicity, race and veteran status of majority owners at the national level by 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), and employment size and receipts size of firm. Characteristics of Businesses and Business Owners statistics for both employer and nonemployer firms include, but are not limited to, types of workers, year the business was originally established, if the company owned a website, age of owner, owner’s highest level of education, and whether the owner was born in the United States. Internet address:  < http://factfinder.census.gov/ bkmk/navigation/1.0/en/d_ program:SBO/d_data_orig_year: 2012/text_search:SB1200CSCB* >.

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

Who Must Report? As a governmental, Tribal, tax-exempt or for-profit employer, if you are an  applicable large employer  you are subject to the Affordable Care Act information reporting requirements. These requirements apply to you whether or not you offered health coverage to your employees. You are an  applicable large employer  for 2015 if you had 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, in 2014. What Must You Report? If you were an applicable large employer in 2015, you must file information returns with the IRS and provide statements to each employee who was a full-time employee for at least one month of the year about health coverage you offered or to show that you did not offer health coverage.

This isn't a story about nudity; it's a story about disruption and innovation. Times, tastes and technology have changed everything. Even at 89, Hugh Hefner understands a simple fact: In today's rapidly evolving world you innovate or you become irrelevant. It's the biggest challenge facing businesses around the world... It may seem ironic to think that the very nudity that Playboy pioneered has been "overtaken" by the Internet where you are "one click away from every sex act imaginable for free." However, that's always how it happens. The thing that made you famous won't keep you relevant in a progressive world. Kodak invented the digital camera in 1975, but it was so focused on its film and printing domination, it missed every opportunity in digital. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Blockbuster created a desire to rent and stay in to enjoy movies from the comfort of our homes, and passed on the opportunity to buy Netflix, not

Are You Stressed?  Saturday, August 15, was National Relaxation Day, a day dedicated to unwinding and enjoying our personal lives. But for most of us, relaxing on the weekend isn't the challenge. We could all do with a little less stress at work, too. In this newsletter, we look at how stress affects business owners, executives and employees as well as what to do about it.   The Biggest Driver of Stress: Lack of Control No one is surprised to learn that owning a small business is intensely stressful. It certainly isn't a surprise to business owners.   One study points to lack of control as the largest source of stress. Even worse, obsessing over things that you don't have the power to change can have physiological effects such as raising your blood pressure and emotional effects like reduced confidence.  Read more about  the leading causes of small business stress  and recommendations on how to manage them.

Everyone has to deal with the nitty-gritty details of starting a business; no matter your industry, getting started safely and legally involves at least a little red tape. You need to make your business an official legal entity, and take an in-depth look at what permits and licenses you need at the local, state, and federal levels to be able to operate your business without fear of being hit with a fine—or worse, having to close down. The term "business license" is a bit misleading as it makes it sound as if there is one license you apply for, sort of like a driver’s license, that you obtain and—voila! You’re legally in business. That is not the case. Read more from Bplans

Starting a small business is not a one size fits all-process. However, one best practice that all small businesses should consider is liability insurance. It’s no surprise that most of the information out there about liability insurance comes directly from insurance providers, so it is important to do extensive research to ensure that you are relying on objective information to make business decisions. The SBA offers a wealth of information on liability insurance for small businesses that can help. Here are a few points to consider as you work to ensure that your business has complete protection: Liability insurance protects you from a variety of legal claims including bodily and personal injury as well as property damage that can occur during day-to-day business operations. If you do not have employees, you may not be required by law to have insurance, but you should still be prepared. A single incident can unravel all of the hard work that you have done to build your business. Wh

2012  annual or static data include number of firms, number of establishments, employment, annual payroll, and estimated receipts for most U.S. business establishments. The data are tabulated by geographic area, industry, and enterprise size. Industry classification is based on 2012 North American Industry Classification System  (NAICS)  codes. An establishment with 0 employment is an establishment with no paid employees in the mid-March pay period but with paid employees at some time during the year. Receipts data are available only for economic census years (years ending in 2 and 7). View the latest receipts data below. Employment and Payroll Summary Report: 2012  [PDF, 1.1 MB] Data Tables by Enterprise Employment Size        The following links are subsets of SUSB data in spreadsheet format.        For more detailed industry and employment size classes, download additional data in  comma-delimited format.           U.S. and States:             U.S. & states, totals   [xls

The Business Expenses Survey (BES) was created originally to compile statistics on business operating expenses for Retail Trade, Wholesale Trade, and Service Industries. Expense data are key components of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) input-output (I-O) accounts, which are a critical element in the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Starting in 2003, the Service Annual Survey (SAS) began collecting selected expense items on their annual form. In 2004, Census and BEA formed a joint team, called the Core Expenses Group (CEG) to evaluate the collection of expense items across the many Census programs. The result of this team effort was a core set of expenses that have been collected on an annual basis since 2005 by the SAS and the Annual Survey of Manufacturers (ASM), and on a quinquennial basis by the Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS), Annual Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS), and the Economic Census for Manufacturing, Construction, and Mining. What data is available

Competitive analysis has become an essential part of business marketing activity and has made it possible to perform qualitative strategic planning. While analyzing your competitors, you should know what you are looking for and how it can help your business. It is not about stealing your competitor’s ideas; it’s about revealing their strengths and weaknesses, and finding your own company’s competitive advantages. Only unique brand positioning will eventually bring your company customer loyalty and business success. If you’ve wondered what your competitors are up to, that shows you’re thinking strategically and want to have confidence in your own company’s approach. There are plenty of ways to check on your competition that are totally above-board. Read more BPlans

If you run your company like most business owners do, you might take a deep look at your business numbers once every three months. Frankly, that’s not a terrible strategy. You have time to see how things are going and you aren’t spending too much time on the books. At least you’re actually looking at your numbers—which puts you well ahead of many other small business owners. But, reviewing your key numbers only once a quarter can limit the opportunities you have to evolve your strategy and grow your company. If your company closes its books quarterly and only looks at results quarterly, you’ll have a hard time adapting and evolving quickly to situations that arise within your business. That’s because you are only stepping back, reviewing your strategy, and course-correcting your business four times a year. Thankfully, there’s a simple solution to make your company more nimble and agile than your competition. read more from LivePlan

Imagine your a small-town entrepreneur, looking to build a local business. You may end up using your last name as part of the company name... That's all fine and good and rarely causes a problem. If you were really ahead of the curve -- say, you knew about the Internet in the early to mid-1990s -- maybe you even registered yourself a domain name, your last name followed by the now-ubiquitous dot-com. If you did, chances are you ended up something with a lot more valuable than you bargained for. Unless your last name is Nissan. In that case, you probably ended up with a big headache -- and a lot of legal bills. Since the 1980s, Uzi Nissan -- that's his real name -- has owned a number of small businesses branded with his last name. In the early 1990s, he started the Nissan Computer Corporation. He registered the Nissan.com domain in 1994. More from Now I Know .

By Rieva Lesonsky Marketing is crucial for small business owners. But all too often, we approach marketing in a haphazard fashion, adding a new element to our marketing mix “on the fly” without stopping to think about whether it makes sense for our overall business goals. It’s great to keep your marketing fresh and up-to-date by marketing your business in new avenues. But if you don’t take the time to assess each part of your marketing mix and how it fits into the larger scheme of things, you could be wasting time and money—and not getting the results you desire. Creating a marketing plan for your business can help ensure that you’re maximizing each marketing dollar you spend and that your marketing message is truly getting across to your target customers. So how do you get started? Think of your marketing plan as kind of a “business plan” for your marketing. In fact, if you are a startup, a marketing plan should be part of your overall business plan. If you’re beyond the start

For virtually every small business owner in the U.S., the importance of a good personal credit score when seeking a business loan can’t be underestimated. While it might feel counter-intuitive to be talking about your personal credit score when addressing a business credit need, a low personal score has been responsible for the undoing of many small business loan applications. Read more from BPlans

The only thing small about small businesses is their name. Collectively, they’re behemoths – employing the vast majority of people in this country, and serving as engines of growth and creativity in their communities. Starting a business from scratch is exciting – as well as a challenge. BusinessUSA's Start a Business tool will help you find information on everything from conducting market research to finding business counselors that can provide one-on-one assistance. Need help taking your business to the next level? This collection of resources will help you with a range of complex issues and activities, from developing a marketing plan and forecasting for growth, to franchising your business and finding international trade leads.

We’re big believers in  green businesses  and the notion that making money and being eco-conscious are not mutually exclusive. In honor of the upcoming Earth Day on April 22, we’d like to outline some great ideas to “green” your business – ranging from ways to lessen your company’s carbon footprint to dealing with EPA regulations. These tips underscore the idea that going green is a great business strategy. For starters, make sure your facility is as energy-efficient as possible, something that benefits you and the environment. Once you’ve done that,  you may also want to consider renewable energy .

According to the  findings of a 2014 Intuit study , more than 40 percent of U.S. small businesses consider themselves financially illiterate. Yet, 81 percent handle their business’ finances. April is National Financial Capability Month, so now is a great time for small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs to brush up on their  financial literacy skills . Whether you are a seasoned small business owner, a new small business owner or have dreams to be a future small business owner, it is inevitable that you will at some point have to deal with securing the capital to fund and/or expand your business venture. There are several  financing options  to explore when funding a small business such as loans, grants, venture capital, angel investors and crowd funding, but most small businesses rely on lenders to obtain the capital needed to open a business or to finance capital improvements.

A majority of people swear from time to time, but it’s recently become far more prevalent in public. Why? One of the main reasons in the business world is creating an edge. Most speakers and bloggers I know who use profanity do it for this reason. It’s part of their personal style, meant to set them apart from other communicators. But like anything, there’s an opportunity cost involved in dropping F-bombs and using blasphemy. I want to focus on three simple reasons cussing might be costing you more than you think. More from MichaelHyatt.com .

The digital era not only makes big bets possible but increasingly necessary. The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a force that is driving innovation and new opportunities by bringing every object, consumer, and activity into the digital realm. At the same time, leading businesses are making similar changes within their enterprises by digitizing every employee, process, product, and service. This year, we conducted our first Technology Vision survey, polling more than 2,000 business and technology executives across nine countries and 10 industries, in order to understand key technology challenges as well as priority investments. Our survey revealed that 62 percent are investing in digital technologies, and 35 percent are comprehensively investing in digital as part of their overall business strategy. Taken in aggregate, enterprises find themselves connected to a digital fabric that has the potential to touch all aspects of their business, their customer relationships, and the worl

From CBS Sunday Morning : Meet the bulldog Zelda -- pampered, adored, and really spoiled by owner Carol Gardner. And why not? Gardener says Zelda changed the course of her entire life, which in 1997 needed changing. "I was recently divorced -- hence, depressed, hence in debt, and having a very difficult time," Gardner said. "And so a friend said, 'Sweetheart, you need to either get a therapist or a dog.'" So at 52, Gardner adopted Zelda, an English Bulldog, though she had scarcely the money to feed her. Then she learned a nearby pet store was having a contest: "The prize was 40 pounds of dog food every month for a year," Gardner said. All she had to do was design a holiday greeting card. So she did what anyone would: she put Zelda in a Santa hat and sat her down in a bubble bath.