New York SBDC Research Network

Delegating is one of the oldest management principles around. But experts have pushed the concept so hard that it often seems like the best leaders delegate literally everything. In my career I've met more than a few managers who do just that -- they hand off or dump so much on others that the delegators lose touch with too much of what's going on in their business. Managers who stay too close to people and their projects are often thought of as unproductive and inefficient, micromanaging, old-school. But it's important to know the difference between handing-off and being hands-off. More from CBS News Moneywatch .

Within every entrepreneur’s personality there exist four distinct dimensions that drive and fuel the creation and vision of enterprise: The Dreamer, The Thinker, The Storyteller, and The Leader. No doubt some of these aspects are more developed in you than others – for we each have our own strengths – but in order to successfully launch your own enterprise, all four characteristics are must be present. Those that are lacking must be developed if you are to succeed. More information from Michael Gerber

The client had extensive experience in the specialty tool and die industry, producing roll dies for radiator and automotive cooling components. After working for over a month without pay, the client was displaced when his former company became insolvent. Given his design and sales background he wanted to pursue this niche manufacturing market. The client needed help determining the feasibility of the proposed project and finding financing. Client was additionally challenged by a credit rating that had been impaired while working without pay – because he and remaining colleagues eventually left, they were initially denied unemployment benefits which further exacerbated the client’s personal credit issues. SBDC assisted client with a feasibility analysis, credit repair, and the development of a business plan. Many financing options were explored due to credit issues. The SBDC facilitated the client’s application process to local public loan funds. Other assistance included job cost

The idea for Slick Text was born in 2012 when founder Matt Baglia worked for a company that was considering adding text messaging to its marketing mix. After reviewing several providers Matt recognized some common flaws among all of them. Each platform was fairly difficult to understand and use. None of them placed emphasis on educating their customers on how to be successful with their product, and all lacked personal customer service. Matt and his partner Ryan Kinal realized that if they could create a service without those flaws, there would be an excellent opportunity for a piece of the industry’s pie. “When Slick Text first launched, the platform had very few features. It was intended to be a minimum viable product so we could get it in front of customers and start covering our costs. Even though it was relatively basic, we stuck tight to the core ideology of simplicity and it really resonated with the early adopters,” commented Matt Baglia. “Over the past year, new customers

Black Willow joined the Niagara Wine Trail in January of 2011. This fulfilled a longtime dream for the owners. They converted a 35-year-old pole barn into their tasting room and production area. They hired a local winemaker as a consultant to ensure the quality of their wines. Black Willow is open seven days a week and currently offers nine wines. They have several new varieties in development. In addition, they have 500 peach trees and 30 cherry trees. Black Willow has product in the SBDC Wine outlet in China. Cindy joined Jinshui Zhang of the NYS SBDC, and Empire State Development on a trade trip to China in the fall of 2012. She has shared what she has learned with others on the wine trail. The Niagara SBDC (Maureen Henderson) helped the clients put together their loan package/business plan to obtain their start-up funding. Additional assistance included aiding the development of their marketing strategy including a comprehensive branding approach and helping them connect with

Red Castle Bakeries was founded in 1996 by Marco and Lucille Minuto. The Minutos started this business after Marco was laid off from a 15 year sales and marketing career with a beef patty company located in NYC. The two decided to start their own manufacturing and distributing company delivering beef patties throughout the Long Island and NYC region. They moved their growing business to their own building in Bayshore in 2007 and grew to employing 25 local residence. Shortly after the expansion, Mrs. Minuto was left a widow. She was faced with selling the business or to continue as the new President and running the operations with her sons. She felt compelled to stay as so many employees and her own children were so vested in the business. She and her son Marco continued to operate and work hard to preserve what had been created. Mrs. Minuto came to the Small Business Development Center in Farmingdale on November 14, just 15 days after Super Storm Sandy devastated so many

In 2011, Jason DiBenedetto and Leo Rentzis, friends with a shared vision, started Noble Wood Shavings (NWS). NWS is Central New York’s only manufacturing facility dedicated to producing the absolute best quality bedding for horses. They use an exclusive recipe of soft wood species to ensure a top quality product that is consistent, super absorbent, and rot free. The product is super-heated during the drying process to kill bacteria, fungus, and molds. Business Advisor David Lerman worked extensively with the partners to draft a solid business plan and projections. The business plan included several letters of interest from prospective customers, which proved to be key to the successful funding of the project. Locating the business in Sherrill Manufacturing Park with low cost power and overhead helped keep NWS’ operating costs competitive, as did an abundance of local low cost raw material. NWS opened for business with financing from Alliance Bank (an SBA guaranteed loan), Mohawk V

Graduate of Monroe Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology and St. John Fisher College, Kaye holds an A.S. degree in Computer Science, a B.S. degree in Computational Mathematics and an M.B.A. In 2011 Kaye retired from a 25-year career at Xerox Corporation where she spent several years as a senior executive in their North American Service organization. In late 2011, she and her husband Ross formed Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. and in February 2012, Stone Goose Enterprise, Inc. purchased Smith’s Gravel Pit in Sodus, New York . Kaye is currently the President / CEO of Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. and President / Owner of Smith’s Gravel Pit. In her roles she runs the day-to-day operations of Smith’s Gravel Pit, an aggregate mining facility; which also provides trucking and excavation services and works strategic development / business expansion for Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. Kaye was one of the Rochester Business Journal 40 under Forty recipients in 2004 and in 20

Founded in 1986 by Roger and Shelley Gray, Center Line Studios (CLS) builds scenery for Broadway shows, opera, and television. After 9/11, the industry went into a recession. They downsized and moved to a smaller location. They were limited by physical space constraints and were unable to accept projects that would enable the company to grow. In March 2011, they purchased a large building. Vacant for many years, it needed substantial work. They spent the summer cleaning and doing construction. In August 2011, with Hurricane Irene, the creek flooded by taking the most direct path, through the building, delaying their move. In January 2012, their small shop caught on fire. They moved the office to their dining room table. The shop continued to function in the area where the fire damage wasn’t as bad. In February 2012, they met with Mid-Hudson SBDC adviser Myriam Bouchard with the goal of securing a loan to finish the renovations. A few months later, they moved the office out

The U.S. Small Business Administration and AARP will team up Tuesday, October 2 to host the first National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day. The event is targeted at entrepreneurs over the age of 50 to match these “encore entrepreneurs” with successful business owners and community leaders for advice and assistance. To find a local event near you go to www.sba.gov/mentorday . National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day is part of a larger effort by SBA and AARP to promote entrepreneurship among individuals ages 50 and older. It will consist of events across the country that will match encore entrepreneurs with mentors who have small business experience. Events will include speed mentoring allowing mentors and entrepreneurs to share information for five minute sessions and mentor lunches for entrepreneurs to learn from successful business owners. The events also will help connect encore entrepreneurs with mentors from SBA’s network of Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business

From CBS News MoneyWatch Like many entrepreneurs I know -- especially chronically right-brained types -- I struggle with a short attention span. Where was I? Oh, yes, attention span... . My noisy business owner's head and ever-wandering imagination often make it difficult for me to focus (much less "laser-focus") on specific tasks or issues, especially if they're analytical, operational, or otherwise boring and soul-sapping to me. But running a business requires paying attention to things we love and things we hate, and I know I can't just do the fun stuff.

Videos Showcase Entrepreneurs Who Have Started or Grown a Business WASHINGTON – Everyone has a story, and now the U.S. Small Business Administration is giving entrepreneurs a new online platform to share their stories and showcase their successful and thriving businesses. SBA has launched “Small Business Owners Speak,” an interactive platform featuring videos by entrepreneurs from across the country who have started or grown a business with the help of the SBA. The videos will be featured at www.sba.gov/stories . The page features videos submitted during SBA’s 2012 National Small Business Week video contest. But to help reach out to more small business owners, SBA has opened “Small Business Owners Speak” to other entrepreneurs interested in submitting a video to be featured there, where more information about the video submission process. The page features a map of the United States that allows users to click on videos by state or by using the drop-down menu and searching

FROM CBS News MoneyWatch : When speaking with or advising people starting new companies, or already running small ones, I've found that they often avoid, delay, or otherwise neglect to put some simple but critical business needs in place. Generally it's because they (like any responsible entrepreneur) want to save money, or because they think they "don't need these things yet." But there are structural and operational fundamentals that are best dealt with before you think you need them. Some of them involve a little out-of-pocket, but it's money better spent early in the game.

From CBS News MoneyWatch It's a lousy time to start or grow a business, right? Wrong! Over half of America's Fortune 500 companies started during a depression or recession. As far back as the first century BCE, Horace noted that "Adversity reveals greatness; prosperity conceals it." Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. They see beyond the pile of poop and look for the pony. Every crisis is an opportunity for change; every problem begs for a solution... We are all problem solvers to varying degrees. When confronted with problems, we all seek solutions. The difference is that successful entrepreneurs solve other peoples' problems, not just their own. Though their solutions may have originated from their individual situation, they are able to recognize a widespread need, replicate the remedies, and offer the solution to others.

From the Brooklyn SBDC: Ariel Barbouth recognizes New York City as the culinary capital of the world. Ariel started Nuchas in 2008 after visiting his native Argentina and re-discovering restaurants there that only sold empanadas: pastries stuffed with a variety of meats and vegetables originally from Latin America. After returning from Argentina, Ariel developed the Nuchas concept - selling empanadas as convenient, natural handheld food with an ethnic twist. His experience as entrepreneur in a previous venture in the food industry helped him quickly develop the concept. Nuchas started baking and distributing empanadas wholesale. Nuchas’ empanadas quickly became a success and were picked up by gourmet stores across the city. Ariel contacted the Brooklyn SBDC in January 2011 for business plan assistance to grow his business and open his first retail outlet. As the Brooklyn SBDC and Ariel worked on the plan, a Request For Proposal was published by The Times Square Alliance and NYC

Alliance will provide counseling, training to 100,000 encore entrepreneurs SBA has set up a http://www.sba.gov/content/50-entrepreneurs dedicated web page for Americans over the age of 50 featuring: an online self-assessment tool that will help potential small business owners understand their readiness for starting a business as well as information to help with business planning, shaping a winning business idea, professional counseling, financial services and information to find local resources in your area. More HERE .

From the Brooklyn SBDC From his initial weeks of basic training to the Reserve Officer Training Program at Syracuse University and throughout his career as an Air Force officer, Jon Quinn experienced firsthand the benefits of group exercise - military style. Jon started Captain Quinn's Fitness Boot Camp because he is passionate about fitness and about serving others through fitness education. His dedication to fitness has spanned over twenty years of service in the military, the private sector, and in non-profit organizations. Jon, a Certified Personal Trainer is on a mission to ignite a lifetime passion for fitness and healthy living in as many people as possible through programs designed to motivate, educate and inspire transformation and self-improvement. His Fitness Boot Camp provides results-oriented fast paced group fitness classes, private and small group fitness training and coaching, nutritional guidance and, eventually, on-line/retail video instruction. Jon consulted Bu

From the Rockland SBDC Oscar Nordstrom, a Service Disabled Veteran, founded Nordstrom Contracting & Consulting, Corp (NCC) in 2004 as a family-owned and operated small business. NCC provides a variety of construction and renovation work for Federal Agencies, including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, interior fit-outs and finish trades. In that time NCC has performed projects totaling more than $10 million and NCC is especially proud that all projects have been completed on or before required completion and within original budget! NCC’s trademarks are attention to detail, responsiveness, integrity, and genuine pride in its work. Since its inception NCC has grown consistently every year. Mr. Nordstrom says “By aligning the client’s goals with ours, working as a team on each job, we develop and maintain close working relationships with every client. Our past projects, current service contracts and ever-growing portfolio are a testament to the abilities and superior performance of

From  HERE - If you’re a sole proprietor with no employees and very little business overhead, what you pay yourself is pretty much what you earn in sales minus your costs and taxes. But what happens when your business grows, or you enter a partnership, or take on employees – how do you determine what your salary should be? As a business owner, setting your own salary can be a tricky task, especially in markets that see highs and lows. Here are a few tips to help you determine the best way to "pay the boss.” No Magic Formula There is no magic formula for setting your salary because so much depends on the development stage of your business and how it’s doing.

His saga is the entrepreneurial creation myth writ large: Steve Jobs cofounded Apple in his parents’ garage in 1976, was ousted in 1985, returned to rescue it from near bankruptcy in 1997, and by the time he died, in October 2011, had built it into the world’s most valuable company. Along the way he helped to transform seven industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing. He thus belongs in the pantheon of America’s great innovators, along with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney. None of these men was a saint, but long after their personalities are forgotten, history will remember how they applied imagination to technology and business. In the months since my biography of Jobs came out, countless commentators have tried to draw management lessons from it. Some of those readers have been insightful, but I think that many of them (especially those with no experience in entrepreneurship) fixate too much on