New York SBDC Research Network

1. Youth matters. Many entrepreneurs say they wished they started on their path sooner. So when better to start then at a young age?

Veteran entrepreneur and journalist Paige Thomas King breaks down the truth about owning a small business in this fascinating   article . She makes it clear that while the   government isn’t standing around waiting to hand out free money, there are several places you can go to get   financial assistance. Local events are great ways for veteran entrepreneurs to network and find out more about starting a business.  Discover  entrepreneur and business events near you .  And of course, don’t forget to check out the Department of Veteran Affairs'  newly revamped Veteran Entrepreneur Portal  and the Small Business Administration’s  Veteran’s Small Business Resource Guide  (a PDF).

First, let’s dispel a myth – SBA doesn't make direct loans to entrepreneurs to start or grow a business. Instead, it provides a guarantee to banks and lenders for the money they lend to small businesses owners. This guarantee protects the lenders interests by promising to pay a portion of the loan back if the business owner defaults on the loan. So when a business applies for an SBA loan, it is actually applying for a commercial loan through a bank or authorized SBA lender, structured according to SBA requirements with an SBA guarantee. Essentially, SBA loans alleviate the risk associated with lending money to business owners and entrepreneurs who may not qualify for traditional loans – thus opening up lending opportunities to thousands of entrepreneurs, start-ups, growing businesses, minorities and veterans. Read more about SBA’s role in the process. There are several types of loans that business can take advantage of, each developed to suit the needs of your business. More

According to the Small Business Administration, "Veteran business owners are responsible for nearly one out of every ten small businesses in America, employ nearly six million workers, generate over 1.5 trillion dollars in receipts each year and are 45 percent more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans". So what exactly makes veterans so well suited for entrepreneurship? 1. Work Ethic See more at: the New Jersey SBDC for Monmouth and Ocean Counties

WASHINGTON – The accomplishments of Veteran small business owners around the country will be celebrated during National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) November 3-7.      U.S. Small Business Administration district offices and resource partners nationwide will host more than 100 local events, including entrepreneurship training such as Boots to Business: Reboot classes, veteran access to capital workshops, and government contracting roundtables.   Veteran entrepreneurship workshops will also be held at U.S. military installations in Germany and Korea.  On Friday, Nov. 7, the ABC television network will host a special “ Shark Tank ” episode featuring veteran entrepreneurs

Badly tracked finances can cause your business a world of problems—from poor cash flow to improper tax filings and beyond. These kinds of problems can put a young business at serious risk. Good bookkeeping habits, on the other hand, can help a business thrive—and not just survive. Dallas-based financial writer and founder of Careful Cents, Carrie Smith, shared her advice on what good bookkeeping means for entrepreneurs, and the good habits to adopt that will guide your business to success. MORE from BPlans.com

In theory, entrepreneurship sounds awesome. You’re your own boss so you can set your own hours, work from home in your PJs and do work that really matters to you. But as any entrepreneur will tell you, starting your own business is not nearly as glamorous. In fact, it can often be pretty scary and lonely. Entrepreneurs take a great financial risk to get their ventures off the ground, often using their own savings and quitting steady jobs to pursue their dreams. Yes, entrepreneurs make their own hours, but they put in many more of them than the average employee (often 12 a day or more) and, still, they face a high failure rate. Entrepreneur values those who choose to create their own path, and we’re not alone. Empact, a Princeton, N.J.-based company that provides education and networking opportunities to young entrepreneurs, today released its annual list of 100 startups led by entrepreneurs under 35 that should be on everyone’s radar. Those chosen for the Empact100 stood out amon

Use the Entrepreneurship.org Resource Center to find information about all aspects of starting and growing a business. Designed with entrepreneurs, policy makers, investors, mentors and academics in mind, our resource center allows you to rate and comment on the materials posted by the community. The Kauffman entrepreneurship team bloggers brings to light various policies and initiatives to advance innovation and drive economic growth.

Chris Brogan is the publisher and CEO of the business magazine Owner. He is a sought-after keynote speaker who has addressed crowds of thousands, he has been on the Dr Phil show, and he once presented to a princess. Chris has consulted with Disney, Microsoft, Coke, Titleist, Pepsico, Google, Motorola, and many others. He's the New York Times best-selling author of six books, including The Impact Equation, written with Julien Smith. [He is discussing] his latest book, The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Entrepreneurship for Weirdos, Misfits, and World Dominators. Read more from MarketingProfs HERE .

Business Employment Dynamics is a set of statistics generated from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. These quarterly data series consist of gross job gains and gross job losses statistics from 1992 forward. These data help to provide a picture of the dynamic state of the labor market. New data from the Business Employment Dynamics program: Entrepreneurship and the U.S. Economy

In FY 2013, Advocacy produced 22 contract and internal research reports on a variety of topics including access to capital, small business exporters, entrepreneurship, and minority- and women-owned businesses. In addition to these reports, Advocacy economists participated in roundtables and conferences about various small business topics and conducted presentations to audiences that included policymakers, academics, and/or the media. These outreach efforts are important for small business stakeholders around the country. This document describes the 2013 research and provides links to the publications on Advocacy’s website .

We've searched high and low to bring you the first annual list of FORBES 100 Best Websites For Entrepreneurs . Whether you’re seeking advice on raising capital, scaling your business or looking for general industry insight, these sites are worth reading. The picks here are arranged in no specific order. Selected unscientifically, they have been chosen for their ability to address a range of topics of interest to entrepreneurs. Frequent posts and content quality helps get a nod. The list is a combination of practical tools – sites to crowdsource funding like Rock The Post or AngelList, or sites with educational resources, like Stanford’s eCorner – and inspirational advice from bloggers like Seth Godin and Steve Blank.

From ReidHoffman.org At Greylock, my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter whether an entrepreneur is in our portfolio, whether we’re considering an investment, or whether we’re casually meeting for the first time. Entrepreneurs often ask me for help with their pitch decks. Because we value integrity and confidentiality at Greylock, we never share an entrepreneur’s pitch deck with others. What I’ve honorably been able to do, however, is share the deck I used to pitch LinkedIn to Greylock for a Series B investment back in 2004. This past May was the 10th anniversary of LinkedIn, and while reflecting on my entrepreneurial journey, I realized that no one gets to see the presentation decks for successful companies. This gave me an idea: I could help many more entrepreneurs by making the deck available not just to the Greylock network of entrepreneurs, but to everyone. Today, I share the Series B deck with you, too. It has man

Dear Fellow New Yorker, Hundreds of business leaders and CEOs from around the globe came together today for the official launch of START-UP NY – the most ambitious economic development program in New York State’s recent history. This game-changing initiative, starting today, will create tax-free zones to attract and grow new businesses across the state. START-UP NY seeks to accelerate entrepreneurialism and job creation across the state on a large scale, with a particular focus on Upstate New York. In a tax-free environment, no one can match what New York has to offer. We are leveraging our world-class SUNY system and prestigious private universities to partner with new businesses, providing direct access to advanced research, development resources, experts in high-tech and other industries, and all with zero taxes for ten whole years. Click here to learn more about START-UP NY . Businesses that are looking to startup or expand, and most importantly create jobs, should look n

From Make Tech Easier : If there’s anything I learned while freelancing, it’s that you have to treat it like a small business. There’s no way you’re going to be able to handle the high workloads and stresses of keeping up with multiple clients unless you adopt creative ways to stay organized just like a retailer would. The entrepreneurial mindset is a must-have, and you’re not going to go anywhere if you don’t have the tools necessary to collaborate. That said, we will discuss all the free collaboration tools that you need to get your groove on!

Regardless of your definition of success, there are, oddly enough, a great number of common characteristics that are shared by successful businesspeople. You can place a check beside each characteristic that you feel that you possess. This way, you can see how you stack up. Even if you don't have all of these characteristics, don't fret. Most can be learned with practice and by developing a winning attitude, especially if you set goals and apply yourself, through strategic planning, to reach those goals in incremental and measurable stages. 1. Do what you enjoy. How many of the 25 characteristics do you have?

"Show me the money!" -- the famous line from the movie Jerry Maguire -- carries the sort of gusto and optimism that is ear candy to entrepreneurs. But as a professional negotiation coach with nearly three decades' in the trenches, I associate that catchy phrase with something else entirely. The reality is most entrepreneurs begin to think about negotiation -- this includes the word "negotiation," setting up a meeting, and the overall negotiation process -- only when it's time to be shown the cash. In other words, in the minds of just about every small business owner, a negotiation is when the money talks. Nothing could be further from the truth, and I can't imagine the millions of dollars entrepreneurs have lost, over the lifespan of their businesses, by defining negotiation in such a limited way. Negotiation is the effort to bring about agreement between two or more parties, with all parties having the right to veto. Here's what you're pro

By: Caron_Beesley Starting a business? Confused about the planning, legal and regulatory steps you should follow? Did you know that home-based businesses are required to hold permits to operate legally in most states? What about incorporation? Many new businesses assume they need to incorporate or become an LLC from the get-go – but the truth is, more than 70 percent of small businesses are owned by un-incorporated sole proprietors (although even this group is required to register their businesses). So, variables aside, there are still some fundamental steps that any business needs to follow to get started. SBA has compiled 10 steps that can help you plan, prepare, and manage your business – while taking care of the startup legalities. Not all these steps will apply to all businesses, but working through them will give you a sense of what needs your attention and what you can check off. Step 1 – Write a Business Plan Start Your Business

Dear Evil HR Lady, I work for a government organization, so we get a lot of newcomers for whom this is their first job. They range from people straight out of high school to fresh college graduates. Either way, the majority tend to be horrible workers. In addition to teaching these newcomers their job, which I have no problem with, we end up having to teach them life lessons: chip in for the candy jar; if the bathroom stall is closed, that means someone is in there; the private bathroom isn't your phone booth; asking you to do your job shouldn't be the world's hugest inconvenience (aka "I'm sorry to tear you away from Facebook/candy crush/Internet."); wipe your feet when walking into the building.... I could go on forever!! I bring some of these issues up to my boss, but I think he thinks I'm a tattletale. He's not the best manager, and there is a ton of stuff that goes on at our level that he has no idea about. So the blatantly obscene stuff I

While a lot of the entrepreneurs I've met and mentored in the past decade have been successful, I've probably met as many, if not more, unsuccessful entrepreneurs. Each of them seemed to make a lot of the same mistakes — ones that could be easily remedied, but when left unaddressed, could mean the difference between success and failure. Here are five signs you're getting in your own way to success and how to move over and let yourself be the best you can be: The five signals revealed here.