New York SBDC Research Network

Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters, and in almost all districts, bankruptcy cases are filed in the bankruptcy court. But if you were trying to figure out which court had jurisdiction over which county in states that have more than one court, such as New York, which has four, you won't find the info in the bankruptcy section, only an annoyingly overbroad map. Instead, look in the general federal district court section where you'll find this link for all counties in a district. The Eastern is Long Island plus three NYC boroughs. The Southern is Manhattan, Bronx up to Dutchess, but not Ulster County. The Northern extends due north of there. The Western is the, er, western part of the state.

Here's an interesting article from a researcher who also founded two different tech firms. He argues that, in certain industries, getting venture capital funding for startup firms isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Even if the funding helps a business achieve its self-identified funding goal, there's pressure inherent in receiving the money - pressure to hire an A-list (and expensive) staff, and pressure to produce *right now* (in lieu of pursuing long-term growth). He argues that there's virtue in being undercapitalized, in that it forces a company's management team to be that much more creative (and honest) in what it needs to kick-start growth. I cite this article because, as I've written recently, we've seen a bump in the number of requests seeking venture capital firms for our clients. There are certainly merits in seeking out this type of financing. However, obvious as it might sound, have your clients be careful what they wish for.

The sun is shining (finally), the grass is plush and as green as green gets, and now is the perfect time to grab a book and head to your local beach, lake, river, or pool. Below are lists of great reads for you to bring with you when you go. Summer Reading for Business Students - For the perpetual student at heart. 100 Best Business Books of All Time 5 (More) Great Books on Entrepreneurship 2009 Summer Reading Lists for AbeBooks.com - For thos of you who would like to spend your down time not thinking about business. Enjoy your summer reading!

I was reading an article about how Booz Allen & Hamilton have created an "Enterprise Facebook" social networking site called Hello for their employees that is enjoying a high adoption rate. Years ago I worked for BAH and they were very forward thinking in the area of knowledge management with information professionals dedicated to developing a system for sharing expertise. They also had a very simple tool that I've wished for in other jobs - they used to have a ring-bound, paper, book with a page for each employee, with a photograph, a brief resume and contact details. Such a simple tool that was so useful. I can see how this early face book could develop into an intranet maintained by the individuals with the infromation they wish to share - personal profiles, wikis, RSS feeds, blogs, or potentially a list of publications that consultant has been involved in creating, skills, etc. Many organizations have intranets but I wonder if those begun recently giving users...

Today we have two bits of Twitter /social media news for you: From USAToday: “ Businesses use Twitter to communicate with customers ” We all know that many companies are on Twitter. But what are they doing there? This article provides some nice examples: Comcast let viewers know that their cable coverage of the Stanley cup was interrupted by a lightning storm in Atlanta, Dell says they’ve sold more than $2 million in PCs through their @DellOutlet Twitter account (with over 710,000 followers) since 2007, and a variety of companies use Twitter for problem solving consumer questions and/or complaints. But what about the CEOs? Are they tweeting for their brand? If they are included in Fortune's list of the top 100 CEOs, probably not. According to a report from UberCEO , only 2 in the top 100 had personal Twitter accounts. While there is some discussion about how these leaders are missing opportunities to increase their own visibility and communicate with their customers, there’s also t...

I happened to answer the phones one Friday afternoon and someone, who had been obviously been talking to other people, wanted a definitive answer to a simple question, "How is a small business defined?" I said, "Well, it depends." If we're talking about New York State law, then you'll want to look for the state laws under COM: Economic Development Law, Article 4-B, § 131. Definition of a small business. For the purposes of this chapter, a small business shall be deemed to be one which is resident in this state, independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field and employs one hundred or less persons. But if we're talking federal law, it's a bit more complicated. If one were to look at TITLE 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations, one would want to go to Part 121--SMALL BUSINESS SIZE REGULATIONS , with a plethora of information about the process. Still, for the bottom line, go to §121.201: What size standards has SBA identified by North Amer...

A few weeks ago, just before the annual Staff Training, we in the library lost access to a great database that enabled us to manipulate all kinds of demographic data, with a great deal of geographic precision. Many of you had been recipients of the data that it contains. Good news, then. As of last Wednesday, we re-subscribed with the publisher of this database. Of particular relevance is the ability to draw a radius around a specific address (either a given mileage, or driving time). Within that radius, you can then get detailed population demographics, as well as annual expenditures on a wide variety of products and services. So, if you're looking for annual household spending on, say, restaurants within a 15-minute drive of your client's proposed location, then we now have the resource to provide that information. Very cool!