New York SBDC Research Network

Small businesses often struggle to survive. In fact, 50% of American small businesses close up shop within their first year. So what are the secrets to staying in business and locking down success? This infographic from Intuit takes a look at small businesses— what industries they’re in, what cities they thrive in, and what they’re doing to stay in business. When it comes to longevity, small business is often the tortoise in the race. And we all know how that particular story turned out.

From the GALLUP Business Journal : Since the financial meltdown of 2008 and the recession that followed, the American workforce has struggled to adapt to an uncertain economic climate. Sluggish growth, persistently high unemployment, and sharp spending cuts by businesses and consumers alike have taken a toll. The Three Types of EmployeesThough the state of the U.S. economy has changed substantially, the state of its workplace has not. According to Gallup's State of the American Workplace: 2010-2012 report , employee engagement levels remain stagnant among U.S. workers. By the end of 2012, as the U.S. inched toward a modest economic recovery, only 30% of American workers were engaged, or involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their workplace. Though this figure matches the all-time high since Gallup began tracking the U.S. working population's engagement levels in 2000, U.S. business leaders shouldn't be patting themselves on the back. An alarming 70% of Am...

From CBS News MoneyWatch : In its 13 years, my company has been unusually fortunate in that we have had -- as hard as it may be to believe -- only two or three bad debt write-offs (for very small amounts) and perhaps four or five credit card chargebacks (money taken back by card issuers, typically due to customer disputes or fraud). Other than that, our receivables have always been current. I attribute this partially to good luck, but mostly to careful, disciplined processes and practices, from making open-account decisions, to manually reviewing any suspicious credit card charges before shipping (obviously not possible for all businesses), to being willing to pass up any order if we are concerned about getting paid. Unfortunately, it happens that right now we are dealing with our first-ever serious collection challenge, for a relatively large amount of money, from an otherwise great and longtime customer.

In response to a query at BUSLIB: MaRS Discovery District's online resource, The Startup Library , helps entrepreneurs in different tech industries answer common market research questions. All links are to free resources. Bizstats.com has free business statistics and financial ratios. This is a partner site of BizMiner.com; BizMiner is not free, but has more up-to-date, detailed, and much more granular industry statistical reports. Another list of free online business resources that entrepreneurs and the like might appreciate is bizologie.com/favoriteresources . Manta.com is available free; a registration is required for optimal access, but that's free, too). It will give competitors, contacts, and other useful info for small, privately held businesses around the country. Have a look at the Small Business Accelerator . While tailored to meet the needs of British Columbia entrepreneurs, you will find much valuable, transferable information.

The winner of the 2013 Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award is John A. Narciso, small business adviser at the New York State Veterans Business Outreach Center through The Research Foundation of the State University of New York. Narciso, who works out of the Farmingdale SBDC office, has had a 30-year career as a talented and successful U.S. Naval officer and decorated combat veteran, followed by two decades advising veterans in entrepreneurship. This was announced last week the during National Small Business Week in the Entrepreneurial Development category.

From ASBDC : What do established companies looking to expand and start-ups in the earliest planning stages have in common? They want access to money and credit without having to provide a personal guarantee. This sentiment is consistently and strongly expressed by entrepreneurs... It’s no secret that building and expanding a business credit profile has become a greater challenge over the last few years. Many established small companies’ cash flow sheets were hit hard during the recession and as a result, many lenders and suppliers have either added a personal guarantee policy or modified their current policy. Most business owners know Experian, Equifax and TransUnion as the three major credit bureaus that provide information about their personal credit; however, they also may provide a credit profile about your company's creditworthiness.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration issued four final rules in the Federal Register, increasing size standards for firms in four North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Sectors and one Subsector: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (Sector 11), Finance and Insurance (Sector 52), Management of Companies and Enterprises (Sector 55), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (Sector 71) and Support Services for Mining (Subsector 213). Size standards define the maximum size a firm can be and still be considered a small business. The revised standards reflect changes in marketplace conditions and public comments that SBA received to the proposed rules. New size standards will enable more businesses in these sectors to obtain or retain small business status; will give federal agencies a larger pool of small businesses from which to choose for their procurement programs; and will make more small businesses eligible for SBA’s loan programs. SBA increased...