New York SBDC Research Network

As you know, the Research Network has taken it upon itself to enter the research time into the new WebMQS that it expends on behalf of clients. It saves work for the advisor, and serves as a management tool for the library. Because of this, advisors will not see "Research Network" or "Central Library" in any drop-down menu at their disposal. However, we've lately noticed that some advisors assign the time spent in phoning or e-mailing an information request (usually 0.1 or 0.2 hours) to the case record. We know this because an attempt is made to assign this time specifically to the Research Network. Since there's no "Research Network" option in any drop-down menus, some advisors assign this time to existing choices (such as "National Library" or "Albany SBDC Assistance") that haven't earned it. The proper procedure when communicating with the Research Network for a specific client is to enter the expended time under Prep ho

Starting with the basics, what does copyright actually protect? Copyright protects "original works of authorship including literary , dramatic , musical , and artistic works , such as poetry , novels , movies , songs , computer software , and architecture . Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed." If there is no copyright symbol, is a work still protected? Assume that a work is protected unless you have clear evidence that it's in the public domain. U.S. law does not require the copyright symbol © to be posted. Can I freely use information that I found on the web? "The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright. This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright." See Copyright Registration for Online Works . Am I allowed to e-mail an article to my co-workers or post it on the Internal we

Inventors…a topic near and dear to us all. If you’ve come to us on behalf of an inventor, you may have seen these sources. You may appreciate them for reinforcing any realism you may be trying to encourage. The Patent Café – Inventors’ Café Offers a step by step look at the process of getting a product to market including patent information and a bit on scams to beware of. They are selling something – inventor’s journals, and starter kit but there is a nice brief summary of the process and a good links page. http://www.patentcafe.com/ The Entrepreneur Network (TEN) Not to be confused with Entrepreneur Magazine, this site is very good from the point of view of offering advice to the absolute beginner. They are a program of the Zimmer Foundation and are affiliated with SCORE (though they do give SBDCs a plug on their site). This site includes a lot of very good articles on every aspect of inventing and book reviews and also includes a list of inventor evaluation services. http://tenonli

There is great information available on the pages of the U.S. Census Bureau , down to the smallest hamlet. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get Census data for the neighborhoods of New York City, such as Greenpoint/Williamsburg in Brooklyn, Lower East Side/Chinatown in Manhattan, or Elmhurst/Corona in Queens from the Census page, because they are not considered "real" entities. You COULD look at some maps and try to combine Census blocks (tedious) or use ZIP Codes (very imprecise). The best solution is to use the page from the New York City Planning Department . It defines 59 community districts, including 12 in the Bronx, 18 in Brooklyn, 12 in Manhattan, 14 in Queens, and 3 in Staten Island. In other words, the City Planning Department has taken Census data and has done the complicated neighborhood statistical calculations for you. In addition to demographic data, the district profiles include land use data, "public and private schools, parks, public safety, health, me

Every blue moon, an advisor will call the Research Network looking for a "D&B report" for this company or that. A comprehensive D&B credit report costs $130 (though they offer other reports, with less information, for fewer dollars). However, we just learned of an alternative worth exploring. Experian - one of the three main credit reporting agencies in the U.S. - offers on their Web site what they call Smart Business Reports . At this page, you can view their sample reports. Their deluxe model (called "ProfilePlus") offers much of the same information found in D&B's comprehensive report, including: business history credit summary (including credit score) average amount owed each month monthly payment trends an itemized list of recent trade payments bank & insurance carrier information current leases any existing or recently-settled tax liens and UCC filings All of this can be had for just $44.95. Even better, if you run a search for a part

Each year, the employees of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conduct hundreds of surveys and prepare reports covering virtually every facet of U.S. agriculture -- production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages, farm aspects of the industry. The New York Agricultural Statistics Service provides a link between USDA, NASS, and New York. The data can be useful for your agricultural clients writing business plans. For example, the web site contains County Brochures showing the number of farms , land area , and leading agricultural products for New York State counties (except Nassau, and NYC's 5 boroughs). You can also view special surveys for the equine breeding industry, fruit tree and vineyards , and wineries . For example, Wayne County, with 17,156 acres, remains the major producing county of apples accounting for 38 percent of the state’s apple acreage. Ulster County continued in second position

Every industry has its issues with setting prices and estimating. Particularly we get enquiries on pricing guidelines for contractors, graphic designers, crafts people and consulting services. While I strongly believe clients should be proactive enough to join their industry association through which they can usually get very sound advice on setting rates and benchmarking, I realize they often do not. Associations are a huge resource to us but more and more the best and most useful information is understandably reserved for members. Even sites that are actually trying to sell you something can still sometimes offer a few useful nuggets. As with everything, you should never rely on only one source. For example: The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association website has a number of articles on the topic, discussing the merits of various service pricing methods. Sites such as these also often include bulletin boards where business and owners can advise each other, an informal but o