New York SBDC Research Network

Researching the validity of a company is easy to do when you know where to look. Below are links to resources to use. While the links are New York State specific, when researching a company, use the resources for the state that the company is based out of. And as a note of caution, remember that it is always easier to find a negative review of a company than a positive review. Federal Trade Commission: Bureau of Consumer Protection New York State Attorney General's Office: The Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection New York State Better Business Bureau Ripoff Report : For Consumers, By Consumers Consumer Reports, Complaints, and Company Reviews at Pissed Consumer Also check the local county or city licensing bureau for company licensing information.

Guess what? Technology can be frustrating. No matter what your technological savvy, sometimes things just don't work the way we want or expect them to. So what do people do when technology fails? And how do they feel about it? Those issues are explored in a new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Get the data here.

I came across this presentation about using Web 2.0 to increase effectiveness of staff training and communication , which may be of use to some of you. I was more intrigued, however, by the whole concept of the web page it was on, something called SlideShare . "SlideShare is the best way to share your presentations with the world. Let your ideas reach a broad audience. Share publicly or privately. Add audio to create a webinar." It's free, with a maximnum size of 100 MB; supported formats include ppt, pps & pot (PowerPoint), pdf, odp (OpenOffice); doc, rtf, xls (MSOffice), odt & ods (OpenOffice) & pdf. I haven't tried to post to it yet, but just as one accessing extant info, I think it does offer a wide variety of resources.

The SBDC meets with hundreds of people every year who are interested in starting an e-commerce venture. Many of these people are offering products that take the form of a file to be downloaded - be it articles, books, music, or what have you. Here's an article, then, that should be of interest: "Amazon ‘CloudFront’ Promises Cheaper, Faster Downloads" Basically, Amazon is enabling owners of small websites to pay a fee to lease space on a certain type of server that promises faster file delivery to their e-customers. This fee would be but a fraction of what it would cost a company to buy a Content Delivery Network (CDN) of its own. CloudFront is starting off small, but is looking to expand if the level of interest is there among small business content delivery websites. Keep it in mind for clients who might fit the bill.

There are only a few things that a company can do that will upset me. For example, I become agitated when a company is over-charging for products or services that I know should be priced more reasonably. That's annoying. But I have to say that there is nothing more annoying or troublesome than bad customer service. Earlier today I was working on a rather complex demographic question that included six variables, more variables than our resources at the Research Network could compare. I spoke to an industry publisher who redirected me to two companies that might be able to help. I called each company with the reasonable expectation that I would be able to determine if they could help or not. Company number one, which will remain nameless, had an automated system answer. After eight minutes of being on the phone (with a disconnect from their end at one point), I was unable to determine if the company offered what I was looking for. After eight minutes, I was never offered the option o

At least some people are trying to be creative in coming up with alteratives to the worst case scenario. These articles explain how laying off trained staff may be a false economy in the long run. Here are a couple of articles that look at ways to cut costs or better yet, increase income to avoid losing your most valauble asset. Alternatives to Layoffs Layoffs, a short term fix, detrimental to the company, should be the last resort By F. John Reh About.com Small Business Alternatives to Layoffs Suzanna De Baca Expert Business Source 8/19/2008 Put Down That Ax: Alternatives to Layoffs By Pearl Smith/Updated by Mark Murphy AFSCME February 2008

This time of year there are lots of ways to donate to a good cause at the office. But it can be more difficult to donate your time and to volunteer if you have a busy work schedule. That’s why I thought this article from Idealist.org (a great source for all things non-profit) was interesting. “ Busy Professionals Don't Have Time to Volunteer! ” is about one program that allows a group of co-workers to mentor a group of young women at the workplace, during the workday. There’s also a great little video about a company that will send volunteer opportunities that you can complete using your mobile phone in less than 20 minutes! Good options for busy people who still want to help.