New York SBDC Research Network

On April 16, the New York State Department of Labor released March 2009 statistics on unemployment. Below is information from the website, along with links to valuable reports. "Since March 2008, the number of nonfarm jobs (private plus public sectors) in New York State decreased by 165,900, or 1.9 percent, and the number of private sector jobs decreased by 161,600, or 2.2 percent. Additional industry detail is presented in the table below." Industries With Job Gains: Educational & Health Services (+ 30,100) Other Services (+ 1,300) Industries With Job Losses: Trade, Transportation & Utilities (- 51,300) Manufacturing (- 37,000) Professional & Business Services (- 36,400) Financial Activities (- 30,200) Construction (- 24,300) Information (- 9,300) Government (- 4,300) Leisure & Hospitality (- 4,300) Natural Resources & Mining (- 200) "New York State's unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) was 8.1 percent in March 2009, down from 8.4 percent

There was an article in the April 2, 2009 Wall Street Journal entitled What Do Labels Really Tell You? - As Eco-Seals Proliferate, So Do Doubts by Gwendolyn Bounds. From the article: As green marketing has proliferated, so has the number of "eco-labels" competing to be the environmental equivalent of a Good Housekeeping seal of approval. According to the Web site ecolabelling.org, there are more than 300 such labels putting a green stamp on everything from cosmetics and seafood to bird-friendly coffee... Some label programs...require independent verification of product manufacturers' green claims. But many others don't, partly because of cost and manpower, they say. The result: increasing confusion among consumers about the veracity of green marketing promises and a growing sense that the federal government may need to take a stronger role in shaping standards people widely recognize and trust... Some advocating a federal role point to organic food as a potential mod

This week, I handled three separate requests for SBDC clients to locate venture capital firms who might be interested in their business concepts. This might be just a coincidence, or a reflection on difficulties each had in pursuing "conventional" lending avenues. Regardless of why it happened, it was a disconcerting coincidence to also read this week a press release from the National Venture Capital Association (whose website provides links to data cited in the release). It's a five-page document, but the gist of the message is grimly summed up in its title: "Venture Capital Investment Plummets in Q1 2009 to 12 Year Low" The decline was consistent across all the industries measured in the report, as well as across every business development stage. The comments of Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA, are meant to provide reassurance: "While this drop in investment is significant, we are not forecasting levels to continue to fall further. We would expect a

Idea of the week: digital babysitters. It’s time we used technology to protect us from ourselves. Ever heard of drunk dialing? Know anyone who has made a call or sent a message when they really should have held back? Forgive my Apple commercial reference, but now, there’s an app for that. I heard a piece on the radio this morning from American Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report on this very subject. One ingenious entrepreneur is selling a popular iPod application that prevents you from calling particular contacts during a period where you might be… out of it. And this product is not alone – Google’s “Mail Goggles” will ask you to complete math problems before allowing you to send a late-night email! Listen to or read the story here: " Technology can save you from yourself " And what about things that you should do? Email reminders are nothing new, but how about getting a message when the moisture content of your houseplant’s soil is too low? Yup, Botanicals will let

For the past four weeks, I have blogged about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. I don't know about you readers, but I need a change of pace. I recieve weekly emails from multiple business blogs and websites and when an article or guide catches my eye, I save it for future use. Today's blog contains general information on starting a business. Evaluating Your Business Idea - From the Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers. This 22 page pdf provides questions for you to answer to help solidify your business idea. SBA Small Business Planner - Includes sections devoted to planning your business, starting your business, managing your business, and, as a last resort, getting out. Small Business Startup Trends - Kauffman Firm Survey. "The KFS dataset provides researchers (and entrepreneurs) a unique opportunity to study a panel of new businesses from start-up to sustainability, with longitudinal data centering on topics such as how busi

Why are retail buyers as hard to locate as secret service agents? We have a shiny (and fairly new) directory of stores that promises buyer listings for a wide range of stores in the US which it only partially succeeds in providing. Even a 2009 edition has listings already out of date since apparently no-one stays in these positions for very long. Isn't this position comparable to an editor at a publishing house? I am sure editors are hounded by barely literate "authors" but still we can learn their names. Why not buyers? They must trust themselves very well to be on the cutting edge to catch wind of any trend on their own, not to want to be contacted by the young and innovative. It makes sense to me then why retail departments don't seem to change very much. The Chain Store Guide has apparently responded to user demand by creating an online version of their directory that updates weekly. Obviously I am not alone in my frustration.

Noted by our colleagues at the Hill Library : Where can you find data on how many US businesses open and close each year and the impact this has on the economy? Where can you track firm age, firm size, and firm performance over time at state and national levels? The Census Bureau recently launched Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS) to track the changing landscape of entrepreneurial activity in the United States. BDS tracks business activity, annual changes in employment, and growing and shrinking businesses. It includes unique information on firm age and firm size and tracks firms over time. BDS currently includes data for 1976-2005. So use Business Dynamics Statistics today to access data for your industry or region.