New York SBDC Research Network

StepByStepMarketing is, according to its website, "an Internet-centric resource for owners and managers of growing and emerging businesses – entrepreneurs and established businesses alike – designed to keep you on top of the latest trends in brand building, marketing, sales, and customer service and relationship building. To help you build profits, take your business to the next level, and gain competitive edge, StepByStepMarketing.com provides you tips, tools, and techniques in a methodical, how-to, step-by-step way that is easy-to-understand and quick and simple to implement." The site offers daily tips such as how to improve the results of your marketing and tips for retaining lasting customer loyalty . The site also offers several free reports .

For a summary of what doing business is like in various countries, have a look at the Doing Business project . These reports focus on a select number of topics relating to starting a business including permits, taxes and enforcing contracts for small and medium sized companies.

"Social enterprise" is the new buzzword within both the nonprofit and for-profit world, encompassing an organization or individual who wish to do well while doing good – that is, achieving the "triple bottom line" of people, planet, profit (that is, having social, environmental, and economic goals). Presented in partnership with Community Wealth Ventures and the Social Enterprise Alliance, this is a free, searchable directory of nonprofit social enterprises . Search by keyword, type of organization (think interest/activity area), budget, type of venture, legal status, and/or state. Your search results typically include basic contact information, stated mission, and any specific enterprise or partner venture(s).

A while ago, there used to exist a multi-volume set called the "Dictionary of Occupations". It has since been folded into the O*NET Online website . This is a handy site to use when you have businesses starting out, or looking to expand (there are some out there . . . really), and need some kind of basis to write a job description. This site is far more user-friendly than the old DofO, which was laid out in a less-than-intuitive classification system. Once you have that, you'll need to know rough estimates of what to pay those who are hired. For that, check out the "Wages by Area and Occupation" section on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, here .

Data.gov is leading the way in democratizing public sector data and driving innovation. The data is being surfaced from many locations making the Government data stores available to researchers to perform their own analysis. Developers are finding good uses for the datasets, providing interesting and useful applications that allow for new views and public analysis. This is a work in progress, but this movement is spreading to cities, states, and other countries. For instance, type in the word migration , and you'll get 2007-2008 State-to-State AND County-to-county Migration Inflow AND Outflow, along with the source of that data, which is the IRS. Enter the term business and find Business Employment Dynamics, Licenses and Permits Search, and Loans Search.

At this point, many small businesses have websites. But it is unlikely that they are all using Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, to maximize the effectiveness of their website. For assistance in how to utilize SEO, there is 20 Essential Search Engine Optimization Tips for Small Business Owners . For something more in-depth, check out the 15 Minute SEO List , a list of 77 best and worst practices for designing a high traffic website

The U.S. Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs, as part of their continued commitment to our Nation’s Service Members, Veterans, and their families, launched a new and improved National Resource Directory . This free online tool provides access to thousands of services, programs and resources at the national, state and community level. The Web site has a fresh look with many key features that include an improved search engine, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) news feeds, subscriptions to e-mail updates, and new subject areas such as “Homeless Assistance.” The National Resource Directory is designed to serve a broad base of users including transitioning Service Members, Veterans, Wounded Warriors, and their families and caregivers. In addition, it is a useful tool for service providers who support Veterans and Service Members, such as Department of Defense Recovery Care Coordinators and AW2 Advocates, Veterans Affairs Federal Recovery Coordinators, health care providers