New York SBDC Research Network

Three Tips to Start a Consulting Business Jennifer Merritt BY Jennifer Merritt | September 2, 2011 Entrepreneur.com has an article offering sound advice for professionals about to set out on their own as consultants. Building a name for yourself before your departure, joining forces to strengthen your business offering and focusing on what sets you apart.

President Barack H. Obama has declared certain counties in New York State to be disaster areas as a result of Hurricane Irene. As a result of this declaration, Commissioner Thomas H. Mattox has postponed certain tax filing and payment deadlines for taxpayers in these counties who were directly affected by the storm. The relief provided for in this notice applies to taxpayers directly affected by the storm in the counties of Albany, Clinton, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Suffolk, Ulster, Warren, and Westchester. This includes taxpayers residing in or having their principal place of business in these counties. In addition, the relief will also apply to taxpayers directly affected by the storm located in any additional counties in New York State that are declared disaster areas and eligible for federal tax relief after this notice is issued. The relief will also apply to taxpayers d

As of now (but I'm told these schedules can and often do change last minute), ABC World News plans to air a piece on Robert and Danielle Rosenberg , owners of Moolala yogurt bar and successful NYS SBDC client. If they stay on schedule, the piece should air around 6:45 pm ET tonight on ABC.

From Step by Step Marketing : Amazon.com, 1800flowers, Zappos, Lands End, and other online retailers all send emails to confirm that orders have been shipped. If you analyze their emails, you will notice that they contain a lot of “extras” that include a word of thanks, a clickable link to package-tracking information, and incentives to click through to visit the company’s webpage and shop again. There’s a reason why these top retailers add these extras to what would otherwise be utilitarian order confirmations. They understand that confirmation emails offer an opportunity to improve the overall customer experience and build loyalty.

From SBA: Hurricane Irene disrupted the lives of communities and businesses from North Carolina to Vermont last weekend. Business owners were hit particularly hard, as power outages forced many to close for several days. The first 72 hours following business interruption is crucial. Preparation can make a difference, and protect you from having to shut down for good. To kick off National Preparedness Month, the U.S. Small Business Administration and Agility Recovery Solutions will host the first in a series of free disaster preparedness webinars during the month of September. R. David Paulison, former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will present tips on how to be self-sufficient in the days following a natural disaster or other emergency during the webinar on Wednesday, September 7, at 2 p.m. ET. SBA has partnered with Agility to offer business continuity strategies for entrepreneurs via their “PrepareMyBusiness” website. Visit www.preparemybusiness

Here's a link to a <a href="http://www.coordinatedlegal.com/SecretaryOfState.html directory of all 50 states' Secretary of State sites.<br /> <br /> "Coordinated Legal Technologies has compiled the links on this page for legal professionals and others who are looking for quick access to the corporate information available in online searchable databases maintained by the Secretary of State for any given state. The extent of information available and the way in which it is present varies from state to state. Some states provide only a business name lookup, while others offer search by officer and director names, and UCC filing information. Please be sure to check the hosting state entity for more information about the type of content offered and the time periods covered."

From one of those nifty tax digests I receive regularly: Individuals seeking a fresh start from overwhelming tax debts may now be eligible for relief under a new hardship provision in the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance's Offer in Compromise Program. The new provision enables them to accept offers where collection in full would cause undue economic hardship. Previously, the program was only available in cases of insolvency or bankruptcy. For more information, see the Offer in Compromise Reform web page and this PDF document .