New York SBDC Research Network

From SmallBusinessNewz : If you want clients and prospective clients to think of you as the go-to person, for whatever service you provide, I believe you’ll find this post really useful. It’s based around 3 steps you can take, which will change the way people think and feel about you, so you become their irresistible choice. What is a go-to person? Firstly, I’d like to confirm what I am referring to when I use the term, go-to person. I’m talking specifically about those valued people in business, who we immediately think of when we have a need, related to their area of expertise. When someone thinks of you as their go-to person for a particular need, they go direct to you. •They don’t ask a friend for a recommendation. •They don’t poll their friends on Facebook. •They don’t take their need to a search engine. •YOU get the call! Clearly, the commercial value of being the go-to person for your marketplace is huge. Not only will you retain your existing clients for longer

Black Willow joined the Niagara Wine Trail in January of 2011. This fulfilled a longtime dream for the owners. They converted a 35-year-old pole barn into their tasting room and production area. They hired a local winemaker as a consultant to ensure the quality of their wines. Black Willow is open seven days a week and currently offers nine wines. They have several new varieties in development. In addition, they have 500 peach trees and 30 cherry trees. Black Willow has product in the SBDC Wine outlet in China. Cindy joined Jinshui Zhang of the NYS SBDC, and Empire State Development on a trade trip to China in the fall of 2012. She has shared what she has learned with others on the wine trail. The Niagara SBDC (Maureen Henderson) helped the clients put together their loan package/business plan to obtain their start-up funding. Additional assistance included aiding the development of their marketing strategy including a comprehensive branding approach and helping them connect with

Rep. Michael G. Grimm (R-SI/Brooklyn) was joined by Small Business Development Center of CSI (SBDC) Director Dean L. Balsamini and local small business owners impacted by Sandy on May 20th, 2013 to announce the opening of an SBDC Satellite in New Dorp. The satellite office will be staffed by Business Advisor Joseph Bottega and will offer a variety of services, including disaster recovery assistance. For 20 years the SBDC at CSI has offered free business assistance at the College of Staten Island. Now with the expanded services into New Dorp with a new satellite office, located at 1361 North Railroad Avenue, this location becomes SI SBDC's second satellite office in addition to the office in Bay Ridge Brooklyn which opened in 2011. Both locations have expanded the SI SBDC's footprint in assisting small businesses throughout the local area communities. Small Business Development Center New Dorp Satellite Office Empire State Bank 1361 North Railroad Avenue Staten Island N

Red Castle Bakeries was founded in 1996 by Marco and Lucille Minuto. The Minutos started this business after Marco was laid off from a 15 year sales and marketing career with a beef patty company located in NYC. The two decided to start their own manufacturing and distributing company delivering beef patties throughout the Long Island and NYC region. They moved their growing business to their own building in Bayshore in 2007 and grew to employing 25 local residence. Shortly after the expansion, Mrs. Minuto was left a widow. She was faced with selling the business or to continue as the new President and running the operations with her sons. She felt compelled to stay as so many employees and her own children were so vested in the business. She and her son Marco continued to operate and work hard to preserve what had been created. Mrs. Minuto came to the Small Business Development Center in Farmingdale on November 14, just 15 days after Super Storm Sandy devastated so many

Signs.com Announces Small Business Sign Giveaway Signs.com is launching its Business Hours Giveaway. As a part of the event, the Salt Lake City, UT company is giving 5,000 small businesses a free business hours decal to place on their local store or office window. According to Signs.com communications director Daniel Royer, local businesses will "spend money on banners and yard signs but many times having a nice looking business hours decal on their front door or window is an afterthought. We owe much of our success to the small business community and we wanted to show our appreciation by giving them a great decal absolutely free.” The Business Hours Giveaway is completely free to the first 5,000 businesses who visit www.signs.com/business-hours-giveaway and redeem their sign. There are 11 different professionally designed templates to choose from and each design is completely customizable to meet the needs of any business. For more information about the Signs.com Busine

The owner set the business up in such a way, that his risk and financial investment was as close to zero as possible. That way, if it failed, his losses would be minimal. So... With no investment in making the business work and no penalty for failing, he did indeed fail – and extremely fast. You see, whilst he was playing at being in business, his hungry competitors outworked him and outsmarted him. Business today is extremely competitive and competing retailers are working damn hard to make their businesses work. Going into that marketplace, without the willingness to work hard or invest the money required, he could never have succeeded. More HERE .

When he was in the Air Force, while traveling extensively throughout Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the United States, Peter DelCotto developed a wealth of knowledge about food and exotic cultures. He came to believe that food tells a certain story about the people and their environment. He decided to become a chef to share his experiences in other cuisines by highlighting the most popular dishes of each respective culture. In 2011, Peter expressed his passion for cooking in an essay submitted to a ChefUniforms.com contest and won a trip to the National Restaurant Association conference. After earning a degree in Hospitality Management from the Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business at Trocaire College in Buffalo, Peter consulted the SBDC for assistance in refining his business plan and financing. With the help of Business Advisor John McKeone, he got funding and founded The Woodshed , a family owned and operated restaurant that serves up traditional Southern style