New York SBDC Research Network

In the past decade, businesses have had to jump on the digital train to stay on top of new trends, capitalize on new markets, and expand reach. From social media channels to review sites like Yelp, there’s a lot for entrepreneurs to monitor in the instant feedback, smartphone-crazed world we live in. Yelp, for instance, can have a big impact on the growth of your business. This review site allows customers to rate your business and leave feedback about their experience. If you’re not actively seeking feedback, monitoring the comments, and publicizing the positive reviews customers leave, you’re probably behind the digital eight ball. More from BPlans .

Are you looking to fund research or start a technology business?  Come and learn about how local entrepreneurs built theoretical business models into viable technology companies.  The program is open to students, faculty, researchers, alumni, and the general public, so reserve your seat today. 2014 FAST Tech Conference   When Thursday September 25, 2014 from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT Add to Calendar   Where University at Albany - School of Business School of Business Building - Living Room 1400 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12222 Driving Directions Conference Schedule: 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Check-In and Networking 8:30 a.m. to 9:40 a.m.-Plenary Session   Tales from the Trenches 9:40 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.-Break-Out Sessions   Transitioning from Research to Commercialization   Growing your Start-Up and Holding onto Equity   Building a Successful Team   Turning Data into Dollars 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.-Plenar

As an SMB owner, you want to maximize the investments you’ve made in your business. You want to get more done in less time. And you want to ensure you’re communicating effectively with customers and employees. The right technology can help you do both. Here are three ways you can ensure you’re making the right technology decisions for your business. 1. Know that “free” often comes at a cost. More from the America's SBDC .

Branding your business is tricky. You have to make sure it comes across as appealing, a ‘must have’ brand that’s not too pretentious. Over time, your company will change leading to a need to refine your brand image, but even the smallest of changes can affect your target market and their perception of your brand. Clive Rohald has written an interesting article in The Drum about how to give your brand identity a makeover without alienating your customers. Here are some of his thoughts. Every company, at one time or another, will feel the need for a brand refresh. The question is, how can that be achieved without it turning into a disaster. 1. Why is there a need for change? More from SmallBusinessNewz .

Why do people buy from you? It boils down to two things: they found you, and they picked you. Let's talk about "they found you." To get people to find you, you've got to tell them about yourself or someone else has to tell other people about you. If you're the only grocery store in your town, you don't have a problem with people finding you. You stick a sign outside and reach 100% of your target market. Most of us, however, spend a lot of brain cycles trying to figure out how to tell the world about our thing. We use ads, content, social media, and so on to try to spread the word. Moreover, getting someone's attention is becoming increasingly difficult. The amount of stuff being created today—such as photos, tweets, blog posts, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, and emails—is making it hard for our message to squeeze its way into people's limited attention span. Read more from MarketingProfs

In theory, entrepreneurship sounds awesome. You’re your own boss so you can set your own hours, work from home in your PJs and do work that really matters to you. But as any entrepreneur will tell you, starting your own business is not nearly as glamorous. In fact, it can often be pretty scary and lonely. Entrepreneurs take a great financial risk to get their ventures off the ground, often using their own savings and quitting steady jobs to pursue their dreams. Yes, entrepreneurs make their own hours, but they put in many more of them than the average employee (often 12 a day or more) and, still, they face a high failure rate. Entrepreneur values those who choose to create their own path, and we’re not alone. Empact, a Princeton, N.J.-based company that provides education and networking opportunities to young entrepreneurs, today released its annual list of 100 startups led by entrepreneurs under 35 that should be on everyone’s radar. Those chosen for the Empact100 stood out amon

#1 The fake freight forwarder company scam. The fraudulent forwarders pose as legitimate companies with spare cargo capacity. Their truck arrives on-time to collect the freight and then disappears, never again to be seen. The Scoop: Here is how it works: Once a signed and sealed agency agreement is in place between both parties and business starts, all appears to be normal. This is until the cargo arrives at the port and no-one has received the original bill of lading from the forwarder in China. When contacted, the forwarder demands a large ransom for the release of the original bill of lading. Companies which refuse to pay find themselves on an expensive rollercoaster ride of meetings with customers, lawyers, insurers and shipping lines in order to obtain the original bill of lading so the cargo can be released. By spreading shipments around a number of shipping lines, fraudulent forwarders can make this recovery process even more onerous. These forwarders may be real companies w