New York SBDC Research Network

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics In the latest recession, employment supported by U.S. consumer spending declined by an estimated 3.2 million jobs between 2007 and 2010, over a third of total job declines during that time frame. Compared with the overall economy, consumer-related employment demonstrated relative resilience, recovering in 2012. Through 2022, consumer spending is projected to support stable job growth with increasing expenditures on labor-intensive services like health care. However, consumer spending and its related employment are projected to grow slower than in the past and at rates similar to the overall economy.

On a recent afternoon at the CrossFit gym in Long Island City, Queens, 3-year-old Ella Reznik bounded toward an array of hoops and candy-colored bouncy balls, her ponytail and her mother trailing her. Ella’s brother Adam, 4, padded along nearby on rubber black mats and inspected some metal bars bolted to the wall. The gym’s owner and coach, Michele Kelber, greeted the Rezniks and other children with a series of high-fives and smiles. Soon, class was underway: duck, duck, goose; burpees; and dangling from monkey bars. CrossFit, the hard-core workout regimen, has a growing new demographic to court: preschoolers. As the issue of youth fitness — from obesity to proper exercise regimens — takes on more resonance in schools and communities across the country, CrossFit Kids and other preschool fitness programs are raising questions about when and how children should start playing organized sports or hitting the gym. More from the New York Times .

Most companies are continually looking for ways to get an edge over their competitors, and a time-honored method is simply to spy on the other guys. Technically, it falls under the category of market research, unless, of course, it’s actual spying. But, we’re not going to get into corporate espionage here—we’ll stick with the “market research” strategies that are legal, if somewhat sneaky. In the event that you feel uneasy about spying on your rivals, consider the fact that if you’re any sort of force to be reckoned with in your market, they are probably already spying on you. But, if you’re still not quite comfortable with the word “spying,” think of it as “competitive intelligence.” Competitive intelligence is a means of legally obtaining information that you can use to improve your own products, services, and customer retention. Read more from BPlans.com

I like to read the newspaper while I’m eating breakfast (I spend the rest of my day reading online). Last Friday, as I was thumbing through, I saw an ad that caught my eye: “One-day only! Wear (color) in support of (charity) and get 20% off any item in the store!” Simple. Easy to understand. Some of the proceeds would go to a worthy cause. And a nice discount. I liked it. I already planned to be near the store location Friday evening; I was going to catch a movie with friends. All I had to do was change what I planned to wear to their chosen color. Hm… If it had been just another work day, I had a couple of blouses which would have fit the requirement. But I was going out after work. I had planned what I was going to wear, and its main color was black. BUT, it had a small sequin flower in that special, required color. A very small sequin flower. Would it be enough? No way to know until I got there. And I had decided to go. That was good marketing. Read more from BPlans.com

Some 40% of US consumers say they currently pay for news, fashion, sports, or business digital content, even though 70% say they access those categories of content online regularly, according to a recent report from CloudSense. This reluctance to pay for digital media is true even for the "digital native" generation: 45% of the 16-24-year-olds surveyed say they spend money on any sort of digital content from publishers. More from MarketingProfs .

It’s tempting to ask friends and family to invest in your work when first starting a company. Money is tight and they want to help. However, soliciting money from loved ones can be a risky venture. To help mitigate this risk, we asked seven entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council what rules one should always have in place before raising money from family and friends. Here’s what they recommend. Read more from BPlans.com

Are you a small business owner with an amazing success story to tell?  If so, submit your nomination today for the  2015 National Small Business Week Awards .  Nominations are currently being accepted online at  http://awards.sba.gov . For more than 50 years, SBA has recognized the outstanding achievements of America’s small businesses for their contributions in their local communities, and to our nation’s economy. Winners will be announced during National Small Business Week in May 2015. Last year, we honored husband-and-wife team Billy Taylor and Brook Harvey-Taylor, the founders of  Pacifica  which is based in Portland, Oregon as the National Small Business Persons of the Year. With Billy’s entrepreneurial spirit and Brook’s creative vision, the two founders started making candles in 1997.  A bold change in the line of products from home fragrances to beauty and perfume products put Pacifica on a growth path to more than double their revenue over a five-year span, ending in 201