New York SBDC Research Network

Milestones are concrete, specific achievements, such as a product launch, some number of customers, opening of a new location, number of reviews, presence in some list, overcoming some legal hurdle such as approval by the FDA or a patent, finishing a draft or a complete document, reaching the 1000th blog post, some defined number of likes on Facebook or Twitter followers, or some other measurable, visible, trackable achievement. Read more from BPlans.com

The Office of Advocacy has released the May 2015 issue of The Small Business Advocate. This edition features the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) proposed rule governing small unmanned aircraft systems (small UAS), also known as small drones. Advocacy held a roundtable to gather small business input on the proposed rule and submitted a comment letter to FAA on the rule. In addition, the newsletter covers six comment letters that were submitted to federal agencies regarding proposed rulemakings, and three regulatory alerts on new rulemakings. The newsletter also features Advocacy's new graphic and data visualization designer, new economic issue briefs released by Advocacy's Office of Economic research, and requests for quotations. In This Issue Rule Proposed on Employer Wellness Programs; DHS and DOL Issue Changes to H-2B Visa Program; Proposal Expands Retirement Advice Covered by Fiduciary Protections The entire newsletter can be found on Advocacy's websi

Interested in government  contracting?  The following events compiled by the NY SBDC Procurement Assistance Center may be helpful. Upcoming Procurement Events: 5/22/15 NYC College of Technology; Brooklyn, NY Meet Representatives from the NYC Department of Education and Division of Contracts and Purchasing Sponsored by Brooklyn SBDC 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM Register: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eay5z2zx08770ca0&llr=mrsiz8cab sbdc@citytech.cuny.edu ; 718-797-0187 6/3/15  Niagara Falls Culinary Institute; Niagara, NY How to Find State and Federal Contracting Opportunities Sponsored by SBA Buffalo District Office and the Niagara SBDC 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM Register:  http://events.sba.gov/eventmanagement/EventRegistration.aspx?id=bcbac067-39da-e411-8b10-02bfa56e2a24 ; 716-551-5670 6/4/15 Jacob K. Javits Convention Center; NYC Small Business Expo Sponsored by Empire State Development 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Register:  https://

Thanks to emails and calls from people who sensed something wasn't right, the Federal Trade Commission has heard that an FTC imposter scam it's written about before is back. The email tells you there’s a complaint against your business, and wants you to click on a link. Here’s what one of the scammy emails said: “This notification has been automatically sent to you because we have received a consumer complaint, claiming that your company is violating the CCPA (Consumer Credit Protection Act).According to our policy, we have initiated a formal investigation before taking legal action. You can download the document containing the complaint and the plaintiff contact information, from...” followed by a link. At first glance, it might look legitimate. It has the FTC seal, the email appears to come from an FTC email address, and the web address looks like it goes to an FTC site. But if you hover over the web address, you’ll see the link actually sends you somewhere else. If

According to a study published in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, approximately 60 percent of restaurants fail within their first year of business. If you are dreaming of becoming a restaurateur, you can increase your chances of success by honestly answering all of the questions proposed in this article, as well as checking off everything suggested below. More from BPlans.com

In a letter to the court-appointed consumer privacy ombudsman in the bankruptcy case of the electronics retailer RadioShack, Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich recommended conditions the court could place on the sale of consumers’ personal information to protect their privacy. According to the letter, substantial amounts of personal data collected by RadioShack, including consumers’ names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and purchase histories, are among the assets being put up for auction to settle the bankruptcy. Documents indicate information from tens of millions of consumers may be among the assets for sale. In the letter, Rich points to the extensive privacy promises that RadioShack made to consumers both online and in its stores – including promises not to sell consumers’ information or the company’s mailing lists.  She notes the  FTC’s previous intervention in the bankruptcy of online retailer Toysmart , which sought to sell its customers’ pe

If you are creating 500-word me-too blog posts that get read by no one, you are completely and absolutely wasting your time. It's not your fault. You've been told by so-called experts for years that if you blog consistently, you will see truckloads of traffic, thousands of subscribers, and millions of dollars in sales. The thing is, a lot of these experts cut their teeth in the early years of the Web, when 500-word blog posts could win you fame and fortune. Now? Not so much. If you're serious about standing out from the 2 million blog posts pumped out every day, here's what you need to start doing. Read more at MarketingProfs .