New York SBDC Research Network

From MarketingProfs : For more than 50% of CMOs and marketing directors, space and location on the exhibit floor are most important in maximizing ROI. And that makes perfect sense. With an accessible location and a major source of foot traffic nearby, a booth is likely to attract a lot of attendees. The higher the number of visitors, the greater opportunities for a business to raise awareness, get leads, and build relationships. The location selection process, however, can be complicated, with various factors at play—from budget, to space requirements, to traffic flow and more. So here, in this handy guide, are all the important factors you need to take into consideration. Quick Tip: Reserve Your Spot Early

From the New York Times : Salad bars are magnets for bacteria and viruses. Even if the sprouts and ranch dressing aren’t tainted, the serving utensils may be. The Silicon Valley start-up Chowbotics has devised what it says is a partial solution. Its device, which it calls Sally the Salad Robot, is aimed at reducing the risk of food-borne illness by assembling salads out of pre-cut vegetables stored in refrigerated canisters. Diners use a touch screen to place their orders, choosing from a menu of recipes or designing their own salads. The machine calculates the number of calories per salad and drops the veggies into a bowl in less than a minute. There is less human contact with the food. But as a growing number of food- and drink-slinging robots have begun interacting with diners in the San Francisco Bay Area, Deepak Sekar, the device’s inventor and the founder and chief executive of Chowbotics, has faced questions about whether his machine will put people out of work. He deni

From Search Disaster Recovery : Developing a business continuity strategy is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. Organizations must gather and validate massive amounts of data and develop and validate procedures to keep data available and protected at all times. Employees must be trained on the business continuity plan, as well as their roles and responsibilities when a disruptive incident occurs. Senior management must be aware of the plan and be involved with its development. Given the comprehensive nature of business continuity planning, mistakes can happen. Explore some of the most common errors to avoid before a disaster hits.

From NerdWallet : Problem solver. Communicator. Financial whiz. Running a small business involves wearing a lot of hats. If you’re looking to increase productivity and organization — or just make your life as an entrepreneur a little easier — a good app might be just what you need. To help you navigate the seemingly endless sea of business apps, we’ve compiled a list of our favorites. These 25 can help you stay organized and in charge, no matter which hat you’re wearing. They are arranged in these categories: Finance and accounting Communication Time management Payment Organization In a league of their own

From MarketingProfs : Imagine you just invested a lot of time and resources in your next content masterpiece. You did third-party research, interviewed industry experts, carefully crafted the copy with your target persona in mind, and pulled out all the stops to design a visually compelling piece. You then released it into the wild through all your Web and social channels and sat back, waiting for it to become the next viral sensation. But then the unthinkable happened: No one shared it (gasp!). What happened? Even the greatest content sometimes needs an early boost to gain traction in social media. Paid promotion and influencer marketing can certainly help, but those can be costly. Fortunately, virtually every organization has a captive audience that's willing—and even happy—to share content with their networks for free... Look to your left, look to your right, look at Bob in accounting: I'm talking about your fellow employees (bet you didn't know Bob has 3,000

From IBISWorld : The disruption caused by the rise of the internet and popularity of web-enabled devices is indisputable; industries have been completely flipped upside down as new, online businesses offer consumers products and services that were once unimaginable. As life is moving to the cloud, however, so are the criminals. The US Justice Department estimates that more than 4,000 ransomware attacks have occurred each day since the beginning of 2016, meaning hackers engineer software programs that prevent employees from accessing their computer systems until a ransom total is paid. In 2016, about 72.0% of large companies and 20.0% of small to midsize companies were targets of cyberattacks, according to CNBC and Microsoft, respectively, boosting demand for products and services protecting against cyberattacks. IBISWorld expects the US Security Software Publishing industry to grow 2.6% in 2017, to $12.0 billion. However, while companies are increasingly investing in defending a

From Entrepreneur magazine : Last year [Ross McCammon] was a guest on an NPR call-in talk show to discuss workplace etiquette. Most calls were about shaking hands, conducting meetings, asking for a raise... It was light and funny until one caller asked for advice about being shunned by her co-workers. They would gather near her desk, talking about work she was involved in without asking her to weigh in. They never invited her to lunch or after-work drinks. When she brought up her feelings, her colleagues dismissed and mocked her. She felt unimportant and ostracized. And she sounded deeply distressed. I felt ill-equipped to answer the question. I stammered out a reply. I made a joke. (She didn't laugh.) The show's host suggested that she record these instances and, if they continued, alert a supervisor. The host labeled the behavior as “bullying.” Which at first struck me as infantilizing. I hadn't felt bullied since middle school. And I certainly had never felt bu