New York SBDC Research Network

By Betsy Mikel. Owner, Aveck From INC I'm sure I'm only one of many people who feel as if they're drowning in a sea of email. There are countless tips on how to manage your inbox if you're on the receiving end and how to write better emails if you're on the sending end. Yet still, sometimes emails simply go unanswered. I'll admit I'm guilty of the nonresponse, especially when my emails start piling up after a few days away. This isn't very hopeful if your day-to-day involves a lot of emailing -- especially if it's critical that you get a response. Thankfully, the folks at Boomerang, a plug-in for scheduling emails, did a little study to see if the language people use to close their emails has any effect on the response rate. "We looked at closings in over 350,000 email threads," data scientist Brendan Greenley wrote on the Boomerang blog. "And found that certain email closings deliver higher response rates." But do all ema

From NYC Small Business Services :  CITY CELEBRATES SMALL BUSINESSES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AND AWARDS $1.8 MILLION TO HELP LONGSTANDING BUSINESSES COMPETE AND GROW Applications Now Open for Second Round of Grants to Local Businesses New York — NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Gregg Bishop today announced that the City awarded $1.8 million to help longstanding businesses adapt and grow in a modern economy. Twenty small businesses across the city have been selected to receive grant awards of up to $90,000 through an initiative called NYC Love Your Local . Selected businesses will use grant awards to cover the costs of projects identified by in-depth business consultations delivered by industry experts. Longstanding businesses citywide can apply now for the second round of NYC Love Your Local grants. An additional 20 awardees will be selected to receive grant awards of up to $90,000. Grant awards are funded in part by the NYC Economic Deve

By Dominic J Bartolone From the Coleman Report Each day, over 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65, with a majority of America’s small businesses being owned by this generation, many are choosing to close the company rather than sell it when they retire. Some of these businesses provide core services to underserved and economically vulnerable areas, and their closure could significantly impact the lives of not only the workers but also the community as a whole. One strategy to save these community businesses is to convert ownership to their employees. The approach of cooperative conversions builds equity for employees, helps save jobs, and encourages employees to invest in their future by excelling at their jobs. Cooperative conversions can help address both these issues by providing an outlet for aging owners to sell their companies while offering a retention strategy that helps anchor much-needed services to local communities.

By Melody Wilding From Medium.com The power games started subtly. Emily’s co-worker frequently withheld key information about their shared clients and projects. When confronted, her colleague asserted that he’d sent her the reports. But each time Emily double (and triple) checked her inbox, she came up empty. Emily found herself constantly apologizing to upper management. She feared being perceived as disorganized. She felt as if she was going crazy. "You need to get it together," her colleague would say, followed by, “And get your emotions under control. You're making us all look bad.” When Emily pushed back, her colleague told her to stop being so sensitive. The denials, lies, and passive-aggressive manipulation mounted. Soon, Emily lost all confidence in herself. Emily was experiencing gaslighting, a form of psychological abuse that causes a person to question their self-worth and sanity. The term comes from the 1930s play Gas Light. In it, a husband tries to st

By Krista Garcia From eMarketer According to a new study by Snowflake Computing and Harvard Business Review, companies that make data-driven decisions have the best chance for longevity. Yet across industries, they found that only 5% of retail and CPG enterprises qualify as data-driven, half of the survey average (10%). This stands in opposition to stated goals. The retail industry had the highest number (89%) that placed great importance on getting better insights into customer needs and expectations. Faster decision-making was also a priority (79%) as well as improving process and cost efficiency (68%). What is holding retailers back? The biggest challenge cited was human in nature; 44% said they lacked the digital and data analytic skills to transform. More than one-third cited internal resistance to change while 29% blamed legacy processes.

By Kate Ashford from Monster It’s the start of a new year—time to evaluate how you’re doing and set goals for the future. For many companies, it’s also performance review time. If the thought makes you want to hide in your coat closet, there’s good news: Evaluations don’t have to be painful. You can structure the review process a variety of ways, but the key to making everything easier is to treat it like a rolling conversation. "Companies are moving away from an annual performance review, [going] to regular check-ins and ongoing feedback conversations throughout the year," says Todd Cherches, CEO and co-founder of executive coaching firm BigBlueGumball. Above all, employees need to understand what you want from them. "Throughout the time that I’m working for you, I need to be totally aware of two things: the expectations and whether I’m meeting them," says Laura MacLeod, an HR expert and consultant with From The Inside Out Project, an employee-morale company

Written by Marguerita Cheng  Article from CNBC While people start out with good intentions and set their sights on meeting various financial goals, many never achieve them and instead fail miserably.  Here are nine bad habits that will hinder investors from reaching their financial success.  Everyone wants to be successful, but only a few are ready to take meaningful action. These habits will help you discover what has been preventing you from achieving your financial goals. Identify your limitations and formulate strategies to address them and it will be easier to establish a plan, practice self-discipline, make sound decisions, have security and maintain assertiveness.