Blog Posts by Subject: Small Business

The New York Public Library with its sponsor, Citi Foundation, has announced the New York StartUP! 2012 Business Plan Competition for New York-based startup entrepreneurs with cash prizes totaling over $30,000. The third annual New York StartUp! gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to bolster their business acumen. Entrants gain practical insights about starting and growing a business, while learning about the comprehensive small business resources at NYPL’s Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL).

If running your own business is your goal, let SIBL help! It's not too late to enter the 2012 New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition with three remaining orientations scheduled for December. In this posting, though, I glance back to September's lively Awards Ceremony closing the 2011 New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition. The evening epitomized the synergies that SIBL creates as it connects its users to organizations, experts, information sources — and each other.

Do I have your attention? OK! Yes — the money is real. It's time for SIBL's New York StartUP! 2012 Business Plan Competition! If you've been thinking about starting a business in Manhattan, The Bronx, or Staten Island, this money could help make your dreams a reality.

The talent pool in patents and trademarks at SIBL is deep — which means we're almost always ready to answer IP questions on the spot when they come up. But I've been lucky and have had the opportunity to wear the patent and trademark hat — yes, there is one, it won first place in a contest a few years ago! And among the privileges this brings is the opportunity to invite U.S. Patent and Trademark Office representatives to come to SIBL every couple of years for public and staff presentations.

November 8 is fast approaching, and with it the Intellectual Property day at SIBL, featuring representatives from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This seems like a good opportunity to recommend one of the Library's best sources for information about trademarks, Stephen Elias and Richard Stim's Nolo book Trademark — Legal Care for Your Business and Product Name.

In polite conversation, it is unusual for people to talk about taxes. In other situations, they may be mentioned or discussed. And as we know, they are frequently a topic for political rants and news.

Are you planning to start a business? Are you interested in doing something you really love? Perhaps it's using your expertise to start a service business — maybe you’re a chef with a unique restaurant concept. Do you know who your competition is? You’ll need to find out.

Those who take an interest in patents will have heard by now; the U.S. has a new patent law, the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act." It's too early to tell whether the changes that will take place as a result will be revolutionary or not; and for that I await the views of the experts. But it is worthwhile taking note of these recent patent law amendments in anticipation of the visit to SIBL by the USPTO on November 8.

We're just starting to get the word out — November 8, 2011 will be a day to explore Intellectual Property protection when the Science, Industry and Business Library hosts a visit from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Starting a business? Take my word for it — you don't need a business plan. Oh, and while we're at it, I have a nice bridge I can let you have at a very good price...

First some breaking news! The word has come down from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The new name of the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries will be Patent and Trademark Resource Centers. The actual name change will be official as of October 1st. Although as yet no festivities are planned, we look forward, both before and after the change, to helping you with your Patent and Trademark research here at SIBL.

What do Trademark Examiners do? No — this is not a trick question. They do examine applications for trademark registrations.

I'm hesitant to use the word easy; things easy to do don't usually have to be identified, and when things aren't all that easy, it's not good to suggest they are. But, Patent Searching Made Easy is the title of a Nolo Press book by David Hitchcock (currently available here at SIBL in its fifth edition), and I'm going to exploit an opportunity to write a little about both this book and patent searching.

A little while ago, I gave a presentation at a session for FastTrac® GrowthVenture™. These sessions have to be held outside the Library, and they're very brief with lots of information to cover, so there's no chance to do a hands-on demonstration. This time I was told by one of the participants that she had been to visit us here at SIBL, but wasn't able to find current industry information in her business area, cleaning services.

Hearing the capstone presentations of 20 aspiring business owners in a FastTrac New Ventures program last week inspired me to talk to Shagun Malhotra, who recently told Crain's New York Business what she learned at FastTrac en route to taking second place in SIBL's 2010 New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition.

Inspiring America's youth to study engineering is an Obama administration priority. Many professionals—from trade associations to campus-based groups—focus specifically on getting more women into the engineering pipeline. Participants in Dow's recent virtual conference undercored the importance of exposing young women to ways you can use chemistry and engineering degrees. In this spirit, I chatted with Jennifer Chu, the first place winner (a $15,000 cash prize), in the 2010 New York StartUP Business Plan Competition, funded by the Citi Foundation and hosted by NYPL's Science, Industry and Business Library, SIBL.

For 100 years, The New York Public Library's landmark Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street and its world-renowned collections have inspired people everywhere to find their futures. In honor of the Centennial Celebration, pioneering game designer Jane McGonigal helped the Library kick off its Weekend Festival with Find the Future: The Game, an all-night scavenger hunt in the Stephen A.

Can’t think of a more apt way to wrap my trio of Black History Month postings (1, 2) on entrepreneurship than a chat with Paisley Demby. A familiar figure in the New York City  small business community—formerly at both the Queens Economic Development Corporation and CAMBA—Paisley has helped to launch the two metro-area Business Plan Competitions underwritten by the Citi Foundation: Queens StartUP! and, most recently, the New York StartUP!  He slso served as presenter and judge for Brooklyn PowerUP! Competition.

Who stole my days?   With February simply too short a month in my book, please indulge me as I continue into March observing Black History Month with a few short profiles. First up is Michelle Newson,  2nd place winner in the 2009 Harlem Business Alliance Competition and a recent alumna of the Workshop in Business Opportunities.

Danielle Lanyard has channeled her passion for resource-sharing across the small business community into a powerful presentation, Launch Your Start Up on Your Lunch Hour, which she offers, pro bono, at SIBL each month. I caught up with her after last Friday’s session which one attendee aptly described as “Fabulous! Pure gold!”