Blog Posts by Subject: Business

No matter how hard you try to prioritize your reading, magazines can really pile up rather quickly. So... I've just finally gotten to the April 7th issue of The Economist, and discovered its quarterly business book selection for April.

I don't want to neglect highlighting some of the newer business best-sellers from the New York Times (Sunday, April 1, 2012, page 7). I've also included a selection from Nielsen BookScan as published in the April 7-8, 2012 Wall Street Journal (page C10). Happy Reading!

Trade Associations exist for nearly every industry and can be valuable sources of information for new business owners and those doing industry research. Some trade associations offer continuing professional training and certifications, and many conduct market research, to keep their members up to date with industry data, reports and statistics.

If you’re writing a business plan or have recently started a new business, you need to keep up with industry news and trends. One way to do this is with trade journals.

This Sunday's paper listed the New York Times business best sellers. Rankings reflect sales for January 2012. Below are several of the titles culled from that list, sorted by genre, with links to our catalog.

The January 14 issue of The Economist has reviewed (and maybe recommended...) five new books on a few different business topics. I'm using this as an opportunity to post a list of these titles with links to the Library's collections.

Seeking connections to people, organizations, communities, employers, resources, services, information, opportunities, potentials, and ideas? NYPL — the super-connector — is there for you.

Working at SIBL has distorted my vision; I seem to have this sixth sense: I see advertising for financial services. Brokerage accounts, mutual funds, ETFs, bank accounts (online and otherwise) - everywhere. Do normal people see these?

At the suggestion of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC), SIBL recently hosted a lively orientation for NYC-based foreign trade commissioners and their staff. The attendees learned effective and efficient ways to mine business-to-business (B2B) contacts from online business directories accessible at NYPL's Science, Industry and Business Library.

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.

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.

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.

The 100+ events that the Financial Women's Association (FWA) runs annually are often quite special. The 2011 FWA Annual Dinner and Women of the Year Awards was remarkably so. For the first time in the dozen years that I've been at this gala, both of the honorees — Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who runs the Center for Work-Life Policy at Columbia University; and Irene Dorner, the president and CEO of HSBC Bank USA — received standing ovations. That's right — the 800 guests jumped to their feet to roar their approval. Here's why.

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.

It's already been a couple of months since I and a colleague attended a morning of presentations by budding entrepreneurs finishing up their session of FastTrac® NewVenture™. Two weeks before that event my colleague and I did a presentation here at SIBL for them - our Market Research and library resources "boot camp". Now we had a great opportunity to see for ourselves how, and to what extent, these folks have used our SIBL resources to help create a five minute "pitch" of their businesses.

One premise of the U.S. patent system, and of most of the other large established patent systems in the world, is you can only patent something once. Too late, then, for the wheel; but for the better, improved wheel a patenting opportunity awaits. Of course, how do you find out if someone beat you to it? Or, in the language of patent experts, how do you find the prior art?