Business Library

The Albany-Colonie Chamber's Business Library is filled with informative, relevant articles for growing a business and advancing your career. If you are a Chamber member and would like to contribute to the library, contact Trevor Sparks at (518) 431-1434.

Business Operations

Business Process Improvement Uncovers Gems
by Ann Moynihan | Documentation Strategies
A formal business process improvement (BPI) effort can help to integrate software tools, business processes and human capabilities, but many businesses jump directly to tool selection without looking first at their processes and people.

Everything I Know about Surviving the Recession I learned from Tom Hanks
by John Favalo | Eric Mower and Associates (EMA), Group B2B
While the business environment is considerably more difficult than usual, it could be worse; it could be a matter of survival. Consider Tom Hanks in "Cast Away" and what he faced as an overweight, citified American stranded on a deserted island. Your plane goes down in a violent storm; everyone is lost but you; and you’re in the middle of nowhere with nothing but your clothes and FedEx boxes. The way that Tom lived through hardship – and made it back – provides us with a great model for surviving this recession and moving ahead.

Key Management Succession: Plan or Perish
by Stan Simkins | Management Advisory Group
History is replete with stories of companies whose futures were limited because their strong leaders neglected to provide competent successors. Leading financial sources attribute almost half of all business failures on the appointment of incompetents into key management positions. Providing for succession so that trained personnel can assume authority with a minimum of confusion should not be deferred until key executives approach retirement.

Six Sigma Demystified
by Vinny Sastri | Winovia LLC
Mention the words “Six Sigma” and it conjures up emotions from awe and admiration to skepticism and cynicism. Six Sigma does have a certain sense of mysticism about it, with such terms as “green belts,” “black belts” and “critical to quality” in its vocabulary. So, what exactly is Six Sigma? A term coined by Motorola, Six Sigma is nothing new. It is an evolution of various quality initiatives, such as Total Quality Management, and is a standardized, rigorous, data-driven, problem-solving methodology.

Ten Steps to Improve Your Company Now
by Jeff Sands | Dorset Partners LLC 
This too shall pass and we will have sunny days again. But, for 2009, you, me and the rest of the world are in for a tough ride. Now is the time to prepare. During my first business turnaround, my mentor tried to reassure me with a Freudian slip of, "it’ll get painful before it gets worse." I know what he meant to say but we both realized the impending accuracy of his statement. It may indeed get painful before it gets worse. Brighter days are ahead if you make the right moves now. 

Career Development

Career Assessment and Exploration: Finding Your Passion
by Dr. Thomas J. Denham, MCDP | Careers In Transition LLC
Do you ever feel that your job just ain’t doing it for you anymore? You’re not alone. Often it’s because we are not doing work we feel passionate about. Since we spend more time at work than in any other aspect of our lives, finding our passion is the most important, neglected and difficult tasks in adulthood. It’s important for business professionals to understand that there are three important steps to the career development process.

The Career Be-Attitudes
by Dr. Thomas J. Denham, MCDP | Careers In Transition LLC
The economy is changing the world of work. The new way of doing things requires not only technical mastery but also “soft skills” including integrative ability, reliability, dedication, determination and interpersonal relations. To stay ahead of the game, follow these 10 “be-attitudes” for your continued successful and healthy career development.

Finance

What Small Businesses Need to Know About SBA Program Changes
by Charles Robinson | M&T Bank
The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced several program changes designed to increase the amount of money available for small business. Local business owners should be aware of the changes, because they could help provide funding for new or existing businesses. The extent to which these program enhancements are going to simulate the economy will be dependent: one is the loan demand being there; and second is that the demand comes from qualified and viable borrowers.

Generations in the Workplace

Gen Y: The Fuel That Drives the Engine
by Michael Harrington | New Directions Consulting
The first thing we must realize is that for all intents and purposes Gen Y is no different than the Baby Boomer generation was from the Veterans – a completely different set of morals and ethics, and a strong sense of individuality and paving their own way. Once we understand that, we can move past blaming the "person" for the attributes and accept that they are simply a product of the world they’ve grown up in. Events such as 9/11, the war on terror, a tech boom and the recent recession have all played a role in the creation of this generation.

Insurance

Insuring Your Small Business; Learn from a Soap Maker
by Ryan Hanley | Guilderland Agency, Inc.
A recent post on TeachSoap.com provides a stupendous outline for the thought process small business owners should utilize while developing their business insurance programs. The important part of buying insurance, from the business owner’s perspective, should be having the fortitude to provide the insurance agent with accurate, honest information regarding operations, even if it means higher premiums.

Saving on Your Bottom Line: Workers' Compensation Insurance
by Ryan Hanley | Guilderland Agency, Inc.
I am often approached by business owners throughout the Capital Region for advice on how to ease the cost of workers' compensation insurance, particularly in this economic downturn. My advice is always the same; the best way to save is by taking the time to set up a proper workers' compensation program which will protect the business’ solvency in the event of an accident. Setting up a WC program sounds like a daunting and time consuming task, but it’s not.

International Business

How the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is Changing International Business Practices
by Jeffrey Harfenist and Patrick Hughes | UHY Advisors
When it came to doing business in almost all foreign countries, the practice of paying bribes – frequently justified as paying for access, consultations with ‘experts’ or streamlining the regulatory process – didn’t pose a significant business risk to the arms-length-positioned company involved in the transaction. Bribes were justified as a culturally acceptable business practice to develop long-lasting relationships. In Europe they were even tax deductible.

Managing

Be Open to Coaching Before You Try to Coach
by Mike Cook | Vitalwork, Inc.
Constant and often unpredictable change is the way of our world in business now and likely will be for years to come. Managers now find themselves in situations that call for very particular kinds of working relationships with those who report to them, relationships that call for uncommon responsiveness and are built with an understanding that almost all skills and a lot of our knowledge will be outdated frequently. I’ll call these "coaching" relationships.

From Crisis Management to Controlled Management
by Lisa Dunbar | New Directions Consulting
Today’s managers need more than just meeting the crisis of the moment; they need to be anticipating customer needs, improving the execution of all processes and deliverables, designing contingency plans that can be implemented immediately without input, empowering a more resourceful and competent work force, coaching a next generation of leaders and as individuals, and continuing to grow and further themselves.


Managing in the Middle: “I am a Middle Manager!” Say it Loud, Say it Proud
by Mike Cook | Vitalwork, Inc.
Middle management is not the cul de sac of career development, it is a legitimate destination and offers the opportunity to master and practice some pretty specialized skills that may eventually touch hundreds of lives in a positive fashion. The bad rap the profession has been given has come about primarily as a cultural explanation representing a win/lose mentality and poor selection practices developed by business leaders who did not realize just how critical the manager in the middle really is.

No Issue Goes Unresolved
by Dan Moran | Next-Act
Some people tend to be procrastinators. Why today, do it tomorrow? Worse yet, some let issues fester. Let it be, the issue will go away. I often hear about how an issue with a manager — simple issues — just go unresolved. In the interim, without resolution, one assumes the worst, tension builds and productivity suffers. It is about accountability and respect. You can retain people and build your business through simple ideas -- and not spend a penny.

Trust — Can I Afford Not To?
by Mike Cook | Vitalwork, Inc.
Can you imagine being a manager and not trusting people? I don’t necessarily mean specific people, I mean people in general. Many managers have "handy stories" justifying behavior that might otherwise be considered paranoid. I think you know the stories I mean, they usually include some element of "well you can never be too careful," or "if you want something done right do it yourself." So let’s take a closer look at trust in a way that opens space for accountability.

Which Would You Prefer: "Command and Control" or "Request and Results?" Don’t Answer Too Fast!
by Mike Cook | Vitalwork, Inc.
Managers undermine their own power in relationship to the people who report to them by allowing all those people to relate to every request as though it were a demand. Don’t confuse what I am saying here as inferring that you should not be insisting that people always give their best. I am talking about how you, as a manager, are connected to those who report to you in terms of what you truly need from them.

Marketing

Marketing a Small or Solo Law Practice
by Denise Horan | Integrated Management & Sales Consulting
Gone are the days when a lawyer could simply hang out a shingle, make a few business cards and list his or her name in the phone book to get new clients. Most lawyers now must focus on business development, building relationships and marketing themselves. If you are a solo practitioner or a small firm, marketing can be difficult but it does not have to be that difficult if you follow a planning process, set goals and incorporate continuous marketing into your culture.

Marketing Aggressively...Now’s the Time
by Cindy Hermann | Mogul Marketing
You’re good. Your company’s good. You’ve got great products. Now’s the time to let people know it. It is easy to stand out when half the world is afraid and hiding. Many businesses are thriving. People are going to less expensive restaurants that deliver wholesome, reassuring, value. People are going for therapy to help them cope with their 401k statements. People are going to classes to learn new skills and increase their marketability. Alternative energy is thriving. There is opportunity when you look for it.

Planning Your Marketing Strategy
by Denise Horan | Integrated Management & Sales Consulting
Before developing a marketing strategy, you will want to address your corporate vision and goals. Do you know why you are in business? Do you know what you would like your business to be in three years and beyond? Do you have a mission statement? Your vision and mission statement are more important than you may realize. This statement is your message to your clients, vendors and employees. It states who you are, your expectations of your stakeholders and your goals.

The Fastest Way to Grow Your Business Today
by Paul Carter | ClickBasics Internet Marketing
Consider the phenomenal growth in the use of web tools like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. This is a sign that customers are finding a solution to information overload by actively going after the information we want rather than just being the passive recipients of messages targeted at us by marketers. I say this is a revolution. And to grow our businesses in the midst of it is to start thinking in an entirely new way.

Professional Development

Everything Is An Offer: A Tip from the World of Improv
by Kat Koppett | Koppett + Company
For those of you who may not be familiar with the form, improv is the art of making stuff up. Improvisers work collaboratively to entertain diverse audiences by taking their suggestions and building stories, scenes, whole plays, in real time with no script or pre-planning. Sound scary? Perhaps. And it is what most of us do in one way or another every day. As the world moves faster and becomes more global and more volatile, there is less time to plan and more need for collaboration.

Retail

What You Should Know about Your Credit Card Processing Agreement
by Rebecca Marion Flach | Retail Council of New York State
To accept credit and debit cards at your business, you signed a contract with a
processor. That contract, often called a merchant agreement, details the practices and
policies you (and every other business that accepts credit and debit cards) must abide
by in order to continue accepting cards. Find out what is prohibited according to merchant
agreements with most credit card processors.

Sales

Get Out of the Slow Lane
by Lorraine Ferguson | Direct Impact Associates, LLC
Like most sales professionals, you're probably concerned about how the economy will affect your business. You're wondering how you'll survive. Your survival instincts may be telling you to look for ways to conserve; to hang on to what you have and weather the storm. It may seem like the correct thing to do...but it's not. When the economy is slowing down, you need to speed up. If the economic pie is getting smaller, you need to get a bigger piece just to maintain your current levels.

Where Will You Take Your Business in 2009?
by Lorraine Ferguson | Direct Impact Associates, LLC
Despite the current economic conditions, opportunities are plentiful for those who are willing to invest the energy to uncover them. It's never too early to begin building your future. Begin to plan for and put systems into place now. Here are specific areas on which to focus and question to answer about your business, strategy, new and existing clients and support mechanisms when developing your strategy for growing your business.

Strategy

Are You Ready for Better Days Ahead?
by Denise Horan | Integrated Management & Sales Consulting
Businesses often wait until their sales strengthen before spending time and money on marketing and business improvements. The managers of these businesses hesitate to forge ahead during the "slow periods" for many reasons, conserving money being primary among them. In contrast, the most successful businesses maintain an on-going commitment to continuous improvement … even during the "slow periods."

No-Nonsense Goals for 2010: Developing a Lean and Mean Strategy
by Deborah Mackin | New Directions Consulting Inc.
Someone once said, "A goal is a dream with a deadline." For many organizations, the time is approaching to set goals for 2010. There’s always lots of debate about how to set goals and whether they should be stretch goals. Fundamentally, goals occur at three different levels: strategic, operational and tactical. Looking at it from the bottom up, the accumulation of the tactical goals should achieve the operational goals which over a multiple-year process would then achieve the strategic goals.

Preparing for the Recovery
by Jeff Sands | Dorset Partners LLC
I am pleased to announce that The Great Recession will soon end. The consumer will come out of hiding and stores will start moving wall art off their shelves. The sun will shine and our retirement accounts will steadily ratchet upwards in value. Without a doubt, this is true. Recovery is the natural order of things and it is our reward for having made it through the dark times. The great question for everyone right now should be: are you ready for the recovery?

Strategic Planning or Strategic Dreaming: Which are You Doing?
by Deborah Mackin | New Directions Consulting Inc.
So many businesses and organizations are facing futures of uncertainty or tremendous demands; some need to reinvent themselves; others must transform into something completely new and different. The current strategic plan may now be obsolete, even while still in design. As we look to generating new plans, I believe there are some important things to keep in mind. It is helpful to look at an organization at three different levels: tactical, operational and strategic.

Web Applications

Push the Easy Button
by Michael Holtzman | Gavant Software
Today, businesses have many advantages when opting to use custom Web applications. A web application is internet-based software that simplifies and improves workflow. Unique applications can be used internally or externally for employees and customers alike. Web applications are designed to streamline tasks, centralize information, improve communication and facilitate customization.There are numerous advantages, cost savings and new opportunities to explore via Web applications.