Small Business Development Center

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• Small Business Development Center
• University At Albany
• William Brigham, Director

Creating stronger businesses and a more viable
economy for all New Yorkers
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• So, what is an entrepreneur? Websters
  dictionary describes it as one who organizes,
  manages, and assumes the risks of a business.

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• Why is business changing? During the past 100
  years small, efficient, and manageable companies
  have become large unmanageable bureaucratic
  organizations.

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• Combine bureaucratic practices, with global
  competition from countries where labor costs were
  lower, work ethic remained, and hungry
  entrepreneurs sensed opportunity. The corporate
  crash was inevitable.

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• Industries are evolving and transforming at a
  puzzling pace.
• It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million
  listeners.
• It took television 13 years to reach 50 million
  viewers.
• It took the Internet only 5 years to reach 50
  million users.

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• Steve Jobs of Apple Computer toured Xerox in the
  late 70s and was introduced to graphical user
  interface. Xerox did not recognize the potential
  and Jobs did. Today, most PCs operate with an
  interface descending from this innovation.

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• Computer technologies were first pioneered by
  IBM with patents, scientists, and the RD to go
  to market, but the minicomputer market was
  created by entrepreneurs at Digital and the
  computer work station at Sun Microsystems. IBM
  had the lead in technology, but not the
  entrepreneurial mindset.

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• Innovation does not only involve technology. It
  can represent unique distribution strategies like
  Sears and Roebuck and Amazon.com, pricing
  strategies like Home Depot and Charles Schwab, or
  convenience like McDonalds and Starbucks.

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• Think of new industries that did not exist a
  generation ago personal computing, voice mail,
  cellular phones, fast oil changes, internet
  shopping, convenience foods, super stores, and
  digital entertainment.

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• Since 1980, the United States has added more
  than 34 million new jobs, while Fortune 500
  companies lost more than 5 million jobs. In the
  United States about 600,000 to 800,000 new
  businesses are started each year.

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• So where is our future in the new millennium?
  Is it nanotechnology? But, the practical
  applications of nano technology to manufacture
  consumer goods may be one to two decades away.

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• Today, consumer goods are made by pushing piles
  of atoms together in a bulky, imprecise manner.
  Nanotechnology could manipulate each individual
  atom of an object creating products that are
  cleaner, stronger, lighter, and more precise.

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• How can students prepare for careers in
  Nanotechnology? Nanotechnology is fundamentally a
  branch of engineering. To work as an engineer,
  one must learn to think as an engineer, which
  means studying the principles of system
  engineering.

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• Eventually, we will be able to replicate
  anything including diamonds, water, and food.
  Famine could be eliminated through fabrication of
  food.

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• Great business ideas are all around us. Opening
  your eyes to trends that will effect the future
  business environment. How do we recognize these
  trends?
•   Look at things around that bug you. What do
  you not have that you need?

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• Gillette was fed up with sharpening his straight
  edge razor, so the disposable razor industry was
  born.
•  
• Surfers in California were frustrated in the 70s
  with the weather and small waves. Sidewalk
  surfing was born.
•  

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•  
• An office secretary who took pride in her work
  invented white out using a kitchen blender.
  Artists paint over mistakes why couldnt typists?
  

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• A quick trend spotting technique is to stroll
  to your local magazine rack. Look at the
  thickness and number of publications and the ones
  that have thinned from lose of advertisers.

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• What about the Internet? A recent Internet
  usage survey shows 72 of Americans have gone
  online at least once during a 30-day period.

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• What about e-Bay? The overwhelming success of
  one segment creates opportunities for related or
  aftermarket services and products.
•  
• Pay Pal, an on-line payment service, was
  launched in October of 1999. July 2002, eBay
  purchased Pay Pal for 1.5 billion dollars.

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• The recent high volume real estate trade offers
  incredible opportunity. The demand for home
  inspectors radon mediators, floor finishers, and
  electrical contactors grows proportionately.

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• Management consultants continue to be high in
  demand due to changing technology and a trend
  toward outsourcing of services.
• E-learning and training is growing, since
  technology has improved the ability to deliver
  quality content to office workstations instead of
  the need to go off-site.

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• In twenty years baby boomers are not going to
  opt for expensive long-term hospital care. The
  home care industry will not be able to serve the
  surge in demand, so house bound senior check-in
  services and home meal replacement for those with
  dietary restrictions will flourish.

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• Do you see the pattern? Trends are nearly
  impossible to predict, but small businesses do
  not need to be trendsetters, but you can
  capitalize on following trends. There is usually
  a piece of business for everyone.

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• Peter Drucker
• Entrepreneurial Revolution

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• How important are small
• businesses to the U.S. economy?
• Small firms Represent 99.7 percent of all
  employer firms. Employ half of all private
  sector employees. Pay 45 percent of total U.S.
  private payroll. Have generated 60 to 80
  percent of net new jobs annually over the last
  decade.

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• How important are small
• businesses to the U.S. economy?
• Small firms
• Produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee
  than large patenting firms. These patents are
  twice as likely as large firm patents to be among
  the one percent most cited
• Are employers of 41 percent of high tech workers
  (such as scientists, engineers, and computer
  workers).

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• How important are small businesses to the U.S.
  economy?
• Small firms
• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
  Employ half of all private sector employees.
  Pay 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
  Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new
  jobs annually over the last decade. Produce 13
  to 14 times more patents per employee than large
  patenting firms. These patents are twice as
  likely as large firm patents to be among the one
  percent most cited. Are employers of 41
  percent of high tech workers (such as scientists,
  engineers, and computer workers).

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• How Important is the Internet to Small Business?

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• According to eMarketer, online shoppers today
  closely resemble the US population as a whole
• U.S online retail sales will almost double from
  172 billion in 2005 to 329 billion in 2010
  according to Forrester Research
• Last year, online sales were 114.1B, an increase
  of 51 from the previous year. This year, online
  sales are expected to increase 27 to 144B1

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• 20 of people say checking e-mails first thing in
  the morning delayed them taking kids to school on
  time. 26 said they made it to work late and 15
  stated they checked e-mails via PDA the
  bathroom3
• Source Reachon.com, 2005How

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• Fastest Growing Online Products

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• According to data from comScore Networks, What
  were the fastest growing product categories
  online for 2005.
• Apparel and Accessories (36)
• Computer Software (36)
• Home and Garden (32)
• Toys and Hobbies (32)
• Jewelry and Watches (27)
• Event Tickets (26)
• Furniture (24)
• Flowers, Greetings Gifts (23)