Become the Ideal Borrower

Posted by NYDEditor on March 10

Easy money is a distant memory. Applications for everything from higher credit lines to mortgages now need to be evidenced by a history of responsible behavior for reasons that are obvious and sensible.

Small businesses are finding it harder to access lines of credit because the rules have changed. Compare it to Olympic figure skating and the 2004 changeover from one judging system to another (the 6.0 system to the current ISU system, if you’re interested). Can we expect anyone to compete successfully if they don't know how they're going to be judged?

At NY Designs, one of our roles is to point you in the direction of maximum advantage. To situate yourself effectively to compete for capital, you need adequate preparation and some kind of guarantee that you are an ideal borrower.

10,000 Small Businesses is a national $500 million investment by Goldman Sachs to spur growth and job creation in small businesses over the next five years.

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To the Park! Now!

Posted by NYDEditor on March 9

It’s 5 pm and this writer is besieged with distractions - incoming emails on 2 separate accounts, office white noise, and intolerable Pandora song recommendations. I’m cranky, unproductive and aggressive (at least, towards Pandora). How can I recapture my focus circa 11am? What should I do?

A research paper published last month by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests the better questions of “What should I have been doing (in the first place)?” Because what I should have been doing is working and living closer to nature and/or easily accessible green spaces.

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What would it take to change your energy habits?

Posted by NYDEditor on March 4

Your energy bill is only going to get more expensive – so start thinking long-term and taking advantage of available options out there to help you manage your energy usage and costs.

Think tank Center for an Urban Future concluded in a recent report that few small business owners are aware of available energy incentive programs (“…shockingly few firms in the five boroughs have taken advantage of them”). At the same time, awareness and a willingness to act comes with substantial costs in time and resources. The programs won’t come running to you; in fact, you might have to play a bit of hide-and-seek.

Once found, the application process can dampen your morale. One common anxiety is the fear of being cheated out of benefits in a rental situation - why go through the hassle (and potentially shell out up-front costs) if the benefits will fall to the landlord or the next renter?

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When Time is Money - Getting More of Both

Posted by EAbel on September 18

There are 168 hours each week and there is absolutely nothing you can do to change that number. Though it would be nice, you unfortunately can't run down to Staples to "buy" more hours. So, why do some business owners seemly accomplish so much more than other business owner? It's because they have their "IZE" on the "PRIZE." 

With countless demands on your time as a business owner (on top of any personal obligation, such as family), you have no choice but to become a master of allocating your time appropriately. The trick to effective time allocation comes down to making the right choices and keeping focused.

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