By Beth Fitzgerald/NJBIZ
November 21, 2012

Banks are calling their customers to tell them loans are available to repair and rebuild from the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy.

Chase is committing $5 billion in loans to small and midsized businesses in addition to its usual business lending, and said in the past two weeks its business bankers have called nearly 90,000 customers in the storm’s path.

“We realize many business owners may still be assessing Sandy’s impact on their operations, and our message is that we’re here to help,” said Scott Geller, CEO of Chase Business Banking.

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“Business is picking up, business confidence is rising, and growing numbers of businesses believe New Jersey is on the right track.”

2013 Business Outlook: NJ Business Confidence Climbs to Highest Levels of the Past Five Years
New Jersey Business & Industry Association
November 20, 2012

Sales, employment and profits at  New Jersey businesses improved for a third consecutive year in 2012, reaching the highest levels of the past five years, and the business outlook calls for continued improvement in the year ahead, NJBIA said today in releasing the findings of its 2013 Business Outlook Survey.

Notably, 19 percent of businesses responding to the annual fall survey anticipate hiring more workers in 2013, while only 11 percent expect to make workforce reductions. The net percentage of companies anticipating the need to hire additional workers is therefore 8 percent, the highest level of the past five years. …

Survey participants also expressed more confidence in New Jersey as a place for business expansion. And they viewed New Jersey more favorably, when compared to other states, in areas where it once fared poorly, such as its attitude toward business, controlling government spending and its ability to attract new business.

“The findings of this year’s survey are encouraging,” said NJBIA President Philip Kirschner, who presented the findings in a news conference at the Association’s Trenton headquarters. “Business is picking up, business confidence is rising, and growing numbers of businesses believe New Jersey is on the right track.” …

Kirschner said the damage done by Superstorm Sandy, which occurred one month after the survey was conducted, could affect economic conditions in the short term. However, he said the survey is a result of a strengthening of business conditions, a stronger business climate and more solid economic fundamentals that will continue in 2013 and help the state recover from the storm. …

Asked to rate the performance of government leaders, businesses gave Governor Chris Christie high marks for the third year in a row, with 73 percent saying he is doing a good-to-excellent job.  …

The survey’s indicator for current sales activity moved into positive territory for the first time in five years. …

The sales outlook for 2013 has also improved markedly. Forty-nine percent of respondents anticipate higher sales revenues in 2013 and 17 percent anticipate lower sales, while the rest expect little or no change.

By Dan Weil/Bankrate.com
November 16, 2012

Many small businesses have been disabled by Superstorm Sandy, but they can take certain measures to speed recovery. Bankrate talked to a wide range of experts, both in the academic and business communities, to come up with a business disaster recovery plan.

“The first step is to assess your damage,” says Jeffrey Robinson, an assistant professor at Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick, N.J. “It sounds simple,” but in a time of great stress, it can be easy to skip vital steps.

Check for damage to your equipment or building. If you lease your space, building damage is the owner’s responsibility. “Document damages and take photos of losses,” says Gerald McSwiggan, senior manager of the Business Civic Leadership Center’s disaster assistance service. The BCLC is affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/11/16/rebuilding-your-small-biz-after-disaster/#ixzz2CgJWUhGL

Many small businesses have been disabled by Superstorm Sandy, but they can take certain measures to speed recovery. Bankrate talked to a wide range of experts, both in the academic and business communities, to come up with a business disaster recovery plan.

“The first step is to assess your damage,” says Jeffrey Robinson, an assistant professor at Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick, N.J. “It sounds simple,” but in a time of great stress, it can be easy to skip vital steps.

Check for damage to your equipment or building. If you lease your space, building damage is the owner’s responsibility. “Document damages and take photos of losses,” says Gerald McSwiggan, senior manager of the Business Civic Leadership Center’s disaster assistance service. The BCLC is affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/11/16/rebuilding-your-small-biz-after-disaster/#ixzz2CgJWUhGL

Many small businesses have been disabled by Superstorm Sandy, but they can take certain measures to speed recovery. Bankrate talked to a wide range of experts, both in the academic and business communities, to come up with a business disaster recovery plan. 

“The first step is to assess your damage,” says Jeffrey Robinson, an assistant professor at Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick, N.J. “It sounds simple,” but in a time of great stress, it can be easy to skip vital steps. 

Check for damage to your equipment or building. If you lease your space, building damage is the owner’s responsibility. “Document damages and take photos of losses,” says Gerald McSwiggan, senior manager of the Business Civic Leadership Center’s disaster assistance service. The BCLC is affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Read more

By Mary Diduch/The Record
November 15, 2012 

Ten New Jersey technology start-ups pitched their products to advisers and investors Wednesday at Montclair State University, after completing New Jersey’s first technology accelerator program. 

The event — an attempt to show that the state is a hub of entrepreneurial and investor spirit — was the culmination of TechLaunch. That program was selected by New Jersey Economic Development Authority to run the state’s first technology accelerator. 

It is led by angel investor Mario Casabona of Kinnelon, president and chief executive officer of TechLaunch LLC, and funded in part by the EDA. The program began nine months ago with a search that led to 90 companies that was pared to 10 firms with the best visions and abilities to complete their goals, Casabona said. 

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NJToday.net
November 13, 2012

CRANFORD–It’s the American dream – having your own business, being your own boss, setting your own hours….But before you take the plunge (or before you get in too deep in a business that you just started), you need to do some serious self-reflection and homework.

That’s why UCEDC, a statewide economic development corporation, is offering an intensive six-week workshop for early-stage businesses (those in the idea/planning phase or in operation less than a year). The next session of “Entrepreneurship 101: are you really ready to start your business?” is scheduled for Thursday evenings (6–9 p.m.), Dec. 6 – Jan. 17, at UCEDC’s headquarters in Cranford.

“The small business failure rate is staggering,” warns Erich Peter, UCEDC’s director of training. “But you’ll be more likely to succeed if you consider every challenge ahead of you and make sure you have what it takes to meet them.”

Participants will be guided through a real-world assessment of their business idea and market feasibility as well as their own ability to handle the demands of business ownership. The steps to opening a business in New Jersey, choosing a legal structure, developing a business plan and establishing cost, revenue and cash flow projections will be addressed in a variety of interactive exercises. 

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By Beth Fitzgerald/NJBIZ
November 13, 2012 

New Jersey manufacturers slammed by Hurricane Sandy are finding relief from the nonprofit New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, which is connecting companies with critical resources — from roofers to electrical engineers — who can bring heavy machinery back online. 

John W. Kennedy, NJMEP chief operating officer, said e-mails initially went out to 6,900 New Jersey manufacturers, and so far, NJMEP has worked directly with about 500 of them.

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By Juliet Fletcher/The Record
November 12, 2012 

* Companies and workers can turn to the state for help with a variety of problems. 

The state has marshaled resources to help businesses and displaced workers recovering from Sandy, but faces challenges because of a “digital divide”: some have power and online access to information, while others don’t. 

Because many businesses are either operating with minimum power or not in operation, state and federal officials have not only launched websites and phone hotlines but also are encouraging owners and employees to show up in person for advice. 

Last week the state announced a flurry of actions to aid businesses and workers: 

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By Michael Diamond/Asbury Park Press
November 11, 2012 

Manny Iouse, the owner of The Oven and Lavallette Pizza in the battered seaside town of Lavallette, by mid-week hadn’t been back to see what became of his restaurants, but the reports from the front lines weren’t hopeful. 

He said he was told they were damaged by four feet of water — a problem made worse by the fact that he didn’t have flood insurance. 

“It’s just the cost,” he said, explaining why he didn’t have flood insurance. “You have business insurance, workmen’s (compensation insurance), health insurance. To bring home money in the short summer season you have to stop somewhere.” 

Nearly two weeks after Sandy hit central New Jersey, homeowners and business owners have had time to sift through their insurance policies and government programs — and still aren’t sure if they will be made whole. 

Iouse, for example, has a feeling others can relate to. As the cost of living in New Jersey rose, homeowners and business owners had to find expenses to cut. And if they didn’t have a mortgage for their properties, flood insurance wasn’t required. 

With that, here are some basic questions and answers:

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The New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s next public Board Meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 36 West State St., Trenton, NJ 08625. A copy of the proposed agenda can be found prior to the meeting at www.njeda.gov/Board. Following the Board Meeting, minutes and the full agenda will also be available at www.njeda.gov/Board.

Suburban News
October 17, 2012 

Highlighting a Christie administration employment program that landed all ten graduates into jobs, Commissioner Harold J. Wirths of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development joined leaders of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and the New Jersey Community College Consortium today in a tour of DureX Inc., a small manufacturing business that hired two of the graduates.

The 12-week “Fabricated Metal Product Training” program was launched as a pilot project earlier in the year by the Department of Labor (LWD), the New Jersey Community College Consortium (NJCCC) for Workforce and Economic Development and the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) Manufacturers Network. Even before the 10 graduates attended a course completion ceremony at Middlesex County College in July, half of them had received job offerings and all of them became employed in the weeks that followed.

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