Resource of the Week: The Irish Business Organization (IBO) of New York

State of Small Business

The latest report from Alignable on the State of Small Business shows only 29% of small businesses have fully recovered, down 1% from January and 14% from December. Many of the 71% of SMBs that haven’t been able to recover predict it could take until the second half of 2023.

Why? The quadruple whammy of skyrocketing inflation (including gas prices & rent), growing supply chain issues, declining revenues, and a revived labor shortage are causing higher hurdles among small businesses across many sectors.

Other highlights from Alignable’s March Road To Recovery Report include:

• Supply Chain Challenges Grow: 91% of small businesses report that the cost of supplies is higher now, up 13% from January. And 39% say supply costs were more than 25% higher.
• Labor Shortage Intensifies: 65% of SMBs report they’re having a tough time finding employees (up 5% from January).
• Inflation Worries Climb: Inflation is the top concern among 43% of SMBs, up 13%.

Read more in Alignable’s March Road To Recovery Report.

More Help for Women Entrepreneurs

There’s good news for women entrepreneurs as Bank of America just announced it is expanding the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell. To date, the program has been so successful that Bank of America is adding 50,000 seats—doubling the enrollment to 100,000 seats—enabling women entrepreneurs, especially women of color, to gain critical business acumen to better grow their companies.

The program, launched in 2018, has enrolled 50,000 people from the U.S. and 120 countries, primarily women, 90% of whom identify as women of color. Registration is open to anyone worldwide, regardless of gender, educational background, or business stage. The Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell is the only Ivy League program offering a certificate in women’s entrepreneurship at no cost.

Read more about the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell.

Should Retail Stores be Designed Like Lego Sets?

How flexible is your store? Retail View suggests retail stores should be “designed more like Lego sets.”

Confused? Melissa Gonzalez, CEO and founder of The Lionesque Group, an experiential retail agency, says, because “the consumer has been and will continue to evolve so rapidly [stores] have to create a store environment that can morph with them.”  She advises retailers to be “agile” in their store designs.

Read more about making your retail space more agile.

Apple Launches New Products

If you live in the Apple universe or want to, you should check out the new products the tech giant announced last week at its Apple March 8 Peek Performance event.

The launch included the iPhone SE 3 and a new iPad Air 5, both powered by new chips increasing performance and productivity.

There’s also a new desktop and display designed for power users: the Mac Studio computer and Apple Studio Display.

Read more about Apple’s new releases.

Resource of the Week: The Irish Business Organization (IBO) of New York

The IBO of New York is a nonprofit, nondenominational association that seeks to promote, foster, and advance the business interests of Irish and Irish American people. 

Founded in 1973, the IBO of New York Inc. is chartered to: (1) Encourage, increase, and further the business interests of its members in the tri-state area, United States, and internationally; (2) Sponsor noteworthy guest speaker programs and social events throughout the year; and (3) Promote programs designed to improve the economic, intellectual, and social status of its members.

The IBO holds more than 25 events a year through its regular networking meetings, including monthly evening events, monthly business breakfasts, a quarterly women’s networking lunch, and other member events.

For more information on the IBO of NY, visit their website at www.ibonewyork.org