Hudson Valley Business Review

Cheating obsolescence

By: Susan Barnett

16-05-2013

Good luck finding something that’s built to last. Most mass-produced items are made to fall apart sooner rather than later. Or they become obsolete, like computers in particular, long before their components stop functioning. If you’ve had to upgrade your programs to be compatible with Windows 8 or, worse, had to upgrade your programs every time Apple changes its operating system (doesn’t that happen about every two weeks?), you’ve experienced the unpleasant side of obsolescence.

A local company’s stated goal is to help you beat the system. They’re doing it in a new shop that is prepared for its own obsolescence.

Rebuilding Rosendale’s Main Street

By: Susan Barnett

09-05-2013

Development

The Rosendale Theatre Collective Board of Directors: (top row, l-r) Sam Pierce, Brian Mathews, Mike Ruppel, Eve Waltermaurer, Edward Schoelwer, Carrie Wykoff and Justin Peone. Bottom row (l-r): Ann Citron, Stephanie Ellis and Fre Atlast. (photo by Lauren Thomas)

Like his mother before him, my uncle Charles Barnett spent every summer of his childhood in Rosendale. The town he remembers from the 1940s was a busy place, full of small businesses and local color. You can read about it in the Century House’s summer 2000 issue.

My uncle also wrote “Summer Song: Growing Up Along the Rondout,” which the librarian at the Rosendale town library says is a huge hit with the locals. It’s part of the local history collection.

My cousins and I remember a sleepier Rosendale in the 1960s. Mr. and Mrs. Gilmartin dispensed calamine lotion (and ice cream sodas) from behind the counter of what is now The Big Cheese. The Rosendale Theatre was open, but there were a lot of empty storefronts.

Investment upheaval

By: Susan Barnett

02-05-2013

Analysis, Economic experiences

We’re supposed to be saving our money for our retirement. If you own your own business, that’s a crucial part of your business plan. But in the midst of today’s financial storms, where’s the safe haven?

Even the best certificates of deposit at your local bank don’t come within a mile of 2 percent. At that rate, stuffing money in your mattress doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

If you’re paying attention, the stock market may feel to you a lot like Las Vegas. There’s got to be a smarter investment.

Filling the holes with partnerships

By: Susan Barnett

25-04-2013

Development, Economic experiences

It’s no secret that the long recession has created challenges for social service organizations. State budget cuts and other repercussions have increased the need for help among Ulster County groups.

A study by the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) at SUNY New Paltz reported that 689 men in Ulster County were eligible for food assistance in 2007. That number almost tripled in 2010 to 1,982. Among women, the number of those eligible for assistance increased from 1,031 in 2007 to 1,578 in 2010.

Reconstructing your business

By: Susan Barnett

18-04-2013

Economic experiences, Small business

Being your own boss is a great thing if it suits your temperament, but there’s a risk. If you or a loved one get sick, there’s no fallback position. Your business takes the hit and at some point you have to pick up and start over.

That’s the position Carol Lynne Johnson finds herself in. A licensed mortgage consultant for 25 years who moved to Woodstock from New York City, she confessed that she “never took time off.”

“The business changes so quickly, and it’s so important to keep your networking active,” she said, “that there just never seemed to be the opportunity.”

Location, location, location

By: Susan Barnett

15-04-2013

Development, Small business

My dad was a corporate real estate man. He mostly worked for the big chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, Midas, Dunkin’ Donuts. His job was to find the best locations for new businesses. He drove around the country, scoping out cities and towns, assessing traffic patterns and deciding what spot would give a new business the best chance for success.

Many owners of small businesses, if they’re buying the spot on which they will set up shop, rely on their broker for that kind of information. Renters often go with their gut. So what are they looking for in a location?

Fitting a niche

By: Susan Barnett

11-04-2013

Economic experiences, Small business

Niche businesses may seem extra-risky. Yet three area businesses that cater to a specific clientele are finding success in offering just the right thing.

The High Falls Food Co-op, the little organic market in the bright green building, turns 37 in November. Co-manager Ruth Malloy has detected a definite uptick in business over the past seven years. “We’re finding our customers are looking to make a community connection,” she said. “It’s something we’ve seen building since the 9-11 attacks. Now they’re really focused on finding a sustainable, trustworthy food connection.”

Business basics

By: Susan Barnett

28-03-2013

Analysis, Small business

University of Virginia statistics in 2012 indicate that a quarter of all small businesses fail in the first year, and that 46 percent of those failures are due to incompetence. U.S. Census data is showing small signs of revival in wholesale and retail sales. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the recession hit small and large businesses equally.

Locally, aspiring entrepreneurs are still dreaming of running their own businesses.

Future time

By: Susan Barnett

21-03-2013

Analysis, Development

You never can tell. Back around 1750, it likely would have sounded far-fetched to predict that the British colonies in the Americas would revolt and gain their independence. The stock market crash that opened the Great Depression no doubt seemed impossible during the height of the Roaring Twenties. The dotcom bubble, the housing bubble … not many would have believed just a few years ago that the high-flying good times were about to crash to earth. What was being discussed by an earnest group of about 50 people at a Woodstock gathering last week may have sounded equally unlikely. And yet …

Pamela Boyce Simms, an Ulster County resident and passionate representative for the Mid-Atlantic Transition Hub, spoke at a joint meeting of Woodstock Transition and the Woodstock Time Bank, two grassroots groups looking for alternatives to the way things currently are.

Levels of government

By: Hugh Reynolds

18-03-2013

Analysis

The two percent property tax cap mandated by New York State three years ago will encourage consolidation concepts advocated by good-government groups but resisted on the local level. “It’s a sort of starve-the-beast mentality that could force people into decisions they might not have considered otherwise,” assemblyman Kevin Cahill said.

In local education, the combination of rising built-in contractual obligations, healthcare commitments, declining student enrollment and eroding property values is leading to wholesale closing of elementary schools and massive staff reductions. But so far there has been only isolated talk of consolidation of school districts.