Glens Falls Business Journal

Empire State University Offers Flexible Programs

April 17, 2024

Empire State University has more military-affiliated students than any other State University of New York institution. The university currently supports over 1,000 military-affiliated students throughout their academic journeys, according to data from the most recently completed academic year.

Empire State University offers flexible programs to accommodate diverse needs, including students who may be active duty, guard, reserve, or veterans, along with their spouses and child dependents. The university recently launched the Veteran and Military Resource Center (VMRC), a central component in supporting military-affiliated students, which dedicates staff, programming, and resources to students throughout their degree completion.

“Our mission ideally fits the needs of our military-affiliated students and we have been able to enhance our resources through the VMRC and throughout the university to implement programming that maximizes their military transfer credits, reduces cost barriers, and creates a culture of understanding of their unique needs,” Desiree Drindak, director of the VMRC, said.

Business Report: Entrepreneurs Benefit From Formal Education

April 17, 2024

Ricky P. Thibodeau, Department Chairperson, HVCC Entrepreneurship AAS Program.
Courtesy of HVCC

By Ricky P. Thibodeau, Department Chairperson

Whether you are interested in launching your first business venture or are an existing small business owner looking to grow your current business, the HVCC Entrepreneurship AAS program will give you the necessary skills to pursue that dream. Students will learn the fundamentals for increasing the likelihood of building sustainable success in their ventures.

Entrepreneurship is on the rise in the United States and now accounts for more than 20 percent of all jobs. The internet has greatly expanded the possibilities for small entrepreneurs, allowing businesses to establish niche audiences and clientele around the world. Since the Entrepreneurship program can help you establish any number of small business opportunities, your career path is completely in your hands.

Coursework will help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and understand entrepreneurial finance, small business management, and marketing and legal issues for small business owners. Entrepreneurship coursework is often sought by those who want to establish their own businesses.

However, another path students may take is intrapreneurship, which refers to becoming a driver of innovation within an existing company, applying the new and unique ideas and strategies learned through entrepreneurial education. Intrapreneurship opportunities exist within a wide variety of companies and organizations, and the demand for innovative strategies and creative thought within existing companies is always in demand.

Pop-Up Rally Encourages Young People To Work With Their Hands Building Hobby Race Cars

April 17, 2024

A boy navigates a radio-controlled car through a simulated racetrack provided by Pop-Up Rally, a business designed to get kids interested in working with their hands.
Courtesy of Pop-Up Rally

By Christine Graf

Remodeling contractor Craig Volkommer, owner of Details and Improvements, is on a mission to teach basic construction skills to young people. About three years ago, he established Pop-Up Rally, a business dedicated to radio controlled cars.

“I started this business to teach kids how to use hand tools—how to bend things, tighten things, cut things—how to work with their hands. Working with models has really helped me improve my own skills that I use in my remodeling business,” said Volkommer.

A life-long radio controlled car enthusiast, he teaches kids to assemble, modify, and build hobby-grade radio controlled cars.

“It can be assembly projects or custom-built bodies, and it’s also repairs and maintenance,” he said. “They are hobby grade cars, so all the parts are interchangeable.”

This summer, Pop-Up Rally will be conducting a summer enrichment program at SUNY Adirondack. Designed for children ages 8 and up, participants will learn to build, repair, and race radio controlled cars.

After the cars are built, they will be raced on an elaborate rally-style race track, one based off the renowned Dakar Rally. The track includes many obstacles including jumps, turns, and bridges. It can be configured in a multitude of ways.

Aneesa Waheed Honored With Small Business Person Of The Year Award For New York State

April 17, 2024

Honoree Aneesa Waheed is the owner of six Tara Kitchen restaurants.
Courtesy of Tara Kitchen

By Susan Elise Campbell

Aneesa Waheed has come a long way since she and her husband began selling Moroccan-Indian fusion dishes at a farmer’s market in 2008. Now the owner of six Tara Kitchen restaurants, Waheed is the recipient of the New York Small Business Person of the Year Award for 2024.

This year’s award winner runs a woman-owned, minority-owned string of eateries that extend from Schenectady to India. There are more than two million small businesses and potential candidates in New York, but the honor goes to the Capital Region entrepreneur.

“It’s great to be nominated and shocking to have won,” she said. “I feel honored and humbled.”

Waheed was nominated by Keri Pratico, who is currently senior business development officer for Pursuit and who was approached by Waheed 15 years ago seeking a small business loan for her New York City restaurant.

“Back then, the Tara Kitchen empire of today felt like a distant dream,” said Pratico. “Anyone who knows Aneesa isn’t surprised that her tenacity and dedication have led her to this award.”

“I’m thrilled to see her recognized on the national stage,” Pratico said.

Dr. Bridget Nettleton Is Honored Through The Establishment Of A Memorial Scholarship

April 17, 2024

Empire State University has announced a memorial scholarship in honor of Dr. Bridget Nettleton, the founding Dean of the School of Nursing. The scholarship honors Dr. Nettleton’s work in nursing, bridging the gap between health care and academia by supporting nursing education, building a pipeline for new nurses, and promoting nurse retention and advancement in the field.

Her career started in nursing as a Staff Nurse at St. Clare’s Hospital. She began her journey as a nurse educator and became the Assistant Director at Albany Medical Center and then a Director for the School of Nursing at Samaritan Hospital. From there, she held several positions at Excelsior University in the School of Nursing: Nurse Educator, Associate Dean, Interim Dean, and her greatest accomplishment, Dean. She then took a position at Empire State University as Dean for the School of Nursing and Allied Health.

In addition to this new opportunity for students, members of the university community will also be able to help make a difference through SUNY Empire’s Day of Giving: Go Higher for Empire.

The Practitioners Of Occupational Medicine Ensure Employees’ Safety In The Workplace

April 17, 2024

Dr. Michael Holland heads an occupational medicine team at Saratoga Hospital.
Courtesy of Saratoga Hospital

By Jill Nagy

Dr. Michael Holland heads a medical team headquartered at Saratoga Hospital that looks after the medical needs of companies and their employees. From modest beginnings as company doctors, occupational medicine, Dr. Holland’s specialty, has developed into a board-certified field of medicine.

Dr. Holland began his medical career as an emergency room physician but, during off hours, the emergency room also served as the hospital’s occupational health office. After 18 years in the emergency room, and with a young family, he no longer wanted to work nights and weekends. Therefore, he undertook another residency and, since 1994, has been an occupational medicine specialist.

His field aims to meet the health and safety needs of business customers. Services include pre-employment examinations to make sure a candidate can do the job safely. He checks for illicit drug use, but also for such things as the ability to use a respirator mask for a job that requires one. For bus drivers, Dr. Holland assures that they can meet federal and New York State requirements. Basically, Dr. Holland explained, he tries to assure that a prospective employee will not be a danger to himself or others.

Carrying Cyber Liability Insurance Becoming Increasingly Important In The Internet Age

April 17, 2024

Jeremy Deason, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter at Associates of Glens Falls Insurance.
Courtesy of Associates of Glens Falls

By Christine Graf

With cyberattacks against small businesses on the rise in recent years, it is more important than ever for companies to have cyber liability insurance policies.

According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, 46 percent of all cyber breaches impact businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees. In 2020, there were over 700,000 attacks against small businesses, resulting in $2.8 billion in damages.

“We’ve been dealing with cyber liability insurance for about 10 years, but it hasn’t been until the last five years that it has become more mainstream. Every business should have a general liability policy as well as a cyber liability policy,” said Jeremy Deason, a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and account executive at Associates of Glens Falls Insurance, an independently-owned insurance agency that writes policies throughout the United States.

When cyber liability was in its infancy, policies were purchased primarily by companies that accepted credit cards or other digital forms of payment. These policies cover credit card breaches as well as the costs associated with providing data monitoring to customers.

The Recently Launched Impact Club Seeking Volunteers For Special Olympics New York

April 17, 2024

Special Olympics New York is launching a new volunteer club as charity organizations across the country celebrate National Volunteer Month this April. Members of the all-new Impact Club will help drive the inclusion of people with disabilities in communities across the state by performing administrative tasks via phone and email on behalf of Special Olympics New York. Volunteers will not be asked to solicit cash donations.

Volunteers interested in joining the Impact Club are asked to contact impact@nyso.org for more information.

“Special Olympics New York is an incredible organization that allows people with disabilities to discover the champion within – it’s a critical service that would not be possible without the thousands of New Yorkers who volunteer to support our athletes,” said Special Olympics New York President & CEO Stacey Hengsterman. “We are humbled and extremely grateful for the invaluable contributions of our coaches and event volunteers. We look forward to celebrating these individuals throughout Volunteer Month and to welcoming new ambassadors of inclusion who join the Impact Club.”

“I can’t wait to work with our Impact Club volunteers to support my fellow athletes and bring the magic of Special Olympics to even more families across New York,” said Capital Region Athlete & Special Olympics NY Awareness Coordinator Jude Killar. “On behalf of all the athletes, thank you to the current volunteers who help us out all year. You are our champions!”

Impact Club volunteers will be eligible for Community Service credit hours. Tasks will be assigned monthly, with an anticipated time commitment of at least two hours per week. The ideal Impact Club volunteer is organized, friendly, patient and professional.

Business Report: Business Planning Is Not Just For January

April 17, 2024

Michael Cruz is president of Lighthouse Advisors LLC in Queensbury.

By Michael Cruz

Every January we work on resolutions. Business planning often tops the list of things we want to do better. There are numerous articles about the coming year and predictions from experts. If you did a solid planning effort – great! If not, do not wait for the next new year.

This takes some work and should be done outside of your office in a planned event. The best planning events also bring in facilitators. A facilitator is someone outside your company who can discussions focused and move you through a solid process. Many of these discussions can become contentious. And, a good facilitator will make sure that everyone contributes and get you more buy-in from your leadership team.

A solid key to good planning is working on a SWOT with your leadership team. SWOT analysis is a framework for identifying and analyzing an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The primary goal of SWOT analysis is to increase awareness of the factors that go establishing a business strategy.

Strengths are those things that your company is good at. Often, they are things that make you stand out from your competitors. Weaknesses are those things that we should get better at. Opportunities are those things answered by the question ‘What if?’ For example what if we were able to add a new product offering? Finally, Threats are those things that are outside our control. For Threats we want (later) to have mitigation strategies. Examples include macro economic questions of the economy slowing down, government regulations and the like.

Artisan Trails In Washington County To Host Weekend Of Celebration Of Local Talent

April 17, 2024

Some of the craft items made by Kris Gregson Moss, co-founder of Artisan Trails in Washington County, will be on display during the celebration of talent.
Courtesy of Kris Gregson Moss

Artists and artisans are invited to participate in a weekend of celebration of the talent in Washington County from July 13-14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The sixth annual Artisan Trails in Washington County is a weekend of open studios and mini vendor fairs.

Artists and artisans are invited to apply by May 15 online at www.artisan-trails.org.

New this year, “hubs,” such as breweries, galleries, shops, etc. will host multiple artisans and artists at their location on the open studios tour, along with live demonstrations, plein aire painting and workshops. For more information on becoming a Hub location the application is available on the website.

This year, the event is organized by Karen and Steve Mattison with Kris Gregson Moss, who co-founded the Artisan Trails in Washington County in 2018 with Susan Whiting.

Artisan Trails in Washington County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the rich talent pool of Washington County in showcasing the beauty, history, and diverse artisanal skill sets which exist within our borders.