Conferences are opportunities for technology entrepreneurs and start-ups to look for co-founders, investors and partners. They also provide a forum for established businesses to showcase their services and products, as well as share best practice. An international centre for business and innovation, New York City hosts several technology conferences each year.

Social Media Week

Social Media Week spurs a worldwide conversation about connecting the world through technology. Events are held in 18 cities including London, Mumbai, Chicago, Sydney, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Milan and Jakarta. The theme for 2016 is ‘The Invisible Hand’, and events will delve into the hidden forces of technology and look at ways to harness them for good. Now in its eight year, Social Media Week New York attracts thousands of marketing, media and technology professionals. Held at The TimesCenter and the SVA Theatre from February 22 to 26, the expected line-up of 230 speakers include New York Times Company CEO Mark Thompson, CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen, and Refinery29 co-founder Philippe von Borries. Go to http://socialmediaweek.org/newyork for more information. (Twitter: @smwnyc)

Techweek NYC

The fourth annual Techweek NYC takes place from October 10 to 16. At previous events, key note speakers included Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Buzzfeed founder Jonah Peretti. The event attracts businesses and innovators from every aspect of the technology sector, from Fortune 500 CEOs sharing their success stories to start-ups looking for investors. Techweek also includes events in Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City and Toronto. Speaker sessions showcase breakthrough trends and success stories to educate delegates on what is relevant and innovative. The Entrepreneur Expo is an opportunity for companies to present their services and provide advice to tech entrepreneurs and start-ups, while the launch Competition reveals the best new businesses in the New York area. Several events are also hosted by sponsors and partners. For further information go to www.techweek.com/newyork. (Twitter: @TechweekNYC)

In a global mega city like New York, keeping up to date with the latest developments in the world of business is essential to keep your enterprise relevant and ensure continued success. Below is a list of just some of the top business conferences being held in the New York area in 2016.

Mobile Innovation Summit

@iegroup

March 10-11, 2016

The Sheraton in New York

Key Speakers include:

• Christophe Gillet (Vimeo)
• Steve Holland (Match.com)
• Jenny Gove (Google)

Event Summary:

Companies looking to benefit from mobile computing advertising get the chance to talk to the companies that are creating new ways to utilize this growing marketing platform.

With the Christmas holiday quickly approaching, many business owners and managers are thinking about the office Christmas party. There is always a question on what to do, how to structure the party, and what to eat. The planning process often becomes excessive and stressful making the Christmas party a chore instead of a celebration.

The truth is, the annual Christmas party does not have to be an elaborate occasion filled with mind numbing “get to know your co-worker” games and tasteless finger foods. Your office Christmas party can be a fun and relaxing occasion that leaves everyone feeling good.

Setting The Time And Date

Business owners must take into account that their employees are also planning their own holidays at home. Having the party too close to the holidays could place everyone in a stressful mood. Opt for a time near the beginning of December when everyone is not feeling the holiday stress. This also helps your business if you are scheduling the party off site. By planning your party early in December you will avoid many holiday pricing schedules.

Thanksgiving has always been a popular holiday. Setting aside a day where families can come together and be thankful for each other and all that they have is truly wonderful. In fact, people hold this holiday so dear that more people travel to be with their families on Thanksgiving than any other holiday.

Transferring this great feeling over to the office is easy with a little planning. The gathering can result in a true bonding experience among employees and raise office moral. Following these simple tips can help you create the perfect Thanksgiving gathering for your office or business.

Be Thankful for Each Other

While it may be tempting to turn this event into a be thankful for your job, it should be more centered on being thankful for everyone who contributes to the success of the office or business. Everyone should realize that they are appreciated and should also be able to express their gratitude for the people they work with each day. It is a true morale booster and creates a wonderful experience for the party.

Make the Dinner Personal

While turkey is traditional and should be available, encourage employees to bring a dish that is special to their family or traditions for this holiday. This allows employees to bring some of their personal life and heritage to the gathering, making it a more personal experience. Make sure that you have enough side dishes and desserts to make everyone happy and be sure to ask if there are any special dietary needs that should be met so that everyone is included.

Hold the Party the Week Before the Holiday

It is probably very wise to hold the office Thanksgiving party a week before the real holiday. This ensures that employees are not over stressed from having to make plans and run errands for their own holiday at home. Some businesses may even want to opt for a weekend party when employee family members can also attend.

Business in the Bronx

One of New York City’s five boroughs, The Bronx is one of the most densely populated counties in the United States. The borough is also home to the New York Botanical Garden, Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Zoo, and other famous parks and attractions. With a population of more than 1.4 million people, the Bronx is a mix of European, African American and Caribbean cultures and the birthplace of hip hop. Since the late 1980s, the area has seen significant revitalization and development focusing on new housing. In more recent years, formerly vacant lots in South Bronx are being redeveloped for residential and commercial use.

The Bronx’s Economy

The Bronx is primarily a residential borough, and its economy is focused on local markets. The borough’s economy is service oriented with a majority of private sector sobs within the service sector. Health care, trade, education, and social services account for nearly half of all private sector jobs in the Bronx. In terms of population and employment, the borough is growing. After seeing significant decline up until the 1980s, the Bronx added 53,600 jobs between 1983 and 2012 – an increase of 33 per cent. Since 1980, the Bronx’s population has increased by 20 per cent.

The number of businesses also rose by 26 per cent between 1990 and 2011, with the largest growth in the South Bronx. Most businesses in the area are small, with about two-thirds employment less than five employees. Approximately 80 per cent of businesses in the Bronx employ less than ten employees. Most businesses are in the retail sector, followed by real estate.

In a city like New York, a constant round of business planning and development is the rule, rather than the exception. New York City is comprised of five boroughs, each of which competes for market share of technology business initiatives to increase employment, as well as to create a solid business base.

The Boom in New York City Tech Initiatives

One of former Mayor Bloomberg’s major initiatives was to create greater competition with Silicon Valley by providing funding for hi tech industries in New York City. Mayor di Blasio has continued this trend to New York City’s advantage. New York City has continued to extend tax breaks to attract technology companies, with Buzzfeed being granted a four million dollar tax credit at the end of Decemeber, 2014,  for its new 194, 000 sq/ft headquarters. Another company to benefit from a tax break was Etsy, with a five million dollar tax break and 200, 000 sq/ft of office space in Brooklyn.

More than $1.7 billion has been acquired through venture capital investments, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, a rise of 138 percent. Evidently, tech initiatives and media disciplines are aiming to help New York City achieve goals competitive with the rest of the world.

Staten Island, although the smallest borough of New York City with a population of less than 500,000 people, has shown many positive signs of growth in recent times.

Major Economic Drivers For Staten Island

The slower acclimation of technology start-ups into the Staten Island community in comparison to the other four New York boroughs means that the area predominantly relies on other economic drivers to grow and sustain its economy, although this is starting to change.

One of the faster growing economic drivers for Staten Island is tourism. The VisitStatenIsland.com website was started in 2009 to help drive more tourism revenue to the area and the initial results indicate that visitors are responding.

The main economic driver for Staten Island remains its healthcare system. One of the more unique aspects of Staten Island is that it runs its own hospitals and is completely independent of the New York City government. Health research and healthcare remain a prime economic factor for  Staten Island residents.

Primary Industries And Employers For Staten Island

The most prominent industry on Staten Island is healthcare. Richmond University Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital are two of the larger employers on the island for a variety of trades and professions.

Running a close second as far as dominant industries on Staten Island is the financial sales and insurance industries. There are nearly as many people employed in the financial and insurance industries on Staten Island as there are in healthcare.

Business Funding Opportunities On Staten Island

Queens, is a borough of New York City with well over two million residents, which continues to enjoy the second largest economy of the five New York Boroughs.

Main Economic Drivers In Queens

Queens boasts the most diversified economy in NYC, with no single dominant industry. One of the key drivers of the economy in Queens economy is the airline industry, which shows persistent growth year on year. Health and social care, busines services and  retail trade continue to boost the economy.

Like the other four boroughs of New York City, has benefited significantly from the Start-Up NY program. Thanks to the availability of state resources to technology and medical start-ups, Queens has seen a sharp rise in the number of new entrepreneurs who have come into the area.

After suffering the negative impact of the financial recession, the city of New York seems to be back on track with regards to economic and business growth. In particular, the borough of Manhattan is considered the economic engine of this US city. For decades, Manhattan has enjoyed a reputation for being one of the world’s top business locations thanks to positive factors like the relatively low cost of doing business and a highly skilled and educated workforce. All these factors impact the commercial real estate market. To learn more, read through our overview of the local commercial property market and through our insights into the office sub-sector.

An overview of the Manhattan commercial property market

Even during the worst of the recession, the real estate market in Manhattan experienced below-average decline rates. Low unemployment rates have helped keep the local commercial property market healthy, and in fact, 2014 was consider a banner year for the real estate market in Manhattan. A New York Times article affirmed that the recent market rebound has brought transaction levels very close to pre-2008 rates, mainly thanks to the strong performance of the retail and office sub-sectors.

Since 2012, nearly 60,000 new jobs have been created in and around Manhattan, with the vast majority of them being office based. This fact has been consistently boosting demand for suitable office space, generating opportunities for increased activity levels and for the creation of new office developments. In addition, in July 2014 real estate analysts predicted that within the following two years, more than 1.55 million square feet of brand new retail space would be delivered within the boundaries of Manhattan, mainly around Fulton Street and South Street Seaport.

Manhattan been New York City’s most successful borough for a quite some time. One of the reasons for Manhattan’s success is its ports and trade businesses. Along with the incoming and outgoing trade, there are the associated business that pop up such as customs brokers and trade agents. Thanks to its seaports, Manhattan has always had a strong financial foundation to rely on.

Manhattan is also known for its skyscrapers and dynamic downtown region. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 destroyed the World Trade center and its iconic Twin Towers. But in place of the destruction, another iconic Manhattan office complex has risen and stands as a testament to the durability of the Manhattan economy. With so much going for it at any given time, it is easy to understand why people are so excited about the economic future of Manhattan.

Main Economic Drivers In Manhattan

The seaports are always alive with activity, but the main economic driver in Manhattan is its downtown real estate. When the real estate values in Manhattan fell in 2011, the area experienced a financial challenge that saw a major part of its economy go stagnant. But as downtown property values increase, so do the fortunes of the Manhattan economy.

Another economic driver for Manhattan has been the significant success of the Start-Up NY campaign. This is an initiative by New York State to entice technology and medical start-ups to base themselves in New York State colleges and other parts of the state. The result has been a significant increase in technology companies in Manhattan’s downtown office spaces and this new influx of business is driving up the real estate prices.