Business Profiles
Case Studies of Successful Small Businesses
How Juice It Up Survived 79 Store Closings
Many people must cope with financial hardships, health problems, personal tragedies, and so on. Small-business owners are no exception. In fact, when these types of challenges occur, entrepreneurs often bear …
Expanding Your Social Media Mix: How to Squeeze In Pinterest
On Squeeze In’s Pinterest page, the family-owned restaurant business already has 12 boards and 263 pins — from photographs of sumptuous breakfasts to scenic shots of the Lake Tahoe area, …
5 Ways Bacon Is Sizzling for Creative Entrepreneurs
Reading the nutrition facts for bacon should be enough to make health-conscious Americans avoid it forever. Yet people can’t seem to keep their mouths off the fatty and salty pork product. …
Eco-Business Owner Jeremy Litchfield Turns Trash into Treasure
Five years ago, a personal experience inspired Jeremy Litchfield to launch his own line of high-performance athletic gear. The avid runner had worn a new running shirt for the first …
How Annie’s Built Its Brand on Natural Ingredients
When it comes to soups, cereals, and crackers, U.S. consumers may choose among dozens of retail products. Most chain grocers stock big-name brands, such as Kraft, Kellogg’s, and Campbell’s. So, …
How Hiya Tea Used Kickstarter to Turn an Invention into a Business
Dr. Tetsuo Nakatsu has been inventing products for years, first as a scientist for a large research firm that created flavors and fragrances for companies like P&G, Unilever, and L’Oreal, …
How Pinterest Drives One Jewelry Designer’s Sales
In just a few months, Pinterest has gone from relative obscurity to surpassing Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube in referral traffic. Pinterest is still used mostly by consumers (particularly women in …
Happy Customers (and Their Referrals) Keep This Dentist Smiling
When patients shop around for a new dentist, they tend to look for credentials, accolades, and longevity. Nashua, N.H.-based dentist Stephen Ura has all of the above: He’s maintained a …
South America Lures Silicon Valley Tech Startups
Silicon Valley continues to be a hotbed for technology innovation, but if you want to start a new tech company without spending a fortune on office space and salaries, and …
Lucky Ant’s Jonathan Moyal on Crowdfunding for Small Businesses
For several years, independent artists, writers, and musicians have used crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to raise capital for upcoming projects. Now, Jonathan Moyal’s startup, Lucky Ant, is …
For Humphry Slocombe, Twitter is the Cherry on Top of the Ice Cream
How does a local ice cream parlor transcend the plain-vanilla archetype? By not serving plain vanilla, for starters. Sure, purists can find mainstays like chocolate and mint chip on the …
Eric Kent Wine Cellars Survives Recession with Craftsmanship (and a Little Luck)
The wine business was booming in 2002 when Kent Humphrey sold his advertising company and invested in starting Eric Kent Wine Cellars. Unbeknown to him, the global financial crisis lurked just …
Lessons from The Wiggles’ Big Branding Mistake
As the mother of a 2-year-old, The Wiggles are a familiar presence on my TV. So, I winced at the recent news that the jolly entertainers had ousted lead singer …
How One Independent Bookstore Survives and Thrives in Tough Times
Digital publishing, intense competition from Amazon.com, and other factors have made it more difficult than ever for small bookstores to turn a profit. Even large national chains have struggled, sometimes …
How to Run a Small Business While Traveling the World
Betsy and Warren Talbot (pictured) wanted to travel the world for five years. In order to live their dream, they got rid of most of their possessions, including their house, …
