Trends
Latest news and trends in the small business economy
Get Your Business Out of Its Midlife Crisis
At some point in the life of every company, the pace slows, activities become mundane, and owners may start to feel like they’re just going through the motions. The trick …
What Small-Business Owners Should Know about IFTTT
Is your digital life a disorganized mess? You may want to give IFTTT a try. The free service could help you manage that growing swarm of stuff you do online. …
4 Online Security Reminders for Small-Business Owners
A journalist getting hacked by online crooks may not attract the attention of other busy small-business owners. Yet Wired senior writer Mat Honan’s story — who says his “entire digital life …
What’s in Your Small-Business ‘Toolbox’?
From social networks to mobile apps, the digital tools at your disposal are numerous and varied. But with so many resources at the ready, how can you be sure that …
CEO Marcel Fairbairn: Hire Wisely, Move Quickly, and Simplify Everything
Marcel Fairbairn is a 20-year veteran of the entertainment-lighting industry. As a teenager, Fairbairn was a singer and bass player for several Canadian heavy rock bands. At age 19, he sold …
Must-Reads: A List of Classic Business Books
What constitutes a “classic” business book? Wisdom? Influence? Staying power? Any one of those qualities — or all three — can make for a great read. Here are a few …
The Modern Small-Business Owner
Owning a small business has never been for the faint of heart, and over the past decade radical shifts in government policy, the financial world, and technology (particularly how we …
Avoid These Common Startup Mistakes
Few things are more exciting for budding entrepreneurs than coming up with a great idea for a new business. After all, “great idea” equals “instant profit,” right? Not necessarily. If …
8 Rules of Etiquette for Working in Coffee Shops
Your favorite coffeehouse isn’t really your “second office.” It’s someone else’s actual business. Whether you’re using your favorite java joint as your makeshift office space — or just spending a …
Small-Business Rebound: Retail Sales Up as Consumers Resume Spending
It’s no secret that small businesses were hit hard during the recession, as consumers put off buying nonessential goods and services. But many sectors are now seeing a rebound in …
Pop-Up Restaurants May Be Temporary, But Trend Is Here to Stay
From Seattle to Kansas City to New York, temporary restaurants are popping up all over the U.S., and the trend — unlike the eateries — appears to be here to …
4 Tips for Reinventing Your Business
More than half of small-business owners say they’ve reinvented their company to “stay afloat or competitive,” according to a survey released by Citibank in June. Its findings suggest that the …
Mitch Gordon on the Challenges of a Student CEO
Mitch Gordon is president and co-founder of GoOverseas.com, a startup that helps people find academic, volunteer, internship, and other programs abroad. It’s no surprise that he’s putting in long hours …
6 Mobile Apps for Keeping Time Cards or Tracking Billable Hours
Ever feel like you don’t have a good handle on time — when you ought to be tracking employee working hours or your own billable hours for clients? You can …
How to Homeschool Your Kids while Running a Business
Homeschooling is becoming an increasingly viable alternative to public schooling. Between 1999 and 2007 (the most recent year for which data is available), the number of homeschooled children nearly doubled, …
