Small Business News and Advocacy

Glendale California: America’s Retail Test Kitchen

The Los Angeles enclave was home to the first stores of what became huge national chains: Bob’s Big Boy, Baskin-Robbins and Panda Express. Its Artsakh District is incubating the next generation of small businesses with big ambitions.

Seasonal Businesses See Foreign Work Permit Supply Increase, Preserving Summer Profits

Resorts and summer restaurants that lost workers in the pandemic compete for seasonal labor on special work visas. Their summer profits depend on it.

DTC, Meet B-and-M: Digital Native Brands Go Indoors

After online-only success, direct-to-consumer brands embrace brick-and-mortar retail locations for continued growth.

Business Plans, Networks and Capital: Goldman Sachs Program Helps Small Businesses Grow

Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses Summit was an affirmation that small business remains the backbone of the economy. Their message: small business owners need knowledge and networks to grow and perform at their best. 

National Black Business Month Gives Small Businesses a Boost

A groundswell of support for Black-owned small businesses is giving National Black Business Month increased clout, and it’s evident everywhere from a South Carolina cafe counter to TikTok to the federal government.

Small Businesses Can Tackle Omnichannel as Well as Their National Chain Competitors

Retailers continue to tinker with the omnichannel formula: seamless customer engagement across all sales channels, inventory consistency between online availability and brick-and-mortar stock and distinctive shopping experiences. It’s now easier to build an omnichannel lifeboat, whether for a national chain or a single store.

Alaska Opening Puts SBA’s Women’s Business Centers in All 50 States

With the Anchorage, Alaska opening of the 141st Women’s Business Center nationwide, the Small Business Administration now provides women entrepreneurs resources to start and scale small businesses in every state and U.S. territory.

Small Business Owners Show More Confidence as Price Hikes Ease

Small business owners still see inflation as their greatest challenge, but fewer are raising prices to keep pace with the costs of doing business. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.4 points in July to 89.9. S

How Restaurants Are Moving Forward After the Pandemic

The restaurant business is tough in the best of times. As another summer of COVID looms, affecting dining and travel plans, the best of times has not returned. Still, within the industry, there’s a bit of cautious optimism – and no small amount of pride – just for having survived.