Happy Small Business Week! We are entering the 3rd day of the Small Business Week, and I’ve found some interesting updates throughout the U.S. This year’s Small Business Week is special, as for the first time, it’s held in 5 cities: Seattle (June 17,) Dallas (June 18,) St. Louis (June 19,) Pittsburgh (June 20,) and…

Want More Loyal Customers? Just Smile!
Small business owners – are you looking for ways to attract more repeat business? The solution might not be as complex as you might have thought; a recent study carried out by Kingston Business School’s Small Business Research Centre reveals that a warm smile and a friendly hello are two of the most common reasons…

Fact: There are 1,500 SMBs for every 1 Big Business in the U.S.
While browsing for interesting updates on SMBs, I stumbled on a recent article on Entrepreneur.com. It contains an infographic published by Sage, one of the leading business management software companies. The infographic is basically an overview on their recent survey conducted on May 2013, polling nearly a thousand U.S. small business owners. The findings are…

Running a small factory is not easy. Aside from the continuous investment on equipments, you need to seriously consider the wastes – how to manage them so that they won’t harm local area. However, there is one business worth mentioning: IceStone, LLC. Headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, Ice Stone is one of the victims of the…

Cautiously Optimistic: Small Business Owners Take Less Risks in 2013
The latest small business study from The Hartford reveals that small business owners are becoming increasingly more conservative with their risk taking endeavor. The Hartford’s Small Business Pulse, a study on 1,000 small business owners, shows some interesting findings, most notably the tendency for them to playing it safer with their business decision making. The…

Your necessity can be a major drive to starting up a small business and opening up the door to success. Just ask A.J. Forsythe, the Founder and CEO of iCracked. Indeed, iCracked was born out of a necessity. A.J. has this habit of breaking his iPhone screen, and finally fed up paying $200 for a…

Ugly Small Business Website Won’t Attract Customers
I have visited so many websites – including small business websites – on daily basis, mainly looking for information and checking out some great feature the websites have. Unfortunately, I often find myself lost in my search. Disappointed. Why? Honestly, many of the small business websites I visited are simply, um, not well-designed. Some are…

Small Businesses Hires 58,000 Employees in May 2013 (But Unemployment Slightly Rose)
There is a mixed feeling reading the news today for small business jobs. Firstly, it was encouraging to know that small businesses attracted 58,000 employees in May 2013. Overall, private-sector employment is increasing by 135,000. The figure is better than last month’s 49,000, but still way lower than March’s 72,000. Overall, it looks good, although…

“Made in USA” is a re-ignited trend sweeping across the U.S. Small businesses and their customers are becoming big fans of everything U.S.-made, from the supplies to the finished goods. While that is good enough for U.S. companies and consumers, some small businesses take things a step further: They export U.S.-made products to International customers.…