Getting Started

After a period of relative stability, the national average for a gallon of gasoline has climbed by 4 cents over the past week, reaching $3.12, according to AAA. The price increase comes despite crude oil prices remaining below $70 per barrel and is largely attributed to the seasonal transition to summer-blend gasoline, which is more expensive to produce due to its reduced volatility in warm temperatures. The national average for public electric vehicle (EV) charging remained unchanged at 34 cents per kilowatt hour. Supply and Demand Factors New data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows a decline in gasoline demand, which dropped from 9.18 million barre…

As small businesses grow their size, project management becomes an increasingly important part of the process. It’s easy to deviate from a standard process when there’s only one employee, or a small handful, but trying to herd a team of dozens or hundreds is impossible without tools to guide them along the same path. Good news: While product management software may seem like the domain of enterprise organizations, small businesses stand to benefit substantially from this offering. Use cases abound, starting with setting up a small business itself. New owners can leverage the software to track and comply with legal requirements, maintain visibility into tax preparation, …

The City of Long Beach is now accepting applications for its Visual Improvement Program (VIP) Grant, a financial assistance initiative offering up to $1,500 to small businesses and nonprofits impacted by crime or vandalism occurring on or after October 1, 2022. The grant aims to help cover the cost of storefront repairs, boarding, insurance deductibles, and operating expenses. Applications are open on a rolling basis and will remain available until all funding is exhausted. Awards will be issued as funds become accessible, and applicants will be notified if additional information is required during the review process. The City states that a minimum of 50% of grant award…

Key Takeaways Engage Customers with Events: Hosting events, such as seasonal promotions and holiday-themed activities, creates memorable experiences that attract foot traffic and foster customer loyalty. Leverage Local Collaborations: Partnering with local businesses for joint events can amplify visibility, enhance community ties, and drive traffic to your store through shared audiences. Support Community Causes: Organizing charity events around local nonprofits can enhance your store’s reputation while demonstrating commitment to community welfare, helping customers connect with your brand on a deeper level. Offer Educational Experiences: Workshops and demonstratio…

Key Takeaways Importance of Feedback: Restaurant survey questions are essential for gathering customer insights that enhance their experience and drive repeat business. Types of Questions: Focused surveys, including customer satisfaction, service quality, and food quality questions, provide targeted feedback that can inform your business decisions. Effective Design: Clear, concise questions and the use of scales or ratings improve response quality and simplify analysis, leading to actionable insights. Data Analysis: Evaluating survey responses helps identify trends and areas for improvement in service and food offerings, allowing for better operational strategies. …

Key Takeaways Market Understanding: The global footwear market is valued at approximately $365 billion, growing at a CAGR of nearly 5.4%, highlighting the importance of identifying lucrative niches within the industry. Trends for Success: Stay ahead by leveraging key trends such as sustainability, e-commerce, customization, and digital marketing to enhance brand visibility and consumer appeal. Niche Definition: Clearly define your target market, focusing on specific segments like athletic, luxury, or eco-friendly shoes to differentiate your brand and tailor your product offerings. Effective Planning: Developing a comprehensive business plan that outlines your model,…

Key Takeaways Recognize Early Red Flags: Identifying warning signs during the hiring and onboarding processes can prevent costly mistakes later on. Focus on Communication Skills: Poor communication can hinder teamwork; evaluate candidates for clear articulation and active listening. Review Work History Carefully: Inconsistent job history may indicate reliability issues; probe for reasons behind frequent job changes or gaps. Assess Attitude and Preparedness: A negative mindset or lack of interview preparation can reflect potential future performance problems or poor fit with company values. Monitor Cultural Fit and Collaboration: During onboarding, observe how well …

Business communications and collaboration face big changes and a software tool from Zoho leads the way. Zoho Cliq changes the way teams communicate and work together even at great distances. “Zoho Cliq is a part of the Unified Communication and Collaboration stack. It basically helps teams work together more efficiently by integrating all your communication and collaboration needs into one platform,” explains Shanthana Lakshmi S, Senior Marketing Analyst for Zoho Cliq. How Technology Forces Changes in Communications and Collaboration One big change involves how close in proximity team members need to be in physical space. Take a look at this example. You come into th…

OpenAI has launched its most advanced image generation technology to date, integrating the capability directly into GPT-4o, its natively multimodal model. The new feature is now rolling out to Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users in ChatGPT, with Enterprise and Edu access coming soon. Developers will also gain access via the API in the coming weeks. OpenAI stated, “At OpenAI, we have long believed image generation should be a primary capability of our language models. That’s why we’ve built our most advanced image generator yet into GPT-4o. The result—image generation that is not only beautiful, but useful.” Multimodal, Context-Aware Image Creation The image generation tool …

Private sector employment in the United States grew by 155,000 jobs in March, while annual pay increased 4.6% year-over-year, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report produced in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The report offers a high-frequency, independent view of the labor market using anonymized payroll data from more than 25 million U.S. employees. “Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March topline number was a good one for the economy and employers of all sizes, if not necessarily all sectors,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. Job Gains by Sector and Region March’s job grow…

The City of Raleigh has opened the fourth and final application cycle for its 2025 Facade Rehabilitation Grant Program, a long-standing initiative designed to support exterior improvements to commercial properties across the city. Applications for this round opened on Thursday, April 3, and will be accepted through Sunday, April 27. Award notifications are expected by Friday, May 16. Originally launched in the 1980s, the Facade Rehabilitation Grant Program provides matching reimbursement grants of up to $10,000 for eligible small business owners and property owners to enhance the exteriors of their buildings. The program aims to stimulate economic activity and revitalize…

The build-to-rent (BTR) housing market continued its upward surge in 2024, reaching a historic milestone with 39,000 new single-family rentals completed across the United States, according to a new report from Point2Homes. Based on Yardi Matrix data as of March 2025, this figure marks a 15.5% increase over 2023 and underscores the sector’s rapid growth since the pandemic era, when completions hovered around 6,000 to 7,000 units annually. Point2Homes’ analysis highlights how the BTR model—which merges the low-maintenance appeal of rentals with the space and privacy of detached homes—has evolved into one of the fastest-growing segments of single-family home construction. T…

Wix has announced the launch of Astro, a new AI-powered business assistant designed to streamline site and business management for users of the Wix and Wix Studio platforms. Astro integrates directly into the Wix dashboard, enabling users to perform various tasks and access essential tools through a chat-based interface. According to the company, Astro is the first in a planned series of AI agents aimed at enhancing user productivity and helping businesses grow. The assistant is designed to simplify operations by offering real-time insights, guiding users to relevant tools and features, and facilitating app installations and package upgrades. “Astro seamlessly integrate…

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has introduced a series of new verification protocols aimed at preventing fraud within its loan programs and ensuring that financial support reaches only eligible American small business owners. The changes follow recent findings by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which uncovered widespread abuse of SBA loan programs. According to data from the U.S. Social Security Administration, over $630 million in loans were granted to applicants with birthdates suggesting they were either younger than 11 or older than 115 years old. Key measures now in place include citizenship and date-of-birth verification as part of th…

Key Takeaways Growing Industry Demand: The market for painting services is expanding, making a painting franchise a lucrative business opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs.Established Support System: Joining a reputable franchise provides access to a tested business model, comprehensive training, and ongoing operational support, which helps navigate the complexities of running a business effectively.Low Startup Costs: Painting franchises typically require lower initial investments compared to other businesses, reducing entry barriers and associated risks.Brand Recognition: Franchisees benefit from established brand recognition, which helps attract customers, build cre…

Key Takeaways Understanding profitability is essential for gauging your small business’s financial health and making informed decisions.Effective budgeting techniques and regular expense reviews can maximize profit margins and facilitate growth.Implementing optimal pricing strategies ensures you attract customers while covering costs and achieving desired profit margins.Enhancing sales through upselling and cross-selling, along with leveraging digital marketing, drives customer engagement and increases revenue.Identifying and eliminating unnecessary expenses is critical for cost management, ensuring your funds are directed toward growth initiatives.Streamlining operatio…

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Monday that all individuals and businesses across Arkansas affected by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding beginning April 2, 2025, now qualify for federal tax relief. As part of this relief, tax deadlines originally scheduled between April 2 and November 3, 2025, have been postponed until November 3, 2025. The tax relief applies to all 75 counties in Arkansas, following the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) designation of the entire state as a disaster area. The IRS emphasized that the current list of eligible localities is maintained on the Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page at IRS.gov. Extended Deadlines …

A lot of small business owners feel shame when their company fails because they link who they are so much with their business. This is compounded when they lose money from people they know. What do we do with this shame? On The Small Business Radio show this week, I interviewed Dr. Abbie Maroño who has a new book called “Work in Progress: The Road to Empowerment, The Journey Through Shame” which offers a fresh perspective on the often-overlooked role of shame in personal growth. She explains that shame is a powerful emotion tied to our sense of self. For entrepreneurs, the line between personal identity and business success is often blurred, making failures feel deeply p…

A new study by Flatworld Solutions shows that remote work in the United States continues to gain momentum in 2025, even as some major companies reinstate return-to-office (RTO) mandates. The research, which analyzed telework trends across demographics, industries, and regions between 2022 and 2025, paints a complex picture of an evolving workforce adapting to the opportunities and challenges of distributed work. According to the report, overall telework adoption increased from 19.9% in October 2022 to 23.6% in January 2025, an 18.6% rise. As of early 2025, 12.5% of American workers were teleworking some hours, while 11.1% worked remotely full-time. Interest in remote wor…

Nimble, a CRM platform tailored to small businesses and marketing professionals, has introduced its new Email Marketing feature, enabling users to conduct large-scale, HTML-powered, and trackable email campaigns directly from within the platform. The feature, announced on April 3, 2025, is designed to support outreach efforts such as newsletters, webinars, and promotional messages. According to Nimble, the new capability helps users bypass the limitations of email platforms like Google and Microsoft, which typically restrict daily sends to around 500 emails per user. The Email Marketing feature allows users to send unlimited emails to segmented lists and manage campaigns…

The Internal Revenue Service issued a reminder Thursday that individuals and businesses in certain disaster-declared areas have until May 1, 2025, to file their 2024 federal income tax returns and make tax payments. The automatic extension applies to taxpayers in parts of twelve states affected by federally declared disasters in 2024. The IRS emphasized that taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to receive this relief. “If a taxpayer’s address of record is in a disaster area locality, individual and business taxpayers automatically get the extra time without having to ask for it,” the IRS stated. Who Qualifies for the May 1 Extension? The May 1 deadline applies to…

LinkedIn has announced the release of its fifth thinking-oriented game, Zip, marking another addition to its growing collection of games designed to foster connection and engagement among users. Zip is available to play starting today. The announcement comes nearly a year after LinkedIn Games first launched, and according to the company, user engagement has remained high. “84% of people who play today will play again tomorrow, and 80% will still be playing a week from now,” LinkedIn reported. LinkedIn states that the games have become “a fun and valuable way to strengthen connections, spark conversations, and encourage friendly competition within professional networks.”…

The City of Raleigh has opened the fourth and final application window for its 2024–2025 Building Up-fit Grant program. The current cycle began on Thursday, April 3, and runs through Sunday, April 27. Award notifications are expected by Friday, May 16. The Building Up-fit Grant is a matching reimbursement initiative that assists small business owners with interior improvements to commercial properties within Raleigh city limits. Designed to promote job creation, economic development, and the revitalization of underused spaces, the grant matches up to 50 percent of qualified construction costs. Projects must include capital improvements and a change in use to qualify. Ap…

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported a decline in its Small Business Optimism Index for March 2025, dropping 3.3 points to 97.4. This places the index below the 51-year average of 98, as small business owners across the country express concern over ongoing policy shifts and economic conditions. “The implementation of new policy priorities has heightened the level of uncertainty among small business owners over the past few months,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small business owners have scaled back expectations on sales growth as they better understand how these rearrangements might impact them.” The NFIB Uncertainty Index also …

Adobe has officially launched a suite of new AI-powered tools across its flagship video editing products, including Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Frame.io. Headlining the announcement is Generative Extend, now generally available and powered by Adobe’s Firefly Video Model, which enables editors to instantly generate and extend the length of video and audio clips in 4K and vertical formats. The launch also includes Media Intelligence in Premiere Pro, an AI feature that allows editors to search through terabytes of footage in seconds, and Caption Translation, which instantly localizes captions in 27 languages. These advancements are now available to video professionals …