ResidentialBusiness

Saltbox, a leading flexible co-warehousing and logistics provider, has announced the launch of the Luck of the Entrepreneur grant to support small businesses. Timed with St. Patrick’s Day, the initiative offers financial assistance to entrepreneurs, reinforcing Saltbox’s commitment to helping small business owners scale effectively. In response to ongoing supply chain challenges, rising costs, and operational obstacles, Saltbox is offering more than just financial aid. The company is providing access to a business community, expert logistics advice, and professional development resources to help entrepreneurs grow. “At Saltbox, we know that success in entrepreneurship isn’t just about luck—it’s about having the right resources, space, and support to turn big ideas into reality,” said Olivia Mariani, VP of Marketing at Saltbox. “With the Luck of the Entrepreneur grant, we’re giving small business owners a boost to help them level up in 2025.” Saltbox is awarding a $1,500 grant to one business that tours a Saltbox location by March 31. In addition, starting March 17, all new members will be entered into a monthly drawing for $1,500 in funding. Additional prizes include free growth consulting sessions, exclusive Saltbox merchandise, and gift cards. Existing members will also have access to funding opportunities through a quarterly drawing. “As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know firsthand the challenges that small business owners face every day,” said Katerina Cirilli, COO at Saltbox. “Saltbox was built to help logistics-enabled entrepreneurs thrive, and this grant program is another way we’re making sure they have the resources, community, and infrastructure to succeed—not just today, but for the long haul.” How to Enter Entrepreneurs located near any of Saltbox’s 11 locations are encouraged to tour a facility before March 31 to qualify for the grant drawing. The first winner will be announced on April 4. Current Saltbox members will be automatically entered into the new monthly and quarterly drawings beginning March 17. For more details on the Luck of the Entrepreneur grant and how Saltbox is supporting small businesses, visit Saltbox’s website. This article, "Saltbox Launches ‘Luck of the Entrepreneur’ Grant for Small Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Saltbox, a leading flexible co-warehousing and logistics provider, has announced the launch of the Luck of the Entrepreneur grant to support small businesses. Timed with St. Patrick’s Day, the initiative offers financial assistance to entrepreneurs, reinforcing Saltbox’s commitment to helping small business owners scale effectively. In response to ongoing supply chain challenges, rising costs, and operational obstacles, Saltbox is offering more than just financial aid. The company is providing access to a business community, expert logistics advice, and professional development resources to help entrepreneurs grow. “At Saltbox, we know that success in entrepreneurship isn’t just about luck—it’s about having the right resources, space, and support to turn big ideas into reality,” said Olivia Mariani, VP of Marketing at Saltbox. “With the Luck of the Entrepreneur grant, we’re giving small business owners a boost to help them level up in 2025.” Saltbox is awarding a $1,500 grant to one business that tours a Saltbox location by March 31. In addition, starting March 17, all new members will be entered into a monthly drawing for $1,500 in funding. Additional prizes include free growth consulting sessions, exclusive Saltbox merchandise, and gift cards. Existing members will also have access to funding opportunities through a quarterly drawing. “As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know firsthand the challenges that small business owners face every day,” said Katerina Cirilli, COO at Saltbox. “Saltbox was built to help logistics-enabled entrepreneurs thrive, and this grant program is another way we’re making sure they have the resources, community, and infrastructure to succeed—not just today, but for the long haul.” How to Enter Entrepreneurs located near any of Saltbox’s 11 locations are encouraged to tour a facility before March 31 to qualify for the grant drawing. The first winner will be announced on April 4. Current Saltbox members will be automatically entered into the new monthly and quarterly drawings beginning March 17. For more details on the Luck of the Entrepreneur grant and how Saltbox is supporting small businesses, visit Saltbox’s website. This article, "Saltbox Launches ‘Luck of the Entrepreneur’ Grant for Small Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A new report from Oxford Economics reveals that TikTok has become a key driver of employment in the United States, with 7.5 million businesses on the platform supporting more than 28 million workers. The study, published today, highlights TikTok’s role in job creation and economic opportunity, particularly for small and mid-sized businesses. 4.7 Million Jobs Directly Benefit from TikTok The Oxford Economics report estimates that 4.7 million jobs in the U.S. benefit directly from using TikTok. This includes: Over 3.1 million workers who use TikTok in their jobs by creating content for the platform or managing accounts. More than 1.6 million workers who benefit indirectly, such as sales teams generating leads, marketing teams engaging customers, and product teams analyzing user feedback. Businesses Scaling with TikTok The study found that 74% of businesses on TikTok reported the platform helped them scale their operations, a trend observed across both small and large enterprises. TikTok’s unique format enables businesses to create authentic and engaging content, expanding their reach and driving revenue growth. “Tiktok’s impact on the US economy continues to expand, with millions of small and mid-sized businesses using the platform to reach new customers, increase engagement, and create jobs,” said Blake Chandlee, President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok. “The latest Oxford Economics report underscores this growing influence, estimating that 28 million people are employed by businesses that leverage TikTok’s features. The platform isn’t just a tool for brand awareness—it’s a catalyst for real economic opportunity, fueling job growth and innovation across the country.” Laurence Wilse-Samson, Lead Economist at Oxford Economics, added, “The survey findings and an analysis of TikTok’s business account data suggest that millions of people in US businesses are either directly using the app as part of their jobs or benefit from the leads and opportunities it creates.” Building on Previous Research This latest report builds on Oxford Economics’ 2024 study, which focused on small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) using TikTok. That earlier analysis estimated that SMBs contributed $24 billion to the U.S. GDP and supported 224,000 jobs across the supply chain. Unlike the previous study, this new report considers businesses of all sizes, leading to a significantly higher estimate of total jobs impacted by TikTok. The research was based on a 1,000-respondent survey conducted from December 2024 to January 2025, which included businesses from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. To participate, businesses were required to have a TikTok account for business use. The findings also incorporate TikTok’s proprietary business account data and U.S. Census Bureau business population estimates. Real Business Success Stories Small business owners credit TikTok with transforming their operations and enabling them to grow. “We started in September 2016 with nothing but a small food stand in a local flea market—just me, my husband, and two employees,” said Vanessa Barreat, owner of La Vecindad in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Today, we have 60 employees, two locations, and a thriving community of customers who found us through TikTok. Dozens of families now rely on La Vecindad, and we can even send our children to college—something we once only dreamed of.” The platform’s impact spans various industries, including retail. “TikTok was one of the major factors that helped us triple our business,” said Alex Bellman, chief operating officer of Bellman Jewelers in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Because of TikTok, we had to hire eight new employees and are now opening a second location in Boston. Without this platform, we’d have to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to try to compete with larger brands. It’s helped level the playing field for small businesses like ours.” Beyond Business Accounts The report notes that TikTok’s economic impact extends beyond businesses that have official accounts. Many independent creators, entrepreneurs, and personal brands use the platform to generate income, build careers, and support their professional endeavors. This article, "New Report: TikTok Supports 28 Million Jobs Across 7.5 Million US Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A new report from Oxford Economics reveals that TikTok has become a key driver of employment in the United States, with 7.5 million businesses on the platform supporting more than 28 million workers. The study, published today, highlights TikTok’s role in job creation and economic opportunity, particularly for small and mid-sized businesses. 4.7 Million Jobs Directly Benefit from TikTok The Oxford Economics report estimates that 4.7 million jobs in the U.S. benefit directly from using TikTok. This includes: Over 3.1 million workers who use TikTok in their jobs by creating content for the platform or managing accounts. More than 1.6 million workers who benefit indirectly, such as sales teams generating leads, marketing teams engaging customers, and product teams analyzing user feedback. Businesses Scaling with TikTok The study found that 74% of businesses on TikTok reported the platform helped them scale their operations, a trend observed across both small and large enterprises. TikTok’s unique format enables businesses to create authentic and engaging content, expanding their reach and driving revenue growth. “Tiktok’s impact on the US economy continues to expand, with millions of small and mid-sized businesses using the platform to reach new customers, increase engagement, and create jobs,” said Blake Chandlee, President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok. “The latest Oxford Economics report underscores this growing influence, estimating that 28 million people are employed by businesses that leverage TikTok’s features. The platform isn’t just a tool for brand awareness—it’s a catalyst for real economic opportunity, fueling job growth and innovation across the country.” Laurence Wilse-Samson, Lead Economist at Oxford Economics, added, “The survey findings and an analysis of TikTok’s business account data suggest that millions of people in US businesses are either directly using the app as part of their jobs or benefit from the leads and opportunities it creates.” Building on Previous Research This latest report builds on Oxford Economics’ 2024 study, which focused on small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) using TikTok. That earlier analysis estimated that SMBs contributed $24 billion to the U.S. GDP and supported 224,000 jobs across the supply chain. Unlike the previous study, this new report considers businesses of all sizes, leading to a significantly higher estimate of total jobs impacted by TikTok. The research was based on a 1,000-respondent survey conducted from December 2024 to January 2025, which included businesses from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. To participate, businesses were required to have a TikTok account for business use. The findings also incorporate TikTok’s proprietary business account data and U.S. Census Bureau business population estimates. Real Business Success Stories Small business owners credit TikTok with transforming their operations and enabling them to grow. “We started in September 2016 with nothing but a small food stand in a local flea market—just me, my husband, and two employees,” said Vanessa Barreat, owner of La Vecindad in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Today, we have 60 employees, two locations, and a thriving community of customers who found us through TikTok. Dozens of families now rely on La Vecindad, and we can even send our children to college—something we once only dreamed of.” The platform’s impact spans various industries, including retail. “TikTok was one of the major factors that helped us triple our business,” said Alex Bellman, chief operating officer of Bellman Jewelers in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Because of TikTok, we had to hire eight new employees and are now opening a second location in Boston. Without this platform, we’d have to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to try to compete with larger brands. It’s helped level the playing field for small businesses like ours.” Beyond Business Accounts The report notes that TikTok’s economic impact extends beyond businesses that have official accounts. Many independent creators, entrepreneurs, and personal brands use the platform to generate income, build careers, and support their professional endeavors. This article, "New Report: TikTok Supports 28 Million Jobs Across 7.5 Million US Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Halving of staff thought to be precursor to campaign pledge of shutting down the agency View the full article

Financial regulator says it will scrap new public interest test after backlash from the City and government officialsView the full article

For ages, real estate has been defined by the tangible: buildings, land, square feet. Nowadays, however, the world’s most valuable businesses make their money from what is intangible—brands, networks, knowledge, and experiences. As of 2020, 90% of the value at the S&P 500 comes from intangible assets, up from 32% 40 years ago. The equivalent figure for major European companies lags behind, at just over 74% in 2020, a factor that likely contributes to Europe’s lower growth rate and per capita GDP. Much of the difference is made by a few unmatched American technology platforms. Real estate, too, must evolve beyond its physical footprint. At Atrium Ljungberg, where I work, we started that process a long time ago. Our market offering is not only built on bricks and mortar, but interactions and services happening inside and between offices, apartments, and retail spaces. This makes them greater than the sum of its parts. Our portfolio is more than a collection of buildings: It is the life between buildings. For that reason, we don’t operate buildings separately, but focus on developing large, interconnected districts. In a way, we could be seen as a platform company, enabling people, businesses, and ideas to connect and grow. This philosophy drives our megaprojects redeveloping parts of Stockholm. Real estate as a platform business At their core, platforms create value by coordinating interactions, reducing barriers and transaction costs, and enabling large-scale economic activity through network effects. The highest-performing businesses on the S&P 500 today create ecosystems where value is co-generated, but facilitated by these companies. Of the world’s 10 largest companies by market capitalization—from Amazon and Alphabet to Meta—seven can be considered platform businesses. All sprung up in the last two decades. Sweden’s most valuable company, Spotify, fits into the platform archetype too. Let’s apply platform logic to urban environments. A thriving city district is a dynamic system where different actors—residents, businesses, visitors, civil society, cultural institutions—interact in ways that ideally enhance each other’s experience. The role of a developer, then, is not just to build and lease space but to curate and connect—facilitating an ecosystem where people and businesses can thrive. This includes thinking beyond the traditional landlord-tenant relationship. A more holistic approach ultimately delivers increased value also to individual tenants. Just as nightclub owners need the right crowd, we carefully consider the first tenants in our developments: Who will create the most value for others in future? They lay the foundations for whoever comes next. This is also how you must start growing a platform. We’ve introduced flexible memberships that allow businesses to access workspaces across different locations. We’ve partnered with mobility providers to offer shared transport solutions that reduce car dependency. We’ve invested in cultural programming that extends a district’s life beyond office hours. In each of these cases, our broader ambition is to generate lasting impact for our customers and other stakeholders, including city councils. Why we report livability to financial markets Urban environments have always derived their value from interaction, not just location. The classic example is the agglomeration effect—why businesses cluster, for instance, in financial or life sciences districts, or why creative industries thrive in repurposed warehouse spaces. It’s no secret that economic productivity is shaped by knowledge, relationships, and culture—and you likely see this in your own work. This is why companies pay a premium for office space in vibrant areas, why retail thrives in lively environments, and why people prefer communities that offer more than a place to live. If a company attracts or keeps better talent because of the neighborhood it’s in, or if a retail street sees increased foot traffic because of a carefully curated mix of tenants and public spaces, the economic impact of these factors isn’t always obvious at first. But to every CEO, CHRO, or owner, their significance grows over time. Many employers that ignored these factors—whether by relocating or staying in the wrong place—later dealt with talent flight, engagement drop, and operational struggles. In retrospect, the consequences were clear. It is no coincidence that many of the world’s most valuable companies were born in Silicon Valley, which is an exceptionally livable and well-balanced environment. The repercussions of the area’s rapid economic growth have since put pressure on some livability aspects, but the livable foundation was a key ingredient to its success. Against this background, we’ve developed our own index to capture a wider set of critical livability values. The index not only measures factors like safety and accessibility, but also social interaction and cultural vibrancy. Over the past few years, we’ve significantly advanced our own index score measured across our developments. Since we are a listed company, this score is regularly reported to the stock market, alongside our financial and decarbonization reporting. However, the index is not just a reporting measure—it is directly linked to our sustainability bonds, integrating these intangible values into our financial structure. The more we improve livability, the lower our cost of capital. It’s a way of quantifying what the market increasingly understands: Places that cultivate interaction, well-being, and identity hold lasting value. Well-being as a shared value One of the most overlooked aspects of value, crazily enough, is well-being. Urban loneliness is rising. Stress levels are rising. The way we design and activate spaces in real life can either worsen these problems or help solve them. The platform mindset is crucial here: Isolation is the biggest obstacle to well-being, which relies on interaction, a core function of platforms. The best urban areas are those where people feel connected—to their neighbors, to culture, to work, and to nature. This is why we emphasize not just physical design but the social and emotional experience of a place. That includes shared green spaces and food—some would argue this matters most—to diverse retail, health, and leisure offerings. Developing a place which shapes people’s daily lives comes with great social and economic responsibility, affecting their health, creativity, and sense of belonging. How urban development must evolve in the platform era As the economy continues to shift toward intangible value, championed by platforms, the best real estate developers will understand their role not just as builders or operators, but as city life shapers. This means embracing new objectives, new partnerships, and a new mindset—one that sees urban areas and individual buildings as centers for interaction rather than just physical assets. Urban planners and architects play important roles, but developers are the economic engines defining both projects and functionality over time. Still, compared to architecture, real estate often lacks an innovation mindset—something that has real consequences. We need platform companies in the physical world to be as ambitious as platforms in the virtual one, otherwise it will lose its relative appeal. Relying solely on digital platforms to shape how people live and interact is hardly a sustainable model. To create conditions for greater well-being, we need to strengthen the real-world layer that digital platforms can’t replace. The real-world city naturally exposes us to spontaneous encounters and experiences, sparking creativity in ways algorithms cannot replicate. It engages our innate reward systems through meaningful interactions, making cities uniquely capable of driving both innovation and human well-being—whether or not we actively seek it. This is precisely what digital platforms, with their self-reinforcing bubbles, struggle to achieve. It is also why the city remains humanity’s greatest invention, effortlessly breaking through our mental echo chambers to prove its value as our ultimate interactive platform. Real estate clearly has a void to fill, as the industry isn’t fully delivering on the promise of cities as platforms. To change this, we must learn from the most successful platform companies today. They can teach us a lot about structural efficiency and capacity to shape behavior and economic activity. Digital platforms are not role models in every aspect, but they have certainly demonstrated how to challenge the status quo, link people and companies in new ways, and generate economic value on an unmatched scale. These are all needs in the physical world. There is a clear opportunity for the real estate industry to apply platform principles—and every reason for us to do it. Linus Kjellberg is the head of business development for Atrium Ljungberg. The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. View the full article

I’ve always been vocal about the need to fight inequality in our own backyards. As a resident of New York’s Capital Region, I built my marketing business here. And in 2020, I founded Business for Good Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropy organization focused on closing the growing wealth gap and providing a hand up to underserved entrepreneurs. The inequality is blatantly real. The 23.3% poverty rate is more than twice as high in Albany versus the 11.1% national average. In fact, New York is one of the most economically unequal states in the country. While local and state government have made promises to help clean up the city, reduce crime rates, and create more affordable housing, the reality is that we haven’t seen much movement and things aren’t getting better. If we truly hope to level the playing field and tackle these inequities, then those of us driving change in the private sector will simply need to keep our eyes on the ball, and step in where government officials are not. The growing wealth divide in the U.S. While those in political power might not always care to acknowledge it, income inequality remains one of the greatest challenges facing our country, to the point that the U.S. continues to boast a significantly larger wealth gap between the rich and poor than any other developed nation in the world. To put the issue into perspective, according to the Peter G. Petersen Foundation, the income of the 20% of wealthiest U.S. households rose 165% between 1981 and 2021, whereas middle and low income households have only seen growth of 33% and 38%, respectively. And if our political leaders aren’t even willing to recognize, much less take action to address the nation’s growing wealth divide, then making a real impact will require the collective effort, dedication, and resources of private advocacy groups and philanthropists in our communities. The compounding threat of housing inequality Sadly, for the millions of people living in underserved communities across the nation, overcoming income insecurity isn’t about striving for the American dream, but rather ensuring they can feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. And as the U.S. economy continues to grapple with an ongoing housing shortage and affordability crisis, this growing sense of anxiety and desperation has the very real potential to result in further increases in poverty, crime and social unrest. The state of housing affordability in America today is frankly appalling. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is currently an estimated shortage of over 7 million affordable homes in the U.S., not even close to enough to accommodate the nearly 11 million extremely low income families throughout the country. I’ve witnessed this devastating reality firsthand while living in the Capital Region. To address these issues, Albany announced an executive budget proposal earlier this year that would include a $400 million investment toward revitalizing the community. However, Albany’s government has once again been slow to act, and the commitment has not been seen through, further underscoring the need for community and business leaders to work together to drive meaningful change, with or without state or federal institutional support. Relying on the private sector As someone who’s been lucky enough to have a successful career as an entrepreneur, and who recognizes how the unfair advantages provided to certain groups prevent others from getting ahead, I’ve frequently struggled to understand the state’s unwillingness to step in and put an end to the widespread inequalities that have been plaguing this country for so long. This is exactly the issue I set out to address when I founded the Business for Good Foundation. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my experience, it’s that providing those who are less fortunate with equal access to resources and opportunities is often all it takes to uplift an entire community. Going forward, I won’t simply sit on my hands any longer and wait for state leaders’ support to do what’s right. Instead, I plan to double down on our work in New York’s Capital Region through a heightened focus on fostering business growth, economic inclusion, housing stability, and community development to build a better, more equitable world for all. It’s my hope that other business leaders across the private sector will do the same. Ed Mitzen is cofounder of Business for Good. The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. View the full article

The Irvine, California-based firm reported a net loss of $67.5 million in the fourth quarter. View the full article

As the new term of the Trump administration gets settled, the United States’ economy sits at a crossroads. With hundreds of billions invested in the energy transition by the previous administration, aimed towards long-term economic and energy security, the stage is set for the United States to take the next step in maintaining its status as the world leader in sustainable technology. Internationally, countries are jockeying to control this trillion dollar market, and while China has an early ”manufacturing” lead, the U.S. industrial and tech sectors can prove to be a decision maker. By focusing on market-driven solutions and domestic resource development, the Trump administration can accelerate what the Biden administration did for the green economy by expediting permits and loosening regulatory approvals, while further strengthening national security and creating high-paying jobs. Critical minerals America’s transition to clean energy requires a robust domestic supply of critical minerals, with lithium playing a central role in our energy future. The U.S. possesses significant lithium reserves, particularly in Nevada, California, Texas, and Arkansas, that remain largely untapped. As Trump’s ally Elon Musk has pointed out several times, investing in lithium refining is “a license to printing money,” and contributes directly to the energy and automotive industry through the production of lithium-ion batteries. The United States must maintain a strong presence in critical economic sectors. With EVs being the primary driver of battery demand, the shift toward EVs poses a challenge to the U.S. automotive industry, a key pillar of the nation’s economy. Over a million Americans are employed in motor vehicle and parts manufacturing, an industry that also plays a fundamental role in the country’s metalworking expertise. This underscores the importance of the ongoing U.S. steel saga and why keeping these industries under American control makes the economy stronger. As other nations scramble to source their own supply of lithium and other critical minerals for the transition, we have the opportunity to reduce dependence on foreign entities and empower U.S. businesses. Embrace the transition Electrical vehicle (EV) adoption is a win-win for the U.S. The link between dependence on foreign oil and economic recessions plagued Americans in 2022 with high gas prices. While the benefits of EVs and renewable energy are very clear in the context of shifting global economic priorities, America needs to fully commit to it lest it find itself too far behind to compete. This means significantly ramping up our current production. To enhance the scale of domestic EV supply chains, the U.S. military aims to create a dedicated market for American companies by utilizing next-generation batteries in a select group of military vehicles, drones, and equipment—excluding current lithium-ion technologies and Chinese suppliers. Likewise, these initiatives could extend to other government agencies procuring batteries, such as the U.S. Postal Service fleet and the 28 other federal agencies that have pledged to increase EV adoption. This would go a long way in creating a fast and efficient supply chain for consumer-facing products. Supporting this could be government-led policies and public-private projects connecting domestic mining operations with local electric vehicles and renewable energy manufacturing further integrating supply chains which will benefit the rural areas in which lithium and other minerals are found. High paying jobs, upskilling opportunities, and the economic development of towns and cities are the direct benefits before we begin to consider the accepted financial gains that everyday Americans will make once the EV and renewable energy sector are implemented at scale. What is next? By reducing barriers to private sector investment, streamlining regulations, and supporting domestic resource development, the Trump administration can lead in developing clean energy solutions that benefit the economy and the environment. Environmental stewardship and economic growth are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary goals that can be achieved through smart, market-driven policies. The U.S. can be the first green global economy, or we can continue being dependent on foreign interests, selling off American assets like U.S. steel, and trusting foreign powers to run supply chains critical to our national security: This is the crossroads we currently sit at. All indications point towards this second iteration of the Trump administration being good for U.S. businesses— for the sake of a strong American economy, this means committing to the transition that entire industries have been prepping for since he last took office. Teague Egan is CEO of EnergyX. The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. View the full article

Government says regulator’s merger with Financial Conduct Authority will reduce complexity and boost innovationView the full article

The company is a leading player in the primary and secondary markets for government-backed reverse mortgages and also has been developing proprietary products. View the full article

A federal judge said she is inclined to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the Trump administration dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. View the full article

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Recent violence against Tesla dealerships will be labeled domestic terrorism, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday as he selected a new Tesla car to show support for the electric carmaker’s chief, his ally Elon Musk. Shares of the automaker closed nearly 4% higher on Tuesday, rebounding from the biggest one-day fall in four-and-a half years on Monday. Activists have lately staged so-called Tesla Takedown protests to voice displeasure over Musk’s role in sweeping cuts to the federal workforce at the behest of Trump and cancellation of contracts that fund humanitarian programs around the world. Musk, the world’s richest person, is spearheading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. “They’re harming a great American company,” Trump said at the White House, referring to the demonstrators. Nearby, a number of Tesla vehicles were lined up on the driveway between the mansion and the south lawn. “Let me tell you, you do it to Tesla, and you do it to any company, we’re going to catch you, and . . . you’re going to go through hell.” About 350 demonstrators protested outside a Tesla electric vehicle dealership in Portland, Oregon, last week, while nine people were arrested during a raucous demonstration outside a New York City Tesla dealership earlier in March. There have also been recent reports of vandalism on Tesla vehicles and showrooms that are under investigation. Trump’s decision to buy a Tesla electric vehicle—he chose a Model S—was a significant show of support for Musk, who has come under criticism for his work in Washington. Model S pricing starts at about $80,000. Trump, in the driver’s seat of the shiny red car, said he’s not allowed to drive anymore but would keep the vehicle at the White House for his staff to use. He said he would pay by check and did not want a discount from Musk. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump defended Musk, saying he was “putting it on the line” to help the country and was doing a “fantastic” job. “I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American,” Trump said. Musk thanked the president for his support on his own social media platform X. Trump in January took aim at electric vehicles, revoking a 2021 executive order signed by his predecessor Joe Biden that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 were electric. Tesla’s market capitalization has more than halved since hitting an all-time high of $1.5 trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after Musk-backed Trump won the U.S. election in November. The stock’s decline since December stems from falling vehicle sales and profit, protests against Musk’s political activity, and investor worries that politics was distracting the billionaire from tending to his cash cow. But at the White House event with Trump, Musk said he would double production in the next two years. “As a function of the great policies of President Trump and his administration and an act of faith in America, Tesla is going to double vehicle output in the United States within the next two years,” he said. Musk said in January that Tesla was working hard to increase annual volumes this year, after posting its first drop in annual deliveries in 2024. He did not reiterate an earlier promise of 20%-30% growth in vehicle sales this year. Musk told reporters on Tuesday he would stay in Washington as long as he was useful, but said he would remain Tesla’s CEO. — Jeff Mason and Abhirup Roy, Reuters Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; additional reporting by Shubham Kalia and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru. View the full article

Legislation on stop-gap measure now moves to the Senate to avoid a government shutdownView the full article

Monday’s sell-off on Wall Street sent consumers into a panic as talk of a recession continued to heat up. Most S&P 500 stocks are now in correction territory and the trade war with Canada, Mexico and China continues to heat up. Tuesday’s trading, meanwhile, was something of a roller coaster, with stocks yo-yoing and finally settling at another loss. The Dow fell 478 points, or 1.14%, with the Nasdaq index slipping 42 points (0.75%) and the S&P 500 largely flat, losing 32 points. Here’s the good news. Despite all the negative news and Monday’s sell-off, we’re not in a recession yet and it’s far from a sure thing. Consumer spending recently posted its first drop in nearly two years, but it’s still in a very healthy range. That said, the whiplash you’re feeling is far from unjustified. Three weeks ago, stocks were at or near all-time highs and few economists were talking about a recession. These days, it’s seemingly all anyone can talk about. What the analysts say Goldman Sachs on Friday increased its odds of a recession over the next 12 months from 15% to 20%, writing in a note to clients that “we see policy changes as the key risk.” Put another way: Goldman is keeping a close eye on tariffs. If Donald Trump is willing to back off of them as recession risks increase, the firm wrote, a recession can be avoided. If not… “If the White House remained committed to its policies even in the face of much worse data,” Goldman Sachs wrote, “recession risk would rise further.” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, is less optimistic, however. He currently puts the odds of a recession at better than one in three—but he agrees tariffs are the trigger. “The risks of a U.S. recession starting in the coming year are uncomfortably high and rising,” he wrote in a post on X Monday. “I would put them at 35%, up from 15% at the start of the year. For context, the typical recession probability is 15% – the U.S. economy historically suffers a recession every 6 or 7 years on average. The economy will likely suffer a downturn if the Trump administration follows through on the tariff increases it has announced and maintains those tariffs for more than a few months.” JPMorgan is the bear of Wall Street on this particular topic, putting the odds at 40%. Trump himself stoked fears on Sunday, when he said, “I hate to predict things like that,” when asked about the prospect of a recession, adding “there is a period of transition.” What to watch Technically, a recession can be declared after at least two consecutive quarters of declining economic output. So it would be July before any recession calls could be formalized. The effects of an economic downturn could be felt sooner, though. The numbers to watch to get a sense of where the economy is going are employment (which has seen employers add between 150,000 and 200,000 jobs per month since December), wage growth (which has been outpacing inflation for almost two years) and consumer spending (which showed a 2% drop in February). Keeping up with the fast pace of change in tariffs can be exhausting. On Tuesday alone, Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50% following a decision by the Ontario government to impose a 25% tax on electricity exports to the U.S. By mid-afternoon, however, Ontario suspended its surcharge and Trump later walked back his escalation. So rather than monitoring the day to day minutia, experts say it’s best to keep an eye on how widespread Trump’s tariffs end up being. “Tariffs themselves, depends how you use it,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Stanford Graduate School of Business in an interview released last weekend. “[When used] as a tool or kind of a weapon to do—in some cases—good stuff it’s very modestly inflationary, I mean you’re talking about 0.1% or 0.2%. Now if you put 25% tariffs on all imports, that’s a lot more. That could be, in my view, quite recessionary and inflationary.” View the full article

Is compressibility an SEO myth? The surprising facts about whether Google uses compression as a quality signal The post Is Google’s Use Of Compressibility An SEO Myth? appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

What Is a Business Case? A business case is a project management document that explains how the benefits of a project outweigh its costs and why it should be executed. Business cases are prepared during the project initiation phase and their purpose is to include all the project’s objectives, costs and benefits to convince stakeholders of its value. A business case is an important project document to prove to your client, customer or stakeholder that the project proposal you’re pitching is a sound investment. Below, we illustrate the steps to writing one that will sway them. The need for a business case is that it collects the financial appraisal, proposal, strategy and marketing plan in one document and offers a full look at how the project will benefit the organization. Once your business case is approved by the project stakeholders, you can begin the project planning phase. When Should You Write a Business Case? Around 70 percent of businesses that survive longer than five years follow a strategic business plan. And every project an organization undertakes should demonstrate real business value via a business case. A business case is created during the initiation phase of a project. At this point, the project is being conceptualized and evaluated on what the potential return on investment could be. The business case document helps determine the project’s needs and allows decision-makers to determine if the project aligns with the organization’s strategic goals. For example, a business case may be used when there’s a new project proposal, when entering into a new market, when upgrading software solutions or when there’s a major capital expenditure. Once the business case has been approved, the project will move to the planning phase. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Business-Case-Template.png Get your free Business Case Template Use this free Business Case Template for Word to manage your projects better. Download Word File Who Should Write a Business Case? As with most things in project management, developing a business case is a team effort. Here are some of the members of the project team who participate in this process. Project Sponsor The project sponsor plays a crucial role in developing the business case by ensuring it aligns with organizational strategy and objectives. They validate the business proposition, define project success criteria and ensure ongoing viability. Sponsors are responsible for initiating the project, prioritizing it within the organization, and securing necessary resources. They also serve as the project’s champion, advocating for its importance to senior leadership and stakeholders. The sponsor’s involvement is critical in establishing the project’s vision and ensuring it delivers value to the organization. Business Analyst Business analysts are instrumental in developing a comprehensive business case. They conduct root cause analysis to identify underlying issues and perform SWOT analysis to assess organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Business analysts collaborate with stakeholders to elicit and define high-level requirements, project objectives and potential risks. They help develop cost-benefit analyses, evaluate options and recommend solutions. Their expertise in requirements management and stakeholder engagement ensures the business case accurately reflects the organization’s needs and the project’s potential benefits. Project Manager Project managers contribute significantly to business case development by conducting research, gathering data and analyzing information. They work closely with the business analyst to identify project goals, assess risks and estimate costs. Project managers are responsible for integrating the business analyst’s approach and deliverables into the project plan. They collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the business case aligns with organizational objectives and strategic goals. Project managers also play a crucial role in presenting the business case to decision-makers and securing project support. Who Should Write a Business Case? As with most things in project management, developing a business case is a team effort. Here are some of the members of the project team who participate in this process. Project Sponsor The project sponsor plays a crucial role in developing the business case by ensuring it aligns with organizational strategy and objectives. They validate the business proposition, define project success criteria and ensure ongoing viability. Sponsors are responsible for initiating the project, prioritizing it within the organization, and securing necessary resources. They also serve as the project’s champion, advocating for its importance to senior leadership and stakeholders. The sponsor’s involvement is critical in establishing the project’s vision and ensuring it delivers value to the organization. Business Analyst Business analysts are instrumental in developing a comprehensive business case. They conduct root cause analysis to identify underlying issues and perform SWOT analysis to assess organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Business analysts collaborate with stakeholders to elicit and define high-level requirements, project objectives and potential risks. They help develop cost-benefit analyses, evaluate options and recommend solutions. Their expertise in requirements management and stakeholder engagement ensures the business case accurately reflects the organization’s needs and the project’s potential benefits. Project Manager Project managers contribute significantly to business case development by conducting research, gathering data and analyzing information. They work closely with the business analyst to identify project goals, assess risks and estimate costs. Project managers are responsible for integrating the business analyst’s approach and deliverables into the project plan. They collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the business case aligns with organizational objectives and strategic goals. Project managers also play a crucial role in presenting the business case to decision-makers and securing project support. Why Is It Important to Write a Business Case Document? A business case document benefits projects for several reasons. Justifies why a project is needed, outlining costs, benefits and risks Engages stakeholders and gets their buy-in and support Allows decision-makers to assess feasibility and make choices based on data Provides estimates for costs, resources and timelines to improve resource allocation Helps hold teams accountable for delivering on commitments Overall, it helps guide the project initiation and execution to result in thoughtful and strategic decisions. Business Case Template Our business case template for Word is the perfect tool to start writing a business case. It has 9 key business case areas you can customize as needed. Download the template for free and follow the steps below to create a great business case for all your projects. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Business-case-template-word-projectmanager-600x631.jpgBusiness case template. Free download How to Write A Business Case Projects fail without having a solid business case to rest on, as this project document is the base for the project charter and project plan. But if a project business case is not anchored to reality, and doesn’t address a need that aligns with the larger business objectives of the organization, then it is irrelevant. The research you’ll need to create a strong business case is the why, what, how and who of your project. This must be clearly communicated. The elements of your business case will address the why but in greater detail. Think of the business case as a document that is created during the project initiation phase but will be used as a reference throughout the project life cycle. Whether you’re starting a new project or mid-way through one, take time to write up a business case to justify the project expenditure by identifying the business benefits your project will deliver and that your stakeholders are most interested in reaping from the work. The following four steps will show you how to write a business case. Step 1: Identify the Business Problem Projects aren’t created for projects’ sake. They should always be aligned with business goals. Usually, they’re initiated to solve a specific business problem or create a business opportunity. You should “Lead with the need.” Your first job is to figure out what that problem or opportunity is, describe it, find out where it comes from and then address the time frame needed to deal with it. This can be a simple statement but is best articulated with some research into the economic climate and the competitive landscape to justify the timing of the project. Step 2: Identify the Alternative Solutions How do you know whether the project you’re undertaking is the best possible solution to the problem defined above? Naturally, prioritizing projects is hard, and the path to success is not paved with unfounded assumptions. One way to narrow down the focus to make the right solution clear is to follow these six steps (after the relevant research, of course): Note the alternative solutions. For each solution, quantify its benefits. Also, forecast the costs involved in each solution. Then figure out its feasibility. Discern the risks and issues associated with each solution. Finally, document all this in your business case. Step 3: Recommend a Preferred Solution You’ll next need to rank the solutions, but before doing that it’s best to set up criteria, maybe have a scoring mechanism such as a decision matrix to help you prioritize the solutions to best choose the right one. Some methodologies you can apply include: Depending on the solution’s cost and benefit, give it a score of 1-10. Base your score on what’s important to you. Add more complexity to your ranking to cover all bases. Regardless of your approach, once you’ve added up your numbers, the best solution to your problem will become evident. Again, you’ll want to have this process also documented in your business case. Step 4: Describe the Implementation Approach So, you’ve identified your business problem or opportunity and how to reach it, now you have to convince your stakeholders that you’re right and have the best way to implement a process to achieve your goals. That’s why documentation is so important; it offers a practical path to solve the core problem you identified. Now, it’s not just an exercise to appease senior leadership. Who knows what you might uncover in the research you put into exploring the underlying problem and determining alternative solutions? You might save the organization millions with an alternate solution than the one initially proposed. When you put in the work on a strong business case, you’re able to get your sponsors or organizational leadership on board with you and have a clear vision as to how to ensure the delivery of the business benefits they expect. Key Elements of a Business Case One of the key steps to starting a business case is to have a business case checklist. The following is a detailed outline to follow when developing your business case. You can choose which of these elements are the most relevant to your project stakeholders and add them to our business case template. Then once your business case is approved, start managing your projects with a robust project management software such as ProjectManager. 1. Executive Summary The executive summary is a short version of each section of your business case. It’s used to give stakeholders a quick overview of your project to help them understand the project’s purpose, benefits and implications. Some components of an executive summary include the project overview, business need, proposed solution to the need, cost estimate, return on investment, risks, timeline and a call to action. 2. Problem Statement The problem statement defines the specific challenge or opportunity that the project aims to address. It outlines the problem’s scope, impact on business operations, and underlying causes. A clear problem statement helps stakeholders understand why the project is necessary and what will be achieved by implementing the proposed solution. 3. Analysis of Options Considered This section evaluates potential solutions to the identified problem, comparing their feasibility, costs, risks and benefits. It typically includes a “do nothing” scenario and alternative approaches. The goal is to justify the recommended solution by highlighting why it’s the most effective and cost-efficient option. 4. Project Definition This section is meant to provide general information about your projects, such as the business objectives that will be achieved and the project plan outline. It offers a comprehensive overview of the project including its objectives and scope. Here, include details such as the objectives, stakeholders, scope, expected outcomes and constraints. 5. Background Information Here you can provide a context for your project, explaining the problem that it’s meant to solve, and how it aligns with your organization’s vision and strategic plan. 6. Vision, Goals and Objectives First, you have to figure out what you’re trying to do and what is the problem you want to solve. You’ll need to define your project vision, goals and objectives. This will help you shape your project scope and identify project deliverables. 7. Strategic Alignment Assessment This section explains how the proposed project supports the organization’s broader strategic objectives. It demonstrates how the project aligns with corporate goals, market positioning and long-term growth plans. A strong strategic alignment increases stakeholder buy-in and ensures the project delivers meaningful business value. 8. Benefit Analysis The benefit analysis outlines the tangible and intangible advantages of the project. Tangible benefits may include cost savings, increased revenue or improved efficiency, while intangible benefits can include enhanced customer satisfaction or brand reputation. This section quantifies expected gains to justify the investment. 9. Financial Appraisal This is a very important section of your business case because this is where you explain how the financial benefits outweigh the project costs. Compare the financial costs and benefits of your project. You can do this by doing a sensitivity analysis and a cost-benefit analysis. 10. Project Scope The project scope determines all the tasks and deliverables that will be executed in your project to reach your business objectives. Think of it as establishing the project’s boundaries to help stakeholders better understand what to expect. A well-defined scope can also improve resource allocation and project planning, two key factors of the project’s long-term success. 11. Project Success Criteria and Stakeholder Requirements Depending on what kind of project you’re working on, the quality requirements will differ, but they are critical to the project’s success. Collect all of them, figure out what determines if you’ve successfully met them and report on the results. 12. Implementation Plan This implementation plan is a high-level view of the project plan. It should describe the project timeline and budget for the execution of the project scope. Estimated Project Budget Your project budget is an estimate of everything in your project plan and what it will cost to complete the project over the scheduled time allotted. It outlines the financial resources such as personnel costs, software or hardware costs, consulting fees, training costs and contingency funds. It also provides the return on investment information and shows how the benefits will outweigh the costs. Estimated Project Timeline Make a timeline for the project by estimating how long it will take to get each task completed. For a more impactful project schedule, use a tool to make a Gantt chart, and print it out. This will provide that extra flourish of data visualization and skill that Excel sheets lack. Project management software makes creating a project plan significantly easier. ProjectManager can upload your work breakdown structure template and all your tasks are populated in our tool. You can organize them according to your production cycle with our kanban board view, or use our Gantt chart view to create a project schedule. /wp-content/uploads/2023/02/operations-implementation-gantt-chart-150-cta.jpgVisualize your project plan on the Gantt chart from ProjectManager Learn more 13. Risk Assessment There are many risk categories that can impact your project. The first step to mitigating them is to identify and analyze the risks associated with your project activities. From there, you can assess the likelihood and impact of each and rank them based on this information. The risk assessment makes it easier to focus on the most pressing risks and includes a mitigation strategy to reduce the impact in case the risk comes to fruition. 14. Project Governance Project governance refers to all the project management rules and procedures that apply to your project. For example, it defines the roles and responsibilities of the project team members and the framework for decision-making. 15. Communication Plan Have milestones for check-ins and status updates, as well as determine how stakeholders will stay aware of the progress over the project life cycle. The communication plan can help foster an atmosphere of transparency and engagement among stakeholders. The plan outlines how, when and what will be communicated so that everyone is informed and on the same page. 16. Progress Reports Have a plan in place to monitor and track your progress during the project to compare planned to actual progress. There are project tracking tools that can help you monitor progress and performance. Again, using a project management tool improves your ability to see what’s happening in your project. ProjectManager has tracking tools like dashboards and status reports that give you a high-level view and more detail, respectively. Unlike light-weight apps that make you set up a dashboard, ours is embedded in the tool. Better still, our cloud-based software gives you real-time data for more insightful decision-making. Also, get reports on more than just status updates, but timesheets, workload, portfolio status and much more, all with just one click. Then filter the reports and share them with stakeholders to keep them updated. /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/portfolio-dashboard-screenshot-lightmode.png 17. Market Assessment Research your market, competitors and industry, to find opportunities and threats. The market assessment can also help outline the overall market condition and how that could impact the project. For example, what are the current market needs and trends? Are there any barriers to entry that could impact the project such as strong competition or high capital requirements? Note all of this information in this section of the business case. Competitor Analysis Identify direct and indirect competitors and do an assessment of their products, strengths, competitive advantages and their business strategy. For example, how does each competitor position itself in the market? What pricing strategy do they implement and where is there room for differentiation? Then, use this information to help guide future decisions. SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis helps you identify your organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses are internal, while the opportunities and threats are external. This is a structured approach to help stakeholders make more informed decisions and outlines how to better leverage internal and external resources. The SWOT analysis helps ensure that the project aligns with organizational goals and market conditions. Marketing Strategy Describe your product, distribution channels, pricing, target customers among other aspects of your marketing plan or strategy. Business Case Example To better understand what a business case looks like, let’s review a scenario that incorporates some of the elements explained above. Imagine a large multinational manufacturing company that needs to expand its production capacity by building a new facility. The business case example below describes the expected benefits and rationale for making this decision. 1. Problem Statement Current manufacturing capacity is insufficient to meet growing global demand, resulting in production delays, increased costs and missed market opportunities. Existing facilities are also operating at maximum capacity, limiting the ability to introduce new product lines. 2. Background Information The company has experienced a 20 percent increase in product demand over the past three years. Current facilities have reached 95 percent capacity, leading to production bottlenecks and increased lead times. Competitors are expanding, highlighting the need for increased production efficiency and capacity. 3. Analysis of Options Considered Here are some of the options that were considered to solve the problem. Option 1: Expand existing facilities – Limited by space and zoning restrictions, expensive to retrofit. Option 2: Outsource production – Loss of control over quality and supply chain complexity. Option 3: Build a new manufacturing facility – Higher initial cost but increased capacity, improved efficiency and long-term scalability. (Recommended) 3. Project Definition The project involves the construction of a new 500,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility to increase production capacity by 30 percent and improve operational efficiency. The facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art automated production lines and sustainable energy systems to reduce operating costs and meet environmental standards. The project includes site selection, permitting, construction, equipment installation, staff recruitment and operational launch within a 24-month timeframe. The new facility will enable the company to meet growing customer demand, introduce new product lines and strengthen its market position. 5. Vision, Goals and Objectives The vision is what the company ultimately seeks to achieve by executing the project in the long term, while goals are broad achievements that are accomplished by completing more specific objectives. Vision: To become the industry leader in production capacity and efficiency. Goals: Increase production capacity by 30 percent within 24 months. Reduce production costs by 10 percent through improved efficiency. Objectives: Complete facility construction within 18 months. Ensure the facility requires less energy consumption than older facilities owned by the company. 6. Strategic Alignment Assessment This section explains why this project aligns with the business goal and the organization’s strategic objectives. Corporate Strategy: Supports the company’s growth and market leadership objectives. Market Position: Enhances ability to meet growing customer demand. Sustainability: Designed to meet environmental standards and reduce carbon footprint. 7. Benefit Analysis This section explains the expected benefits from this project, which in this case are related to operational efficiency, as financial benefits are described separately. Tangible Benefits: 30 percent increase in production capacity. 15 percent reduction in lead times. 10 percent decrease in production costs. Intangible Benefits: Improved brand reputation for reliability and innovation. Enhanced employee morale through improved working conditions. 8. Financial Appraisal The project financial appraisal of a project allows decision-makers to better understand the return on investment. Estimated Cost: $150 million Projected Annual Savings: $10 million Net Present Value (NPV): $50 million over 10 years Payback Period: 5 years 9. Project Scope The project scope section defines what will and won’t be executed as part of the project to avoid misunderstandings or unrealistic stakeholder expectations. In Scope: Construction of a 500,000 sq. ft. facility. Installation of production lines and automation systems. Recruitment and training of 500 new employees. Out of Scope: Distribution and logistics network updates. Product line changes. 10. Success Criteria and Stakeholder Requirements The project success criteria and stakeholder requirements set the parameters and metrics to deem a project successful. Success Criteria: Facility completed on time and within budget. Production capacity increase by 30 percent. Achieve targeted cost savings within 12 months of operation. Stakeholder Requirements: Compliance with environmental and labor regulations. No disruption to current production during construction. 11. Implementation Plan As stated above, this is a simplified version of the project management plan, which offers a high-level view of the timeline and budget needed to complete the project. Phase Description Duration Budget Phase 1: Site selection and design Identify suitable locations, conduct feasibility studies, and finalize facility design. 3 months $5 million Phase 2: Permitting and approvals Secure local government permits and environmental approvals. 4 months $3 million Phase 3: Construction and infrastructure setup Build facility structure, install utilities, and create supporting infrastructure. 10 months $100 million Phase 4: Equipment installation and testing Install and calibrate production equipment, including automation systems. 4 months $25 million Phase 5: Staff recruitment and training Hire and train 500 employees to operate the facility. 3 months $5 million Phase 6: Production launch Conduct trial runs, address operational issues, and commence full production. 1 month $2 million Total 24 months $150 million 12. Project Governance These are the project management team roles and responsibilities in terms of project governance. Project Sponsor: Chief Operating Officer Steering Committee: CFO, VP of Manufacturing, Head of Supply Chain Project Manager: Head of Operations Reporting Structure: Monthly progress reports to the executive board 13. Risk Assessment These are the potential risks that could affect the project, the risk mitigation strategies that would need to be implemented and their estimated cost. Potential Risk Mitigation Strategy Estimated Cost for Mitigation Construction Delays Develop contingency plans with contractors, monitor progress weekly and secure backup suppliers. $2 million Permit or Regulatory Delays Engage local authorities early, hire legal advisors to manage compliance requirements. $1 million Cost Overruns Implement strict budget controls, conduct monthly financial reviews and set aside a contingency fund. $3 million Supply Chain Disruptions Establish alternative suppliers, secure long-term contracts, and maintain buffer stock. $2 million Workforce Shortages Partner with recruitment firms, offer competitive salaries and benefits and provide employee incentives. $1 million Equipment Failure During Testing Perform phased equipment testing, maintain warranties and secure technical support contracts. $2 million Environmental or Safety Violations Conduct regular safety audits, ensure compliance with environmental standards and provide staff training. $1 million Total $12 million How ProjectManager Helps with Your Business Case ProjectManager, an award-winning project management software, can collect and assemble all the various data you’ll be collecting, and then easily share it both with your team and project sponsors. Once you have a spreadsheet with all your tasks listed, you can import it into our software. Then it’s instantly populated into a Gantt chart. Simply set the duration for each of the tasks, add any dependencies, and your project is now spread across a timeline. You can set milestones, but there is so much more you can do. /wp-content/uploads/2024/03/sheet-view-cta-light-mode-construction.jpgManage projects with our robust sheet view. Learn more You have a project plan now, and from the online Gantt chart, you can assign team members to tasks. Then they can comment directly on the tasks they’re working on, adding as many documents and images as needed, fostering a collaborative environment. You can track their progress and change task durations as needed by dragging and dropping the start and end dates. But that’s only a taste of what ProjectManager offers. We have kanban boards that visualize your workflow and a real-time dashboard that tracks six project metrics for the most accurate view of your project possible. Try ProjectManager and see for yourself with this 30-day free trial. Watch Our Business Case Training Video If you want more business case advice, take a moment to watch Jennifer Bridges, PMP, in this short training video. She explains the steps you have to take in order to write a good business case. Here’s a screenshot for your reference. Transcription: Today we’re talking about how to write a business case. Well, over the past few years, we’ve seen the market, or maybe organizations, companies or even projects, move away from doing business cases. But, these days, companies, organizations, and those same projects are scrutinizing the investments and they’re really seeking a rate of return. So now, think of the business case as your opportunity to package your project, your idea, your opportunity, and show what it means and what the benefits are and how other people can benefit. We want to take a look today to see what’s in the business case and how to write one. I want to be clear that when you look for information on a business case, it’s not a briefcase. Someone called the other day and they were confused because they were looking for something, and they kept pulling up briefcases. That’s not what we’re talking about today. What we’re talking about are business cases, and they include information about your strategies, about your goals. It is your business proposal. It has your business outline, your business strategy, and even your marketing plan. Why Do You Need a Business Case? And so, why is that so important today? Again, companies are seeking not only their project managers but their team members to have a better understanding of business and more of an idea business acumen. So this business case provides the justification for the proposed business change or plan. It outlines the allocation of capital that you may be seeking and the resources required to implement it. Then, it can be an action plan. It may just serve as a unified vision. And then it also provides the decision-makers with different options. So let’s look more at the steps required to put these business cases together. There are four main steps. One, you want to research your market. Really look at what’s out there, where are the needs, where are the gaps that you can serve? Look at your competition. How are they approaching this, and how can you maybe provide some other alternatives? You want to compare and finalize different approaches that you can use to go to market. Then you compile that data and you present strategies, your goals and other options to be considered. And then you literally document it. So what does the document look like? Well, there are templates out there today. The components vary, but these are the common ones. And then these are what I consider essential. So there’s the executive summary. This is just a summary of your company, what your management team may look like, a summary of your product and service and your market. The business description gives a little bit more history about your company and the mission statement and really what your company is about and how this product or service fits in. Then, you outline the details of the product or service that you’re looking to either expand or roll out or implement. You may even include in their patents may be that you have pending or other trademarks. Then, you want to identify and lay out your marketing strategy. Like, how are you gonna take this to your customers? Are you going to have a brick-and-mortar store? Are you gonna do this online? And, what are your plans to take it to market? You also want to include detailed information about your competitor analysis. How are they doing things? And, how are you planning on, I guess, beating your competition? You also want to look at and identify your SWOT. And the SWOT is your strength. What are the strengths that you have in going to market? And where are the weaknesses? Maybe some of your gaps. And further, where are your opportunities and maybe threats that you need to plan for? Then the overview of the operation includes operational information like your production, even human resources, information about the day-to-day operations of your company. And then, your financial plan includes your profit statement, your profit and loss, any of your financials, any collateral that you may have, and any kind of investments that you may be seeking. Related Project Planning Content Project Documentation: 15 Essential Project Documents How to Create a Project Execution Plan (PEP) How to Write a Scope of Work Project Scope Statement: How to Write One With Examples So these are the components of your business case. This is why it’s so important. And if you need a tool that can help you manage and track this process, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager. The post How to Write a Business Case (Example & Template Included) appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

More bad news out of the federal government this week, and its only Tuesday: The Trump administration and its chaotic Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are now turning their sights on kids’ school lunches, which are now the latest casualty of this administration’s war on the federal government as it slashes budgets and fires Americans from their jobs in the name of fiscal responsibility. According to a statement from the School Nutrition Association, “millions of children could lose free school meals” as a result of $1 billion in cuts to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). That means about $660 million of those funds will no longer go to feeding needy children in schools and child care facilities, set up through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. Also cut: federal funds to purchase healthy, local and regional foods for those school meals through foods banks and organizations supplied by local farmers and ranchers. “These proposals [come]… at a time when working families are struggling with rising food costs,” said Shannon Gleave, president of the School Nutrition Association (SNA) a statement. “Meanwhile, short-staffed school nutrition teams, striving to improve menus and expand scratch-cooking, would be saddled with time-consuming and costly paperwork created by new government inefficiencies.” According to the SNA, one proposed cut to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) would eliminate free meals available to some 12 million students in 24,000 schools nationwide, all with high poverty rates. This is all bad news for our nation’s children and parents, teachers and schools, who are also reeling from the administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education which Trump has called “a big con job,” while simultaneously gutting it. It’s also another blow to American families, already reeling from the rising cost of food, and increasingly turning to food banks, while Republicans push for more cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for those with the lowest income, according to The Guardian. View the full article

Just five years ago, when the movie Parasite won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film, Bong Joon Ho, its South Korean director, said in his acceptance speech that American audiences needed to get over their issue with the “one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles.” His point was that there’s a whole world of great cinema beyond English-language films, and we shouldn’t let subtitles be a deal-breaker. That compares to audio dubbing, the technique that places English dialogue over the moving lips of an actor speaking in another language. Americans maintain their hesitancy around dubbed movies. In a 2021 survey, 76% of Americans said they preferred subtitling over dubbing. Compare that to European countries such as France, Italy, and Germany, where the majority of moviegoers prefer dubbing. Even younger generations in the U.S. are leaning toward subtitles, according to a 2024 Preply survey. 96% of Gen Z Americans prefer subtitles to dubbings, compared to just 75% of baby boomers. But now, AI could change all that. Amazon just made a big bet on dubbing, introducing AI-driven audio translation to some of its Prime Video entertainment. It’s still a pilot, though there are signs for how successful the AI audio-translation program will be. Meanwhile, video startups including ElevenLabs and InVideo are also dipping their toe into dubbing. Yet, the question of quality remains: Will these efforts make dubbing more lifelike and artful, or will it simply make it more common? The AI dubbing boom Amazon is slowly introducing AI dubbing to its Prime Video content, having started with just 12 licensed movies and series, including the documentary El Cid: La Leyenda and the drama Long Lost, translating between English and Latin American Spanish. These translations aren’t exclusively performed by AI; Amazon still employing “localization professionals” for quality control. From the outside, it looks like Amazon is employing AI to up the quantity of dubs, but not necessarily the quality. Amazon declined to comment, but pointed to a public blog post, which provides some clues. The blog notes that Amazon is only creating new dubs, not modifying preexisting ones. In his statement, Prime Video VP of technology Raf Soltanovich emphasized making international titles more “accessible and enjoyable.” Reactions to Amazon’s new tech have been mixed. Futurism called it an “assault on cinema.” On Saturday Night Live, Michael Che joked that the tool needed to translate Sylvester Stallone. Lifehacker’s Jake Peterson tried the tool himself. While Peterson maintained that there was “no way [he] would genuinely enjoy watching an entire movie or series with an AI dub,” he admitted that some of the tech was impressive, like when the AI muffled its own voice for the marshmallow-stuffing chubby bunny challenge. But Amazon isn’t the only company investing in AI dubbing tools. ElevenLabs, most known for its AI voice generator, has its own dub software. So do a handful of other startups, including InVideo, Dubbing AI, and Dubverse. But all these tools—including Amazon’s—are still nascent. Even if their voices are monotone and robotic now, that could change in the coming months. Will dubbed media ever be watchable? In the world of anime, there’s a common saying: “Subs not dubs.” The argument goes that an actor’s (or voice actor’s) performance is tied to their intonation and speaking style. Severing the voice from the body, and inserting a whole new voice in a new language, destroys the artistry. That’s not a problem for Western European audiences, where dubbing is often more common than subtitles. But, for Americans viewers, it can still be discomforting. The expectation is that AI can help here. Audio generators can replicate the sound of another actor’s voice. In some ways, that’s scary: Much of the 2023 SAG strike revolved around protections against AI duplication. But, in the dubbing space, that offers promise. The viewer could hear the performance in the voice of the actor, but within their own language. AI tools have also been able to hear emotion in a voice; they could replicate that in the duplicated audio. We’ve seen early-stage versions of this quality-altering AI voice tool. Respeecher lets audio engineers tinker with accents and fix pronunciations. That’s the tool that caused a ruckus for The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez during awards season. But, at scale, this kind of audio manipulation and regeneration could have seismic industry effects. Voice actors would be out of work. In their current form, subtitles still trump dubbing. But, with AI, that could all change sooner than we think. View the full article

Manchester United unveiled plans on Tuesday to build the “world’s greatest” soccer stadium. A proposed 100,000-seater arena would replace its iconic Old Trafford home and surpass Wembley as the biggest in the United Kingdom. “Manchester United is the world’s most favourite football club and, in my view, is the biggest and deserves a stadium fitting of its stature,” part owner Jim Ratcliffe said. Ratcliffe, who is one of Britain’s richest people, said the new venue could be a tourist attraction in the manner of the Eiffel Tower. “We have 1 billion people around the world who follow Manchester United. They will all want to visit this stadium,” he said. Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the first released images of the stadium include three giant tentpoles that would be seen from 40km away. They support a surrounding covered area, which he describes as “arguably the largest public space in the world.” Wembley is currently the biggest stadium in the U.K., with a capacity of 90,000, and is home to England’s national soccer team. Twickenham, which is home to the national rugby team, holds 82,500. Old Trafford is the country’s biggest dedicated soccer stadium with a capacity of just over 74,000, but is dated in comparison to the likes of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, which regularly hosts NFL games. Old Trafford, which was bombed during World War II, has been home to United since 1910. Under the plans, the 20-time English champion said it would build next to its current ground, meaning it would not need to relocate during the construction process. It is estimated it would then take around 12 months to disassemble Old Trafford. British billionaire Ratcliffe paid $1.3 billion for an initial 25% stake in United last year and made a new stadium one of his priorities. “Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium,” Ratcliffe said. “Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.” The possibility of redeveloping Old Trafford was considered but an entirely new construction was the preferred option. United has not set a start date yet but Foster said building work, which could include pre-fabricated parts and a “Meccano” type construction, could mean it is completed in five years. Timings would likely rely on government involvement in what United wants to be part of a wider project to regenerate the surrounding Old Trafford area. It said it would be worth 7.3 billion pounds ($9.4 billion) to the U.K. economy, and the U.K. government has already voiced its support for the project. “Our long-term objective as a club is to have the world’s best football team playing in the world’s best stadium,” United chief executive Omar Berrada said. Managerial great Alex Ferguson said the club “must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made.” The announcement came days after thousands of United fans marched in protest against the club’s ownership in the face of cost cuts, ticket price rises and ongoing failure on the field. United is majority owned by the American Glazer family, which also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Upon investing, Ratcliffe vowed to return the once-dominant club back to the summit of European soccer after more than a decade since it last won the Premier League. But his first year in charge of soccer operations has been turbulent. United endured its worst-ever Premier League season last year and is on course to set a new low this term, with the team currently languishing in the bottom half of the standings in 14th position. —James Robson, AP soccer writer View the full article

After the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gutted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by firing an estimated 7,000 workers, the agency responsible for collecting our nation’s taxes is now poised to close audits on some of the wealthiest taxpayers, who may not have paid their fair share. Democrats are warning that “wealthy tax dodgers” could soon benefit from fewer compliance staff, which would dismantle President Biden’s efforts to strengthen tax enforcement on the rich. During the Biden administration, the IRS received $80 billion, in part to help the under-resourced agency hold these high-income individuals and large corporations accountable, which resulted in collecting $1.3 billion in back taxes, according to the Internal Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Last week, more than 130 House Democrats sent a letter to Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause questioning the mass firings at the “already overburdened agency,” saying the move “threatens to undermine the IRS’ capacity to serve the American people effectively” right before tax season, “including ensuring that taxpayers receive timely services and refunds.” (The last thing financially struggling Americans need right now is an IRS that can’t process our tax refunds promptly.) “These efforts are not only a matter of fairness but also a necessity for addressing our nation’s debt and revenue shortfalls,” the letter continues. “The loss of thousands of compliance staff . . . could cripple this progress, emboldening tax evasion and depriving the U.S. of urgently needed resources.” Senate Democrats are also worried about the cuts hampering the IRS’ ability to function properly during the upcoming tax season, prompting 18 Democrats to send a letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, saying the recent layoffs would “likely reverse recent improvements in taxpayer service, causing phone wait times to increase.” In 2022, the average phone wait time was 28 minutes, but it went down to just 3 minutes during the 2023 filing season, which was maintained through 2024. They also argued the layoffs would interfere with the agency’s ongoing efforts to crack down on highly sophisticated tax evasion structures used by ultra high-wealth taxpayers and companies, including offshore tax evasion, large opaque partnerships, and abuse of luxury assets like private jets. View the full article

President Donald Trump, who’s buying a Tesla to show loyalty to company CEO Elon Musk, has had plenty to say about electric vehicles over the years. Most of it is not good. Of course, Trump was once a sharp critic of Musk, too, which is especially notable given how tight the pair are now. A look at some of Trump’s comments on EVs — and Musk: Trump includes electric cars in a sour Christmas message Trump marked Christmas 2023 with a social media post lumping “All Electric Car Lunacy” in with a number of political enemies that he said “are looking to destroy our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL.” A few weeks earlier, during a rally in Ankeny, Iowa, Trump said of EVs: “They don’t go far. They cost a fortune.” He also suggested that the U.S. military was looking at making “Army tanks all electric” and scoffing, “you’re in the middle of the desert and you say, ‘You know what, we’re running low on electric. Do they have a charger around anywhere?’” In November 2023, at a Claremont, New Hampshire, rally, Trump similarly picked up on distance being an electric vehicle issue: “You can’t get out of New Hampshire in an electric car.” “Where are you going? ‘I’m going to Massachusetts.’ Well, you better get yourself a gas turbine because this car is not going to get you there,” he said. “Well, you could, if you stop about four times.” That followed his joke during an event in Clive, Iowa, the previous month: “Electric cars are good if you have a towing company.” Trump bashes Biden’s electric car ‘Hoax’ Electric vehicles were an especially attractive Trump target during the six-week United Auto Workers strike in September 2023. That’s when he told a rally in Clinton Township, Michigan, “You go all electric so you can drive for 15 minutes before you have to get a charge.” Trump, a Republican, also posted on his social media site that then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat, sold autoworkers “down the river with his ridiculous all Electric Car Hoax.” He suggested that promoting electric vehicles “was the idea of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, & Communists” and that “Within 3 years, all of these cars will be made in China.” Trump has also praised EVs at times As on many top issues, Trump has been inconsistent on electric vehicles. During his first term, in September 2020, Trump cheered an all-electric Lordstown Motors Endurance truck at an event outside the White House, calling it an “incredible vehicle.” After Musk endorsed the former president’s bid to return to the White House, Trump began suggesting that electric vehicles could work for some buyers. “I’m for electric cars. I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly,” Trump said during an August rally in Atlanta. In a subsequent conversation on X, the social media platform Musk also owns, Trump called Tesla a “great product” while noting, “That doesn’t mean everybody should have an electric car.” During his inaugural address, Trump promised, “We will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry,” but he also said that Americans will “be able to buy the car of your choice.” While there was no Biden mandate to force the purchase of EVs, his policies were aimed at encouraging Americans to buy them and car companies to shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars. Trump has previously pilloried Musk, too Just like he had a change of heart about EVs, Trump has changed his tune about Musk, who’s now one of his advisers. When the pair got into an online feud in 2022, Trump ridiculed Musk for seeking support during his first term. “When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, ‘drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it,” Trump wrote then. —Will Weissert, Associated Press View the full article

The Girl Scouts have been sued by consumers over the alleged presence of “heavy metals” and pesticides in its popular Thin Mints and other cookies. A proposed class action lawsuit was filed on Monday night in federal court in the New York City borough of Brooklyn against the 113-year-old nonprofit and the cookies’ licensed producers, ABC Bakers and Ferrero USA’s Little Brownie Bakers. It cited a December 2024 study commissioned by GMO Science and Moms Across America that tested samples of 25 cookies from three U.S. states. The study said Girl Scout cookies contained at least four of five heavy metals – aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury – that can harm people’s health or the environment, often at levels exceeding regulators’ recommended limits. It also said all samples contained glyphosate, a pesticide used in some weed killers, with Thin Mints containing the highest levels. “While the entire sales practice system for Girl Scout Cookies is built on a foundation of ethics and teaching young girls sustainable business practices, defendants failed to uphold this standard themselves,” the lawsuit said. The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Girl Scouts, short for Girl Scouts of the United States of America, addressed the study in a February 6 blog post. It said heavy metals occur naturally in soil, with trace amounts not a safety issue, while glyphosate is found “nearly everywhere” in the food chain. Girl Scouts also said its bakers are committed to complying with all food safety standards. “The health and safety of Girl Scouts and cookie customers is our top priority,” the New York-based nonprofit said.  “Rest assured: Girl Scout Cookies are safe to consume.” Cookies are sold by registered Girl Scouts from January to April, with net proceeds supporting councils and local troops. About 200 million boxes are sold annually, NPR reported in 2023. The lawsuit is led by Amy Mayo, a resident of Bayside, New York. Mayo said she bought numerous Girl Scout products such as Adventurefuls, Peanut Butter Patties and Caramel deLites, believing they were “quality and safe cookies.” She said she would not have bought the cookies or “would have paid substantially less” had Girl Scouts disclosed the presence of “dangerous toxins.” The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages for U.S. cookie purchasers, for alleged violations of New York consumer protection laws, and an injunction requiring accurate labeling. Blake Yagman, a lawyer for Mayo, in an interview said the government does not adequately regulate many privately sold products such as Girl Scout cookies. “Lead is our foremost concern, but the presence of the other four heavy metals and pesticides is deeply concerning, especially because these products are marketed to and sold by children,” he said. Several chocolate makers including Hershey faced lawsuits after Consumer Reports in December 2022 found elevated levels of cadmium, lead or both in their products. The case is Mayo v Girl Scouts of the United States of America et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 25-01367. —Jonathan Stempel, Reuters View the full article

Bluesky's latest update adds a few more useful options to its impressive arsenal of anti-harassment tools. The changes make it easier to hide direct messages (DMs) from strangers, and to mute accounts even faster. You don't need to do anything to receive these features, too. As long as you're using the latest version of Bluesky's apps or log in to the website on any browser, you should see them. Here's everything that's now available as a part of Bluesky's 1.99 update. Block DMs from strangersNo one wants a bunch of DMs from strangers, and Bluesky has now acknowledged that. If you're on the end of a targeted harassment campaign, you'll now be able to sort out DMs from strangers quite easily. Go to the Chat tab in Bluesky's apps or website, and you'll see the new Chat requests button up top. This is where all DMs from strangers will now end up by default. You can accept these requests to allow the people behind them to DM you on a case-by-case basis, or reject them to stop them from pinging you again. Faster account mutingBluesky now lets you mute accounts directly from any post. If you're scrolling through your feed and you see a post you dislike, just hit the three-dots button next to the post and select Mute account. This will mute the account until you choose to unmute it. This is useful if you encounter accounts posting things you'd rather not see, such as spoilers, political content, or incendiary posts. It's much faster than having to go to their profile to mute them. Longer videos on BlueskyBluesky has increased the length of videos you're allowed to post on the service. Previously, you could post videos up to 60 seconds long, but with the 1.99 update, you can now post three-minute long videos, too. This brings Bluesky closer to its competitors. Threads allows you to upload individual videos that are up to five minutes long, while X (formerly Twitter) has the limit at two minutes and 20 seconds for people who don't pay for its premium subscription. Other notable improvementsThis update has a few other improvements, including translations to three new languages—Esperanto, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh. It also has better layouts for those accessing Bluesky's website from tablets. The company also claims that it has improved the process of reporting posts to moderators and the error reports you see when you encounter an issue during the signup process. View the full article