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In recent years, the open web has felt like the Wild West. Creators have seen their work scraped, processed, and fed into large language models – mostly without their consent. It became a data free-for-all, with almost no way for site owners to opt out or protect their work. There have been efforts, like llms.txt initiative from Jeremy Howard. Like robots.txt, which lets site owners allow or block site crawlers, llms.txt offers rules that do the same for AI companies’ crawling bots. But there’s no clear evidence that AI companies follow llms.txt or honor its rules. Plus, Google explicitly said it doesn’t support llms.txt. However, a new protocol is now emerging to give site owners control over how AI companies use their content. It may become part of robots.txt, allowing owners to set clear rules for how AI systems can access and use their sites. IETF AI Preferences Working Group To address this, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) launched the AI Preferences Working Group in January. The group is creating standardized, machine-readable rules that let site owners spell out how (or if) AI systems can use their content. Since its founding in 1986, the IETF has defined the core protocols that power the Internet, including TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS, and TLS. Now they’re developing standards for the AI era of the open web. The AI Preferences Working Group is co-chaired by Mark Nottingham and Suresh Krishnan, along with leaders from Google, Microsoft, Meta, and others. Notably, Google’s Gary Illyes is also part of the working group. The goal of this group: “The AI Preferences Working Group will standardize building blocks that allow for the expression of preferences about how content is collected and processed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) model development, deployment, and use.” What the AI Preferences Group is proposing This working group will deliver new standards that give site owners control over how LLM-powered systems use their content on the open web. A standard track document covering vocabulary for expressing AI-related preferences, independent of how those preferences are associated with content. Standard track document(s) describing means of attaching or associating those preferences with content in IETF-defined protocols and formats, including but not limited to using Well-Known URIs (RFC 8615) such as the Robots Exclusion Protocol (RFC 9309), and HTTP response header fields. A standard method for reconciling multiple expressions of preferences. As of this writing, nothing from the group is final yet. But they have published early documents that offer a glimpse into what the standards might look like. Two main documents were published by this working group in August. A Vocabulary For Expressing AI Usage Preferences Associating AI Usage Preferences with Content in HTTP (Illyes is one of the authors of this document) Together, these documents propose updates to the existing Robots Exclusion Protocol (RFC 9309), adding new rules and definitions that let site owners spell out how they want AI systems to use their content on the web. How it might work Different AI systems on the web are categorized and given standard labels. It’s still unclear whether there will be a directory where site owners can look up how each system is labeled. These are the labels defined so far: search: for indexing/discoverability train-ai: for general AI training train-genai: for generative AI model training bots: for all forms of automated processing (including crawling/scraping) For each of these labels, two values can be set: y to allow n to disallow. The documents also note that these rules can be set at the folder level and customized for different bots. In robots.txt, they’re applied through a new Content-Usage field, similar to how the Allow and Disallow fields work today. Here is an example robots.txt that the working group included in the document: User-Agent: * Allow: / Disallow: /never/ Content-Usage: train-ai=n Content-Usage: /ai-ok/ train-ai=y Explanation Content-Usage: train-ai=n means all the content on this domain isn’t allowed for training any LLM model while Content-Usage: /ai-ok/ train-ai=y specifically means that training the models using content of subfolder /ai-ok/ is alright. Why does this matter? There’s been a lot of buzz in the SEO world about llms.txt and why site owners should use it alongside robots.txt, but no AI company has confirmed that their crawlers actually follow its rules. And we know Google doesn’t use llms.txt. Still, site owners want clearer control over how AI companies use their content – whether for training models or powering RAG-based answers. IETF’s work on these new standards feels like a step in the right direction. And with Illyes involved as an author, I’m hopeful that once the standards are finalized, Google and other tech companies will adopt them and respect the new robots.txt rules when scraping content. View the full article

The vendor, SitusAMC Group Holdings, LP, said in a statement Saturday that someone compromised its systems and took client data including "accounting records and legal agreements." View the full article

Happy Hanukkah to all of our small business friends! As the holiday season approaches, Hanukkah reminds us to celebrate perseverance and hope. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of Hanukkah messages for small businesses to use in their holiday marketing efforts. Let’s get started! Hannukah: The Festival of Lights Explained Hanukkah, also known as the Jewish Festival of Lights, is a holiday that celebrates the victory of the Jewish people over their oppressors in ancient times. The happy holiday greeting “Hanukkah Sameach,” meaning “Happy Hanukkah,” is commonly exchanged among friends and family during this time. During Hanukkah, a menorah with nine candle holders is lit each night for eight nights, with one candle lit on the first night, two on the second, and so on. In addition to lighting Hanukkah candles and giving gifts, traditional foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) are eaten. With its rich traditions and symbolism, Hanukkah offers a chance for reflection and celebration for those who observe it. The holiday also emphasizes spending time with loved ones, reflecting on the triumphs and struggles of the past year, and ridding yourself of all your worries. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, often falls within or near Hannukah, making it a particularly joyous time in the Jewish community. READ MORE: 60 Passover Greeting Messages for Small Businesses What is the Difference Between Hanukkah and Chanukah? At first glance, the terms “Hanukkah” and “Chanukah” may seem to refer to two distinct celebrations, but in reality, they represent the same holiday, just spelled differently. Hanukkah, a term commonly used in English-speaking areas, is easily pronounced by those who are not familiar with Hebrew phonetics. On the other hand, “Chanukah,” the traditional Hebrew spelling, captures the richness of the language, hinting at its ancient roots. Both names refer to the Festival of Lights, a poignant celebration remembering the unexpected endurance of a tiny quantity of oil, which miraculously illuminated the Jewish temple for eight continuous nights. Yet, it’s worth noting the subtle differences in connotations. “Hanukkah” is often associated with the broader festive elements, while “Chanukah” dives deeper, resonating with the profound religious sentiments deeply cherished by devotees of Judaism. When is Hanukkah Celebrated? As the year’s end approaches and winter starts to cast its spell, a special moment arises for the Jewish community. Hanukkah, the luminescent celebration of hope and perseverance, finds its date on the 25th day of Kislev—a month in the Hebrew calendar. This positioning means that on the Gregorian calendar, which most of the world follows, the festival usually alights between the closing days of November and December. More than simply a season of joy and light, Hanukkah serves as a powerful reminder of a significant moment in history. It honors the courageous triumph of a minority group—the Maccabees, who were Jewish warriors—over their formidable enemies, as well as the later rededication of the sacred temple in Jerusalem, which stands as a symbol of their faith. What are Menorah Candles? Amidst the wintry nights, when darkness envelops the world a little earlier, the menorah emerges as a symbol of defiant luminance during Hanukkah. Over a span of eight days and nights, each evening witnesses the kindling of a new candle on the menorah, with the glow gradually expanding until all eight candles radiate their brilliance. This progression isn’t merely ceremonial. It encapsulates a story, a narrative of relentless faith and tenacity. The Menorah, with its candles, becomes more than just a candelabrum; it is a vivid representation of the Jewish spirit’s unwavering perseverance, their enduring faith against overwhelming odds, and the belief in miracles. Who You Can Send Your Hanukah Messages To As the days of Hanukkah unfold, bringing with them an atmosphere filled with gratitude and reflection, it presents an opportune moment for businesses and individuals alike. This season is perfect for sending out Hanukkah messages and cards, adorned with warm greetings, to a diverse group of recipients. Whether it’s the clients who’ve placed their trust in a business, the hardworking employees who form the backbone of an organization, or the steadfast partners who’ve been allies in numerous ventures—each deserves a special note of appreciation. Moreover, amidst the festivities, it’s an ideal time for businesses to express their gratitude to customers, acknowledging their loyalty and contribution to the year’s successes. Meaningful Hanukkah Messages to Give Others If you’re looking to send Hanukkah greetings to others, want to wish a wonderful holiday season, or simply say “Chag Sameach,” then we have you covered. Here’s our list of 47 Hanukkah messages for small businesses… Warm Wishes Want to send business associates warm wishes on Hanukkah? Fill your cup with your favorite drink and browse through these messages for inspiration… Wishing you a joyful and bright Hanukkah filled with love and light! May the miracles of Hanukkah bring peace, happiness, and warmth to your home. Happy Hanukkah! May the Festival of Lights illuminate your life with blessings. Sending you eight days of joy, laughter, and love this Hanukkah! May your menorah shine bright, and your heart be full of happiness. Wishing you a wonderful Hanukkah full of light, love, and family. Happy Hanukkah! May this special season bring you peace and prosperity. May your holiday be filled with blessings, light, and all things sweet! Wishing you warmth, happiness, and the glow of the menorah. Have a wonderful Hanukkah with love, laughter, and light shining bright! Chag Sameach! May your Hanukkah be filled with miracles and joy. Sending you blessings of health, happiness, and light this Hanukkah. May your days be as bright as the candles on your menorah. Wishing you peace, love, and the sweetness of the season. Chag Sameach! May your home be filled with warmth and light. May your heart be as full as your plate of latkes! Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with joy, miracles, and everything you love. Happy Hanukkah to you and your family! May your lives be filled with light. May the light of the menorah bring peace to your heart and your home. Wishing you a season of joy, family, and sweet memories. Chag Sameach! May this Hanukkah be a time of miracles for you. May your Hanukkah be as sweet as sufganiyot and as warm as your heart. Happy Hanukkah! May your holiday be full of light, love, and joy. Sending you warmth and joy as the menorah lights shine bright. Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with laughter, love, and latkes! Happy Hanukkah Wishes Here are some Hanukkah messages you can use to send joyous wishes: Happy Hanukkah! May your days be filled with light, love, and joy! Wishing you a bright and happy Hanukkah! May your home be filled with warmth. Happy Hanukkah to you and your family! May your hearts shine as brightly as the menorah. May the Festival of Lights bring joy, peace, and blessings into your life! Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with laughter, love, and latkes! Happy Hanukkah! May your holiday season be as sweet as sufganiyot. Chag Sameach! Wishing you eight nights of happiness and love. Happy Hanukkah! May the light of the menorah fill your life with peace and joy. Wishing you a warm and wonderful Hanukkah surrounded by family and love. May your Hanukkah be filled with miracles and sweet memories. Chag Sameach! May your heart be filled with joy and your home with light. Wishing you eight nights of peace, happiness, and lots of blessings! Happy Hanukkah! May this season bring you good health and endless happiness. Wishing you a joyful Hanukkah with love, light, and laughter. Happy Hanukkah! May your days shine as bright as the candles on the menorah. May your Hanukkah be full of blessings, joy, and warmth. Chag Sameach! Wishing you a Hanukkah full of laughter and sweet treats! Happy Hanukkah! May your days be merry, bright, and filled with love. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of light, love, and sweet moments. May the miracles of Hanukkah fill your heart with hope and joy. Happy Hanukkah! May the glow of the menorah brighten your life. Chag Sameach! Wishing you a Hanukkah of peace, love, and happiness. Happy Hanukkah! May each night bring joy, light, and love into your home. Wishing you a bright Hanukkah full of happiness and unforgettable moments. Happy Hanukkah Quotes and Sayings Here are some quotes and sayings you can use to convey Happy Hanukkah messages and foster joyful moments during this blessed season: “To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, every cubic inch of space is a miracle.” – Walt Whitman “Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.” – Hannah Senesh “The darkness of the whole world cannot swallow the glowing of a candle.” – Robert Altinger “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” – Anne Frank “But I also say this: that light is an invitation to happiness, and that happiness, when it’s done right, is a kind of holiness, palpable and redemptive.” – Mary Oliver “Is not Hanukkah a symbol of Israel, and its light a symbol of his immortality?” – Leo Jung “The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.” – Irving Greenberg. “Hanukkah is about the spark of the divine in all of us made in God’s image.” – Suzanne Fields Chanukah Messages That Give Thanks Wishing others a Happy Chanukah is a precious reminder to give thanks for what we have been given. Here are some messages you can use to express your gratitude this holiday season: Thank you for being a light in my life this Chanukah. Wishing you all the warmth and blessings of the season! Grateful for the love and light you bring into my life this Chanukah. Chag Sameach! Thank you for filling my heart with joy and my home with light this Chanukah! Wishing you a Chanukah filled with gratitude, peace, and all things beautiful! Thank you for the blessing of your presence. May your Chanukah be as bright as your spirit! I’m thankful for the light you bring into my life, today and always. Happy Chanukah! This Chanukah, I’m grateful for the love of family, the light of the menorah, and the joy of the season. Thank you for sharing your warmth and light with me. Wishing you a blessed Chanukah! May this Chanukah bring blessings and happiness to you and your family. Thank you for being a part of my life! I’m so thankful for the gift of your friendship. Wishing you a beautiful and joyous Chanukah! Grateful for the memories we’ve made, and for the light you bring to my life this Chanukah! Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Wishing you a Chanukah filled with light and love! This Chanukah, I thank you for your unwavering support and endless love. Grateful to celebrate Chanukah with you. May this season bring blessings and joy to your heart! Thank you for being my guiding light through thick and thin. Wishing you a joyous Chanukah! This season, I’m thankful for the miracles, blessings, and the light that surrounds us. Happy Chanukah! Thank you for the gift of your love and friendship this Chanukah. May you be blessed with peace and joy! Wishing you a Chanukah filled with gratitude, joy, and warmth. Thank you for everything! I’m so grateful for your presence in my life. May your Chanukah shine as brightly as your kindness! Thank you for being a source of light in my life. Wishing you a peaceful and joyous Chanukah! Thank you for the love, laughter, and light you bring to my life. Wishing you a wonderful Chanukah! May the miracles of Chanukah bring you joy and light. Thank you for all the blessings you bring to my life! This Chanukah, I’m grateful for the love and light you share. Wishing you a season filled with joy! Thank you for always being there with love and light. Wishing you a blessed Chanukah! I’m thankful for the joy and warmth you bring into my life. May your Chanukah be as bright as your heart! Lovely Hanukkah Menorah and Candle Greetings Here are some messages inspired by the beautiful, bright Hanukkah lights: May the light of the menorah fill your home with love and joy this Hanukkah! Wishing you a bright and beautiful Hanukkah, with the candles of the menorah shining brightly! As the menorah lights shine, may your heart be filled with peace and happiness. Happy Hanukkah! May each candle of the menorah bring you warmth, love, and light! May the lights of the menorah brighten your life and guide you to happiness! Let the menorah’s glow fill your home with warmth, peace, and blessings this Hanukkah. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of light, love, and miracles, just like the candles on the menorah! May the menorah’s light shine bright and bring you peace this holiday season. As the menorah lights up, may your heart be filled with joy, hope, and love. Let the beauty of the menorah’s candles bring warmth and happiness to your Hanukkah! May the glow of the menorah bring light to your days and warmth to your heart. Each light of the menorah symbolizes hope and love. Wishing you both this Hanukkah season! May the menorah shine brightly in your home and bring light to your heart! Wishing you eight days of joy, peace, and the warm glow of the menorah! May the light of the menorah bring you blessings, love, and happiness. The menorah’s lights are a symbol of hope. May they guide your way through this beautiful season. Sending you the light of the menorah and the warmth of its candles. Happy Hanukkah! May the menorah’s flames fill your life with peace, joy, and countless blessings! As you light the menorah, may your heart be filled with joy and light. Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with love, laughter, and the glowing lights of the menorah! The menorah shines bright, filling the world with light and love. Wishing you both this Hanukkah! May the menorah’s candles bring you hope, peace, and happiness this Hanukkah! Happy Hanukkah! May the light of the menorah shine brightly in your life! May the menorah illuminate your path with joy and blessings this Hanukkah! Wishing you eight nights of light, love, and the glow of the menorah’s candles! Fun Hanukkah Messages Here are some fun messages to spread joy during the happy holidays: Wishing you a menorah-ific Hanukkah! May your holiday be as sweet as sufganiyot! I hope your Chanukah is lit… literally and figuratively! May your latkes be crispy and your dreidel skills unbeatable! Here’s to eight nights of eating fried food and pretending we’re not stuffed! May your holiday be filled with family, fun, and plenty of guilt-free chocolate gelt! Wishing you a Hanukkah as bright as the candles on the menorah (and as sweet as the sufganiyot)! Let’s be real: Hanukkah is just a great excuse to eat more potato pancakes. Happy Hanukkah! Remember, calories don’t count when you’re eating latkes. Here’s to eight nights of partying, eating, and spinning that dreidel like a pro! I hope your Hanukkah is as sweet as the chocolate gelt and as bright as the menorah candles! Wishing you a menorah-rific time full of laughter, light, and latkes! If your latkes are crispy and your dreidel game is strong, then you’re winning this Hanukkah! Hope your Hanukkah is so sweet, even the sufganiyot are jealous! Keep calm and light the menorah! It’s time for candles, latkes, and dreidels! Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with light, love, and lots of fried food! Just remember, Hanukkah is like Christmas, but with more food and less stress! May your Hanukkah be filled with as much joy as the amount of oil used in your latkes! Wishing you eight nights of fun, food, and family (and hopefully no dreidel fights)! Hanukkah: The festival of lights, latkes, and avoiding awkward family questions! Here’s to eight nights of fun and spinning, both the dreidel and your waistline! May your candles burn bright and your latkes never get soggy! Let’s be honest, the best part of Hanukkah is the fried food. Wishing you a Hanukkah so fun, you’ll forget about all those menorah-related accidents! Happy Hanukkah! May your dreidel always land on “Gimel” (and your latkes always be crispy)! Hanukkah: The only time it’s acceptable to eat fried potatoes for eight nights in a row! Hanukkah Blessings Share these Hanukkah blessings during the eight nights of this joyous festival: May the lights of the menorah bring peace, joy, and blessings to your home. Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with love, laughter, and light! May each candle of the menorah fill your heart with warmth and your home with light. May your Hanukkah be filled with miracles, joy, and the warmth of family. Blessings of light, love, and happiness this Hanukkah! May it be a time of peace and celebration. May the light of the menorah shine brightly in your life, bringing hope and blessings! Wishing you a season filled with love, peace, and the glow of Hanukkah’s lights. May the Festival of Lights bring new blessings into your life and fill your heart with joy. May your Hanukkah be bright, beautiful, and filled with all the blessings of the season. Blessings for a joyful Hanukkah filled with light, love, and good health. May the miracles of Hanukkah bring peace and happiness to your heart. Wishing you a bright and blessed Hanukkah full of light, love, and laughter! May the spirit of Hanukkah bring you peace, love, and countless blessings. Blessings of light, laughter, and love this Hanukkah. May your holiday shine bright! May the flames of the menorah fill your home with warmth and blessings. Wishing you the warmth of family, the joy of the season, and the light of the menorah. May the miracles of Hanukkah fill your life with joy and your home with peace. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of blessings, happiness, and cherished moments. May the lights of the menorah guide your way to happiness and success. May the holiday season bring you light, love, and all of your heart’s desires. Blessings for a joyous Hanukkah, filled with family, friends, and sweet memories. May the Festival of Lights bring you peace, happiness, and endless blessings. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of love, laughter, and lots of latkes! May the joy of Hanukkah fill your heart and your home with warmth and love. Blessings of light and love this Hanukkah! May it be a season of miracles. READ MORE: 30 Printing Services for Your Small Business Needs Best Hanukkah Greetings Last, but not least on our list, are the best Hanukkah greetings you can use: Happy Hanukkah wishes to you and your family. May your holiday season be filled with joy! Wishing you all the happiness your holiday can hold. Happy Hanukkah! On this special festival of lights, may your life be filled with happiness and blessings. Chag Chanukah Sameach! May the glow of the Menorah candles fill your heart and home with happiness. Sending you and your family happy Hanukkah wishes! May your home be filled with the lights of Hanukkah. Wishing you and your family a joyful and Happy Hanukkah! Below, we’ve drawn parallels between the cherished traditions of Hanukkah and the enduring values of small businesses in a comparative table for clearer insights: Hanukkah Tradition/AspectRelevance to Small Business Festival of LightsLighting the path for customers, illuminating products/services. Miracle of the OilMaking the most of limited resources, maximizing potential. Victory Over OppressorsOvercoming challenges and obstacles in the business world. MenorahGrowing step by step; just as one lights one candle more each night, businesses grow steadily. Traditional Foods (Latkes & Sufganiyot)Offering special deals or products during holiday seasons. Spending Time with Loved OnesValuing customers, employees, and partners – treating them like family. Reflection on Triumphs and StrugglesYear-end reviews, learning from challenges and celebrating successes. Hanukkah GreetingsConnecting with the community, showing appreciation, and building relationships. Image: Envato Elements This article, "Heartfelt Hanukkah Messages to Brighten the Season" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Happy Hanukkah to all of our small business friends! As the holiday season approaches, Hanukkah reminds us to celebrate perseverance and hope. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of Hanukkah messages for small businesses to use in their holiday marketing efforts. Let’s get started! Hannukah: The Festival of Lights Explained Hanukkah, also known as the Jewish Festival of Lights, is a holiday that celebrates the victory of the Jewish people over their oppressors in ancient times. The happy holiday greeting “Hanukkah Sameach,” meaning “Happy Hanukkah,” is commonly exchanged among friends and family during this time. During Hanukkah, a menorah with nine candle holders is lit each night for eight nights, with one candle lit on the first night, two on the second, and so on. In addition to lighting Hanukkah candles and giving gifts, traditional foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) are eaten. With its rich traditions and symbolism, Hanukkah offers a chance for reflection and celebration for those who observe it. The holiday also emphasizes spending time with loved ones, reflecting on the triumphs and struggles of the past year, and ridding yourself of all your worries. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, often falls within or near Hannukah, making it a particularly joyous time in the Jewish community. READ MORE: 60 Passover Greeting Messages for Small Businesses What is the Difference Between Hanukkah and Chanukah? At first glance, the terms “Hanukkah” and “Chanukah” may seem to refer to two distinct celebrations, but in reality, they represent the same holiday, just spelled differently. Hanukkah, a term commonly used in English-speaking areas, is easily pronounced by those who are not familiar with Hebrew phonetics. On the other hand, “Chanukah,” the traditional Hebrew spelling, captures the richness of the language, hinting at its ancient roots. Both names refer to the Festival of Lights, a poignant celebration remembering the unexpected endurance of a tiny quantity of oil, which miraculously illuminated the Jewish temple for eight continuous nights. Yet, it’s worth noting the subtle differences in connotations. “Hanukkah” is often associated with the broader festive elements, while “Chanukah” dives deeper, resonating with the profound religious sentiments deeply cherished by devotees of Judaism. When is Hanukkah Celebrated? As the year’s end approaches and winter starts to cast its spell, a special moment arises for the Jewish community. Hanukkah, the luminescent celebration of hope and perseverance, finds its date on the 25th day of Kislev—a month in the Hebrew calendar. This positioning means that on the Gregorian calendar, which most of the world follows, the festival usually alights between the closing days of November and December. More than simply a season of joy and light, Hanukkah serves as a powerful reminder of a significant moment in history. It honors the courageous triumph of a minority group—the Maccabees, who were Jewish warriors—over their formidable enemies, as well as the later rededication of the sacred temple in Jerusalem, which stands as a symbol of their faith. What are Menorah Candles? Amidst the wintry nights, when darkness envelops the world a little earlier, the menorah emerges as a symbol of defiant luminance during Hanukkah. Over a span of eight days and nights, each evening witnesses the kindling of a new candle on the menorah, with the glow gradually expanding until all eight candles radiate their brilliance. This progression isn’t merely ceremonial. It encapsulates a story, a narrative of relentless faith and tenacity. The Menorah, with its candles, becomes more than just a candelabrum; it is a vivid representation of the Jewish spirit’s unwavering perseverance, their enduring faith against overwhelming odds, and the belief in miracles. Who You Can Send Your Hanukah Messages To As the days of Hanukkah unfold, bringing with them an atmosphere filled with gratitude and reflection, it presents an opportune moment for businesses and individuals alike. This season is perfect for sending out Hanukkah messages and cards, adorned with warm greetings, to a diverse group of recipients. Whether it’s the clients who’ve placed their trust in a business, the hardworking employees who form the backbone of an organization, or the steadfast partners who’ve been allies in numerous ventures—each deserves a special note of appreciation. Moreover, amidst the festivities, it’s an ideal time for businesses to express their gratitude to customers, acknowledging their loyalty and contribution to the year’s successes. Meaningful Hanukkah Messages to Give Others If you’re looking to send Hanukkah greetings to others, want to wish a wonderful holiday season, or simply say “Chag Sameach,” then we have you covered. Here’s our list of 47 Hanukkah messages for small businesses… Warm Wishes Want to send business associates warm wishes on Hanukkah? Fill your cup with your favorite drink and browse through these messages for inspiration… Wishing you a joyful and bright Hanukkah filled with love and light! May the miracles of Hanukkah bring peace, happiness, and warmth to your home. Happy Hanukkah! May the Festival of Lights illuminate your life with blessings. Sending you eight days of joy, laughter, and love this Hanukkah! May your menorah shine bright, and your heart be full of happiness. Wishing you a wonderful Hanukkah full of light, love, and family. Happy Hanukkah! May this special season bring you peace and prosperity. May your holiday be filled with blessings, light, and all things sweet! Wishing you warmth, happiness, and the glow of the menorah. Have a wonderful Hanukkah with love, laughter, and light shining bright! Chag Sameach! May your Hanukkah be filled with miracles and joy. Sending you blessings of health, happiness, and light this Hanukkah. May your days be as bright as the candles on your menorah. Wishing you peace, love, and the sweetness of the season. Chag Sameach! May your home be filled with warmth and light. May your heart be as full as your plate of latkes! Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with joy, miracles, and everything you love. Happy Hanukkah to you and your family! May your lives be filled with light. May the light of the menorah bring peace to your heart and your home. Wishing you a season of joy, family, and sweet memories. Chag Sameach! May this Hanukkah be a time of miracles for you. May your Hanukkah be as sweet as sufganiyot and as warm as your heart. Happy Hanukkah! May your holiday be full of light, love, and joy. Sending you warmth and joy as the menorah lights shine bright. Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with laughter, love, and latkes! Happy Hanukkah Wishes Here are some Hanukkah messages you can use to send joyous wishes: Happy Hanukkah! May your days be filled with light, love, and joy! Wishing you a bright and happy Hanukkah! May your home be filled with warmth. Happy Hanukkah to you and your family! May your hearts shine as brightly as the menorah. May the Festival of Lights bring joy, peace, and blessings into your life! Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with laughter, love, and latkes! Happy Hanukkah! May your holiday season be as sweet as sufganiyot. Chag Sameach! Wishing you eight nights of happiness and love. Happy Hanukkah! May the light of the menorah fill your life with peace and joy. Wishing you a warm and wonderful Hanukkah surrounded by family and love. May your Hanukkah be filled with miracles and sweet memories. Chag Sameach! May your heart be filled with joy and your home with light. Wishing you eight nights of peace, happiness, and lots of blessings! Happy Hanukkah! May this season bring you good health and endless happiness. Wishing you a joyful Hanukkah with love, light, and laughter. Happy Hanukkah! May your days shine as bright as the candles on the menorah. May your Hanukkah be full of blessings, joy, and warmth. Chag Sameach! Wishing you a Hanukkah full of laughter and sweet treats! Happy Hanukkah! May your days be merry, bright, and filled with love. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of light, love, and sweet moments. May the miracles of Hanukkah fill your heart with hope and joy. Happy Hanukkah! May the glow of the menorah brighten your life. Chag Sameach! Wishing you a Hanukkah of peace, love, and happiness. Happy Hanukkah! May each night bring joy, light, and love into your home. Wishing you a bright Hanukkah full of happiness and unforgettable moments. Happy Hanukkah Quotes and Sayings Here are some quotes and sayings you can use to convey Happy Hanukkah messages and foster joyful moments during this blessed season: “To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, every cubic inch of space is a miracle.” – Walt Whitman “Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.” – Hannah Senesh “The darkness of the whole world cannot swallow the glowing of a candle.” – Robert Altinger “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” – Anne Frank “But I also say this: that light is an invitation to happiness, and that happiness, when it’s done right, is a kind of holiness, palpable and redemptive.” – Mary Oliver “Is not Hanukkah a symbol of Israel, and its light a symbol of his immortality?” – Leo Jung “The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.” – Irving Greenberg. “Hanukkah is about the spark of the divine in all of us made in God’s image.” – Suzanne Fields Chanukah Messages That Give Thanks Wishing others a Happy Chanukah is a precious reminder to give thanks for what we have been given. Here are some messages you can use to express your gratitude this holiday season: Thank you for being a light in my life this Chanukah. Wishing you all the warmth and blessings of the season! Grateful for the love and light you bring into my life this Chanukah. Chag Sameach! Thank you for filling my heart with joy and my home with light this Chanukah! Wishing you a Chanukah filled with gratitude, peace, and all things beautiful! Thank you for the blessing of your presence. May your Chanukah be as bright as your spirit! I’m thankful for the light you bring into my life, today and always. Happy Chanukah! This Chanukah, I’m grateful for the love of family, the light of the menorah, and the joy of the season. Thank you for sharing your warmth and light with me. Wishing you a blessed Chanukah! May this Chanukah bring blessings and happiness to you and your family. Thank you for being a part of my life! I’m so thankful for the gift of your friendship. Wishing you a beautiful and joyous Chanukah! Grateful for the memories we’ve made, and for the light you bring to my life this Chanukah! Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Wishing you a Chanukah filled with light and love! This Chanukah, I thank you for your unwavering support and endless love. Grateful to celebrate Chanukah with you. May this season bring blessings and joy to your heart! Thank you for being my guiding light through thick and thin. Wishing you a joyous Chanukah! This season, I’m thankful for the miracles, blessings, and the light that surrounds us. Happy Chanukah! Thank you for the gift of your love and friendship this Chanukah. May you be blessed with peace and joy! Wishing you a Chanukah filled with gratitude, joy, and warmth. Thank you for everything! I’m so grateful for your presence in my life. May your Chanukah shine as brightly as your kindness! Thank you for being a source of light in my life. Wishing you a peaceful and joyous Chanukah! Thank you for the love, laughter, and light you bring to my life. Wishing you a wonderful Chanukah! May the miracles of Chanukah bring you joy and light. Thank you for all the blessings you bring to my life! This Chanukah, I’m grateful for the love and light you share. Wishing you a season filled with joy! Thank you for always being there with love and light. Wishing you a blessed Chanukah! I’m thankful for the joy and warmth you bring into my life. May your Chanukah be as bright as your heart! Lovely Hanukkah Menorah and Candle Greetings Here are some messages inspired by the beautiful, bright Hanukkah lights: May the light of the menorah fill your home with love and joy this Hanukkah! Wishing you a bright and beautiful Hanukkah, with the candles of the menorah shining brightly! As the menorah lights shine, may your heart be filled with peace and happiness. Happy Hanukkah! May each candle of the menorah bring you warmth, love, and light! May the lights of the menorah brighten your life and guide you to happiness! Let the menorah’s glow fill your home with warmth, peace, and blessings this Hanukkah. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of light, love, and miracles, just like the candles on the menorah! May the menorah’s light shine bright and bring you peace this holiday season. As the menorah lights up, may your heart be filled with joy, hope, and love. Let the beauty of the menorah’s candles bring warmth and happiness to your Hanukkah! May the glow of the menorah bring light to your days and warmth to your heart. Each light of the menorah symbolizes hope and love. Wishing you both this Hanukkah season! May the menorah shine brightly in your home and bring light to your heart! Wishing you eight days of joy, peace, and the warm glow of the menorah! May the light of the menorah bring you blessings, love, and happiness. The menorah’s lights are a symbol of hope. May they guide your way through this beautiful season. Sending you the light of the menorah and the warmth of its candles. Happy Hanukkah! May the menorah’s flames fill your life with peace, joy, and countless blessings! As you light the menorah, may your heart be filled with joy and light. Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with love, laughter, and the glowing lights of the menorah! The menorah shines bright, filling the world with light and love. Wishing you both this Hanukkah! May the menorah’s candles bring you hope, peace, and happiness this Hanukkah! Happy Hanukkah! May the light of the menorah shine brightly in your life! May the menorah illuminate your path with joy and blessings this Hanukkah! Wishing you eight nights of light, love, and the glow of the menorah’s candles! Fun Hanukkah Messages Here are some fun messages to spread joy during the happy holidays: Wishing you a menorah-ific Hanukkah! May your holiday be as sweet as sufganiyot! I hope your Chanukah is lit… literally and figuratively! May your latkes be crispy and your dreidel skills unbeatable! Here’s to eight nights of eating fried food and pretending we’re not stuffed! May your holiday be filled with family, fun, and plenty of guilt-free chocolate gelt! Wishing you a Hanukkah as bright as the candles on the menorah (and as sweet as the sufganiyot)! Let’s be real: Hanukkah is just a great excuse to eat more potato pancakes. Happy Hanukkah! Remember, calories don’t count when you’re eating latkes. Here’s to eight nights of partying, eating, and spinning that dreidel like a pro! I hope your Hanukkah is as sweet as the chocolate gelt and as bright as the menorah candles! Wishing you a menorah-rific time full of laughter, light, and latkes! If your latkes are crispy and your dreidel game is strong, then you’re winning this Hanukkah! Hope your Hanukkah is so sweet, even the sufganiyot are jealous! Keep calm and light the menorah! It’s time for candles, latkes, and dreidels! Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with light, love, and lots of fried food! Just remember, Hanukkah is like Christmas, but with more food and less stress! May your Hanukkah be filled with as much joy as the amount of oil used in your latkes! Wishing you eight nights of fun, food, and family (and hopefully no dreidel fights)! Hanukkah: The festival of lights, latkes, and avoiding awkward family questions! Here’s to eight nights of fun and spinning, both the dreidel and your waistline! May your candles burn bright and your latkes never get soggy! Let’s be honest, the best part of Hanukkah is the fried food. Wishing you a Hanukkah so fun, you’ll forget about all those menorah-related accidents! Happy Hanukkah! May your dreidel always land on “Gimel” (and your latkes always be crispy)! Hanukkah: The only time it’s acceptable to eat fried potatoes for eight nights in a row! Hanukkah Blessings Share these Hanukkah blessings during the eight nights of this joyous festival: May the lights of the menorah bring peace, joy, and blessings to your home. Wishing you a Hanukkah filled with love, laughter, and light! May each candle of the menorah fill your heart with warmth and your home with light. May your Hanukkah be filled with miracles, joy, and the warmth of family. Blessings of light, love, and happiness this Hanukkah! May it be a time of peace and celebration. May the light of the menorah shine brightly in your life, bringing hope and blessings! Wishing you a season filled with love, peace, and the glow of Hanukkah’s lights. May the Festival of Lights bring new blessings into your life and fill your heart with joy. May your Hanukkah be bright, beautiful, and filled with all the blessings of the season. Blessings for a joyful Hanukkah filled with light, love, and good health. May the miracles of Hanukkah bring peace and happiness to your heart. Wishing you a bright and blessed Hanukkah full of light, love, and laughter! May the spirit of Hanukkah bring you peace, love, and countless blessings. Blessings of light, laughter, and love this Hanukkah. May your holiday shine bright! May the flames of the menorah fill your home with warmth and blessings. Wishing you the warmth of family, the joy of the season, and the light of the menorah. May the miracles of Hanukkah fill your life with joy and your home with peace. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of blessings, happiness, and cherished moments. May the lights of the menorah guide your way to happiness and success. May the holiday season bring you light, love, and all of your heart’s desires. Blessings for a joyous Hanukkah, filled with family, friends, and sweet memories. May the Festival of Lights bring you peace, happiness, and endless blessings. Wishing you a Hanukkah full of love, laughter, and lots of latkes! May the joy of Hanukkah fill your heart and your home with warmth and love. Blessings of light and love this Hanukkah! May it be a season of miracles. READ MORE: 30 Printing Services for Your Small Business Needs Best Hanukkah Greetings Last, but not least on our list, are the best Hanukkah greetings you can use: Happy Hanukkah wishes to you and your family. May your holiday season be filled with joy! Wishing you all the happiness your holiday can hold. Happy Hanukkah! On this special festival of lights, may your life be filled with happiness and blessings. Chag Chanukah Sameach! May the glow of the Menorah candles fill your heart and home with happiness. Sending you and your family happy Hanukkah wishes! May your home be filled with the lights of Hanukkah. Wishing you and your family a joyful and Happy Hanukkah! Below, we’ve drawn parallels between the cherished traditions of Hanukkah and the enduring values of small businesses in a comparative table for clearer insights: Hanukkah Tradition/AspectRelevance to Small Business Festival of LightsLighting the path for customers, illuminating products/services. Miracle of the OilMaking the most of limited resources, maximizing potential. Victory Over OppressorsOvercoming challenges and obstacles in the business world. MenorahGrowing step by step; just as one lights one candle more each night, businesses grow steadily. Traditional Foods (Latkes & Sufganiyot)Offering special deals or products during holiday seasons. Spending Time with Loved OnesValuing customers, employees, and partners – treating them like family. Reflection on Triumphs and StrugglesYear-end reviews, learning from challenges and celebrating successes. Hanukkah GreetingsConnecting with the community, showing appreciation, and building relationships. Image: Envato Elements This article, "Heartfelt Hanukkah Messages to Brighten the Season" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Thursday's wild selloffs, and further losses Friday, were a reminder that the fervor of retail traders — whipped up in part by Federal Housing Finance Agency head Pulte — can quickly turn sour. View the full article

In an era where sustainability is not just a trend but a lifestyle, eBay’s recent release of its fifth annual Recommerce Report highlights how the market for pre-loved goods is gaining significant traction. The findings reveal that 89% of consumers worldwide expect to maintain or increase their spending on second-hand items in 2025, signaling a major shift that small business owners should heed. The report, which surveyed over 27,000 participants, underscores a transformation in consumer behavior. It shows that recommerce—once viewed as a niche alternative—is now a mainstream choice driven by personal values and financial empowerment. As CEO Jamie Iannone puts it, “Recommerce is redefining how people shop — led by a new generation that values connection, purpose, and sustainability.” Younger generations are at the forefront of this movement. The report indicates that 59% of Gen Z and 56% of Millennials plan to increase spending on pre-loved goods. This shift is quickly becoming ingrained in consumer habits, with more than one-third of respondents purchasing second-hand items monthly. For small business owners, this trend toward recommerce provides a treasure trove of opportunities. By sourcing inventory from second-hand items or offering platforms for resale, entrepreneurs can tap into a burgeoning market that prioritizes sustainability and cost efficiency. Notably, 81% of consumers choose pre-loved goods primarily for financial reasons, while 45% cite sustainability as a driving factor. In addition to affordability, many buyers are looking for unique or specific items that might be unavailable new, presenting an avenue for businesses to cater to niche markets. Moreover, the emotional benefits of participation in the recommerce community are significant. About 63% of consumers feel a connection to this community, with engagement even higher among younger audiences. Sellers in enthusiast categories like collectibles, trading cards, and antiques report that passion drives their sales. This creates vibrant communities where knowledge sharing and connection flourish, ultimately benefiting both sellers and buyers. However, small business owners should also be aware of the challenges that come with the increasing popularity of recommerce. While the financial benefits are apparent, establishing a reliable sourcing method for second-hand goods is vital to ensure product quality. Moreover, businesses will need to navigate customer expectations around sustainability and authenticity, which could require additional investment in processes and marketing. The growing emphasis on sustainability implies that businesses must consider their operational impact. Consumers are increasingly motivated by environmental consciousness, and small business owners who fail to adopt sustainable practices might find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. The choice to participate in the recommerce economy is not just about finding great deals but demonstrating a commitment to ecological mindfulness. With the trend gaining momentum, eBay is well-positioned to be a leader in this market. The report highlights the potential for economic empowerment as well; a notable 81% of consumers feel satisfied knowing they saved money on second-hand purchases. Additionally, 86% of eBay sellers source inventory from their personal belongings, showcasing how individuals can monetize items no longer in use. As the trend of conscious consumerism continues to rise, small businesses that adopt recommence strategies will be catering to a growing segment of values-driven shoppers. This shift isn’t just beneficial for the environment; it also opens additional revenue streams and aligns with market demands indicating that the recommerce movement is here to stay. For small business owners looking to thrive in this evolving landscape, aligning with consumer values and sustainability will be crucial for long-term success. By embracing the principles of recommerce, entrepreneurs have the potential to not only increase their profitability but also contribute positively to the communities they serve. To explore the full findings of the study, the complete report is available here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Recommerce Grows Mainstream as Consumers Embrace Sustainable Shopping" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In an era where sustainability is not just a trend but a lifestyle, eBay’s recent release of its fifth annual Recommerce Report highlights how the market for pre-loved goods is gaining significant traction. The findings reveal that 89% of consumers worldwide expect to maintain or increase their spending on second-hand items in 2025, signaling a major shift that small business owners should heed. The report, which surveyed over 27,000 participants, underscores a transformation in consumer behavior. It shows that recommerce—once viewed as a niche alternative—is now a mainstream choice driven by personal values and financial empowerment. As CEO Jamie Iannone puts it, “Recommerce is redefining how people shop — led by a new generation that values connection, purpose, and sustainability.” Younger generations are at the forefront of this movement. The report indicates that 59% of Gen Z and 56% of Millennials plan to increase spending on pre-loved goods. This shift is quickly becoming ingrained in consumer habits, with more than one-third of respondents purchasing second-hand items monthly. For small business owners, this trend toward recommerce provides a treasure trove of opportunities. By sourcing inventory from second-hand items or offering platforms for resale, entrepreneurs can tap into a burgeoning market that prioritizes sustainability and cost efficiency. Notably, 81% of consumers choose pre-loved goods primarily for financial reasons, while 45% cite sustainability as a driving factor. In addition to affordability, many buyers are looking for unique or specific items that might be unavailable new, presenting an avenue for businesses to cater to niche markets. Moreover, the emotional benefits of participation in the recommerce community are significant. About 63% of consumers feel a connection to this community, with engagement even higher among younger audiences. Sellers in enthusiast categories like collectibles, trading cards, and antiques report that passion drives their sales. This creates vibrant communities where knowledge sharing and connection flourish, ultimately benefiting both sellers and buyers. However, small business owners should also be aware of the challenges that come with the increasing popularity of recommerce. While the financial benefits are apparent, establishing a reliable sourcing method for second-hand goods is vital to ensure product quality. Moreover, businesses will need to navigate customer expectations around sustainability and authenticity, which could require additional investment in processes and marketing. The growing emphasis on sustainability implies that businesses must consider their operational impact. Consumers are increasingly motivated by environmental consciousness, and small business owners who fail to adopt sustainable practices might find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. The choice to participate in the recommerce economy is not just about finding great deals but demonstrating a commitment to ecological mindfulness. With the trend gaining momentum, eBay is well-positioned to be a leader in this market. The report highlights the potential for economic empowerment as well; a notable 81% of consumers feel satisfied knowing they saved money on second-hand purchases. Additionally, 86% of eBay sellers source inventory from their personal belongings, showcasing how individuals can monetize items no longer in use. As the trend of conscious consumerism continues to rise, small businesses that adopt recommence strategies will be catering to a growing segment of values-driven shoppers. This shift isn’t just beneficial for the environment; it also opens additional revenue streams and aligns with market demands indicating that the recommerce movement is here to stay. For small business owners looking to thrive in this evolving landscape, aligning with consumer values and sustainability will be crucial for long-term success. By embracing the principles of recommerce, entrepreneurs have the potential to not only increase their profitability but also contribute positively to the communities they serve. To explore the full findings of the study, the complete report is available here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Recommerce Grows Mainstream as Consumers Embrace Sustainable Shopping" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Agreements at G20 and COP30 show how America’s absence has not demoralised world leadersView the full article

Turning the document into something acceptable for Kyiv and its European allies will be a mammoth diplomatic undertakingView the full article

To effectively boost your brand’s engagement on social media, consider utilizing various strategies that resonate with your audience. Engaging posts can range from polls that gather feedback on product features to behind-the-scenes content that humanizes your brand. Furthermore, collaborating with influencers can expand your reach, whereas contests encourage user-generated content. Each of these tactics can greatly improve interaction and brand loyalty, but the key is to know which methods will work best for your unique audience. Key Takeaways Create polls or question stickers on Instagram Stories to encourage audience interaction and gather valuable feedback about their preferences. Collaborate with influencers to share sponsored content that aligns with your brand’s values and resonates with their audience for enhanced visibility. Launch a contest or giveaway, encouraging user-generated content with specific hashtags to boost engagement and create excitement around your brand. Share behind-the-scenes videos showcasing daily operations and team members to humanize your brand and build a stronger connection with your audience. Use short-form videos to highlight customer testimonials, providing relatable experiences that build trust and influence purchasing decisions. Ask Your Audience Questions How can you effectively engage your audience on social media? One impactful technique is to ask your audience questions directly. This method encourages interaction and feedback, greatly boosting engagement. For instance, you can create sample social media posts that include question stickers on platforms like Instagram Stories, leading to higher response rates. Consider using social media templates that prompt followers to share their opinions, such as polls or open-ended questions. Craft questions about casual topics or specific products to nurture a deeper connection with your audience. By utilizing social networking sites templates, you can gather insights about customer preferences, enhancing brand interaction and community building. Successful examples from brands like Cirkul illustrate the effectiveness of this approach. Collaborate With Influencers and Content Creators Collaborating with Instagram influencers and content creators offers brands a strategic way to improve their visibility and engagement within their target market. By partnering with influencers whose values align with yours, you can create authentic connections that resonate with their established audiences, leading to higher engagement rates. Sponsored content can creatively present your products, making them relatable and appealing. Re-sharing influencer content builds credibility and strengthens community ties, showcasing real-life applications of your offerings. For inspiration, consider the following table for your social media site template: Influencer Engagement Rate Content Type Influencer A 10% Sample Facebook Post Influencer B 7% Social Web Template Influencer C 5% Video Review Launch a Social Media Contest or Giveaway Have you ever wondered how launching a social media contest or giveaway could improve your brand’s presence? Running a contest can boost engagement markedly, with brands seeing rates rise by up to 34%. To attract genuine interest, offer prizes that align with your brand, like product bundles or exclusive experiences. Clearly outline the contest’s terms and conditions to guarantee legality and build trust with your audience. Encourage user-generated content by asking participants to share photos or stories related to your brand, nurturing community interaction and loyalty. Furthermore, use specific hashtags to track entries and engagement effectively, assuring your contest reaches a wider audience and creates buzz around your brand. This approach can lead to lasting connections with your customers. Plan Engaging Social Media Posts for Every Day of the Week Planning engaging social media posts for each day of the week can greatly enhance your brand’s visibility. By establishing themed post ideas like #MotivationMonday or #TransformationTuesday, you create consistency that keeps your audience coming back for more. A regular posting schedule, combined with audience engagement strategies customized to specific content types, helps maintain interest and cultivates a loyal community around your brand. Themed Post Ideas Creating a themed post series for each weekday can greatly improve your social media strategy by establishing consistency and setting clear expectations for your audience. For example, you might use #MotivationMonday to share inspiring quotes, whereas #TransformationTuesday could showcase before-and-after stories relevant to your brand. This regular scheduling not just simplifies content creation but additionally nurtures community loyalty, as followers look forward to these posts. Incorporating specific hashtags boosts discoverability, allowing your content to reach a broader audience. Consider adding interactive elements like polls or questions related to each theme, since they can further increase engagement. Finally, analyzing audience responses to these themed posts provides valuable insights, guiding your future content strategies for heightened engagement. Consistent Posting Schedule Establishing a consistent posting schedule is key to maximizing your social media presence and engaging your audience effectively. By posting regularly, ideally 3-7 times per week, you keep your brand top-of-mind. Utilize themed post series, like #MotivationMonday, to create structure and anticipation among your followers. This approach not only nurtures community loyalty but additionally encourages engagement. A themed content calendar can simplify your content creation process, allowing for proactive planning and alignment with relevant events or seasonal trends. Engaging your audience with specific post types each weekday increases interaction, as followers begin to expect and look forward to these themes. Don’t forget to monitor analytics to determine the best posting frequency and timing for your unique audience. Audience Engagement Strategies How can you effectively engage your audience on social media throughout the week? Establishing themed post series for each weekday, like #MotivationMonday and #TransformationTuesday, creates consistency and builds anticipation. Aim to post 3-7 times weekly on platforms like Instagram to improve visibility and maintain audience loyalty. Incorporate diverse content types, such as polls, quizzes, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, to spark interaction and keep followers interested. Furthermore, align your posts with current events or industry trends to amplify relatability and timeliness. Regularly analyze audience preferences and engagement metrics to inform your content planning. This approach guarantees your posts resonate with followers, nurturing a dynamic community and eventually boosting your brand’s presence on social media. Share Behind-the-Scenes Content Sharing behind-the-scenes content is an impactful way to humanize your brand and nurture a sense of community among your audience. By showcasing daily operations and the people behind your business, you create transparency that helps build trust and engagement. This approach not just invites your followers into your experience but additionally allows them to connect with your brand on a more personal level. Humanize Your Brand What makes a brand truly relatable? Sharing behind-the-scenes content is key. It allows you to showcase the authentic side of your brand, cultivating trust and deeper emotional connections with your audience. Here are three effective ways to humanize your brand through this approach: Highlight Team Members: Introduce your followers to the people behind the brand by showcasing their roles and daily tasks. Show Production Processes: Offer a glimpse into how your products are made, giving followers insight into quality and care. Share Company Events: Document team gatherings or celebrations, emphasizing your company culture and values. Foster Community Connection Building on the idea of humanizing your brand, nurturing community connection through behind-the-scenes content can greatly improve audience engagement. By showcasing the people and processes behind your operations, you create a transparent environment that builds trust among your followers. Highlighting your team and sharing production processes invites your audience to feel like part of your brand’s expedition. Engaging stories from behind the scenes resonate with followers, as they appreciate authenticity and relatable narratives. Regularly posting these glimpses encourages ongoing interaction, prompting comments and shares, which cultivates a sense of community. As your audience feels more invested in your brand, loyalty increases, leading to stronger connections over time and ultimately enhancing your overall engagement rates. Showcase Daily Operations By showcasing your daily operations, you not merely provide followers with valuable insights into your brand but also nurture a stronger connection through transparency. Sharing behind-the-scenes content builds trust and lets your audience feel involved in your expedition. Here are three effective ways to do this: Highlight Team Members: Introduce your staff and their roles, creating a personal connection that humanizes your brand. Showcase Production Processes: Educate followers about how your products are made, emphasizing quality and dedication to craftsmanship. Utilize Stories and Live Videos: Engage your audience in real-time, allowing them to ask questions and interact directly, enhancing community ties. Implement these strategies to boost engagement and loyalty, reinforcing your brand’s dedication to transparency. Create Short-Form Video Creating short-form video content is essential for modern brands aiming to capture audience attention effectively. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels are particularly engaging, with users spending an average of 52 minutes daily watching such videos. To optimize your content, keep videos between 15 to 30 seconds, as this length captures attention quickly during the delivery of your message. Including captions can improve viewer retention by up to 80%, making your content accessible to a broader audience. Additionally, brands utilizing short-form videos experience increased engagement rates; studies indicate video posts garner 48% more views than static images. Finally, experimenting with trending sounds and challenges can boost your brand’s visibility, as 69% of users prefer content aligned with current trends. Highlight Customer Testimonials Highlighting customer testimonials effectively builds trust and credibility for your brand, especially since 79% of consumers indicate that user-generated content greatly influences their purchasing decisions. Here are three effective strategies to leverage testimonials: Engaging Formats: Present testimonials in visually appealing formats, like eye-catching graphics or video clips, to boost engagement on social media platforms. Diverse Experiences: Showcase a variety of customer experiences to resonate with a broader audience, as 92% of consumers trust personal recommendations over traditional advertising. Specific Outcomes: Incorporate metrics or outcomes in testimonials, such as increased satisfaction or product effectiveness, to provide tangible proof of your brand’s impact. Regularly featuring these testimonials across different channels helps maintain a consistent brand narrative and encourages community engagement. Frequently Asked Questions What Is an Example of an Engagement Social Media Post? An example of an engagement social media post is a poll asking your audience a relevant question, such as their favorite product feature. This encourages users to participate by voting, which increases interaction. You could additionally invite followers to share their experiences with your brand through user-generated content, like photos or testimonials. These approaches nurture community and authenticity, in the end boosting engagement and trust among your audience as well as enhancing your brand’s visibility. What Is the 5 5 5 Rule on Social Media? The 5 5 5 rule on social media suggests you should post five pieces of engaging content, five curated posts, and five promotional messages each week. This strategy helps you strike a balance between interaction and promotion, aligning with the 80/20 rule of engagement. Engaging content can include polls or questions, whereas curated posts may feature industry news. Following this rule can improve your social media presence and boost audience retention effectively. What Is the 50 30 20 Rule for Social Media? The 50 30 20 rule for social media dictates how you should structure your content. It suggests that 50% of your posts should engage and entertain your audience, 30% should provide informative or educational content, and only 20% should focus on promotional material. How to Write an Engaging Social Media Post? To write an engaging social media post, start with a concise and compelling caption that grabs attention. Use clear calls to action, encouraging your audience to engage, like, comment, or share. Incorporate high-quality visuals that resonate with your brand’s aesthetic, as they greatly increase interaction. Don’t forget to include 3-5 relevant hashtags to improve discoverability. Experiment with various formats, like polls or questions, to nurture conversation and keep your audience interested. Conclusion Incorporating these seven types of social media posts can greatly improve your brand’s engagement. By asking questions, collaborating with influencers, launching contests, sharing behind-the-scenes content, creating short-form videos, and highlighting customer testimonials, you can effectively connect with your audience. These strategies not just encourage interaction but additionally build community around your brand. Regularly updating your content with these engaging formats can lead to increased visibility and stronger customer relationships, ensuring your brand remains relevant in a competitive market. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Engaging Sample Social Media Posts to Boost Your Brand" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

To effectively boost your brand’s engagement on social media, consider utilizing various strategies that resonate with your audience. Engaging posts can range from polls that gather feedback on product features to behind-the-scenes content that humanizes your brand. Furthermore, collaborating with influencers can expand your reach, whereas contests encourage user-generated content. Each of these tactics can greatly improve interaction and brand loyalty, but the key is to know which methods will work best for your unique audience. Key Takeaways Create polls or question stickers on Instagram Stories to encourage audience interaction and gather valuable feedback about their preferences. Collaborate with influencers to share sponsored content that aligns with your brand’s values and resonates with their audience for enhanced visibility. Launch a contest or giveaway, encouraging user-generated content with specific hashtags to boost engagement and create excitement around your brand. Share behind-the-scenes videos showcasing daily operations and team members to humanize your brand and build a stronger connection with your audience. Use short-form videos to highlight customer testimonials, providing relatable experiences that build trust and influence purchasing decisions. Ask Your Audience Questions How can you effectively engage your audience on social media? One impactful technique is to ask your audience questions directly. This method encourages interaction and feedback, greatly boosting engagement. For instance, you can create sample social media posts that include question stickers on platforms like Instagram Stories, leading to higher response rates. Consider using social media templates that prompt followers to share their opinions, such as polls or open-ended questions. Craft questions about casual topics or specific products to nurture a deeper connection with your audience. By utilizing social networking sites templates, you can gather insights about customer preferences, enhancing brand interaction and community building. Successful examples from brands like Cirkul illustrate the effectiveness of this approach. Collaborate With Influencers and Content Creators Collaborating with Instagram influencers and content creators offers brands a strategic way to improve their visibility and engagement within their target market. By partnering with influencers whose values align with yours, you can create authentic connections that resonate with their established audiences, leading to higher engagement rates. Sponsored content can creatively present your products, making them relatable and appealing. Re-sharing influencer content builds credibility and strengthens community ties, showcasing real-life applications of your offerings. For inspiration, consider the following table for your social media site template: Influencer Engagement Rate Content Type Influencer A 10% Sample Facebook Post Influencer B 7% Social Web Template Influencer C 5% Video Review Launch a Social Media Contest or Giveaway Have you ever wondered how launching a social media contest or giveaway could improve your brand’s presence? Running a contest can boost engagement markedly, with brands seeing rates rise by up to 34%. To attract genuine interest, offer prizes that align with your brand, like product bundles or exclusive experiences. Clearly outline the contest’s terms and conditions to guarantee legality and build trust with your audience. Encourage user-generated content by asking participants to share photos or stories related to your brand, nurturing community interaction and loyalty. Furthermore, use specific hashtags to track entries and engagement effectively, assuring your contest reaches a wider audience and creates buzz around your brand. This approach can lead to lasting connections with your customers. Plan Engaging Social Media Posts for Every Day of the Week Planning engaging social media posts for each day of the week can greatly enhance your brand’s visibility. By establishing themed post ideas like #MotivationMonday or #TransformationTuesday, you create consistency that keeps your audience coming back for more. A regular posting schedule, combined with audience engagement strategies customized to specific content types, helps maintain interest and cultivates a loyal community around your brand. Themed Post Ideas Creating a themed post series for each weekday can greatly improve your social media strategy by establishing consistency and setting clear expectations for your audience. For example, you might use #MotivationMonday to share inspiring quotes, whereas #TransformationTuesday could showcase before-and-after stories relevant to your brand. This regular scheduling not just simplifies content creation but additionally nurtures community loyalty, as followers look forward to these posts. Incorporating specific hashtags boosts discoverability, allowing your content to reach a broader audience. Consider adding interactive elements like polls or questions related to each theme, since they can further increase engagement. Finally, analyzing audience responses to these themed posts provides valuable insights, guiding your future content strategies for heightened engagement. Consistent Posting Schedule Establishing a consistent posting schedule is key to maximizing your social media presence and engaging your audience effectively. By posting regularly, ideally 3-7 times per week, you keep your brand top-of-mind. Utilize themed post series, like #MotivationMonday, to create structure and anticipation among your followers. This approach not only nurtures community loyalty but additionally encourages engagement. A themed content calendar can simplify your content creation process, allowing for proactive planning and alignment with relevant events or seasonal trends. Engaging your audience with specific post types each weekday increases interaction, as followers begin to expect and look forward to these themes. Don’t forget to monitor analytics to determine the best posting frequency and timing for your unique audience. Audience Engagement Strategies How can you effectively engage your audience on social media throughout the week? Establishing themed post series for each weekday, like #MotivationMonday and #TransformationTuesday, creates consistency and builds anticipation. Aim to post 3-7 times weekly on platforms like Instagram to improve visibility and maintain audience loyalty. Incorporate diverse content types, such as polls, quizzes, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, to spark interaction and keep followers interested. Furthermore, align your posts with current events or industry trends to amplify relatability and timeliness. Regularly analyze audience preferences and engagement metrics to inform your content planning. This approach guarantees your posts resonate with followers, nurturing a dynamic community and eventually boosting your brand’s presence on social media. Share Behind-the-Scenes Content Sharing behind-the-scenes content is an impactful way to humanize your brand and nurture a sense of community among your audience. By showcasing daily operations and the people behind your business, you create transparency that helps build trust and engagement. This approach not just invites your followers into your experience but additionally allows them to connect with your brand on a more personal level. Humanize Your Brand What makes a brand truly relatable? Sharing behind-the-scenes content is key. It allows you to showcase the authentic side of your brand, cultivating trust and deeper emotional connections with your audience. Here are three effective ways to humanize your brand through this approach: Highlight Team Members: Introduce your followers to the people behind the brand by showcasing their roles and daily tasks. Show Production Processes: Offer a glimpse into how your products are made, giving followers insight into quality and care. Share Company Events: Document team gatherings or celebrations, emphasizing your company culture and values. Foster Community Connection Building on the idea of humanizing your brand, nurturing community connection through behind-the-scenes content can greatly improve audience engagement. By showcasing the people and processes behind your operations, you create a transparent environment that builds trust among your followers. Highlighting your team and sharing production processes invites your audience to feel like part of your brand’s expedition. Engaging stories from behind the scenes resonate with followers, as they appreciate authenticity and relatable narratives. Regularly posting these glimpses encourages ongoing interaction, prompting comments and shares, which cultivates a sense of community. As your audience feels more invested in your brand, loyalty increases, leading to stronger connections over time and ultimately enhancing your overall engagement rates. Showcase Daily Operations By showcasing your daily operations, you not merely provide followers with valuable insights into your brand but also nurture a stronger connection through transparency. Sharing behind-the-scenes content builds trust and lets your audience feel involved in your expedition. Here are three effective ways to do this: Highlight Team Members: Introduce your staff and their roles, creating a personal connection that humanizes your brand. Showcase Production Processes: Educate followers about how your products are made, emphasizing quality and dedication to craftsmanship. Utilize Stories and Live Videos: Engage your audience in real-time, allowing them to ask questions and interact directly, enhancing community ties. Implement these strategies to boost engagement and loyalty, reinforcing your brand’s dedication to transparency. Create Short-Form Video Creating short-form video content is essential for modern brands aiming to capture audience attention effectively. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels are particularly engaging, with users spending an average of 52 minutes daily watching such videos. To optimize your content, keep videos between 15 to 30 seconds, as this length captures attention quickly during the delivery of your message. Including captions can improve viewer retention by up to 80%, making your content accessible to a broader audience. Additionally, brands utilizing short-form videos experience increased engagement rates; studies indicate video posts garner 48% more views than static images. Finally, experimenting with trending sounds and challenges can boost your brand’s visibility, as 69% of users prefer content aligned with current trends. Highlight Customer Testimonials Highlighting customer testimonials effectively builds trust and credibility for your brand, especially since 79% of consumers indicate that user-generated content greatly influences their purchasing decisions. Here are three effective strategies to leverage testimonials: Engaging Formats: Present testimonials in visually appealing formats, like eye-catching graphics or video clips, to boost engagement on social media platforms. Diverse Experiences: Showcase a variety of customer experiences to resonate with a broader audience, as 92% of consumers trust personal recommendations over traditional advertising. Specific Outcomes: Incorporate metrics or outcomes in testimonials, such as increased satisfaction or product effectiveness, to provide tangible proof of your brand’s impact. Regularly featuring these testimonials across different channels helps maintain a consistent brand narrative and encourages community engagement. Frequently Asked Questions What Is an Example of an Engagement Social Media Post? An example of an engagement social media post is a poll asking your audience a relevant question, such as their favorite product feature. This encourages users to participate by voting, which increases interaction. You could additionally invite followers to share their experiences with your brand through user-generated content, like photos or testimonials. These approaches nurture community and authenticity, in the end boosting engagement and trust among your audience as well as enhancing your brand’s visibility. What Is the 5 5 5 Rule on Social Media? The 5 5 5 rule on social media suggests you should post five pieces of engaging content, five curated posts, and five promotional messages each week. This strategy helps you strike a balance between interaction and promotion, aligning with the 80/20 rule of engagement. Engaging content can include polls or questions, whereas curated posts may feature industry news. Following this rule can improve your social media presence and boost audience retention effectively. What Is the 50 30 20 Rule for Social Media? The 50 30 20 rule for social media dictates how you should structure your content. It suggests that 50% of your posts should engage and entertain your audience, 30% should provide informative or educational content, and only 20% should focus on promotional material. How to Write an Engaging Social Media Post? To write an engaging social media post, start with a concise and compelling caption that grabs attention. Use clear calls to action, encouraging your audience to engage, like, comment, or share. Incorporate high-quality visuals that resonate with your brand’s aesthetic, as they greatly increase interaction. Don’t forget to include 3-5 relevant hashtags to improve discoverability. Experiment with various formats, like polls or questions, to nurture conversation and keep your audience interested. Conclusion Incorporating these seven types of social media posts can greatly improve your brand’s engagement. By asking questions, collaborating with influencers, launching contests, sharing behind-the-scenes content, creating short-form videos, and highlighting customer testimonials, you can effectively connect with your audience. These strategies not just encourage interaction but additionally build community around your brand. Regularly updating your content with these engaging formats can lead to increased visibility and stronger customer relationships, ensuring your brand remains relevant in a competitive market. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Engaging Sample Social Media Posts to Boost Your Brand" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

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Workday, a leader in enterprise AI solutions for managing human resources and financial systems, has announced its intention to acquire Pipedream, an integration platform boasting over 3,000 pre-built connectors. This acquisition aims to enhance the Workday platform by enabling streamlined workflows between Workday’s trusted HR and financial data and a wide array of business applications, delivering significant value to small business owners. By integrating Pipedream’s capabilities, Workday will allow small businesses to pull crucial data from popular applications like Asana, Hubspot, and Slack directly into Workday’s ecosystem. This flexibility promises to simplify operational tasks, enabling small business owners to convert insights into actions more effectively. For instance, performance reviews could be expedited by retrieving project details from Asana and feedback via Slack, with the entire process seamlessly integrated into Workday. This automated system could not only save time but also ensure that reviews are timely and grounded in real work. “The ultimate promise of enterprise AI is not just insights, but action,” said Gabe Monroy, Workday’s senior vice president of Platform, Products, and Technology. He emphasized that the addition of Pipedream will enable AI agents to securely connect with major enterprise systems, thereby facilitating data retrieval and task execution. The benefits for small business owners are substantial. Managing multiple, disparate systems can often lead to inefficiencies and miscommunication. By using Workday’s integrated platform, small businesses can unify their operations, leading to improved productivity. This integration allows businesses to harness the depth of Workday’s understanding of organizational structures, compliance protocols, and financial rules while tapping into real-time data across other applications. However, it’s essential for owners to consider certain challenges when adopting new technologies. Transitioning to an integrated system can involve potential complexity, requiring adequate training for staff to maximize these new tools. Small business leaders should also assess the readiness of their existing systems to integrate with Workday and Pipedream, as some companies might face hurdles during the transition phase. This could impact productivity initially, contrary to the long-term efficiencies promised by the new system. The open community surrounding Pipedream will accelerate the creation of new connectors, allowing businesses to swiftly enhance their workflows. Merging this community with existing Workday resources will provide small businesses the opportunity to innovate more rapidly and tailor solutions specifically to their needs. In addition to Pipedream, Workday’s recent acquisitions of Sana and Flowise further solidify its vision of creating a comprehensive AI platform. These developments aim to provide small businesses with customizable solutions that adapt to their specific contexts, making it easier to implement effective workflows that translate insights into actionable steps. The Pipedream acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday’s fiscal year 2026, enhancing Workday’s capabilities in the AI-driven business landscape. As Monroy remarked, this acquisition signifies a significant advancement for actionable AI, pushing small businesses closer to optimized operations. With over 11,000 organizations currently utilizing Workday, including a substantial portion of Fortune 500 companies, small business owners can anticipate significant advantages from adopting these integrated solutions. While challenges may arise during implementation, the potential for improved efficiency and streamlined processes stands to be a game-changer for many small enterprises. As businesses navigate this new frontier, staying informed about such technological advancements will be crucial. The integration of Workday and Pipedream opens the door to a future where operational complexities can be simplified, allowing small business owners to focus on what they do best: growing their business. For further details, visit the original announcement here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Workday to Acquire Pipedream, Enhancing AI Workflow Connectivity" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Workday, a leader in enterprise AI solutions for managing human resources and financial systems, has announced its intention to acquire Pipedream, an integration platform boasting over 3,000 pre-built connectors. This acquisition aims to enhance the Workday platform by enabling streamlined workflows between Workday’s trusted HR and financial data and a wide array of business applications, delivering significant value to small business owners. By integrating Pipedream’s capabilities, Workday will allow small businesses to pull crucial data from popular applications like Asana, Hubspot, and Slack directly into Workday’s ecosystem. This flexibility promises to simplify operational tasks, enabling small business owners to convert insights into actions more effectively. For instance, performance reviews could be expedited by retrieving project details from Asana and feedback via Slack, with the entire process seamlessly integrated into Workday. This automated system could not only save time but also ensure that reviews are timely and grounded in real work. “The ultimate promise of enterprise AI is not just insights, but action,” said Gabe Monroy, Workday’s senior vice president of Platform, Products, and Technology. He emphasized that the addition of Pipedream will enable AI agents to securely connect with major enterprise systems, thereby facilitating data retrieval and task execution. The benefits for small business owners are substantial. Managing multiple, disparate systems can often lead to inefficiencies and miscommunication. By using Workday’s integrated platform, small businesses can unify their operations, leading to improved productivity. This integration allows businesses to harness the depth of Workday’s understanding of organizational structures, compliance protocols, and financial rules while tapping into real-time data across other applications. However, it’s essential for owners to consider certain challenges when adopting new technologies. Transitioning to an integrated system can involve potential complexity, requiring adequate training for staff to maximize these new tools. Small business leaders should also assess the readiness of their existing systems to integrate with Workday and Pipedream, as some companies might face hurdles during the transition phase. This could impact productivity initially, contrary to the long-term efficiencies promised by the new system. The open community surrounding Pipedream will accelerate the creation of new connectors, allowing businesses to swiftly enhance their workflows. Merging this community with existing Workday resources will provide small businesses the opportunity to innovate more rapidly and tailor solutions specifically to their needs. In addition to Pipedream, Workday’s recent acquisitions of Sana and Flowise further solidify its vision of creating a comprehensive AI platform. These developments aim to provide small businesses with customizable solutions that adapt to their specific contexts, making it easier to implement effective workflows that translate insights into actionable steps. The Pipedream acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday’s fiscal year 2026, enhancing Workday’s capabilities in the AI-driven business landscape. As Monroy remarked, this acquisition signifies a significant advancement for actionable AI, pushing small businesses closer to optimized operations. With over 11,000 organizations currently utilizing Workday, including a substantial portion of Fortune 500 companies, small business owners can anticipate significant advantages from adopting these integrated solutions. While challenges may arise during implementation, the potential for improved efficiency and streamlined processes stands to be a game-changer for many small enterprises. As businesses navigate this new frontier, staying informed about such technological advancements will be crucial. The integration of Workday and Pipedream opens the door to a future where operational complexities can be simplified, allowing small business owners to focus on what they do best: growing their business. For further details, visit the original announcement here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Workday to Acquire Pipedream, Enhancing AI Workflow Connectivity" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Move to more corporate culture helps ease staffing shortages. By Terry Putney The Rosenberg Survey Go PRO for members-only access to more Terence Putney. View the full article

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Work toward a dynamic vision of a 21st-century CPA. By Susan Bryant The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management Go PRO for members-only access to more Rory Henry. View the full article

Work toward a dynamic vision of a 21st-century CPA. By Susan Bryant The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management Go PRO for members-only access to more Rory Henry. View the full article

The low point in Palantir’s very first quest for investors came during a pitch meeting in 2004 that CEO Alex Karp and some colleagues had with Sequoia Capital, which was arguably the most influential Silicon Valley VC firm. Sequoia had been an early investor in PayPal; its best-known partner, Michael Moritz, sat on the company’s board and was close to PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who had recently launched Palantir. But Sequoia proved no more receptive to Palantir than any of the other VCs that Karp and his team visited; according to Karp, Moritz spent most of the meeting absentmindedly doodling in his notepad. Karp didn’t say anything at the time, but later wished that he had. “I should have told him to go fuck himself,” he says, referring to Moritz. But it wasn’t just Moritz who provoked Karp’s ire: the VC community’s lack of enthusiasm for Palantir made Karp contemptuous of professional investors in general. It became a grudge that he nurtured for years after. From The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State by Michael Steinberger. Copyright © 2025. Reprinted by permission of Avid Reader Press, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc. But the meetings on Sand Hill Road weren’t entirely fruitless. After listening to Karp’s pitch and politely declining to put any money into Palantir, a partner with one venture capital firm had a suggestion: if Palantir was really intent on working with the government, it could reach out to In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital arm. In-Q-Tel had been started a few years earlier, in 1999 (the name was a playful reference to “Q,” the technology guru in James Bond films). CIA Director George Tenet believed that establishing a quasi-public venture capital fund through which the agency could incubate start-ups would help ensure that the U.S. intelligence community retained a technological edge. The CIA had been created in 1947 for the purpose of preventing another Pearl Harbor, and a half century on, its primary mission was still to prevent attacks on American soil. Two years after In-Q-Tel was founded, the country experienced another Pearl Harbor, the 9 ⁄ 11 terrorist attacks, a humiliating intelligence failure for the CIA and Tenet. At the time, In-Q-Tel was working out of a Virginia office complex known, ironically, as the Rosslyn Twin Towers, and from the twenty-ninth-floor office, employees had an unobstructed view of the burning Pentagon. In-Q-Tel’s CEO was Gilman Louie, who had worked as a video game designer before being recruited by Tenet (Louie specialized in flight simulators; his were so realistic that they were used to help train Air National Guard pilots). Ordinarily, Louie did not take part in pitch meetings; he let his deputies do the initial screening. But because Thiel was involved, he made an exception for Palantir and sat in on its first meeting with In-Q-Tel. What Karp and the other Palantirians didn’t know when they visited In-Q-Tel was that the CIA was in the market for new data analytics technology. At the time, the agency was mainly using a program called Analyst’s Notebook, which was manufactured by i2, a British company. According to Louie, Analyst’s Notebook had a good interface but had certain deficiencies when it came to data processing that limited its utility. “We didn’t think their architecture would allow us to build next-generation capabilities,” Louie says. Louie found Karp’s pitch impressive. “Alex presented well,” he recalls. “He was very articulate and very passionate.” As the conversation went on, Karp and his colleagues talked about IGOR, PayPal’s pioneering fraud-detection system, and how it had basically saved PayPal’s business, and it became apparent to Louie that they might just have the technical aptitude to deliver what he was looking for. But he told them that the interface was vital—the software would need to organize and present information in a way that made sense for the analysts using it, and he described some of the features they would expect. Louie says that as soon as he brought this up, the Palantir crew “got out of sales mode and immediately switched into engineering solving mode” and began brainstorming in front of the In-Q-Tel team. “That was what I wanted to see,” says Louie. He sent them away with a homework assignment: he asked them to design an interface that could possibly appeal to intelligence analysts. On returning to Palo Alto, Stephen Cohen, one of Palantir’s co-founders, then 22 years old, and an ex-PayPal engineer named Nathan Gettings sequestered themselves in a room and built a demo that included the elements that Louie had highlighted. A few weeks later, the Palantirians returned to In-Q-Tel to show Louie and his colleagues what they had come up with. Louie was impressed by its intuitive logic and elegance. “If Palantir doesn’t work, you guys have a bright future designing video games,” he joked. In-Q-Tel ended up investing $1.25 million in exchange for equity; with that vote of confidence, Thiel put up another $2.84 million. (In-Q-Tel did not get a board seat in return for its investment; even after Palantir began attracting significant outside money, the company never gave up a board seat, which was unusual, and to its great advantage.) Karp says the most beneficial aspect of In-Q-Tel’s investment was not the money but the access that it gave Palantir to the CIA analysts who were its intended customers. Louie believed that the only way to determine whether Palantir could really help the CIA was to embed Palantir engineers in the agency; to build software that was actually useful, the Palantirians needed to see for themselves how the analysts operated. “A machine is not going to understand your workflows,” Louie says. “That’s a human function, not a machine function.” The other reason for embedding the engineers was that it would expedite the process of figuring out whether Palantir could, in fact, be helpful. If the CIA analysts didn’t think Palantir was capable of giving them what they needed, they were going to quickly let their superiors know. “We were at war,” says Louie, “and people did not have time to waste.” Louie had the Palantir team assigned to the CIA’s terrorism finance desk. There they would be exposed to large data sets, and also to data collected by financial institutions as well as the CIA. This would be a good test of whether Karp and his colleagues could deliver: tracking the flow of money was going to be critical to disrupting future terrorist plots, and it was exactly the kind of task that the software would have to perform in order to be of use to the intelligence community. But Louie also had another motive: although Karp and Thiel were focused on working with the government, Louie thought that Palantir’s technology, if it proved viable, could have applications outside the realm of national security, and if the company hoped to attract future investors, it would ultimately need to develop a strong commercial business. Stephen Cohen and engineer Aki Jain worked directly with the CIA analysts. Both had to obtain security clearance, and over time, numerous other Palantirians would do the same. Some, however, refused—they worried about Big Brother, or they didn’t want the FBI combing through their financial records, or they enjoyed smoking pot and didn’t want to give it up. Karp was one of the refuseniks, as was Joshua Goldenberg, the head of design. Goldenberg says there were times when engineers working on classified projects needed his help. But because they couldn’t share certain information with him, they would resort to hypotheticals. As Goldenberg recalls, “Someone might say, ‘Imagine there’s a jewel thief and he’s stolen a diamond, and he’s now in a city and we have people following him—what would that look like? What tools would you need to be able to do that?’” Starting in 2005, Cohen and Jain traveled on a biweekly basis from Palo Alto to the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia. In all, they made the trip roughly two hundred times. They became so familiar at the CIA that analysts there nicknamed Cohen “Two Weeks.” The Palantir duo would bring with them the latest version of the software, the analysts would test it out and offer feedback, and Cohen and Jain would return to California, where they and the rest of the team would address whatever problems had been identified and make other tweaks. In working side by side with the analysts, Cohen and Jain were pioneering a role that would become one of Palantir’s signatures. It turned out that dispatching software engineers to job sites was a shrewd strategy—it was a way of discovering what clients really needed in the way of technological help, of developing new features that could possibly be of use to other customers, and of building relationships that might lead to additional business within an organization. The forward-deployed engineers, as they came to be called, proved to be almost as essential to Palantir’s eventual success as the software itself. But it was that original deployment to the CIA, and the iterative process that it spawned, that enabled Palantir to successfully build Gotham, its first software platform. Ari Gesher, an engineer who was hired in 2005, says that from a technology standpoint, Palantir was pursuing a very ambitious goal. Some software companies specialized in front-end products—the stuff you see on your screen. Others focused on the back-end, the processing functions. Palantir, says Gesher, “understood that you needed to do deep investments in both to generate outcomes for users.” According to Gesher, Palantir also stood apart in that it aimed to be both a product company as well as a service company. Most software makers were one or the other: they either custom-built software, or they sold off-the-shelf products that could not be tailored to the specific needs of a client. Palantir was building an off-the-shelf product that could also be customized. Despite his lack of technical training—or, perhaps, because of it—Karp had also come up with a novel idea for addressing worries about civil liberties: he asked the engineers to build privacy controls into the software. Gotham was ultimately equipped … with two guardrails—users were able to access only information that they were authorized to view, and the platform generated an audit trail that indicated if someone tried to obtain material off-limits to them. Karp liked to call it a “Hegelian” remedy to the challenge of balancing public safety and civil liberties, a synthesis of seemingly unreconcilable objectives. As he told Charlie Rose during an interview in 2009, “It is the ultimate Silicon Valley solution: you remove the contradiction, and we all march forward.” In the end, it took Palantir around three years, lots of setbacks, and a couple of near-death experiences to develop a marketable software platform that met these parameters. “There were moments where we were like, ‘Is this ever going to see the light of day?’” Gesher says. The work was arduous, and there were times when the money ran short. A few key people grew frustrated and talked of quitting. Palantir also struggled to win converts at the CIA. Even though In-Q-Tel was backing Palantir, analysts were not obliged to switch to the company’s software, and some who tried it were underwhelmed. But in what would become another pattern in Palantir’s rise, one analyst was not just won over by the technology; she turned into a kind of in-house evangelist on Palantir’s behalf. Sarah Adams discovered Palantir not at Langley, but rather on a visit to Silicon Valley in late 2006. Adams worked on counterterrorism, as well, but in a different section. She joined a group of CIA analysts at a conference in the Bay Area devoted to emerging technologies. Palantir was one of the vendors, and Stephen Cohen demoed its software. Adams was intrigued by what she saw, exchanged contact information with Cohen, and upon returning to Langley asked her boss if her unit could do a pilot program with Palantir. He signed off on it, and a few months later, Adams and her colleagues were using Palantir’s software. Adams says that the first thing that jumped out at her was the speed with which Palantir churned data. “We were a fast-moving shop; we were kind of the point of the spear, and we needed faster analytics,” she says. According to Adams, Palantir’s software also had a “smartness” that Analyst’s Notebook lacked. It wasn’t just better at unearthing connections; even its basic search function was superior. Often, names would be misspelled in reports, or phone numbers would be written in different formats (dashes between numbers, no dashes between numbers). If Adams typed in “David Petraeus,” Palantir’s search engine would bring up all the available references to him, including ones where his name had been incorrectly spelled. This ensured that she wasn’t deprived of possibly important information simply because another analyst or a source in the field didn’t know that it was “Petraeus.” Beyond that, Palantir’s software just seemed to reflect an understanding of how Adams and other analysts did their jobs—the kind of questions they were seeking to answer, and how they wanted the answers presented. She says that Palantir “made my job a thousand times easier. It made a huge difference.” Her advocacy was instrumental in Palantir securing a contract with the CIA. Similar stories would play out in later deployments—one employee would end up championing Palantir, and that person’s proselytizing would eventually lead to a deal. But the CIA was the breakthrough: it was proof that Palantir had developed software that really worked, and also the realization of the ambition that had brought the company into being. Palantir had been founded by Peter Thiel for the purpose of assisting the U.S. government in the war on terrorism, and now the CIA had formally enlisted its help in that battle. Palantir’s foray into domestic law enforcement was an extension of its counterterrorism work. In 2007, the New York City Police Department’s intelligence unit began a pilot program using Palantir’s software. Before 9/11, the intelligence division had primarily focused on crime syndicates and narcotics. But its mandate changed after the terrorist attacks. The city tapped David Cohen, a CIA veteran who had served as the agency’s deputy director of operations, to run the unit, and with the city’s blessing, he turned it into a full-fledged intelligence service employing some one thousand officers and analysts. Several dozen members of the team were posted overseas, in cities including Tel Aviv, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, London, and Paris. “The rationale for the N.Y.P.D.’s transformation after September 11th had two distinct facets,” The New Yorker’s William Finnegan wrote in 2005. “On the one hand, expanding its mission to include terrorism prevention made obvious sense. On the other, there was a strong feeling that federal agencies had let down New York City, and that the city should no longer count on the Feds for its protection.” Finnegan noted that the NYPD was encroaching on areas normally reserved for the FBI and the CIA but that the federal agencies had “silently acknowledged New York’s right to take extraordinary defensive measures.” Cohen became familiar with Palantir while he was still with the CIA, and he decided that the company’s software could be of help to the intelligence unit. In what was becoming a familiar refrain, there was internal resistance. “For the average cops, it was just too complicated,” says Brian Schimpf, one of the first forward-deployed engineers assigned to the NYPD. “They’d be like, ‘I just need to look up license plates, bro; I don’t need to be doing these crazy analytical processes.’” IBM’s technology was the de facto incumbent at the NYPD, which also made it hard to convert people. Another stumbling block was price: Palantir was expensive, and while the NYPD had an ample budget, not everyone thought it was worth the investment. But the software caught on with some analysts, and over time, what began as a counter terrorism deployment moved into other areas, such as gang violence. This mission creep was something that privacy advocates and civil libertarians anticipated. Their foremost worry, in the aftermath of 9/11, was that innocent people would be ensnared as the government turned to mass surveillance to prevent future attacks, and the NSA scandal proved that these concerns were warranted. But another fear was that tools and tactics used to prosecute the war on terrorism would eventually be turned on Americans themselves. The increased militarization of police departments showed that “defending the homeland” had indeed morphed into something more than just an effort to thwart jihadis. Likewise, police departments also began to use advanced surveillance technology. Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a professor of law at George Washington University who has written extensively about policing and technology, says that capabilities that had been developed to meet the terrorism threat were now “being redirected on the domestic population.” Palantir was part of this trend. In addition to its work with the NYPD, it provided its software to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (a relationship that was part of a broader engagement with the city and that would dissolve in controversy). However, it attracted much of its police business in its own backyard, California. The Long Beach and Burbank Police Departments used Palantir, as did sheriff departments in Los Angeles and Sacramento counties. The company’s technology was also used by several Fusion Centers in California—these were regional intelligence bureaus established after 9/11 to foster closer collaboration between federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The focus was on countering terrorism and other criminal activities. But Palantir’s most extensive and longest-lasting law enforcement contract was with the Los Angeles Police Department. It was a relationship that began in 2009. The LAPD was looking for software that could improve situational awareness for officers in the field—that could allow them to quickly access information about, say, a suspect or about previous criminal activity on a particular street. Palantir’s technology soon became a general investigative tool for the LAPD. The department also started using Palantir for a crime-prevention initiative called LASER. The goal was to identify “hot spots”—streets and neighborhoods that experienced a lot of gun violence and other crimes. The police would then put more patrols in those places. As part of the stepped-up policing, officers would submit information about people they had stopped in high-crime districts to a Chronic Offenders Bulletin, which flagged individuals whom the LAPD thought were likely to be repeat offenders. This was predictive policing, a controversial practice in which quantitative analysis is used to pinpoint areas prone to crime and individuals who are likely to commit or fall victim to crimes. To critics, predictive policing is something straight out of the Tom Cruise thriller Minority Report, in which psychics identify murderers before they kill, but even more insidious. They believe that data-driven policing reinforces biases that have long plagued America’s criminal justice system and inevitably leads to racial profiling. Karp was unmoved by that argument. In his judgment, crime was crime, and if it could be prevented or reduced through the use of data, that was a net plus for society. Blacks and Latinos, no less than whites, wanted to live in safe communities. And for Karp, the same logic that guided Palantir’s counterterrorism work applied to its efforts in law enforcement—people needed to feel safe in their homes and on their streets, and if they didn’t, they would embrace hard-line politicians who would have no qualms about trampling on civil liberties to give the public the security it demanded. Palantir’s software, at least as Karp saw it, was a mechanism for delivering that security without sacrificing privacy and other personal freedoms. However, community activists in Los Angeles took a different view of Palantir and the kind of police work that the company was enabling. An organization called the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition organized protests and also published studies highlighting what it claimed was algorithmic-driven harassment of predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods and of people of color. LASER, it said, amounted to a “racist feedback loop.” In the face of criticism, the LAPD grew increasingly sensitive about its predictive policing efforts and its ties to Palantir. Ryoji Iwata To Karp, the fracas over Palantir’s police contracts was emblematic of what he saw as the left’s descent into mindless dogmatism. He said that many liberals now seemed “to reject quantification of any kind. And I don’t understand how being anti-quantitative is in any way progressive.” Karp said that he was actually the true progressive. “If you are championing an ideology whose logical consequence is that thousands and thousands and thousands of people over time that you claim to defend are killed, maimed, go to prison—how is what I’m saying not progressive when what you are saying is going to lead to a cycle of poverty?” He conceded, though, that partnering with local law enforcement, at least in the United States, was just too complicated. “Police departments are hard because you have an overlay of legitimate ethical concerns,” Karp said. “I would also say there is a politicization of legitimate ethical issues to the detriment of the poorest members of our urban environments.” He acknowledged, too, that the payoff from police work wasn’t enough to justify the agita that came with it. And in truth, there hadn’t been much of a payoff; indeed, Palantir’s technology was no longer being used by any U.S. police departments. The New York City Police Department had terminated its contract with Palantir in 2017 and replaced the company’s software with its own data analysis tool. In 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department had ended its relationship with Palantir, partly in response to growing public pressure. So had the city of New Orleans, after an investigation by The Verge caused an uproar. But Palantir still had contracts with police departments in several European countries. And since 2014, Palantir’s software has been used in domestic operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, work that has expanded under the second The President administration, and earned criticism from a number of former employees. In 2019, when I was working on my story about Palantir for The New York Times Magazine, I tried to meet with LAPD officials to talk about the company’s software, but they declined. Six years earlier, however, a Princeton doctoral candidate named Sarah Brayne, who was researching the use of new technologies by police departments, was given remarkable access to the LAPD. She found that Palantir’s platform was used extensively—more than one thousand LAPD employees had access to the software—and was taking in and merging a wide range of data, from phone numbers to field interview cards (filed by police every time they made a stop) to images culled from automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs. Through Palantir, the LAPD could also tap into databases of police departments in other jurisdictions, as well as those of the California state police. In addition, they could pull up material that was completely unrelated to criminal justice—social media posts, foreclosure notices, utility bills. Via Palantir, the LAPD could obtain a trove of personal information. Not only that: through the network analysis that the software performed, the police could identify a person of interest’s family members, friends, colleagues, associates, and other relations, putting all of them in the LAPD’s purview. It was a virtual dragnet, a point made clear by one detective who spoke to Brayne. “Let’s say I have something going on with the medical marijuana clinics where they’re getting robbed,” he said. “I can put in an alert to Palantir that says anything that has to do with medical marijuana plus robbery plus male, black, six foot.” He readily acknowledged that these searches could just be fishing expeditions and even used a fishing metaphor. “I like throwing the net out there, you know?” he said. Brayne’s research showed the potential for abuse. It was easy, for instance, to conjure nightmare scenarios involving ALPR data. A detective could discover that a reluctant witness was having an affair and use that information to coerce his testimony. There was also the risk of misconduct outside the line of duty—an unscrupulous analyst could conceivably use Palantir’s software to keep tabs on his ex-wife’s comings and goings. Beyond that, millions of innocent people were unknowingly being pulled “into the system” simply by driving their cars. When I spoke to Brayne, she told me that what most troubled her about the LAPD’s work with Palantir was the opaqueness. “Digital surveillance is invisible,” she said. “How are you supposed to hold an institution accountable when you don’t know what they are doing?” Adapted from The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State by Michael Steinberger. Copyright © 2025. Reprinted by permission of Avid Reader Press, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc. View the full article

If you’re seeking the best online wholesale stores for craft supplies in bulk, several options stand out for their quality and affordability. For instance, Incraftables specializes in a broad range of craft materials, including wreath-making supplies and hobby items. Furthermore, retailers that focus on craft blanks offer great opportunities for custom projects at competitive prices. Comprehending the variety available can greatly improve your crafting experience, so let’s explore these options further. Key Takeaways Incraftables offers a wide range of wholesale craft supplies with competitive pricing and tiered discounts for bulk purchases. Their craft blanks, including tumblers and keychains, are priced for custom projects and support various crafting techniques. A vast selection of bulk art supplies, including paint and canvas multipacks, provides cost-effective options for artists and institutions. Premium beads and essential jewelry supplies are available in bulk, catering to both hobbyists and small businesses. Seasonal decorations and floral options are offered in bulk, allowing for significant savings and creative customization in décor projects. Wholesale Craft Supplies at Incraftables In the domain of sourcing wholesale craft supplies, Incraftables stands out as a reliable option for educators, retailers, and passionate crafters alike. Located in Houston, TX, Incraftables provides a diverse selection of wholesale craft supplies, catering to various creative needs. You can find everything from discount wreath making supplies to wholesale hobby supplies, all available at competitive prices. Shopping for craft supplies online wholesale makes it convenient for you to stock up on vital materials. With bulk options and tiered discounts based on quantity, you can enjoy significant savings on larger orders. Plus, Incraftables processes orders within 1-3 business days, ensuring prompt shipping for a seamless shopping experience, perfect for your upcoming projects. Craft Blanks for Custom Creations Craft blanks serve as the foundation for countless custom creations, offering an excellent opportunity for crafters to personalize items to their liking. You can find a variety of craft blanks, such as tumblers, keychains, and apparel, available at wholesale prices. This makes them perfect for your custom projects. Many of these supplies are designed for multiple crafting techniques, including sublimation, vinyl application, and painting. If you’re looking for quality, check out Incraftables for premium cups and tumblers, along with video guidance that assists both beginners and experienced crafters. Furthermore, explore wholesale wreath making supplies, scrapbook supplies wholesale distributors, and deco mesh wholesale options to improve your creative endeavors as you ensure durability and a professional finish. Bulk Art Supplies for Every Project Bulk art supplies are vital for anyone looking to undertake a wide range of creative projects, whether you’re a student, educator, or professional artist. Incraftables offers an extensive selection, including tempera paint, brushes, and oven-bake clay, perfect for various applications. Their bulk canvas multipacks provide a cost-effective solution for artists needing multiple painting surfaces. Furthermore, high-quality markers and pens improve your drawing and illustration capabilities. Institutions can benefit from tax-exempt purchases and tiered bulk discounts, making it easier for schools and organizations to stock up on important materials. With order processing typically within 1-3 business days, Incraftables guarantees that your bulk art supplies are readily available whenever you need them for immediate crafting projects. Premium Beads and Jewelry Making Supplies In the domain of creating unique jewelry pieces, having access to premium beads and high-quality supplies is vital. Incraftables offers a diverse selection of premium beads, including round beads, seed beads, and faux pearls, perfect for your various jewelry-making projects. You’ll find fundamental jewelry-making supplies, such as findings and stringing materials, that guarantee your creations are secure and professional. Furthermore, bulk UV resin is available, allowing you to craft durable designs for custom jewelry. To keep your workspace organized, Incraftables provides storage boxes tailored for beads and jewelry. With competitive pricing and attractive wholesale options, this store caters to both small businesses and hobbyists looking to stock up on fundamental supplies for their crafting endeavors. Seasonal Decorations and Floral Bushes Creating a welcoming and festive atmosphere during various seasons often involves the use of seasonal decorations and floral bushes. You can find a wide range of artificial floral options, like the 20 Bluebonnet Flowers Bush priced at $4.95, or the 21 Sunflower Dahlia Bush in Rust Orange for $9.75. For those looking to improve their décor, consider bulk purchasing, which offers significant savings. Products like the 31 Plastic Leaves Button Fern Hanging Bush for $8.95 provide great value for educators and avid crafters. Incraftables features diverse seasonal decorations, allowing for creativity in your projects. Unique options, such as the 20 Plastic Leaf Button Fern Bush in Black & Iridescent Purple for $4.95, offer customization possibilities for any seasonal theme. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Crafting Website? Finding the best crafting website depends on your specific needs. If you’re looking for variety and affordability, consider platforms that offer bulk purchasing options. Websites that regularly update their inventory and provide discounts on popular items are advantageous. Look for sites with a user-friendly interface, tax-exempt purchasing options, and dedicated customer support. Research customer reviews and compare product offerings to guarantee you select a site that meets your crafting supplies requirements effectively. What Is the Most Popular Craft Store? When considering the most popular craft store, you’ll find that many options cater to diverse crafting needs. Stores like Michaels and Joann are well-known for their extensive selection of materials, tools, and seasonal items. They often provide competitive pricing and frequent sales, making them favorites among crafters. Moreover, local craft shops might offer unique items and personalized service, nurturing a community atmosphere that larger retailers sometimes lack. Explore various options to find what suits you best. Are Craft Supply Stores Profitable? Yes, craft supply stores can be profitable because of the increasing demand for DIY projects and crafting. By offering a diverse range of products at competitive prices, you can attract individual crafters and bulk buyers, such as schools. Seasonal items often stimulate sales, especially during holidays. Implementing promotional deals and a loyalty program encourages repeat business, as effective inventory management and a solid online presence can further improve your profit margins. Which Company Is Best for Art and Craft? When choosing the best company for art and craft supplies, consider factors like product variety, pricing, and customer service. Companies like Incraftables offer a wide range of quality materials at wholesale prices, catering to both individual crafters and larger institutions. They provide bulk options across categories like paints and decorations, along with tiered discounts. Their user-friendly online shopping experience and commitment to quality make it a top choice for many in the crafting community. Conclusion In conclusion, when sourcing craft supplies in bulk, consider exploring stores like Incraftables for a diverse range of affordable options, including wreath making materials and craft blanks for custom projects. Furthermore, look for retailers that specialize in bulk art supplies and premium beads for jewelry making, along with seasonal decorations. These online wholesale stores can help streamline your crafting experience by offering quality products at competitive prices, ensuring you have everything you need for your creative endeavors. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Best Online Wholesale Stores for Craft Supplies in Bulk" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you’re seeking the best online wholesale stores for craft supplies in bulk, several options stand out for their quality and affordability. For instance, Incraftables specializes in a broad range of craft materials, including wreath-making supplies and hobby items. Furthermore, retailers that focus on craft blanks offer great opportunities for custom projects at competitive prices. Comprehending the variety available can greatly improve your crafting experience, so let’s explore these options further. Key Takeaways Incraftables offers a wide range of wholesale craft supplies with competitive pricing and tiered discounts for bulk purchases. Their craft blanks, including tumblers and keychains, are priced for custom projects and support various crafting techniques. A vast selection of bulk art supplies, including paint and canvas multipacks, provides cost-effective options for artists and institutions. Premium beads and essential jewelry supplies are available in bulk, catering to both hobbyists and small businesses. Seasonal decorations and floral options are offered in bulk, allowing for significant savings and creative customization in décor projects. Wholesale Craft Supplies at Incraftables In the domain of sourcing wholesale craft supplies, Incraftables stands out as a reliable option for educators, retailers, and passionate crafters alike. Located in Houston, TX, Incraftables provides a diverse selection of wholesale craft supplies, catering to various creative needs. You can find everything from discount wreath making supplies to wholesale hobby supplies, all available at competitive prices. Shopping for craft supplies online wholesale makes it convenient for you to stock up on vital materials. With bulk options and tiered discounts based on quantity, you can enjoy significant savings on larger orders. Plus, Incraftables processes orders within 1-3 business days, ensuring prompt shipping for a seamless shopping experience, perfect for your upcoming projects. Craft Blanks for Custom Creations Craft blanks serve as the foundation for countless custom creations, offering an excellent opportunity for crafters to personalize items to their liking. You can find a variety of craft blanks, such as tumblers, keychains, and apparel, available at wholesale prices. This makes them perfect for your custom projects. Many of these supplies are designed for multiple crafting techniques, including sublimation, vinyl application, and painting. If you’re looking for quality, check out Incraftables for premium cups and tumblers, along with video guidance that assists both beginners and experienced crafters. Furthermore, explore wholesale wreath making supplies, scrapbook supplies wholesale distributors, and deco mesh wholesale options to improve your creative endeavors as you ensure durability and a professional finish. Bulk Art Supplies for Every Project Bulk art supplies are vital for anyone looking to undertake a wide range of creative projects, whether you’re a student, educator, or professional artist. Incraftables offers an extensive selection, including tempera paint, brushes, and oven-bake clay, perfect for various applications. Their bulk canvas multipacks provide a cost-effective solution for artists needing multiple painting surfaces. Furthermore, high-quality markers and pens improve your drawing and illustration capabilities. Institutions can benefit from tax-exempt purchases and tiered bulk discounts, making it easier for schools and organizations to stock up on important materials. With order processing typically within 1-3 business days, Incraftables guarantees that your bulk art supplies are readily available whenever you need them for immediate crafting projects. Premium Beads and Jewelry Making Supplies In the domain of creating unique jewelry pieces, having access to premium beads and high-quality supplies is vital. Incraftables offers a diverse selection of premium beads, including round beads, seed beads, and faux pearls, perfect for your various jewelry-making projects. You’ll find fundamental jewelry-making supplies, such as findings and stringing materials, that guarantee your creations are secure and professional. Furthermore, bulk UV resin is available, allowing you to craft durable designs for custom jewelry. To keep your workspace organized, Incraftables provides storage boxes tailored for beads and jewelry. With competitive pricing and attractive wholesale options, this store caters to both small businesses and hobbyists looking to stock up on fundamental supplies for their crafting endeavors. Seasonal Decorations and Floral Bushes Creating a welcoming and festive atmosphere during various seasons often involves the use of seasonal decorations and floral bushes. You can find a wide range of artificial floral options, like the 20 Bluebonnet Flowers Bush priced at $4.95, or the 21 Sunflower Dahlia Bush in Rust Orange for $9.75. For those looking to improve their décor, consider bulk purchasing, which offers significant savings. Products like the 31 Plastic Leaves Button Fern Hanging Bush for $8.95 provide great value for educators and avid crafters. Incraftables features diverse seasonal decorations, allowing for creativity in your projects. Unique options, such as the 20 Plastic Leaf Button Fern Bush in Black & Iridescent Purple for $4.95, offer customization possibilities for any seasonal theme. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Crafting Website? Finding the best crafting website depends on your specific needs. If you’re looking for variety and affordability, consider platforms that offer bulk purchasing options. Websites that regularly update their inventory and provide discounts on popular items are advantageous. Look for sites with a user-friendly interface, tax-exempt purchasing options, and dedicated customer support. Research customer reviews and compare product offerings to guarantee you select a site that meets your crafting supplies requirements effectively. What Is the Most Popular Craft Store? When considering the most popular craft store, you’ll find that many options cater to diverse crafting needs. Stores like Michaels and Joann are well-known for their extensive selection of materials, tools, and seasonal items. They often provide competitive pricing and frequent sales, making them favorites among crafters. Moreover, local craft shops might offer unique items and personalized service, nurturing a community atmosphere that larger retailers sometimes lack. Explore various options to find what suits you best. Are Craft Supply Stores Profitable? Yes, craft supply stores can be profitable because of the increasing demand for DIY projects and crafting. By offering a diverse range of products at competitive prices, you can attract individual crafters and bulk buyers, such as schools. Seasonal items often stimulate sales, especially during holidays. Implementing promotional deals and a loyalty program encourages repeat business, as effective inventory management and a solid online presence can further improve your profit margins. Which Company Is Best for Art and Craft? When choosing the best company for art and craft supplies, consider factors like product variety, pricing, and customer service. Companies like Incraftables offer a wide range of quality materials at wholesale prices, catering to both individual crafters and larger institutions. They provide bulk options across categories like paints and decorations, along with tiered discounts. Their user-friendly online shopping experience and commitment to quality make it a top choice for many in the crafting community. Conclusion In conclusion, when sourcing craft supplies in bulk, consider exploring stores like Incraftables for a diverse range of affordable options, including wreath making materials and craft blanks for custom projects. Furthermore, look for retailers that specialize in bulk art supplies and premium beads for jewelry making, along with seasonal decorations. These online wholesale stores can help streamline your crafting experience by offering quality products at competitive prices, ensuring you have everything you need for your creative endeavors. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Best Online Wholesale Stores for Craft Supplies in Bulk" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Power shift in prospect for UK media as Lord Rothermere looks to bring influential right-wing titles into one stableView the full article

Every team tracks time in some form. Whether it’s a manual spreadsheet, a built-in company system, or an online timecard calculator, the ritual is always the same: enter the hours, approve the hours, move on. But here’s a quiet truth no amount of perfect arithmetic can hide: teams don’t struggle because the math is wrong. […] The post Beyond the timecard: How teams can make every hour count as 2025 winds down appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

If you’re considering franchise opportunities, it’s crucial to evaluate options that show stability and growth potential. Mr. Rooter stands out in the plumbing sector, whereas Snapology offers innovative STEM education through engaging play. Kumon provides a reliable method for academic support, appealing to a wide age range. In home services, Sam the Concrete Man offers a solid business model. High Touch-High Tech integrates technology to improve customer interactions. Each option has unique advantages worth exploring further. Key Takeaways Mr. Rooter offers stable growth in home services with strong support and low failure rates for franchise owners. Snapology engages children through hands-on STEM learning, utilizing LEGO bricks with comprehensive training for franchisees. Kumon provides a proven self-paced learning method for math and reading, serving millions of students worldwide. Sam the Concrete Man focuses on residential concrete services, offering a low investment and strong return potential in the growing home services sector. High Touch-High Tech combines technology with personalized service, targeting tech-savvy consumers for enhanced customer experiences. Mr. Rooter: A Leader in Home Services When you consider investing in a franchise, Mr. Rooter stands out as a leader in home services. Ranked among the Top 100 franchises, it specializes in plumbing and vital household services, meeting a consistent demand from homeowners. Unlike fast food franchise opportunities, Mr. Rooter operates in a sector with stable growth, driven by increased homeownership. You’ll find that the franchise offers strong support, including extensive training and ongoing operational assistance, which are fundamental for success. The low failure rates among franchise owners highlight its financial viability. As you explore magazine franchise opportunities, keep in mind that Mr. Rooter not just offers a reliable business model but also positions you well within a growing market of necessary services. Snapology: Engaging Education Through Play After investigating the reliable business model of Mr. Rooter, you’ll find Snapology to be an equally compelling franchise opportunity. Snapology focuses on providing engaging educational experiences for children through interactive play, utilizing LEGO bricks and other building materials to promote STEM learning. Targeting kids aged 2-14, it offers a variety of programs, including classes, camps, and birthday parties. This versatility allows franchisees to reach diverse audiences. Snapology emphasizes hands-on learning, which nurtures creativity and critical thinking skills as it promotes teamwork in a fun environment. Franchisees receive thorough training and support, equipping them to effectively deliver the curriculum and grow their businesses. As a part of the growing education sector, Snapology capitalizes on the rising demand for innovative educational programs. Kumon: A Proven Approach to Learning Kumon stands out as a leading franchise in the supplemental education sector, focusing on math and reading for children aged 2 to 17. With over 4 million students enrolled worldwide, Kumon uses a proven method of self-paced learning, allowing students to master concepts before advancing. As a franchisee, you’ll receive extensive training, ongoing support, and benefit from a strong brand presence, which improves your chances of success. With an initial cash requirement of $70,000 to $150,000, it’s a low to moderate investment with high profitability potential. The business model prioritizes community engagement and customer relationships, nurturing a supportive environment for learning. Feature Details Benefits Target Age 2 to 17 years Broad market appeal Investment Range $70,000 – $150,000 Low to moderate investment Student Enrollment Over 4 million Proven success and brand strength Learning Method Self-paced Individualized progress Support Provided Extensive training and support Franchisee success and satisfaction Sam the Concrete Man: Solid Franchise Opportunity Sam the Concrete Man presents an attractive franchise opportunity in the growing home services sector, particularly focusing on residential concrete services. With increasing homeownership, the demand for concrete installation and repair is high. This franchise boasts a proven business model, providing thorough training programs and ongoing support to guarantee your operational success. The initial investment is low, allowing for a potentially strong return on investment. Recognized for its commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, Sam the Concrete Man has quickly expanded, cultivating brand loyalty among clients. Moreover, the franchise emphasizes community engagement and social responsibility, positively impacting local economies as it enhances its brand image. This makes it a solid choice for aspiring franchisees looking to enter a thriving market. High Touch-High Tech: Blending Service With Innovation In a world where consumer expectations are constantly evolving, High Touch-High Tech franchises have emerged as a compelling business model that marries technology with personalized service. By integrating advanced solutions like mobile apps and online platforms, these franchises streamline service delivery as they enhance the customer experience. Here’s a quick look at how this model operates: Technology Customer Interaction Mobile Ordering Personalized Assistance Real-Time Tracking In-Person Engagement Online Feedback Customized Recommendations Automation Human Connection Data Analytics Loyalty Programs This approach meets the demand for convenience without sacrificing the personal touch, positioning these franchises for significant growth among tech-savvy consumers who value both efficiency and relationships. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Most Profitable Franchise to Own? Determining the most profitable franchise to own varies based on several factors, including industry and investment level. Food and beverage franchises, like Dunkin’ and Zaxby’s, typically offer high sales potential but require significant investments. Service-oriented franchises, such as Aire Serv, demand lower initial costs during providing consistent returns. Moreover, established brands with strong market presence often lead to greater profitability, especially when they offer extensive support and training to their franchisees. What Are the 4 P’s of Franchising? The 4 P’s of franchising are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Product refers to the quality and brand recognition of the goods or services offered. Price involves competitive strategies that guarantee profitability during reflecting value. Place focuses on strategic location selection for franchise outlets to maximize customer access. Finally, Promotion encompasses the marketing efforts that drive brand awareness and sales, supporting franchisees with effective advertising strategies to reach potential customers. What Is the 7 Day Rule for Franchise? The 7 Day Rule for franchises requires franchisors to provide a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) at least 14 days before any contracts or payments are made. This guarantees you have ample time to review the FDD, which includes vital information like the franchisor’s history, fees, and financial performance. Why Is It Only $10,000 to Open a Chick-Fil-A? Opening a Chick-fil-A franchise costs only $10,000 because of its unique business model. This low entry fee is appealing compared to other franchises, but you’ll need to share 15-20% of your sales as royalties. Chick-fil-A provides extensive training and operational support, ensuring that you maintain brand standards. Furthermore, the company selects franchisees carefully, focusing on quality management, which helps sustain its strong reputation and can lead to higher sales volumes. Conclusion To conclude, exploring these five franchise opportunities can lead you to a successful investment in various sectors. Mr. Rooter offers stability in home services, whereas Snapology and Kumon cater to educational needs for children. Sam the Concrete Man presents a solid business model for residential projects, and High Touch-High Tech improves customer experiences with innovative technology. Each option provides unique advantages, making them worth considering as you evaluate potential franchises for your future business endeavors. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Top Franchise Opps to Consider" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article