By Staff
Thursday, February 6, 2025 8:15 AM
NEW ORLEANS—While the 2024 holiday shopping season data revealed an 8.7 percent increase in sales compared with last year and a notable surge in mobile shopping, an untold story is the growing consumer preference for local retail. According to data from
Locally's real-time network of more than 55,000 retailers worldwide, 71 percent of consumers preferred local retailers, and nearly 50 percent of online shoppers abandoned carts when a local pickup wasn't an option.
By Staff
Thursday, January 23, 2025 8:15 AM
The
2025 Business Leaders Outlook survey by Chase Insights revealed that small businesses are navigating economic uncertainty with strategic planning in the New Year. The survey reflects a deeper focus on stability, as business leaders are turning inward, concentrating on their operations and areas within their control. The survey showed that economic uncertainty remains a significant consideration for business leaders, but many are meeting it with cautious optimism. More than two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) believe that small businesses will continue to be the driving force of economic growth, reflecting confidence in their resilience and adaptability.
By Staff
Thursday, January 16, 2025 8:15 AM
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Job growth in U.S. small businesses with fewer than 50 employees averaged modest employment growth throughout 2024, according to the
Paychex Small Business Employment Watch. The national jobs index was relatively unchanged (0.02 percentage points) at the close of the year in December and has held its pace since the summer. At 2.96 percent in December, hourly earnings growth for U.S. small business workers remained below 3 percent for the fifth consecutive month, according to the report.
By Staff
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 8:15 AM
Boundless Futures Foundation, a private foundation that empowers women entrepreneurs in the United States, has awarded $445,000 in EmpowHer grants to female company founders, and $140,000 in Her Village grants to nonprofits that support businesswomen since it began in late 2023. According to the announcement, all the companies receiving EmpowHer grants leverage their businesses to address social issues related to poverty and hunger, sustainability and the environment, and strong communities. The foundation, founded by Soon and McKeel Hagerty, provides grant funding to individuals in the early stages of starting a business that solves a social issue and to mission-aligned nonprofits.
By Staff
Thursday, December 5, 2024 8:15 AM
The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that it has ushered in the SBA’s second-annual
Season of Small Business campaign. The SBA said in a statement, “In the last four years, America has seen unprecedented entrepreneurialism with a record 20 million business applications filed. These businesses span all industries and geographies. They are run by individuals of all backgrounds and experiences. Yet they are united by a singular belief in what is possible.”
By Staff
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 1:05 PM
New data on retail sales from the
U.S. Census Bureau shows consumers are feeling more confident about spending. Retail sales in October were up 0.4 percent seasonally, adjusted month-over-month and 2.8 percent year-over-year, compared with increases of 0.8 percent month-over-month and 2 percent year-over-year in September.
Meanwhile, core retail sales were unchanged on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis but were up 5.4 percent unadjusted year over year. According to the NRF, core sales were up 3.5 percent year over year for the first 10 months of 2024, in line with the NRF’s forecast for 2024 retail sales to grow between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent compared with 2023.
By Staff
Thursday, November 7, 2024 8:15 AM
The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that it will celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) from November 11-15, 2024. “Each year during National Veterans Small Business Week, the SBA highlights the unique entrepreneurial spirit of veterans, service members, National Guard members, reservists and military spouses,” said SBA administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. “America is the proud home of millions of veterans, service members and military families. They are our neighbors and friends, and in many cases, the owners and employees of local small businesses we love and support. The SBA is going further than ever to enhance and expand our support for veterans, particularly in rural and underserved areas, and it is a profound honor to serve those who have served our country, this week and every week.”
By Staff
Thursday, October 24, 2024 8:15 AM
AUSTIN, Texas—
ZenBusiness, a platform helping small business owners start, run and grow successful businesses, is advancing its mission to empower entrepreneurs by launching new AI-driven tools. These innovations mark a significant step forward for ZenBusiness, simplifying critical tasks like business planning, website creation and helping small business owners run more efficiently and successfully, according to the company.
By Staff
Thursday, October 10, 2024 8:15 AM
NEWARK, N.J.—The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that it is cohosting two education events this fall aimed at women entrepreneurs as a continuation of the 2024 National ChallengeHER road tour. The SBA will partner with
Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and
American Express (AMEX) on the education initiatives. ChallengeHer is a government contracting education initiative that aims to bring more women-owned firms into the federal government’s supply chain, encourages participation in the SBA’s
Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program and provides an avenue for government agencies to meet qualified women-owned small business contractors.
By Staff
Friday, September 13, 2024 7:15 AM
The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that the Delaware Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has been selected to receive a $350,000 prize to develop and deploy a national Cyber Certification Program for SBA resource partners. The program will utilize industry best practices to provide cybersecurity tools and training to small businesses and will be delivered via a hybrid course curriculum with webinars and workshops, knowledge-based assessments, certification requirements, and ongoing continuing education to track key performance indicators over two years, according to the announcement.
By Staff
Thursday, September 5, 2024 8:15 AM
Optometry Marketing Services (OMS), an optometric alliance founded by
IDOC, a non-franchise alliance of independent ODs, has announced its recent achievement of being recognized as a Google Partner. Being named as a Google Partner is a worldwide benchmark for proficiency in digital advertising. It is a professional accreditation awarded to companies which demonstrate expertise in online advertising and the use of Google Ads. This designation validates the detailed work within the service and the quality they bring to the industry. Google Ad strategies have made a direct impact on OMS clients’ goals such as increasing new patient volume, the company said.
By Staff
Wednesday, August 21, 2024 8:15 AM
Nine-in-ten small businesses surveyed are optimistic that their company will achieve its goals this year, according to American Express’ fourth
Amex Trendex: Small Business Edition. "At the mid-point of 2024, we asked small businesses to look back on the goals they set for the year, and we found that they’re satisfied with their progress and successes over the first half,” said Gina Taylor Cotter, executive vice president and general manager of small business products at American Express. “Younger and digitally-native business owners are feeling particularly energized by the possibilities and resources available to them, and they’re thinking creatively about new ways to grow their businesses.”
By Staff
Thursday, August 8, 2024 8:15 AM
The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the release of its new
Business Resilience Guide, a comprehensive resource for small business owners who may not be familiar with disaster preparation. The guide has six sections to plan and recover from disasters, including best practices and template forms to help mitigate disasters for America’s entrepreneurs and help them build back stronger. “Small businesses are vital to local economies—creating jobs and providing essential products and services, which is why the SBA is committed to ensuring they can survive and recover quickly from natural and other disasters,” said SBA administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman.
By Staff
Wednesday, July 24, 2024 8:15 AM
The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced $3 million in
new funding under the Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Pilot Program. Three grants will be awarded to state agencies to provide training, counseling, and other tailored cybersecurity services for startups and emerging entrepreneurs. “With small businesses accounting for 99.9 percent of all American businesses and employing nearly half of the private workforce, any cyber threat to our small businesses is a threat to our country’s overall economy,” said SBA administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman.
By Staff
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 8:15 AM
As inflation continues to ease and the Federal Reserve ponders when to lower interest rates, the nation is in a “critical moment” of waiting to see what will happen next, according to National Retail Federation chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. His comments appeared in the July issue of NRF’s
Monthly Economic Review, which said year-over-year gross domestic product growth dropped from 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 1.4 percent in the first quarter this year, reaching its lowest point since the spring of 2022. A key contributor to the deceleration was slower consumer activity—a goal of high interest rates intended to tame inflation without causing a recession, the Monthly Economic Review noted.