California repeatedly warned about spiking gas prices, fragile supply. But fixes never came. In fact, some of the supply issue is coming from a very unexpected quarter. Read More
The latest data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) shows continued weakness for the sector. The ISM reports US manufacturing activity declined for the 3rd straight month in January. Read More
I’ve been working with a friend on the best ways to measure performance in small business marketing. He’s developed a simple formula that we think can be a useful component of a marketing mix, and that we’ll be sharing with members of the Small Business Association in the next few weeks. Read More
It feels like I’ve been doing this job a LONG time: one of the most exciting parts of my life is that I had the opportunity to start a small business. I was fortunate because I was raised in a family where small businesses are valued. Read More
The “small business” category is often used interchangeably with “small-business owner,” but I think there are real differences. When we talk about the growth of small businesses, it’s no news that many of the successful entrepreneurs I’ve met aren’t “small-business owners” at all, but employees who found a way to combine their professional talents with a desire to build successful small businesses. Read More
The U.S. small-business sector has been in recovery mode for the last three years, with growth rates topping 2% a year for eight straight years. But with the economy still looking soft and jobs scarce, the sector is struggling. Read More
The good news is that the U.S. small-business sector is holding steady, inching toward recovery. The bad news, which I can’t avoid, is that the slowdown in growth rate and the decline in the share of small businesses were both in store for last year but reversed: read the details. Read More
More than a few of my colleagues and I have been working on projects related to small business marketing for many, many years. I’m not going to share their work. But I’ll share some highlights from the conversation about a year ago, when we
