A recent survey by Internet marketing company Constant Contact looking at small businesses and mobile technology trends found that around 66 percent of small businesses have entered the mobile market, using a wide range of mobile solutions via smart phones and tablets. This is not surprising, as many research groups are projecting that within the next several years, there will be more mobile Internet users out there than desktop users. Continue Reading …

In the ongoing horse race for social media users, Pinterest has made a bold move for the lead in the past year, and that fact alone has affected the way people shop online. Blogger David Wallace posts on Search Engine Journal that Pinterest has bolted into third place on the list of most popular social media platforms at full gallop, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. From its humble 2010 beginnings as a 5,000-user Continue Reading …

Imagine having the ability to produce a three-dimensional object – a birthday cake, a wedding dress, even a heart valve – all with the click of a mouse.  Sound like something that will be offered in the distant future? Not so, says Tim Middleton, a 42 year-old man from Eudora, Kansas, who has already attempted to print a pair of shoes using 3D printing technology. “They’re kind of hard,” says Middleton of his shoes. “The material is Continue Reading …

A recent study by cloud provider Citrix has revealed that those small businesses that allow their employees to work outside traditional office environs are seeing productivity increase by as much as thirty percent. These gains are being driven through the adopting of mobile work styles that free up employees to work whenever and wherever they choose. The research also indicated that the increase in productivity is expected to rise. As Brett Continue Reading …

As the economic landscape continues to change, businesses and consumers are finding different, new, and creative ways to manage and recover from the long-running economic downturn and adapt to the new economy. And, part of this change includes a growing, universal conscience. Take, for instance, how small business is providing consumers with increased value over brand- name products found at big department stores. Corey Epstein, founder of Continue Reading …

After years of small business lending sitting dormant at the roots of the recession, there are signs that the money tree is taking leaf again. The climate for business lending has been improving, according to recent indicators. J.D. Harrison of the Washington Post reported in Post's May 29 online edition that recent studies showing improved credit quality, lower loan default risk and shorter loan payback periods serve as indicators that the Continue Reading …

According to the recently released United States Census Bureau’s annual report on non-employer businesses and the current freelance economy, around 75 percent of total U.S. businesses (or 22.5 million businesses across the country) didn’t have any paid employees in 2011. This number is up around 1.7 percent more than the year before. These freelance businesses reported $990 billion in total revenue, which effectively increased 4.1 percent Continue Reading …

This year’s National Small Business Week, hosted by the U. S. Small Business Administration June 16 – June 21, will present a series of matchmaking events, providing face-to-face meetings between representatives of federal agencies and prime contractors with those small businesses seeking contracting and sub-contracting opportunities. The first of these events is June 18 at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas, located Continue Reading …

A welcome sign of confidence in the recovering economy is a rise in small business optimism, which rose to its highest level since late last year, The National Federation of Independent Business said. In fact, the Federation says its Small Business Optimism Index increased by 2.6 points to 92.1, the highest level since last October. Nearly half of this gain is being attributed to small business owners’ confidence that business conditions will Continue Reading …

An academic study released in the United Kingdom called “Life Satisfaction and Self-Employment” uses a unique research approach to demonstrate that those who choose to be self-employed enjoy more overall satisfaction, not only with their jobs but also with their lives as a whole. This trend seems to occur even when the self-employed person’s income is lower than it would otherwise be in a traditional business environment. The paper looks Continue Reading …