Many mall shoppers see the kiosk retailer as a small-time purveyor of cell phone covers, costume jewelry, sunglasses and bath salts. But more and more, the kiosk boss sees himself as the millionaire he has become. The little center-court kiosks that form chains of connect-the-dot trinket islands from one end of a mall to the other have become big business in the world of retail. Some are far more successful than the storefront stores vying for Continue Reading …

Smartphone use on the job may not be the productivity drain that many employers once believed. According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive, those workers who use their smartphones and similar technology save their employers approximately $12,000 in productivity, based on an average of employee wages. These savings are realized through time saved using a variety of mobile apps, including email, GPS, text apps, and web browsing Continue Reading …

One of the recent trends seen in small business is the continuing increase and broadening of technology uses; not surprising given the myriad tablets, smart phones, and other devices being introduced. New technology and technology features are announced daily and small business is taking full advantage of the expanding technology options. The co-founders of TranscribeMe had a well-defined need and utilized a number of technologies to create a Continue Reading …

Recently, the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) amended regulations to the SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program that enabled women-owned businesses greater access to federal contract opportunities. Basically, this gives the government the authority to set aside more contracts for women than previously allowed through the removal of certain caps, or contract thresholds, that previously limited the size of allowed Continue Reading …

Recognizing the difficulty and stumbling blocks that military veterans have encountered in obtaining working capital to start a business, the U.S. Small Business Administration is taking action to ease access to start-up cash. SBA Administrator Karen Mills on Tuesday announced the launch of the SBA Veterans Pledge Initiative at a press conference at Fort Bragg, N.C. The initiative includes an agreement among the agency's top lenders nationwide Continue Reading …

Google rolled out their latest major update to their search algorithm, dubbed Penguin 2.0, on Wednesday, May 22. Google's head of Web Spam, Matt Cutts, reported that about 2.3% of English-US queries are affected enough for a regular Google user to notice. The algorithm change was also rolled out for other languages worldwide. The latest update is actually the fourth Penguin-related change that Google has done but since this represents an Continue Reading …

According to a study by eMarketer, Facebook and Google+ are the top two social media resources accessed by consumers. Facebook held the top spot with 51% of Internet users logging into the site, while Google+ was at about half of that with 26%. The study also indicated that Facebook should hit the 60% mark by year’s end. Laptop and desktop computers are not the only ways consumers are visiting these sites, either. The study reported that Continue Reading …

The hottest trends are out for 2013 and they offer important insights into how small business may best tap into consumer behaviors. Four years of a down-turned economy appears to be turning upward, says Business on Main’s Rieva Lesonsky, with the economy beginning to grow, confidence increasing among consumers and small business owners, and solid holiday shopping a sure sign of a surge for start-ups. One major movement is that of “Made in Continue Reading …

The SOBO (State of the Business Owner) report for 2013 has just been released, lending new insight into the general mindset of small and midsized business owners. This report has been commissioned for the second time in two years by EMyth, a 35-year-old business coaching firm, and is aimed specifically at gaining insights into the challenges business owners are facing on a daily basis, and how they are seeking to overcome these issues. Findings Continue Reading …

No one will ever mistake the aged hull of a city on the shores of Lake Erie for the gleam of the new glass and steel buildings that freckle Silicon Valley. But according to John Yang of NBC News, a wave of new start-ups powered by entrepreneurs who have returned to their childhood roots, and some who never left, is providing Detroit a kernel of Silicon Valley's optimistic vision of the possible. Symbolic of the renewed spark of entrepreneurial Continue Reading …