Jobs IRLDecoding DemocracyA Warmer WorldI've Always Wondered ...

Loading...

0:00
0% played
Stories Tagged as

Small Business

Small businesses say inflation is still their biggest problem

by Savannah Maher
Sep 13, 2022
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index ticked up in August, but only slightly.
In addition to inflation, small businesses are still facing shortages and supply chain problems.
Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Now reopened after pandemic shutdown, popular L.A. restaurant manages through "unprecedented times"

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Aug 31, 2022
Here's Looking at You is up and running again — but the restaurant industry has changed a lot since the Before Times.
Lien Ta (left), co-owner of Here's Looking at You, speaks with "Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal. "What every restaurant is seeking is consistent business," she says. "And we have that right now."
Anais Amin/Marketplace
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
My Economy

Dry cleaner makes the rounds to keep business going

by Anais Amin
Aug 30, 2022
Hangers Cleaners, a Missouri pickup and delivery service, is trying to find the right employees and stay competitive with pay.
"It feels like a family here, but there are limits as far as what we can pay and still have a viable business," said Joe Runyan, co-owner of Hangers Cleaners.
Courtesy Runyan
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

From toys to custom bikes, these small businesses are still seeing shipment delays

by Sean McHenry
Aug 22, 2022
Supply chain problems remain an obstacle as demand picks up.
A shopper on a stroll in San Francisco. Retailers have begun preparing for the holidays, but supplies of some items are uncertain.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

People of color who own small businesses in college towns say it's hard to sell to schools

by Kirk Carapezza
Aug 15, 2022
Smaller operations report barriers to entering the educational procurement market, a study shows, despite commitments to diversity.
Terryl Calloway runs a small graphics and printing firm in Boston, a short distance from many campuses, but he says it’s been challenging to attract them as customers.
Meredith Nierman / GBH News
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

How some small businesses are bracing themselves for a downturn

by Justin Ho
Aug 2, 2022
They aren’t waiting to find out whether the economy is contracting — they’re proactively preparing for it.
Whether closing down a physical storefront or holding off on new hires, some small businesses are prepping for a potential recession.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

New technology helped restaurants through the pandemic. But when it crashes, they're "shafted."

by Justin Ho
Jul 28, 2022
Demand for modern point of sale systems exploded as businesses embraced contactless payment. But some have found reliability problems.
The dollar volume that point-of-sale systems handle for small businesses has been growing 30% annually, according to analyst Lisa Ellis.
David Becker/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

For public good, not for profit.

Donate
Economic Pulse

Sales are up for this artisanal biscuit maker, but inflation is taking a huge bite

by David Brancaccio , Jarrett Dang and Meredith Garretson
Jul 25, 2022
Ingredients are up 30%, says Carrie Morey of Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit in South Carolina. But passing along costs poses other problems.
"At the end of the day, sales being up are great, but if you're not making money, it creates a whole new set of problems," says Carrie Morey, founder and owner of Callie's Hot Little Biscuit in Charleston, South Carolina.
Courtesy Libba Osborne
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Adventures in Housing

The story of an old-fashioned bed and breakfast in the age of Airbnb

by Maria Hollenhorst
Jul 21, 2022
Lori and Bruce Howard recently cashed in on tourist lodging they built together near Yosemite National Park.
Lori and Bruce Howard in Yosemite National Park in 2018. Until recently, the couple operated a full-service B&B in Oakhurst, California.
Courtesy Lori and Bruce Howard
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

For this Maine chocolatier, labor is the "No. 1 cost to stay competitive"

by Sean McHenry
Jul 13, 2022
"To keep our great team, we have raised our wages significantly," said Kristin Thalheimer Bingham, co-owner of Dean's Sweets in Portland, Maine.
Chocolate "bombs" being prepared at Dean's Sweets in Portland, Maine.
Kaitlin Toto Photography
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE