Need space to store your vinyl records? This small business makes furniture for that.

Jan 18, 2024
Matthew Wicker, owner of Oregon-based WickerWoodWorks, is profiting from the renewed popularity of records and record players.
Wicker makes handmade pieces to store vinyl records and turntables.
Courtesy Matthew Wicker

For this Brooklyn ice cream company, 2023 felt like the first year "we're back on track”

Jan 5, 2024
Pooja Bavishi's Indian-inspired treats were always popular. But the path to the expansion of her business was long and complicated.
Part of the production space for Malai, which sells its Indian-inspired treats retail, wholesale and online.
Samantha Fields/Marketplace

Music store manager wants to make the store a “meaningful place of business”

Dec 14, 2023
Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center in Wheaton, Maryland saw record demand after the pandemic up until 2022. Now, general manager Adam Levin is looking to provide services that the brands he sells do not.
In 2021, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center experienced a huge pandemic surge. The story now is a bit different.
Kunihito Ikeda/Getty Images

Cautious optimism? Hopeful pessimism? Small business owners' outlook is a mixed bag

Dec 12, 2023
A National Federation of Independent Business survey found respondents pessimistic about business conditions. That said, more businesses decided to invest in equipment — a sign that many are hopeful about the future.
American small business owners have a mixed economic outlook, according to a recent National Federation of Independent Business survey.

From college friends to business partners, these stationers are celebrating 10 years in business together

Nov 30, 2023
Danielle McCarthy and Ellen Kelly run a luxury wedding stationery business in Newport, Rhode Island, where they specialize in letterpress printing.
Kelly and McCarthy met their freshman year of college at an art school in Beverly, Massachusetts. Now, they both live and run their stationery business in Newport, Rhode Island.
Erin McGinn Photography

For some small businesses, creating content is big business

Nov 8, 2023
Many small business owners rely on content creation to boost sales, promote their brands and even generate additional revenue.
Video production on social media is a mainstay of content for small businesses. Sometimes it's meant to promote their offerings, but sometimes the content itself generates revenue.
demaerre/Getty Images

Owner of crafts and gift shop brings local artists' work to her community

Nov 8, 2023
Ashley Morken of Unglued in Fargo, North Dakota, has been expanding her staff and adjusting to new responsibilities.
Ashley Morken, owner of Unglued in Fargo, North Dakota. "I really feel the responsibility to keep this sustainable, to be able to keep it going," she said.
Courtesy Morken

For public good, not for profit.

From e-commerce to brick and mortar

Oct 26, 2023
After years selling on Etsy, Mimi Striplin of The Tiny Tassel in South Carolina saw a "need to create a space for people that looked like me.”
The Aneris Collective

A Tulsa sneaker store deals with a down market

Oct 24, 2023
"There are opportunities in down markets," said owner Venita Cooper, whose entrepreneurial abilities could help her tackle the challenge.
"I love sneakers, but I also just really love markets," said Venita Cooper of Silhouette Sneakers & Art. "And there are opportunities to be had in down markets."
Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

For this Michigan business owner, wage hikes are tied to price hikes

Oct 16, 2023
Annie Lang Hartman, owner of Wild Lettie, is planning ahead. And one of her biggest concerns is payroll.
"We're kind of settling into fall, which is a little bit quieter for us," said Annie Lang Hartman of Wild Lettie. Above, the interior of one of her shops.
Courtesy Lang Hartman