Want to start a business? It helps to have rich parents

Jan 18, 2023
How heavily are the odds stacked against startups without the “massive leg up” of family wealth?
EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER/Getty Images Plus

These NY farmers are building a space to teach Black people about farming

Jan 12, 2023
Ashanti Williams and Arian Rivera of the Black Yard Farm Collective talk about moving their farm to a new location and working with kids.
"It's a just kind of getting reacquainted with — or getting acquainted with — new land and building infrastructure," Ashanti Williams says of relocating the Black Yard Farm Collective.
StockSeller_ukr/Getty Images

For this Maine chocolatier, costs are starting to cool down

Jan 12, 2023
After raising prices last fall, Kristin Thalheimer Bingham, co-owner of Dean's Sweets, describes her expenses and product pricing.
"Our biggest challenge going forward is to get our inventory back up and ready for Valentine's Day," said Kristin Thalheimer Bingham, co-owner of Dean's Sweets. Above, nonpareils from the shop.
Melissa Mullen Photography

Eyeing a recession, small businesses look to boost revenue and inventory

Jan 11, 2023
Small business owners continue to face a lot of uncertainty over COVID, rising interest rates, and the possibility of a recession. So many are taking steps to prepare for a potential downturn in 2023.
A worker assembles the interior of a safe. Many small business are looking to boost revenues in anticipation of a potential recession.
George Frey/Getty Images

A Mississippi record and comic store deals with the January "dead zone"

Jan 10, 2023
OffBeat owner Phillip Rollins says January and summer are his "most hated months" because business is so slow.
OffBeat in Jackson, Mississippi, had a good holiday season but is dealing with the January doldrums.
Courtesy Phillip Rollins

Over the holidays, retailers faced inventory woes and harsh winter weather

Jan 5, 2023
Three retailers from across the country share how they did over the holiday shopping season.
"We definitely saw more late shoppers this year than in previous years, especially the week before Christmas," said Eric Champlin, co-owner of Trailful Outdoor Company in Hiawassee, Georgia.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

On their first date, this now-married couple decided to open a business

Dec 30, 2022
Aryn Henning Nichols and Benji Nichols run Inspire(d) magazine from Decorah, Iowa.
Benji Nichols and Aryn Henning Nichols of Decorah, Iowa.
Courtesy Aryn Henning Nichols/Silver Moon Photography

For public good, not for profit.

A sneakers store builds a bridge where Black Wall Street once stood

Dec 15, 2022
Venita Cooper says Silhouette Sneakers & Art is "destination retail." But the store is helped by tourists visiting the historic site.
"We have a very fraught history of separation and division," Venita Cooper says. "Sneakers is one of those things that really brings people together."
Courtesy Gary Mason

A Seattle 'candle bar' sees its first holiday shopping season

Dec 8, 2022
Originally started in her kitchen during the pandemic, candlemaker Colina Bruce talks about moving her business into a brick-and-mortar store and how things are shaping up through the holidays.
"Noir Lux started as kind of a pandemic passion project in my kitchen," said owner Colina Bruce. "That led into launching a whole ecommerce site, virtual candle- making classes, and that got my wheels turning about what it might look like for me to have my own space."
Cr. @kingnoir31

For hiking outfitter, this holiday season feels like a path untrodden

Dec 7, 2022
From dealing with surplus inventory to accommodating changing consumer habits, this Georgia retailer is trying to suss out the future.
Eric Champlin (left) and husband Rob Sollie at their shop in Hiawassee, Georgia. "Consumer buying patterns are definitely shifting," Champlin says.
Courtesy Champlin