Small Business

AiFi AI-driven checkout-free systems for retail stores Santa Clara, CA 2016 Airspace Technologies Logistics platform for time-sensitive shipments, like donated organs or replacement parts San Diego 2019 AISERA AI-driven help desk for IT, HR and customer service Palo Alto, CA 2017 Alpha Medical Mobile platform providing basic health-care services for women Palo Alto, CA 2017

U.S. military veterans are a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield — and in business. Many choose entrepreneurship as their career after returning from service, equipped with a cadre of unique leadership and time-management skills. Currently they own about 2.5 million small businesses in America in a host of industries, according to the

Rob Ceravolo and his dog Tropic Ocean Airways As I prepared to leave the Navy after years of active duty as a fighter pilot, most of my friends were becoming airline pilots, but that life wasn’t for me. There was only one thing I wanted to do: start a business. Using the money I’d earned

Getty Images As he prepared for jaw surgery a few years back, Josh Elizetxe, 26, got to be friends with his oral surgeon and orthodontist. When they told him how big the tooth-whitening space had become, the Arizona State University graduate, who’d been starting businesses since age 13, got excited. With the two professionals advising

Before I started my company GMM Nonstick Coatings in 2007, my biggest fear was “What if it fails?” A wise older friend who had started and sold a number of large companies said, “People on their deathbed usually regret the things they did not do, not their failures. If you don’t try, you’ll never know

Financial advisors need a succession plan to ensure their clients’, and the industry’s, future. Andrey Popov | Getty Images Learning to expect the unexpected is a time-honored rite of passage for every small business owner. But when unpredictability strikes in the form of a key executive suddenly resigning or, worse, passing away, the fallout can

Paisan191 | iStock / 360 | Getty Images Several years ago Bryanne Leeming had little more than a promising business idea and a prototype for a device to teach kids how to code through recess-style play. Today her Boston-based start-up has 10 employees, and its initial product, Unruly Splats, is used by schools in 45

Getty Images | Hero Images A side hustle can be a good way to make some extra cash, stretch your entrepreneurial wings and perhaps eventually become a full-time business owner. It can be anything from blogging to being an Uber driver or a handyman. A side hustle is usually in addition to another “main” job.

Each October, the U.S. celebrates National Women in Small Business Month. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, more than 11.6 million women-owned businesses are making a positive impact on the American small business landscape. Data shows that since 2007, the number of women-owned firms has grown at five times the national average,

Micah Young | E+ | Getty Images If your company was open for business in 2008, then you undoubtedly remember the Great Recession. For small business owners, especially companies with less than $5 million in revenue, the effects of America’s last major downturn were nothing less than devastating. Bankruptcies rose 74% in 2009 with over

FatCamera | E+ | Getty Images If you asked the IRS for six more months to work on your 2018 tax return, you’re about to run out of time. This spring, about 15 million taxpayers asked the IRS for an extension on their 2018 tax return. While those filers had to pay their projected taxes

Annette Riedl | picture alliance | Getty Images In an age of ongoing digital transformation, cybercrime has quickly become today’s fastest-growing form of criminal activity. Equally worrying for modern executives, it’s also set to cost businesses $5.2 trillion worldwide within five years, according to Accenture. With 43% of online attacks now aimed at small businesses,

Lisa Rizzolo | CNBC The cost of homeowners insurance is one of those unavoidable expenses that comes along with owning a house. How much you’ll pay for insurance varies depending on your location and the age of your home, but the average annual homeowners insurance premium is $1,200. That can feel like a big expense,

Earlier this year, Rockets of Awesome landed a $12.5 million investment from Foot Locker to help it grow. Source: Rockets of Awesome Rachel Blumenthal is no stranger to starting a business. When the 39-year-old launched Rockets of Awesome, an online kids clothing subscription service and e-commerce site, back in 2016, she was already a seasoned

Courtney Keating | Getty Images The past two years have been halcyon times for small businesses searching for capital. The lending landscape has never been higher during the post-recession era, and approval rates have increased steadily at big banks, regional and community banks and at institutional lenders for an ongoing basis. For instance, the SBA

A violin student holding a Bow Hold Buddy device invented by Ruth Brons. Source: Things 4 Strings When Ruth Brons has a break between teaching her students in New Jersey how to play the violin, she’s trying to find new ways to defend her small business against counterfeiters thousands of miles away in China. Brons,

The Hapag-Lloyd AG Leverkusen Express sails out of the Yangshan Deepwater Port, operated by Shanghai International Port Group Co. (SIPG), in this aerial photograph taken in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images The sweeping tariffs imposed on China for its alleged unfair trade practices was intended to

Photo by Hero Images via Getty Images You may feel ready to work beyond age 65. Your boss has a different story. Whether your retirement nest egg could use a little more strengthening or you’re looking to keep busy, there are plenty of reasons why you’d like to keep punching in. Your employer could probably

Workers assemble washing machines at the Samsung plant in Newberry, S.C., in March 2018. Sean Rayford | AP NEWBERRY, S.C. — While concerns about a potential manufacturing slowdown swirl in the face of an ongoing trade war, the sector is facing a bigger and more immediate problem — a growing skills gap that is leaving

Westend61 | Getty Images Digitization has an important role to play when it comes to how small and medium enterprises operate, the CEO of Spanish firm Cyberclick said Wednesday. During a panel discussion at Innovation Summit Barcelona chaired by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, David Tomas was asked whether digitization created happiness. “I think it can, it