Welcome to Main Street Morning, The Washington Post’s daily collection of news affecting entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses with a special focus on policy and government.
Here’s what’s affecting my small business, my clients and other entrepreneurs today.
Washington
- President Obama declares a state of emergency in Michigan over contaminated water.
- The President also proposed a new unemployment insurance plan.
- The Postal Service has hiked some postal rates as much as 14 percent.
The Economy
- Weaker-than-expected market conditions will keep the Federal Reserve from raising rates as much as predicted in 2016 as company earnings and the global economy will remain strained, according to some Wall Street strategists.
- The U.S. is facing an ethanol glut.
- After a rocky 2015, the price of cattle begins to rebound.
- It hasn’t been this bad for the car-insurance industry in 15 years, and it’s all the strong economy’s fault.
The Elections
- Hillary Clinton holds a big lead over Bernie Sanders nationally, according to a new poll.
- Sanders said he would support a bill that revokes legal immunity for gun manufacturers.
People
- Less than two in five U.S. workers get paid time off for today’s holiday.
- A new survey explains one big reason there are so few women in technology.
Management
- This is a guide on how to properly calculate budget variances.
- The CEO of Insightly offers three ways to scale your business when you don’t have a ton of resources.
Entrepreneurs
- How two long-time friends built a successful logistics company.
Sales & Marketing
- How these famously unhealthy companies are taking extreme measures to get their customers back.
- Medical device makers are heating up an ethics debate with their advertising strategies.
Finance
- A Bitcoin developer said the cryptocurrency has “failed” and announces an end to his involvement with bitcoin.
Retail
- Attention to detail keeps has kept this clothing store in business for 133 years.
- A business owner is forced to close after four decades after a Walmart opens nearby…and then the Walmart closes after being open for less than a year.
Start-ups
- Fifty unusual pet businesses to start.
Technology
- Apple is studying an issue with two versions of the iPhone not updating its battery percentage.
Ideas
- How beards have become big money.
- Seventy two percent of people get their best ideas in the shower – and here’s why.
Around the Country
- Before a proposed ballot measure to alter the city’s business tax moves forward, two San Jose, California City Council members are calling for giving it a much closer look.
- An Iowa native returns to his home state with a drone business.
- Business has replaced blight around Martin Luther King’s street in Atlanta.
- Why would a 52-year-old businessman quit a well-paid management job to help fix up blighted urban houses, with no guarantee of getting paid?
- A big road work project in downtown Las Vegas angers small-business owners.
Around the World
- China’s economy grew by around 7 percent in 2015, with services accounting for half.
- How the lifting of Iranian sanctions will impact U.S. companies.
- Thieves steal 4,800 pounds of lobster from a Canadian lobsterman.
- A British pub offers breastfeeding mothers free tea after a nearby cafe bans them for their “unsightly” practice.
Small Business, Big Impact
- The leader of an Indianapolis entrepreneur group dies at 28.
Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd PA consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. Follow Gene Marks and On Small Business on Twitter.
News we should know about? Email us here.
Here’s what’s affecting my small business, my clients and other entrepreneurs today.
Washington President Obama declares a state of emergency in Michigan over contaminated water.
The President also proposed a new unemployment insurance plan.
The Postal Service has hiked some postal rates as much as 14 percent.
The Economy Weaker-than-expected market conditions will keep the Federal Reserve from raising rates as much as predicted in 2016 as company earnings and the global economy will remain strained, according to some Wall Street strategists.
The U.S. is facing an ethanol glut .
After a rocky 2015, the price of cattle begins to rebound. It hasn’t been this bad for the car-insurance industry in 15 years, and it’s all the strong economy’s fault. The Elections Hillary Clinton holds a big lead over Bernie Sanders nationally, according to a new poll. Sanders said he would support a bill that revokes legal immunity for gun manufacturers. People Less than two in five U.S. workers get paid time off for today’s holiday. A new survey explains one big reason there are so few women in technology. Management This is a guide on how to properly calculate budget variances. The CEO of Insightly offers three ways to scale your business when you don’t have a ton of resources. Entrepreneurs How two long-time friends built a successful logistics company. Sales & Marketing How these famously unhealthy companies are taking extreme measures to get their customers back. Medical device makers are heating up an ethics debate with their advertising strategies. Finance A Bitcoin developer said the cryptocurrency has “failed” and announces an end to his involvement with […]
