The social entrepreneurship competition in tourism is the first of its kind worldwide competition, application period is open until June 30th. To apply, go to social tourism competition.com

Merchant Maverick Opportunity Grant Program. Awards will be made to 5 young entrepreneurs who receive $2,000 plus free mentorship and business coaching advice from Merchant Maverick's CEO applications are open now through May 31st. To learn more and apply on behalf of your young entrepreneur, go to merchantmaverick.com

Research from Acoustic conducted by Forrester highlights marketer's focus when it comes to data. They're focused on channel engagement data, web and mobile data, customer data, and real-time experience data. If you want to be in business today, you must put data to work in your strategy development.

Starting a business part-time to ease your way into business ownership is a great way to keep income coming in by way of your full-time job while pursuing your business ambitions during off hours and weekends. This gives you a chance to validate your business opportunity before jumping in at full degree of risk.

Google is top overall for searches today, hot on Google's heels, arer TikTok and YouTube. As Gen Z and younger generations grow to become a major focus of businesses you need to know where they're going to be searching in order to make sure you pop up in front of them.

A new study, Generative AI in Journalism, of the news practitioners polled 57% indicate they are at least proficient at some level in using Gen AI. 74% say their organization has used or is currently using gen ai in some form. 22% of newsrooms say they use it for content production, translation, and working with data.

Whether you're a mall owner, operator, or a small shop on main street, to compete against the efficiency and convenience of shopping online, focus on creating experiences that delight, wow, and attract and retain shoppers.

Just five years ago, less than 5% of employees had the option to work remotely on a regular basis. Today, 58% of people now have that option at least some of the time. While a majority of employers have embraced that change of where and when people work, they have not yet adopted the best practices they need to make it work optimally.

Workers hired since the pandemic work an average of 35 miles from their employer. That compared with 16 miles as the average among workers who were hired before the pandemic, and those now living more than 50 miles from their employer, rose from 0.8% in 2019 to 5.5% by the end of 2023. Businesses are going to have to be more flexible and more open-minded when it comes to searching for new talent by being willing to hire those living further and further away from the business.

Research conducted by Brand Finance has just released its annual ranking of the 500 most valuable brands globally. The factor having the biggest impact on brand value studied this past year was how companies used AI and how it impacted brand value.

Retail sales data indicates a possible slowing in consumer spending. Contributing to this is rising US credit card debt. Not only the reality of interest rates, consumers must now pay on their unpaid balances, but many consumers have tapped out their available credit. That is indeed likely impacting consumer spending.

Small business owners have embraced the empowering capabilities of the TikTok platform. TikTok presents a unique opportunity to level the playing field organically for these businesses. While there may be other meritorious reasons for banning TikTok, losing TikTok might mean losing much of the community who desires to start and grow a successful small business.

Consumers will be both wearing and spending plenty of green this year, 162 million Americans are planning to celebrate St. Patty's Day. Research conducted and published by the National Retail Federation projects that consumers will spend a record $7.2 billion this year. That's an average of $44.40 cents per person.

Report highlights the growing opportunity for advertisers in women's sports programming. Live sports have consistently been the TV programming that's been most successful at driving consumer engagement with brands that advertise during them, generating key outcomes like online searches that are proven predictors of future sales.

National Federation of Independent Businesses, small business optimism index edge down to 89.4% in Feb 2024. The lowest in 9 months. Small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important business problem as is the cost of capital and labor.

Data released from Ascend reveals 70% of online shoppers in the US would purchase something from a competitor versus from their favorite online store if they were given a coupon for just 20% off the purchase. More powerful than brand loyalty these days.

Governor Whitmer has issued a release urging small businesses impacted by lack of snow to apply for federal funding available to them in the form of federal economic injury disaster loans, those loans are available because of ongoing federal drought declarations affecting 42 Michigan counties. Submit applications and find additional disaster assistance information@lending.sba.gov

Marketing for an SMB, small and medium sized businesses, new data shows just how and where they're spending their time, energy, and dollars to achieve that. Websites and social media still reign supreme for small and medium sized businesses to establish presence and to drive traction, ultimately leading to sales.

Brad Smith, Microsoft President, announced new AI access principles at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Part of an effort to address Microsoft's growing role and responsibility as an AI innovator and market leader. "The new AI economy is creating not just new opportunities for existing enterprises, but new companies and entirely new business categories."

According to research from Gallup, and that puts a price tag on workplace unhappiness. In 2023, employees in the US continue to feel more detached from their employers with less clear expectations, lower levels of satisfaction with their organization, and less connection to its mission or purpose than they did just four years ago.