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Tech News
A Maine business that sold fox and coyote urine to hunters as a cover scent noticed an unusually large order from a lawn and garden store outside hunting season. A phone call revealed the retailer's customers were gardeners using the same product to scare rabbits away from vegetable patches, uncovering an entirely new customer base the founder hadn't realized existed.
A Walmart Business survey of over 500 decision-makers at companies with 10 to 500 employees found that 37% spend four to seven hours per week on routine purchasing tasks like comparing prices, placing orders and reconciling invoices. The survey also revealed that 87% of businesses juggle two to five suppliers just for everyday supplies, from office goods to breakroom snacks to tech accessories.
Thryv's 2026 AI and Small Business Adoption Survey found that AI adoption among small businesses rose from 55% to 66% year over year, with 70% reporting revenue gains and 92% saying it saves time. However, 70% of respondents said they still need more AI training, even though 86% describe themselves as comfortable using the tools.
A ZDNET contributor shares how they've been using ChatGPT Work, OpenAI's agentic AI tool, to handle five recurring small-business tasks, including sorting through PR email correspondence from OpenAI and other outlets. The writer describes connecting Gmail to the tool only temporarily for large tasks and disconnecting afterward as a security precaution, while noting prompts often need refinement to get useful results.
A Harvard Business School survey found that about half of U.S. workers favor working from home, with 40% willing to accept a pay cut of at least 5% for the option to telecommute. The trend is fueling interest in launching home-based startups, with several viable small-business ideas requiring no traditional office space.
After a March 2025 executive order targeted the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund for elimination, B:Side Capital CEO faced an existential threat to the SBA-backed lender's operations. Rather than scrambling for a new strategy, the CEO relied on a previously established written code of decision-making principles to guide the organization through the weekend crisis and present a plan to staff and board by Monday.
A business owner writing for Entrepreneur shares lessons from years of hiring relatives, noting a report that found over 40% of small businesses employ family members. The author recounts a personal case where a relative's abrupt, poorly explained departure damaged both the business and family relationships long after the job ended.
A contributor for Entrepreneur outlines three digital strategies small business owners can use to grow despite limited resources: prioritizing tools based on efficiency, reach, and customer engagement, using analytics to refine spending, and building a proactive digital roadmap instead of reacting piecemeal to new tools. The piece cites Small Business Administration data showing small businesses make up 43.5% of U.S. GDP and employ over 62 million people, alongside Bank of America Institute figures showing rising small-business spending on tech and AI tools.
An Entrepreneur contributor argues that small business owners often wait until filing season to think about taxes, when the real savings opportunities have already passed. The piece recommends forming an LLC early so owners can later elect S-Corp or other tax treatments, since such elections only apply to an entity that already exists.