Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations. Small business owners who can’t qualify for traditional loans or need cash quickly can turn to alternative lending options like online loans, lines of credit and merchant cash advances (MCAs). While many forms of alternative financing provide flexibility for entrepreneurs, there are some potential risks associated with these methods. Featured Partner Offer What Is Alternative Business Lending? Alternative business lending is a type of financing that provides businesses with access to capital when traditional options, such as bank loans, are not available. It includes various methods of borrowing money, such as online term loans and lines of credit, MCAs, equipment financing and invoice factoring. Alternative financing methods also include things like peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and crowdfunding. Alternative lenders for small businesses can provide quick and easy access to funds for those who may not qualify for more traditional business financing. These alternative options are often more flexible than traditional bank loans, providing faster approval and funding times for businesses that need money fast. Notably, however, interest rates are often higher than for other types of business loans . […]

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Artwork: Vogue Business A lot has changed in luxury over the past six months, with Covid restrictions easing in China , corporate reshuffles at LVMH , the acquisition of Tom Ford by Estée Lauder and the departure of Alessandro Michele from Gucci . The top four brands of the Vogue Business Index have nonetheless remained the same, defending their positionings. Look under the hood, though, and some changes seem to be happening, with purchase intent down for most major players (except in China) and diminishing scores across many of the consumer metrics tracked. Survey data shows few consumers want to switch brands as economic instability continues but may shop differently if prices increase, with a readiness to wait for sales. Brands should continue to grow their digital reach, being mindful of the fastest-growing channels, and working with culturally important figures and collaborators in spaces like gaming, film/TV and hospitality and leisure to cement their appeal even if times are tough. 1. Louis Vuitton LVMH Rank change: 0 A leader in almost all areas covered by the Vogue Business Index, Louis Vuitton maintains its spot at the top of the rankings. Enthusiasm for the French maison among luxury consumers only […]

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GM of Trelleborg and an Engineering and Supply Chain Industry veteran with 20+ years experience managing businesses. (Views are solely mine) getty Believe it or not, final or last-mile delivery is reported as accounting for 41% of all supply chain costs . According to Statista, "in 2021, retail e-commerce sales amounted to approximately $5.2 trillion worldwide. This figure is forecast to grow by 56% over the next years, reaching about 8.1 trillion dollars by 2026." Knowing this, it is not surprising that the last-mile delivery is a key focus for many businesses across the globe, with the consumer attributes of speed, timeliness and accuracy of deliveries being crucial elements. Last-mile is an area where even large players can struggle to serve efficiently, leaving plenty of opportunities for others to gain market share. The pandemic, supply chain constraints and high consumer expectations have jointly created the need to look at the last mile differently and create effective systems that can avoid delays and bottlenecks. If business leaders are to stay competitive, we have to prioritize the last mile and ensure it is accessible to all. I believe both incumbent and new market players must embrace out-of-the-box thinking and seek solutions […]

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LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Shell (SHEL.L) is considering exiting its home energy retail businesses in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany in the wake of "tough market conditions", it said on Thursday. European energy suppliers have struggled over the past year with soaring wholesale prices and efforts by governments to shield consumers from rising bills. Shell said it had launched a strategic review of the three businesses which is likely to take a few months, but that no decision had been taken yet on their future. Shell injected nearly $1.5 billion in cash and credit into its British energy retail business in 2022 to help it weather huge volatility in power prices that caused the collapse of several rival UK utilities. Shell Energy Retail, its UK business, has 1.4 million customers, while its German business has 110,000 and the Dutch business 15,000. Shell said its wholesale and business-to-business (B2B) energy supply businesses were not part of the strategic review, and neither were its home energy supply businesses in the United States and Australia. Although the retail businesses have struggled, Shell is set to post a record annual profit of over $30 billion in 2022 when it reports results on […]

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Founder and Managing Director of Nepanoa , accompanying multinational business through expansion and transformation endeavors. getty Over the past few decades, globalization has cemented itself as the modus operandi for international affairs. Premised on the idea of a world without borders, it promotes greater economic integration and collaboration among countries, regardless of geographic delineations. Fostering such interdependence has proven essential to unprecedented economic growth and development around the world. This “borderless world” is showcased by the three countries in North America, which possess one of the most consequential commercial relationships for global trade and an incomparable trade agreement: USMCA, which replaced NAFTA in 2020. This regional bloc goes beyond simple diplomacy and brings trilateral commercial reciprocity, significant geographic advantages and cultural and economic similarities—consolidating into an innovative and collaborative vision. What Makes Us Strong? Such an integrated vision strengthens a robust regional commercial dynamic and capitalizes on existing geographical features where current cross-border commercial flows make the U.S.-Mexico border the busiest land crossing and the U.S.-Canada border the longest shared border in the world. The region is enhanced by its abundant array of natural resources and its dual exposure to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, facilitating trade with other […]

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H-1B QUOTA REGISTRATION OPENS IN APPROXIMATELY 1 MONTH – IS YOUR COMPANY READY? The H-1B quota registration for FY2024 (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024) should open during the first week of March 2023. It is assumed that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will announce within the next two weeks the official dates of the registration period and any changes to the electronic registration process this year. Similar to previous years, the USCIS in FY2024 will be authorized to approve 65,000 initial regular H-1B quota petitions. The USCIS will also be authorized to approve an additional 20,000 initial H-1B quota petitions for individuals who have earned a U.S. advanced degree (a.k.a U.S. advanced degree exception). Last year, the USCIS announced that it received more than 483,927 H-1B quota registrations which was an approximately 60% increase over the previous year. Additionally, the USCIS indicated that approximately 31% of the registrations (150,000) were filed requesting the U.S. advanced degree exception. Because more than 85,000 H-1B quota registrations were submitted, the USCIS conducted random selection processes of the registration submitted. Employers with registrations selected were then allowed to submit H-1B quota petitions during a 90-day window on behalf of […]

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Jan. 26, 2023 – DENTON – While much of humanity spent the COVID lockdown binging in front of a television, Juliet Spencer was improving herself. In addition to virtually conducting her copious duties as director of TWU’s School of the Sciences and as a biology professor, Spencer was a student for the first time in more than 20 years. But lots of folks took classes. Fun adult classes. Learn that foreign language you always wanted to know. Or work on that backlog of professional continuing education. No. Think higher. Spencer studied for an MBA. A Master of Business Administration. And in December, she earned her degree from TWU. "This was basically my COVID project," Spencer said. This was not, however, some arbitrarily chosen COVID project. "One of my babies, my pet projects, is our biotechnology program," Spencer said. "My undergraduate major was biotechnology, so I’ve always been very interested in applied science. I’ve always been very interested in what we can use science for, what are the applications. What is the good for mankind? That basically is the definition of biotechnology. So we developed the program to be more geared toward going into industry. "We really wanted students to […]

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Rem Oculee is the founder and CEO of 9Q Ventures and Confidence Wealth Management. He also wrote the upcoming book, The Exit Mindset. Getty As a business leader, I’m guessing one of your biggest goals is to scale your business successfully. After all, not only can scalable businesses perform better, but I’ve found they can also be worth far more to potential buyers. Because of this, one of the most important questions you can ask yourself is, “What makes a business scalable?” The answer to that is probably simpler than you think: At its heart, scalability comes down to your infrastructure. I’ve found that the better your design, the easier it is to expand your business and achieve a higher valuation for your company when you exit. Assembling A Seamless Infrastructure As you think about how to design your infrastructure for scalability, keep in mind that your goal should be to build your organization’s components in such a way that they interact seamlessly together. To understand what I mean, think about your car. If our cars worked like many businesses, every few minutes, they would break down. They’d have a radiator problem, a spark plug issue or an engine […]

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At the forefront of shaping the small business policy landscape are five business leaders who … [+] Public Private Strategies With a new Congress kicking off and the U.S. Census reporting record-breaking amounts of new small business applications, 2023 presents an opportunity for policymakers and thought leaders to support Main Streets across the country. As we continue to see economic growth, many business leaders are looking to aid the work that small businesses have undertaken to provide this boost. At the forefront of shaping the small business policy landscape are five business leaders who represent a range of views: Erika Gonzalez, MD, Co-Chair of Small Business for America’s Future , who represents small businesses looking for a voice in policy. Keith Hall, President and CEO of the National Association of The Self Employed (NASE), who represents entrepreneurs and micro-businesses. Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council , who represents small business owners and state and local business organizations. Chiling Tong, President and CEO of the National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE), who represents Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) business owners. Candace Waterman, President and CEO of Women Impacting […]

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The major stock market indexes rose in early trading Thursday, with the Nasdaq leading the upside. Investors ignored Fed warnings and bought stocks after stronger-than-expected GDP and labor data. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%. The Nasdaq gained 1.2%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 crept up 0.2%. Volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq was higher vs. the same time on Wednesday. The Dow traded near its 50-day and 21-day exponential moving averages . The S&P 500 found support at its 200-day moving average but is still testing this critical level. The Nasdaq held above its 50-day line. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ trust ETF ( QQQ ) rose 1.3%. Crude oil rallied 1.2% to $81.04 per barrel. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLE ) edged up 1.2%. Bitcoin futures added 0.7% to $23,110. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF ( FFTY ) traded worse than the major stock market indexes, adding just 0.2%. The 10-year Treasury note yield added 3 basis points to 3.48%. European stock markets generally rose, with the German DAX unchanged and Paris CAC 40 up 0.6%. The London FTSE inched up 0.1% in afternoon trading. Fourth quarter […]

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