NFIB State Director Rosemary Elebash says the latest NFIB Small Business Optimism Index underscores the challenges that continue to face local businesses throughout Alabama. “Small business owners need certainty. They don’t want to invest in new equipment or grow their staffs unless they believe the economy is healthy and likely to stay that way, but global issues like inflation and supply chain disruptions continue to undermine their confidence,” Elebash said. “On top of that, many of our members say they’re still having trouble finding people to work, which is causing them to cut back on the services they provide and their hours of operation.” The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index increased 0.5 points in January to 90.3, remaining below the 49-year average of 98. Down six points from last month, 26 percent of owners reported inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business. Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months improved six points from December to a net negative 45 percent. ”While inflation is starting to ease for small businesses, owners remain cynical about future business conditions,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Owners have a negative outlook on the small business economy […]

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Smithfield Foods will close their Vernon, California, Farmer John processing plant this month, according to a statement from the company . Smithfield Foods announced in June 2022 that they would be ceasing operations at the California plant at the beginning of this year while simultaneously reducing Western region production. The company plans to decrease its sow herd in Utah and exit farms in Arizona and California. Industry sources estimate the facility’s daily processing capacity was roughly 8,000 to 10,000 company-owned hogs each day. Customers in California will continue to be serviced with products from existing facilities in the Midwest. Brady Stewart, chief operating officer of Smithfield Foods, thanked team members for their dedication to the western region and committed to “providing financial and other transition assistance to employees impacted by this difficult decision.” California relies almost entirely on out-of-state hogs to fulfill their needs. The state’s Proposition 12 legislation passed in 2018 requires sows to have a minimum of 24 square feet of space per animal. The law is awaiting a final decision from the Supreme Court after the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Pork Producers Council presented oral arguments last fall. A decreased national hog herd observed […]

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The 4th generation owner of Cook Florist Megan Allen (right) with the previous 3rd generation owner and mother Karen Duncan (left) standing in their newly renovated showroom at their home and business in Presque Isle on Feb. 3. (Paul Bagnall | The Star-Herald) PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — For 80 years, a Presque Isle family has helped residents celebrate holidays, everyday occasions and special milestones with colorful blooms. Megan Allen is the fourth-generation owner of Cook Florist, located across the street from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Allen had co-owned the shop with her mother, Karen Duncan, for the past five years, but took the reins this year. She has a business degree from Northern Maine Community College and will draw on what she’s learned to keep Cook Florist thriving. To celebrate the florist’s milestone, Allen is updating the shop’s front showroom. The family home and business have occupied the same spot at 174 Main Street for 80 years. “I think we have a really great community that supports the small businesses,” Allen said. “People enjoy coming in. We try to address our customers by name; it’s that small-town feel.” Megan Allen arranges flowers at Cook Florist in […]

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Robert Oliver sold his first Amazon business, The Genius Brand, for eight figures, and is now … [+] Top Shelf Grind Entrepreneurial intuition came in quite handy for Robert Oliver when he was fresh out of college in 2014. The 23-year-old Washington State native, popularly known as the Genius CEO, never intended his personal tale to be anchored in a nine-to-five job; but instead, he chose to be guided by e-commerce guru Jeff Bezos’s “regret minimization framework” that later turned him into a multimillionaire within only five years. The framework is essentially a heuristic model that encourages one to project themselves when they’re 80 years old, and make decisions to reduce as many life-long regrets as possible. That has made Oliver’s embarkation point of his Amazon AMZN -0.9% -powered supplements company, The Genius Brand , less intimidating. “It’s always scary to take risks, but I think it’s scarier to wake up one day and realize life has passed you by,” he said. Back in early 2010s when direct-to-consumer (DTC) just started maturing and selling consumer products via social media was still a novelty, Oliver found himself a sweet spot in building a viable business through Amazon, where customer acquisition […]

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Elena Taylor (left), new vice president of national accounts and Rebecca Loveland, new vice president of North America strategy at Dawn Food Products, Inc. Source: Dawn Food Products, Inc. JACKSON, MICH. — Dawn Food Products, Inc. has expanded its leadership team in North America with two key appointments. Rebecca Loveland has been promoted to vice president of North America strategy and business planning. She will lead the planning and execution of transformative efforts to capitalize on strategic opportunities in the region. Ms. Loveland has been with Dawn for more than 13 years, most recently as senior director of portfolio and marketing strategy since April 2022. Earlier, she was senior director of global buy/sell portfolio marketing, vice president of marketing — North America, vice president of marketing and R&D — North America, vice president of business to business marketing, marketing director for bakery distribution and marketing manager for bakery distribution. Before joining Dawn she spent three and a half years at Kellogg Co. as innovation marketing manager and associate innovation marketing manager. She began her career as an internal auditor at General Motors. She received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and Spanish at Eastern Michigan University and a master’s degree […]

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East Arcadia Fire Department(WECT) EAST ARCADIA, N.C. (WECT) – The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development announced that $28 million in funds would be distributed to communities in North Carolina across the Rural Partners Network. According to the release, the funds will help these communities improve infrastructure, access to jobs and healthcare. RPN was established “to transform the way federal agencies partner with and serve rural people and places, including Native American communities.” Among community recipients across the state, East Arcadia has received $370,000 to renovate their town hall and fire department with the goal of creating a small business center for their farmer’s market. “The renovations to the town hall will consist of three new rental spaces for small business owners,” stated the USDA announcement. “The renovation to the fire department will allow for an indoor/outdoor farmer’s market. The facility will also be ideal for community events.” For more information about the Rural Partners Network and how funding will be used in other communities across the state, please visit the USDA website . Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.

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Latest Coalition Greenwich survey highlights bank’s commitment to help small employers BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — For the second consecutive year, M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB ) has been recognized by Coalition Greenwich as a top brand in the financial services industry for its commitment to maintaining relationships with small-business customers. Continue Reading M&T Bank earned Greenwich Excellence and Best Brand awards for its performance in 2022. The Greenwich Best Brand award for Values Long-Term Relationships is one of four awards M&T earned from the industry’s leading source of data and analytics for its performance in 2022. The latest recognition enhances the bank’s established reputation for providing outstanding customer service to small-business customers throughout its 12-state footprint, which also includes Washington, D.C. Since 2011, M&T has earned 166 Greenwich Excellence awards and has consistently rated among the top 10 banks for small-business banking since 2009. This year, M&T also received Greenwich Excellence awards in the following small-business banking categories for 2022: Industry Understanding – National Overall Satisfaction with Relationship Manager – National Relationship Manager Proactively Provides Advice – South Region "M&T Bank is built on the strength of the relationships our bankers have with our customers," said Christina […]

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Photo: Farmer’s Fridge CHICAGO — It has been a decade since Farmer’s Fridge stocked its first automated smart fridge in downtown Chicago. Today, more than 600 fridges across the country dispense the company’s chef-curated meals and snacks that are sold in clear, recyclable and reusable plastic jars. Farmer’s Fridge is the brainchild of Luke Saunders, chief executive officer, who quit his traveling sales job in pursuit of figuring out how “fresh food could be as accessible as a candy bar?” During the past 10 years, Mr. Saunders has made a lot of pivots, especially during the pandemic, as almost all the early refrigerator placements were in locations that closed, namely airports, office buildings and schools. One of the first pivots was into hospitals and first responders’ facilities. Home delivery was next, and, about at the same time, the company partnered with retailers for a grab-and-go shelf presence. Today Farmer’s Fridge is bridging the gap between fresh food and convenience by having distribution in such retailers as Target, Amazon Go, Walgreens, 7-Eleven and Jewel-Osco, as well as through Getir delivery. Recently the company stopped its home delivery business because “we had more volume we were moving through retail and fridges […]

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Jake Tapper goes one-on-one with Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about the migrant crisis at the southern border Editor’s Note: Peter Svarzbein, the son of immigrants and the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, is a visual artist, curator and former two-term El Paso city councilman. He is also chairman of Sister Cities International, a citizen diplomacy nonprofit in the United States. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. CNN — Growing up in El Paso, my family often crossed the southern US border to our sister city of Juarez, Mexico. Crossing back and forth was a regular occurrence among the people in our community – and the familiarity with both sides of the border made me feel like I was a part of something bigger than just one country or city. It instilled in me a respect for other people and led me to understand that the border is not a threat, but an opportunity and a blessing for people in both the US and Mexico. But many Americans see the border differently , with outsiders often projecting their fantasies and nightmares onto our community without much thought given to our voices, […]

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Since its inception in 1991, Lloyd’s Electronics (Lloyd’s) has transformed from being a small electronics business into one of the most important companies in Latin America that sells and develops smart devices for the home. Lloyd’s offers security equipment and comprehensive smart home solutions, including lighting and home appliances. The Internet of Things (IoT) and smart devices have had a large role in the company’s growth. The “smartification” of Lloyd’s devices opened up a whole new market to the electronics proprietor. As of 2023, Lloyd’s has more than 400 stores across Mexico and South America and its product line encompasses over 100 smart electronic devices. These devices are changing the world in many ways, allowing customers to remotely control motion sensors, security cameras, lighting, and IP cameras through a single mobile application and even through voice commands. In the process of becoming a leader in the Smart Home market, Lloyd’s faced a major problem in its early stages of growth, which is also a common issue in the Smart Home market more broadly. The problem was that its smart devices lacked a common platform that enabled users to control, customize and interact with their devices. Currently, the Smart Home […]

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