For Mike Larsen , owner of Grand Blanc, Michigan-based Larsen Roofing, staying competitive online is important. He has a new weapon to assist with that effort: ChatGPT. The artificial intelligence chatbot has been rapidly adopted since being launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It’s been met with a mix of both fandom and fear in the business world as executives and entrepreneurs ponder its potential applications, risks and rewards. Larsen is using it to assist with blog posts, but he doesn’t simply take what ChatGPT. “It is important that the use is solely for research, as the content can come across as unoriginal if you simply copy and paste it,” Larsen told The Playbook . “But by researching the topic through Chat GPT rather than doing a search and combing through the results on Google, you can more quickly create content." Stories of the ChatGPT passing business degree exam questions and writing code — and more disturbingly, malware — are also contrasted with the same platform getting key details wrong , accusations of potential bias and a style of writing that critics have called bland and only surface level . You can access the platform yourself here. How businesses […]

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Is the U.S. ready for a four-day work week? 00:00 00:0001:47GO LIVE Facebook Twitter Email Embed SpeedNormal Autoplay CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Some companies are figuring out whether a four-day workweek is realistic in the US , as new research shows it could benefit both employees and employers alike. The nation is still seeing low unemployment numbers, and many businesses say it remains difficult to find people to hire. Therefore, they’re being forced to develop new ways to attract and retain people. "It’s nice to actually feel like we do have off time, and that we are protective of that time," said Nate Jones, an experienced analyst and head of research at CX Pilots, a business consulting company that’s trying out a four-day, ten-hour schedule. Jones says his weekends now feel a little more like a weekend because he tries to make the most of that extra free day. Steven Keith is the founder of CX Pilots. "I’m meal prepping, I’m doing laundry, catching up with family ," he said. "The pandemic made me think more about what I care about," said CX Pilots founder Steven Keith. He says the new schedule is working well, and the company has not […]

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This is part of a series of stories about the challenges small businesses face. The No. 1 challenge facing the retail industry in recent years has been crime, according to Rachel Michelin , CEO of the California Retailers Association. The most common issue has revolved around theft, which she said has been heightened since the 2014 passage of Proposition 47 in California, which reclassified certain theft and drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. “Prior to that, retail theft was an intervention point where you’d see someone struggling who could then get into diversion programs. We saw drug courts and shoplifting diversion programs that were there to help try and stop the behaviors,” Michelin said. “We don’t see that happening anymore because there’s no intervention point." FBI crime statistics don’t appear to show the trend that business leaders describe. In 2014, the year Proposition 47 was approved by voters, the rate of property crimes in California was 2,441.7 per 100,000 population. In 2020, the most recent year available, that rate had declined to 2,138.9 per 100,000. FBI statistics during that period showed similar downtrends for other reported property crimes that could be associated with businesses, including larceny and burglaries. […]

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Tori Dunlap shares her best financial advice for growing a business. Tori Dunlap started her financial-advice blog with $40 and grew it to $4 million in revenue last year. Today she teaches customers how to invest, save money, and build startups of their own. She shares the most important investments for any business owner and what founders should avoid. Sign up for our weekday newsletter, packed with original analysis, news, and trends — delivered right to your inbox. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Tori Dunlap started her business as side hustle in 2016 with just $40 . Last year, her business booked $4 million in revenue. Dunlap has scaled the multimedia platform Her First $100K to also include a podcast, book, and more than 2 million social-media followers. Through her financial-advice platform, Dunlap shares her guidance for investing, saving money, and building a business. In a conversation with Insider, Dunlap shared the most important […]

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NEWTON, Mass. — How does a former dental technician in the Israeli Air Force-turned-high-tech professional become a successful Massachusetts jewelry designer and entrepreneur? “Everybody knows, I’m not ashamed to say, I’m not a jewelry person,” Talia Don said. “A lot of my designs have something that are a little different than a regular design.” Inside her studio and workshop in Newton , Don creates handmade necklaces, bracelets, earrings and, most recently, rings. She describes her jewelry style as having an elegant, romantic edge. “I always say to my clients, ‘You don’t need to dress for my jewelry. The simpler you dress, the more beautiful it will look.’ Because that’s who I am,” Don said. But being a successful jewelry designer and maker is not always who Don has been. Nineteen years ago, while working in the high-tech industry, she lost a beloved necklace from her native Israel. Recommended Loyal Companion, pet store with several locations in Massachusetts, going out of business Unable to replace it, Don decided to find materials to recreate it, and in the process, the future blingy entrepreneur discovered something about herself. “I really enjoy the process of putting things together. The color, the different materials, […]

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Idea Village CEO Jon Atkinson has been at the helm of the organization since 2018. Jon Atkinson had big shoes to fill when he took over at the Idea Village in 2018. His predecessor, Tim Williamson, had been the high-profile and very public face of the nonprofit business accelerator since founding it in 2003. But nearly five years later, Atkinson, who came to the position from Loyola University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development, has quietly made his mark. He’s focused on scaling more companies like Lucid Technology and Levelset — Idea Village startups that both sold in 2021 for a combined $1.5 billion. Atkinson also is focused on building an ecosystem that will continue to attract more outside venture capital to New Orleans and is experimenting with new ways of generating revenue to keep the organization sustainable. That includes adding a three-day paid music festival called NOEW Fest to the otherwise free New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, which will be held March 27-April 1. In this week’s Talking Business, Atkinson discusses the health of the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and what’s behind the planned expansion of NOEW. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You’ve been at the […]

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USA TODAY NETWORK Each week, this series shares MarionMade! stories of our many wonderful people, places, products and programs in the greater Marion community. To read more positive stories of Marion, or to share some of your own, visit us at marionmade.org or on social media. Kimberly Bryant opened her candle business in 2022. “I’ve always loved candles and all things that smell great. I did my research on candle making and ran with it,” Kimberly said. “Essentially, what sets my business apart is a personal customer service experience. Plus, I use all-natural ingredients to make my candles and blend my scents.” Since opening, Kimberly has branched out to include wax melts along with her candles. Customers can order these products from her website, kittykatcandlesco.com , and pick it up locally or have the items shipped. The re-MARCA-ble store in downtown Marion just started featuring Kitty Kat Candles as well. “My products are made-to-order, so I try my best to have a quick turnaround time,” Bryant said. “I take pride in the creativity I put into my product, the labeling, the website and everything else in between. I have always been a very creative person, and being able to […]

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Victor Vilchez, wearing a suit on the right, tours the Bendix facility in Avon with his fellow high school students. Prior to the pandemic, Cleveland educational nonprofit Effective Leadership Academy (ELA) served as “the cherry on top” in polishing off student workforce and entrepreneurial development. But after a year of virus-spurred remote learning, ELA’s mission of social and emotional development is no longer seen as a luxury. Instead, it is now deemed by educators as essential, said organization founder and executive director Flo Brett. The nonprofit teams with schools and Northeast Ohio companies to develop a curriculum of leadership, communication and additional “soft skills” needed in the workforce. Ideally, participants will be prepared for job opportunities around STEAM – which is STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with arts included. “What we do as an organization is development self-understanding,” said Brett, whose Warrensville Heights enterprise partners with 230 schools and 120 businesses in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. “You never know when you will be in that moment when you have an opportunity. If you haven’t got the right mindset or the right tools in your backpack, (that opportunity) will never come through.” Successful people understand the value of self-determination, […]

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President Biden will head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to deliver the State of the Union , and while the economy is showing some positive signs with continued job growth and inflation starting to dissipate, small businesses are facing hurdles. For them, the state of the union may be heading in the right direction – but the state of their relationship with the government is not, and they want action. Seventy percent of small businesses gave the federal government a C grade or below according to the latest Goldman Sachs small businesses survey. The survey comes on the heels of the news that the unemployment rate in January ticked down to 3.4% , the lowest level seen since 1969. It shows the federal government is coming up short when it comes to the effectiveness of programs, services and tax credits for small businesses. Part of the problem is awareness; the survey found 85% of businesses gave the federal government a C grade or below for marketing and communicating about what’s available to them. "Business owners don’t feel like the programs are all that effective, and they also don’t even feel like they have a sense of what’s available, some […]

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BERLIN, GERMANY – MARCH 25: Peloton logo sign is displayed at the entrance on March 25, 2021 in … [+] Peloton stock posted a better-than-expected set of Q2 FY’23 results, giving investors some confidence that the turnaround plan unveiled last year is working. Peloton stock was up by 26% in Thursday’s trading following the report. While revenues fell by 30% compared with the year-ago period to $792.7 million, they came in ahead of estimates. Peloton’s net losses narrowed versus last year to $0.98 per share. Sales of connected fitness products, such as treadmills and exercise bikes, fell by about 52% versus last year to $381.4 million as the work out from home trend seen through Covid-19 continued to ease. On the other hand, the sale of subscriptions – which includes workout content plans that sync up with Peloton’s connected equipment, or work as a standalone smartphone app – rose by 22% versus last year to $411.3 million, coming in ahead of the equipment business. Apart from weakening demand in recent quarters, Peloton was weighed down by a host of other issues including bad inventory planning, and poorly timed investments into production. However, the company has been overhauling its business […]

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