Market Watch

self Cities attract talent when they have thriving arts communities. CEO of Arts Commons, Alex Sarian, speaks about how great cities are built when our communities cooperate to create rich quality of life. From Buenos Aires to Shanghai to New York, Alex has worked with artists and arts organizations in 15 countries spanning over five continents. Discover what the world has to offer with the BD&P World Stage series from Arts Commons. The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Click here to view original web page at www.mondaq.com

Having survived the pandemic, small-business owners are not done battling turbulent times as many are dealing with higher costs, supply chain disruptions, worker shortages and now, increasingly higher interest rates. To battle inflation, the Federal Reserve recently raised its benchmark interest rates by 0.5% in December and then another quarter point on Feb. 1 — to the highest level in 15 years . The Fed also said it expects to push rates higher throughout 2023. Higher interest rates can mean higher borrowing costs, which can put a strain on already tight budgets. There is also growing concern that a recession could be right around the corner, which could create a daunting environment for small businesses that require steady and reliable financing to stay afloat. We don’t yet have a full understanding of the frequency of interest rate hikes for the coming year. But as a 34-year veteran of small business lending, I’ve seen my share of downturns. There are steps that small-business owners can take now to prepare for a looming recession. Business owners who have weathered recessions in the past know that it’s best to secure financing before you actually need it. But those who need capital should […]

Click here to view original web page at www.bizjournals.com

Luke Babich of Clever Real Estate and Lisa Hu from Lux and Nyx Entrepreneurship is a pillar of Lisa Hu and Luke Babich ’s marriage, but it’s not because they are in business together. Instead, Hu and Babich run separate St. Louis-based startups. Hu is founder of handbag company Lux and Nyx while Babich is CEO of real estate technology startup Clever Real Estate. That’s a dynamic that brings many of the same benefits and opportunities as couples that are business owners together, but also creates its own unique wrinkle for Babich and Hu. While couples that run a single business together share in the ups and downs of that company, Babich and Hu said they benefit from each having dealt with challenges of running a business, but not necessarily experiencing them at the same time, which Babich said means “the stress is not coinciding.” “You have these ups and downs so needing one person to pull the other person out of a rut is helpful,” Hu said. “That understanding is not easy to get from people that haven’t gone through it.” While they don’t run the same company, Babich and Hu, who married last year, spend a lot […]

Click here to view original web page at www.bizjournals.com

Rendering of Blue Origin’s New Glenn heavylift rocket. Credit: Blue Origin WASHINGTON — Blue Origin has won its first NASA award for its New Glenn rocket, with the agency selecting the large rocket to launch a pair of Martian smallsats. NASA announced Feb. 9 it selected New Glenn for the launch of the two Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) spacecraft. The rocket will launch ESCAPADE in late 2024, with the spacecraft entering orbit around Mars 11 months later. The award, a task order under NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract, is the first NASA has issued for New Glenn, the large rocket Blue Origin has been working on for several years but has yet to launch. Blue Origin has previously won business from several commercial customers, including Amazon, which awarded the company a contract last April for 12 launches of Project Kuiper satellites , with an option for 15 more. “ESCAPADE follows a long tradition of NASA Mars science and exploration missions, and we’re thrilled NASA’s Launch Services Program has selected New Glenn to launch the instruments that will study Mars’s magnetosphere,” said Jarrett Jones, senior vice president for New Glenn at Blue […]

Click here to view original web page at spacenews.com

Brian Will is a serial entrepreneur, business management consultant and best-selling author. He can be reached at www.brianwillmedia.com . getty According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.4 million new businesses started in 2021. That is over 450,000 new businesses every month. According to The Chamber of Commerce , around half of all businesses fail within the first five years, and only 35% of businesses will make it 10 years or more. These numbers represent a lot of time, effort and energy on the part of millions of people. If you are reading this and wondering why so many of these businesses fail, I can tell you. I find that new businesses generally do not fail for mechanical or technical reasons. And they do not fail because the owners lack specific knowledge on how to perform the needed tasks on a day-to-day basis. Company Management To use an example scenario: Joe, the plumber, decides to quit his job and start his own plumbing business. Joe knows how to be a plumber. If Joe’s new business fails, it won’t be because Joe didn’t understand plumbing. Joe will likely fail because he doesn’t know how to run the business side of Joe’s […]

Click here to view original web page at www.forbes.com

Jenn Flynn leads Capital One Small Business Bank and is a highly respected corporate finance executive with 20+ years of experience. getty Another year brought another complex series of challenges for business owners to navigate. Fortunately, neither record-breaking inflation nor ongoing supply chain issues were a match for the resilient, entrepreneurial spirit of the small-business community. It’s encouraging to see that commitment reflected in the number of new business applications in the last quarter of 2022, which has held steady at around 400,000 applications per month for the past two years. Reasons for this sustained growth in new businesses vary. A recent survey from Capital One Business found that business owners who started their business during or after March 2020 were motivated to do so because their free time had increased, they were laid off from their job or they were able to scale their side hustle into a business, among other factors. These business owners share that they feel rewarded for taking the leap into entrepreneurship with a more flexible schedule, and by having the ability to spend more time with their families. I love hearing from business owners about how empowered they feel since starting a business, […]

Click here to view original web page at www.forbes.com

Founder Of International Agency Believe Advertising & PR | Best-Selling Author| Helping Entrepreneurs Gain Global Media Coverage. getty Are you thinking of hiring a PR agency but are unsure what it can do for your business? A PR agency is more than just a marketing tool; it’s an investment in your business’s success. With the right strategy and guidance, a good PR agency can help you reach your goals faster and with greater impact. Below, I’ll dive into what a PR agency is, how it can benefit your business and how to find the right firm for you. What Is A PR Agency? A PR agency is a company that provides public relations services to clients. These services can include a range of things, which I’ll discuss further below. But essentially, a PR agency can help a business by raising awareness of its products or services, generating positive media coverage and helping to improve its reputation. What Services Do PR Agencies Typically Offer? There are a variety of services that PR agencies typically offer. Some common services include media relations, crisis management and event planning. Media relations is the act of building relationships with members of the media. This […]

Click here to view original web page at www.forbes.com

Getty Each year, the IRS issues annual updates that impact the 401(k) and retirement planning arenas. Whether an increase in COLA (cost of living adjustment) limits or compensation limits for highly paid employees, these updates have an impact on both working-age and retired individuals. 2022 saw some of the most impactful legislative changes on record with the passing of the SECURE Act 2.0. Once signed into law, SECURE Act 2.0 drastically altered, among other factors, RMD (required minimum distributions) requirements, 401(k) enrollment processes, matching contributions on student loans and provisions that allow older workers to “turbo-charge” their retirement. RMDs typically account for about 4% of an individual’s tax-deferred retirement account on an annual basis. For an individual with $1,000,000 in an IRA, RMDs could be somewhere in the range of $40,000 per year. And failure to take an RMD could have severe consequences. Prior to the passing of SECURE Act 2.0, these penalties totaled 50% of the total RMD amount. Fast forward to SECURE Act 2.0 becoming law, and the age to start taking RMDs increased to 73, and the penalty for failing to take RMDs in a timely manner decreased to 25% of the total amount. Why it […]

Click here to view original web page at www.forbes.com

Source: ©NICOELNINO – STOCK.ADOBE.COM This is the second of three articles covering a sustainability panel from the 2023 Pet Food Conference . Get the full story — read the first article here , and the third article here . ATLANTA — Pet food manufacturers and suppliers alike are being held to increasingly high sustainability standards, driven by consumers, investors and other industry stakeholders. Not only is this a moral issue — it’s also becoming a regulatory issue. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon begin requiring public companies to disclose their Scope 1, 2 and 3 sustainability targets, and common export markets for US manufacturers are already employing this level of regulatory accountability. This last portion, Scope 3 emissions, refers to indirect emissions produced throughout a company’s value chain, and necessitates collaboration among raw material suppliers, ingredient manufacturers, and pet food and treat producers to tackle. This spirit of collaborative problem solving was demonstrated in a panel presented during the American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) 2023 Pet Food Conference , held Jan. 24 in conjunction with International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta. The panel, moderated by Lara Moody, executive director of the Institute for Feed […]

Click here to view original web page at www.petfoodprocessing.net

Photo: Kellogg Co. BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — There has been a slight change of plans in the Kellogg Co.’s breakup scheme. The company is keeping its plant-based meat alternative business Morningstar Farms rather than spin it off or sell it. Timing, as they say, is everything and the slump overshadowing the entire meat alternative category played a role. “When we began this process, valuation for peer companies were stratospheric compared to where they are today,” said Steven A. Cahillane, chairman, president and chief executive officer, during a Feb. 9 conference call to discuss fiscal 2022 results. “They’ve come down quite substantially. So, the thesis when we started the process was to truly unlock shareholder value. If we could attract the same types of multiples in the public market, we should pursue that. The environment has clearly changed.” Looking to the future of the category, Mr. Cahillane added that Kellogg sees an “imminent shakeout coming.” “It’s happening already,” he said. “And there’ll be a couple of players left standing, and Morningstar Farms still has some of the highest household penetration, highest name recognition, fantastic foods, strong in the freezer space where the consumer is migrating back to, and profitable, unlike […]

Click here to view original web page at www.foodbusinessnews.net