Market Watch

The past few years have shone a brighter light on women’s experiences at work: We’re exhausted , we’re underpaid , and we’re constantly battling for basic rights. In fact, we’re well in the depths of a “she-cession”: O ne in three women are looking to downshift their careers or leave the workforce entirely, joining the millions of women who have already exited these past few years. With a global labor shortage and a caregiving crisis continuing to strain workforces, smart leaders will invest in reversing the she-cession by making structural changes in how we work that emphasize flexibility. Failure to do so will push more women to their breaking point, and out of the workplace. But it is not women who are broken, it’s the system. And 2023 will be the year to start fixing it. There’s no question that flexibility matters. When it comes to determining job satisfaction, research by Slack’s Future Forum consortium shows that flexibility ranks second only behind compensation. This is particularly true for parents, especially working mothers. Today, 83 percent of working mums prefer a flexible location model. But, too often, the conversation about flexibility is limited to just the “number of days in […]

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All those lunches — ranging from everything from sandwiches to sushi — that companies bought to encourage employees to hop out of their sweats and back into their suits, or at least clean khakis, will no longer be as lucrative a tax break in 2023. Most employees probably had no idea that tax rules spiced things up in the office last year and the year before that. But companies often could take advantage of a special tax deduction as they regularly bought food for the staff to encourage people to stop working remotely and swing back into the building after pandemic-related precautions unraveled much workplace activity since 2020. A tasty tax break In 2021 and 2022, companies could deduct the entire cost for many business-related meals and beverages purchased from a restaurant. The same wasn’t true if food was picked up at the supermarket, party store, vending machine, or convenience store. It had to be takeout or delivery from a restaurant or meals eaten at the restaurant. The temporary tax break was far better than the typical 50% deduction for business meals. To qualify, the IRS noted, payment or billing for the food and beverages had to take place […]

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As the COO of a small business and a consultant for many small businesses, I have come to understand and appreciate that owners and team members must wear many hats. Marketing your business effectively often falls to the wayside when you’re focused on daily operations, and prioritizing marketing in your budget can seem daunting. In today’s digital world, marketing and public relations tools have become more accessible, and with a budget of any size, you can effectively market your business. A few tips to consider: Plan: Too many business owners only think of marketing in a reactive way vs. being proactive. This is rarely effective. Plan your marketing the way you plan any other aspect of your business, and adjust along the way. Budget: Make marketing a part of your budgeting process. Keep in mind that you control budgets when it comes to digital marketing avenues such as paid social or Google advertising. Don’t let a small budget deter you. Remember that using your own channels requires budget consideration. Small things like buying a new phone to collect better content or tapping into a platform such as Mail Chimp to communicate to an existing database require budget. Be thoughtful: […]

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Zohaib Hassan is the founder & CEO of LeadOrigin , a growth consulting firm focused on digital marketing & data intelligence. getty Whether they’re blog posts, social media posts, podcasts or newsletters, content has never been this important for a growing business. It’s one of the most effective ways for brands to stand out from the competition and reach their audience wherever they are on the internet. The Importance Of Content Marketing Content marketing is the strategy of using valuable content to reach a target demographic for the purpose of generating leads and making sales. It is more than just the production or publication of visual or written content on digital platforms. It also involves marketing strategies that aim to attract and retain customers to boost your revenue. If you’re not using content to your advantage, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities to grow. Benefits Of Content Marketing As technology continues to advance, content has grown to become one of the most powerful parts of an effective marketing strategy. Here are some of the benefits of content marketing: You’ll have a better chance of your audience sticking around longer. People love good content. It’s engaging and enhances […]

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A customer looks through some clothing at Goodwill Industries of the Upstate/Midlands’ Auten’s Loft, a new upscale boutique offering discounts on name brands. Photo provided Goodwill Andrea Smith, director and CEO of Senior Action , said philanthropy can’t keep up with her clients’ needs. Two problems many nonprofits face are growing costs and more cash-strapped donors. To balance budgets and serve clients, many of them have had to adopt business and for-profit measures to stay afloat. It’s spurring a new era of philanthropy in which the old ways of simply opening the collection basket are no longer the focus — rather, nonprofits are becoming ever more entrepreneurial to meet modern challenges. Office space A painting workshop at Senior Action. Photo provided Senior Action, whose main office is at 3715 E. North St., Suite K, in Greenville, offers many services to seniors, including wellness, financial help and outreach. Still, with the Upstate’s growing senior population, the client base is growing quickly. Several years ago, the organization had outgrown its old office space but didn’t have the funding to move. It decided it was best to get into business for itself by purchasing a shopping center, the former location of a […]

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Global Grocery Market in Brooklyn Park allows customers to shop in person or order online for delivery. When the COVID-19 pandemic ground the world to a halt a few years ago, many Minnesotans turned to delivery services for their groceries. But as 2020 came to a close, Choua Xiong and her husband, Kao Vue, kept hearing: Why doesn’t anyone deliver Asian and African groceries? “We don’t have any sort of service like that, especially when the pandemic hit,” Xiong said. “You have to go out if you want the Asian or African groceries that you’re looking for. You have to go to the store, and there was no convenience where you could order online. “I just kept hearing, ‘Why doesn’t anyone want to offer this in Minnesota?’ We just decided to jump on the idea, and once we did, we realized there are a ton of people who want it.” Xiong, 33, and Vue, 33, who are second-generation Hmong Americans, decided to meet that need by opening the Global Grocery Market in 2020. “Right when the pandemic was happening, I was getting laid off and my husband was getting a pay cut,” said Xiong. The Brooklyn Park-based business specializes […]

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her fifth State of the State address on Jan. 25, 2023. (Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Throughout Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s fifth State of the State address Wednesday night, she drew connections between the many civil rights issues she has championed for years and the need to strengthen the state’s economy. “Bigotry is bad for business,” Whitmer said before receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of lawmakers and state leaders. Jobs, education, gun reform and reproductive rights were among the top priorities Whitmer highlighted during her first in-person State of the State address since 2020. Another major difference between this year’s speech and those in previous years is that Whitmer spoke to a Legislature with a Democratic majority. So her priorities have a better chance of becoming legislation and making it to her desk now that Democrats control the House and Senate. “We spoke with a clear voice in November. We want the ability to raise a family without breaking the bank, strong protections for our fundamental rights to vote and control our own bodies and leaders who will work across the aisle to solve problems and deliver on the issues that make a real difference in […]

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Photo: ©5PH – STOCK.ADOBE.COM BOONTON, NJ. — Plant-based snacks maker Real Food From the Ground Up has acquired the Food Should Taste Good business from General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2006, Needham Heights, Mass.-based Food Should Taste Good makes natural tortilla chips and multigrain bean chips. General Mills acquired Food Should Taste Good in early 2012 . At that time, the business was folded into Small Planet Foods, General Mills’ natural and organic product business that has brands such as Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen and Larabar. Moving forward, Food Should Taste Good was no longer seen as a fit for General Mills, the company said. “Consistent with our ‘accelerate’ strategy, General Mills is reshaping its portfolio,” said Chelcy Walker, a spokesperson for General Mills. “This sale is to the right buyer with clear expertise in the tortilla chip business. There will be no job loss as part of this divestiture, and no employees will be transitioning to the buyer.”

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Right to repair is a movement, legislative wave, and well-meaning idea that says people who buy durable products like mobile phones, tractors and dishwashers should be allowed to get them fixed by someone other than the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). This sounds reasonable, and yet the corporate opposition is coming from brands many people trust and love like John Deere, Apple AAPL +1% , and General Electric GE -0.3% . Maybe the problem is that we’re trying to solve a relationship problem with a divorce settlement. No one wins but the lawyers. Dear John Deere, Please Let Me Fix My Tractor At the State University of New York in Cobleskill, college kids study agricultural equipment in a long-standing partnership with John Deere. The students wear caps and sweatshirts with the Deere logo proclaiming their love and loyalty for the brand. The same dedication can be seen with Caterpillar CAT -0.3% , Husqvarna, and Stihl among the ag-mech and forestry crowd at SUNY Cobleskill. It’s a familiar phenomenon with brands that customers love and identify with over time – like Harley Davidson, Tesla, and of course Apple. These customers are strong net-promoters with high repurchase rates. They want to be […]

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Putting an emphasis on creating a great customer experience while also giving back to the world is common practice for retailers today, but Kendra Scott has been taking this approach since it was created two decades ago. CEO Tom Nolan reveals how the retailer’s drive to keep Founder Kendra Scott’s social and entrepreneurial vision alive has helped the organization by: Enabling the company to maintain double-digit growth throughout the pandemic despite the economic and social uncertainty of the past two years; Embedding the appreciation for agility that helped the company reimagine its supply chain to navigate the industrywide crunch without facing any disruptions; Achieving truly authentic philanthropy through a combination of events and investments in causes ranging from helping women become leaders to bringing cheer to children’s hospitals; and Continuing to build on its foundational principles as the retailer evolves with new product offerings, initiatives and experience. RTP: Kendra Scott saw double-digit growth from 2020 to 2021 and is on track for its biggest year to date. What is your strategy for maintaining high levels of growth despite the uncertainty of the past several years? Tom Nolan: I think overall our success always starts with the same thing: we […]

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