It’s not easy to start, run and grow a small business. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, from 1994-2019, about two-thirds of new businesses survived at least two years, roughly half made it to the five-year mark, and only about one-third were still in business after ten years. Small businesses—which are often bootstrapped by […]
Author: Laurie McCabe
All You Have to Do Is Pour Over Ice: How Uncle Tim’s Cocktails is Redefining the Home Bar with Financial Insights from Xero
By SMB Group’s Kelly Teal, Contributing Analyst, and Laurie McCabe, Co-founder Sometimes you just want to enjoy a few cocktails with friends. Then, before you know it, your hobby turns into a business. At least, that’s the case for Timothy Felkner, CEO of Uncle Tim’s Cocktails, a Denver-based company that sells boutique-grade, ready-made alcoholic drinks, […]
New Infographic from SMB Group: SMB Pathways to Sustainability
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations have become ubiquitous for large, publicly traded corporations. But how important are sustainability initiatives for small and medium businesses (SMBs), and what policies and practices are they putting in place in this area? In our new infographic, SMB Pathways to Sustainability, we provide insights on SMB attitudes, practices, and […]
SMB Business and Technology Challenges and Priorities for 2023: New eBook from SMB Group
2022 was a turbulent year for SMBs—and this turbulence is continuing into 2023. Even as many challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic recede, others, including inflation and recession, have become top SMB concerns. Amidst this ongoing uncertainty, SMB Group examines U.S. SMBs’ challenges and priorities for 2023 in our SMB Business and Technology Priorities for […]
2023 Top 10 SMB Technology Trends from SMB Group
Happy New Year! We hope you enjoyed the holidays, and are looking forward to a happy and healthy 2023. Here at SMB Group, we are ringing in the new year by sharing our annual SMB Group Top 10 SMB Technology Trends, required reading both for SMBs (small and medium businesses), and for the vendors that serve […]
How New Zoho Desk Capabilities Help SMBs Address Customer Service Priorities
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) and mid-market businesses are always cost-conscious. So, it’s not surprising that in uncertain economic conditions, they rank controlling and reducing costs as their top business concern for 2023. However, while they need to rein in costs, SMBs must also invest in growth. Customer-related challenges—attracting new business, improving satisfaction and retention, […]
How Bon Bon Bon Brings More Chocolate Into the World With BigCommerce
—By SMB Group’s Contributing Analyst, Kelly Teal, and Co-founder, Laurie McCabe It’s not every day that a small business starts as the result of unfortunate — yet ultimately fortuitous — circumstances. But that’s exactly what happened to Alexandra Clark, founder of Michigan’s Bon Bon Bon. Clark, a longtime chocolate lover, was leaving a chocolate convention […]
Zoho’s Finance Platform: Is it Right for Your Business?
Below is a lightly edited transcript of my November 23, 2022 video interview with Siva Iswaran, Global Head of Zoho Finance and Operations Suite. LAURIE: Today we’re going to be talking about Zoho, and specifically, its Zoho Finance Plus platform. I’m excited to have Siva Iswaran joining me today. Siva is the global head of […]
Preparing Your Business To Thrive In Uncertain Times
If we’ve learned anything over the past couple of years, its that business complacency is a dangerous thing—and that being able to respond quickly to change is vital to business prosperity. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything in the blink of an eye—underscoring the importance of flexibility. In a world that had suddenly gone virtual, SMBs were able to use technology to shi...
Top Takeaways: Sage Transform 2022
I recently attended Sage Transform 2022 in Orlando, Sage’s flagship event in North America. As with most major events, Sage Transform featured a barrage of news and announcements. I’ve been following Sage for a long time. I went to Orlando thinking about how its annual revenues have been stuck at ar...