Small Business

Rob Frohwein, CEO of Kabbage Adam Jeffery | CNBC As small businesses continue to feel the pressure from Covid-19-related restrictions, American Express announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire small business lender Kabbage, ranked No. 24 on this year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list. Kabbage, headquartered in Atlanta, is a data and technology company providing

Entrepreneurs who received up to $10,000 in federal grants and took a forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loan as well are in for a surprise: They won’t be getting the full loan forgiveness they had hoped for. The CARES Act offered small businesses a couple of lifelines this spring. First, it established an emergency grant program,

The Fat Radish Source: Steve Freihon The Fat Radish was supposed to celebrate its 10th anniversary in October.  But now, after months of uncertainty about its future, the restaurant known for its farm-to-table British food is shutting its doors forever, joining the scores of New York restaurants that have decided to close permanently.  Operating a

As the U.S. and Chinese governments battle over the fate of TikTok, with tech giants including Microsoft vying to acquire the popular social media app, advertising guru Gary Vaynerchuk says small business owners also have a big TikTok opportunity to exploit.   “It’s really hard to go on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook right now and

A security guard wearing a protective mask gives a shopper hand sanitizer at a store in San Francisco, California, during a phase of reopening in June. Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images After 102 days with no community spread of Covid-19, New Zealand on Tuesday announced four new cases that were transmitted locally, causing

Investor Kevin O’Leary believes in tough love, especially now when entrepreneurs on Main Street are trying to figure out whether it’s time to hang onto their business — or shut down. “This is the time to stay focused and positive,” O’Leary said, speaking at CNBC’s Small Business Playbook virtual summit on Wednesday. “Entrepreneurs are creative by

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook speaks onstage during ‘Putting a Best Facebook Forward’ at Vanity Fair’s 6th Annual New Establishment Summit. Matt Winkelmeyer | Getty Images Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday said the social media company needs to work with whoever wins the 2020 U.S. election to address their concerns about Big Tech. “We

US President Donald Trump signs executive orders extending coronavirus economic relief, during a news conference in Bedminster, New Jersey, on August 8, 2020. JIM WATSON | AFP | Getty Images Self-employed people shouldn’t count on the payroll tax break President Donald Trump has issued via an executive order — at least not yet, tax experts

Somerville’s Main Street on June 2. A sign posted to the lamp post from the Downtown Somerville Alliance advertises curbside pickup and takeout. Downtown Somerville Alliance The pandemic is still raging on in the U.S., yet 64% of small business owners on Main Street are confident that they can survive for more than a year

Virginia Ali, co-owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl, one of the many Black-owned businesses on Avenue U in Washington D.C., sits near photos of her and her husband Ben, on June 15, 2020. Numerous studies have shown that African-American entrepreneurs, particularly in the service sector such as restaurants, have suffered most severely from the economic and

Popular summer vacation spot Provincetown, Massachusetts, is taking Covid-19 seriously, mandating mask-wearing and limiting the number of customers in stores, but consumers are still out. (Photo by Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images Small businesses are feeling somewhat more optimistic, adapting operations to the new economic and public health

Only 4.3% of America’s 22.2 million business owners are Black, according to numbers reported in February by the Brookings Institute. And Black-owned businesses launch with about “a third less capital than their white peers and have difficulties raising private investments from mainstream investment systems,” reported Brookings. While 7% of white business owners get a loan

In the days following the death of George Floyd, Brooklyn-based entrepreneur Aurora James was skeptical of the deluge of corporate support for the Black community. “As a Black woman, and also as a business owner, I was reading it, but I wasn’t necessarily feeling it to be true,” said James, who runs Brother Vellies, a company

Agatha Kulaga, co-founder and CEO of Ovenly Source: Agatha Kulaga The past few months certainly haven’t been easy for small businesses. Many had to shut their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. While some may never reopen, others are ramping up their business — and hoping they don’t have to shut down again. Retail and

Spencer Platt | Getty Images Desy’s is one of the last bars left standing in Morrisville, North Carolina.  Owner Desislava Nikolova made her American dream come true by opening Desy’s and another bar in nearby Cary after immigrating to America from Bulgaria 11 years ago. While the coronavirus pandemic forced the majority of her counterparts in the local

A pool under construction in Washington, DC. Pat Pugliese | CNBC There is a lot of activity in Justin Sullivan’s backyard, as workers hammer out his new deck, and jackhammers pound through the basement. Concrete for the new pool has already been poured. The Sullivans had planned a renovation before the pandemic hit, but then

US President Donald Trump answers question during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 5, 2020. Olivie Douliery | AFP | Getty Images Even if President Donald Trump were to push out a payroll tax holiday via executive order, there’s no guarantee workers will pocket

Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO, on Tuesday urged Congress to provide additional financial support to small businesses, saying that the now-iconic coffee chain would have struggled to weather the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in its early years.  In 1987, Starbucks had just 11 stores and about 100 employees, Schultz said on CNBC’s “Squawk

Paychex CEO Martin Mucci told CNBC on Tuesday that small business employment is falling again and is becoming as precarious as during the beginning of the U.S. coronavirus crisis. “We saw the July jobs index drop,” Mucci said on “Squawk Box.” ”That puts us back to about April, so we’re flat over the last three months.” Paychex, a

Pictured is a display of Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty Thursday, April 7, 2016 at the Building Blocks Toy Store in Chicago, Ill. (Anthony Souffle/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Chicago Tribune | Tribune News Service | Getty Images Heading into March, the team at Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty was on track to exceed its