Dashboard
A daily roundup of small-business developments.
What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners today.
The Economy
• Trucks may be saving the economy.
• Construction lending is seeing a slow, steady recovery.
Finance
• Is Square hunting for blood with its new cash advance program?
• This is how Walmart and Google could steal young customers from traditional banks.
• A revolutionary, low-priced 3-D printer is on its way to its crowdfunding goal.
Retail
• A start-up raises $1.8 million to help small brick-and-mortar stores go online.
• A guy cashes in a loyalty card and orders what may be the most expensive Starbucks drink ever: $54.
• Another guy eats everything on the McDonald’s dollar menu.
Sales
• In this 40-minute video, Gary Vaynerchuk tells how to sell anything.
Marketing
• Here are the top 10 marketing takeaways from a recent Economist conference.
• Here are 10 mistakes big businesses make with small-business owners.
• Self-promotion kills consumer trust in branded content.
Employees
• Five successful small-business chief executives share their favorite interview questions.
• Amazon plans to add 9,000 robots to its workforce.
• Zappos killed the job posting. Should you do the same?
• Hiring your first salesperson? Here are four reasons to try an apprentice first.
• Your commute may be costing you more than you realize — in driving-related expenses, in hours on the road and in negative health outcomes.
• What will it take for small businesses to start hiring more?
Online
• Mary Meeker shares her 2014 Internet analysis.
Social Media
• Here’s how Facebook’s plan to go after 25 million small businesses could backfire.
• Posting on Facebook in Iran could get you 20 years in prison.
Management
• What Maya Angelou taught this chief executive about business.
Around the Country
• Michigan’s Republican-controlled legislature approves an increase in the state’s minimum wage.
• New York City announces a new war against rats.
• Minnesota’s “unsession” dumps 1,175 obsolete, silly laws.
• Illinois lawmakers have revived a “cupcake bill” introduced after a girl’s home baking operation was shut down.
Around the World
• Wind power is the most popular source of energy in the United Kingdom.
Technology
• Microsoft unveils a Skype translator.
• A start-up hopes its data-center-in-a-box will attract small-to-medium-sized businesses that want to “virtualize” but lack resources.
• Google unveils a prototype for a self-driving car.
• Some of your staff members may be using “leaky” cloud products without your knowledge but with your data — here’s how to protect yourself.
Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.