#small-businesses

#small-businesses

Money drives business, politics, housing, culture, cuisine, parenting, and sports. But talking about it is always a bit awkward. We want to break this taboo and tackle this topic with gusto.

The Great Recession, and then the pandemic, did in some of the last holdouts. But not Berkeley's Back Room, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month. The Back Room's survival is due to the passion of its founder, Sam Rudin, the musicians who love it and come back time after time to play there, and the commitment of audience members who know the experiences they have there are truly memorable.

For years, small businesses have been pushed aside while corporate giants enjoyed unfettered access to City Hall. No longer. With Delia Awusi's appointment, the smallest businesses will be represented at the highest levels of city government.

Low- and middle-income families and small businesses accounted for well over half of the U.S. population, yet they paid a disproportionate share of their incomes to the government due to IEEPA tariffs.

The economy ministry stated that firms in the transportation, agriculture, and fisheries industries would be eligible for the 'flash fuel loans' of up to €50,000 ($57,600).

Cabinet Office Minister, Chris Ward stated, "This Government is backing SMEs and British businesses. These ambitious spending targets will help ensure more Government contracts go to SMEs - keeping more money, jobs and opportunities in local communities."

Small businesses, they don't have the margins or the reserves to really absorb those kinds of cost increases. They're faced with a dilemma of, do they try to expedite some of the shipments that might be delayed right now, or do they deal with the shortages.

"Embracing the amazing possibilities of AI can't come at the cost of leaving Americans vulnerable to its profound risks, which is exactly what President Trump and Republicans are trying to do. Preventing states from enacting common-sense regulation that protects people from the very real harms of AI is dangerous."

The government is probably not going to voluntarily pay back the money it unlawfully took. Rather, the government is going to make everyone request a refund through different procedures by filing formal protests. They're going to delay things procedurally as long as they can. Hiring lawyers and going through these procedures costs money and time, Greg Shaffer, a law professor at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera.

The VTA is attempting to seize properties it says are needed to construct the 28th Street/Little Portugal BART Station near the interchange of U.S. Highway 101 and East Santa Clara Street. In 2021, the VTA filed a lawsuit against the owner of the site as well as Monarch and other businesses at the location as part of an eminent domain proceeding to seize control of the property so the BART station could be constructed.

One major driver of these costs is hospital pricing abuse, which often goes unnoticed but is devastating to California's small business communities. Large hospital systems have used their market dominance to drive up the prices they charge commercial payers, often billing them more than three times what Medicare pays for the same care. Those inflated costs fall squarely on the shoulders of small businesses and working families through higher premiums and lower take-home pay.

Running a business in a major UK city has never been for the faint of heart. Between the skyrocketing rents in London, the competitive salaries in Manchester, and the general cost of keeping the lights on in Birmingham, the overheads are enough to keep any founder awake at night. But lately, there's another headache that's becoming impossible to ignore. The cost of paid media advertising has shot up from being a manageable expense to a serious drain on resources.

Economic boycotts are a familiar tool of protest. The problem is they often place the greatest strain on the smallest businesses. That was the case during Friday's nationwide general strike, which was designed to pressure the Trump administration to dial back its aggressive anti-immigration policies. For many small business owners, the shutdown created a dilemma. Supporting the cause often means losing a day's revenue and risking their ability to keep staff employed. Across social media, owners voiced solidarity alongside an apology for staying open.

Over 200,000 UK small businesses now generate revenue through TikTok Shop-representing a doubling since this time last year. This surge culminated in Black Friday 2025 becoming TikTok Shop's highest-grossing day ever in UK history, with entrepreneurs selling 27 items every single second. The platform now hosts over 6,000 live shopping events daily across the UK, creating real-time revenue opportunities. Notable retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Samsung, QVC, Clarks, and Sainsbury's are now selling their wares on the site's e-commerce service.

For a couple Friday nights in August and September of 2024, some 20,000 visitors descended on the west end of San Francisco for the Sunset Night Market - maybe the biggest, splashiest night market the city had ever seen, occupying a whopping seven blocks of Irving Street. There were lion dancers in full regalia. Lamb skewers and prehistoric-sized turkey legs served hot off the grill. Stinky tofu and durian eating contests. Martin Yan even made an appearance.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

When large companies require employees to end remote work and return to the office (RTO), the effects typically ripple through local economies and nearby small businesses. There can be more foot traffic and spending at restaurants, cafés, and coffee shops as office workers take lunch breaks or visit shopping districts before or after their shifts. Convenience stores, dry cleaners, food trucks, and gyms can also see an uptick, leading to improved weekday sales and a steadier cash flow.

A year after the January wildfires, most businesses in affected neighborhoods remain shuttered, with those reopened reporting roughly half their previous customer base and revenue. More than 1,800 small businesses across burn zones face an uncertain future, with owners struggling to navigate insurance claims and cleanup costs largely unsupported. Business leaders and major developers are pushing officials to speed up permitting and inspections, saying faster reconstruction is critical for jobs and tax revenue.

Policy uncertainty in Westminster is weighing heavily on Britain's small business sector, according to one of the City's most influential bankers. Kunal Shah, co-head of Goldman Sachs International, warned that a lack of clarity over taxation and employment laws is creating an "overhang" that is discouraging entrepreneurs from investing and hiring. Speaking to The Times ahead of a House of Commons reception marking 15 years of Goldman's 10,000 Small Businesses programme, Shah said founders were increasingly nervous about the government's shifting regulatory agenda.

"We are very concerned at the murmurings around a potential ' taxi tax ' in the upcoming Budget," she said. "The Supreme Court confirmed this summer that long-standing business models used by private hire operators remain lawful and that VAT is not automatically required. That outcome helped protect passengers from fare increases and allowed local businesses to operate sustainably." Barke-Jones

"It was a kick in the teeth," says Katya Milavic-Davies, who owns four Myla and Davis hair salons, as well as the restaurant Llewelyn's and the cafe Lulus, both in Herne Hill in south London. She says she had to increase her turnover across her four salons by 500,000 to cover the costs of the National Insurance contribution (NICs) hikes, and a national minimum wage rise, adding that businesses like hers had been "punished" for having a large number of employees.

A new survey by Employment Hero found that 86 per cent of 1,000 business leaders are worried about what the Budget will mean for their companies, with 59 per cent saying they believe the government does not take the needs of small businesses into account when setting fiscal policy. The concern comes after employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) rose from 13.8 per cent to 15.05 per cent in April - a move that many SMEs say has already strained their finances.

With SNAP benefits disrupted, more than 40 million Americans are having a harder time than usual putting food on the table. Food banks say they're already seeing a surge in visitors, and they're sharing the things they'd most like to see donated, if you're in the position to help people in your community in need.