Blogs

We post weekly small business stories to highlight members of Small Business Majority’s network to share advice and the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey. Here you will find stories of resiliency during the pandemic, cautionary tales about avoiding predatory lending and inspirational ways that our small businesses are giving back to their communities.
Friday, March 7, 2014

It only took a six-minute drive home from a friend’s house for Andrea Deutsch to arrive at a business concept that would make the one-time lawyer into the proud owner of a pet store that’s equal parts Whole Foods and L.L. Bean.

In other words, Pennsylvania’s pampered pet utopia.

“Spot’s – The Place for Paws” is Deutsch’s six-minute epiphany come to life; still the cat’s meow after 11 years in business in Narberth, PA.

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Small Business Profile
Friday, February 28, 2014

Vitto Campuzano knows selling grains and beans isn’t a particularly sexy business. But who needs sex appeal when you operate a reputable family-owned business approaching its 40th year as a global wholesale and export leader?

F. Garcia Wholesale & Export, founded in 1974 and based out of Miami, is a bulk bean and grain supplier that sources, trades and supplies agricultural commodities from different regions throughout North America, Europe, Haiti, Mexico and Africa, to name just a few.

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Small Business Profile
Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Engaging with small business owners on a topic like healthcare is never an easy thing. The terminology is complicated, the law is complex and it’s an incredibly personal issue for many people. What is easy, however, is listening to small business owners’ concerns, and talking them through. Everyone wants to be heard.

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Last week, the president directed the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation to move forward with the next round of fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks by March 2016. This is great news for small business owners who, according to our polling, overwhelmingly support greater fuel efficiency standards because they will help save on fuel costs and boost entrepreneurs’ bottom lines.

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Friday, February 21, 2014

With a kitschy-cool name, a refined artisan product and recipes handed down from an old Irish family cookbook, Claire Keane has created a standout business in the already crowded kitschy-cool/artisan San Francisco market.

ClaireSquares brings the city by the Bay handcrafted Irish sweet treats, inspired by Keane’s mother and the recipes they used to bake when she was a child back in County Cork.

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Small Business Profile
Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The state House of Representatives’ recent passage of the Save Toward a Retirement Today (START) bill is a step in the right direction for Washington’s small businesses and their workers. START would help small employers by giving them the option of creating a simple, state-managed retirement account for their employees and themselves.

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Friday, February 14, 2014

John Rood was always a natural test-taker. What dawned on him, though, while training to teach giant prep courses for graduate level exams is that this model of tutoring lacked the detail to help the average student. Thus came the idea for Next Step Test Prep, an alternative test preparation small business that focuses on individual, one-on-one tutoring for each student. Rood found that his experience with the one-on-one format was “extremely effective.”

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Small Business Profile
Friday, February 7, 2014

How does a former magazine art director become the owner of one of the most heralded bakeries – The New York Times, Esquire and Southern Living are among the many singing it’s praises – in the country? The answer starts with a red, 1954 Ford F-100 purchased from Tommy Hilfiger.

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Small Business Profile
Monday, February 3, 2014

John Arensmeyer

If there’s one thing small business owners are always on the lookout for, it’s talent. Talented employees help them grow and thrive. But simply keeping their eyes peeled isn’t always good enough — often times they have to find creative ways to suss out the best and the brightest.

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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

It’s disappointing the U.S. House of Representatives has yet to move forward on the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Small businesses have voiced their strong support for immigration reform because they believe it will be good for our country and for small businesses, while providing major economic benefits. The failure to address this issue doesn’t do our primary job creators or our still-struggling economy any favors.

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