Small Business Drives Economic Growth and Transforms Society

If you’ve ever started a business or have a passion for entrepreneurship, you know that there are many factors to consider. You’ll need to decide whether the product or service you are creating is needed by others, how much financial reward it can potentially bring, and if you’re willing to take the risks that come with starting up your own company.

But a business can be many things, and not all of them are small. Generally, a small business is an independently owned and operated for-profit American company that falls within the Small Business Administration’s strict size standards. These criteria are based on number of employees and average annual receipts, but can vary by industry.

There are 33 million small businesses in the United States, accounting for 46% of all private companies with paid employees. Most small businesses have one or fewer employees, and 85% don’t pay taxes, according to the Census Bureau. Small businesses also play a vital role in our economy and impact the country’s GDP. In a recent Pew Research Center survey, the public said small businesses have more positive effects on society than large corporations, government agencies, schools, and religious institutions.

While the idea of having more personal time and being your own boss can be a driving force for some entrepreneurs, many find that work hours increase, not decrease, after they launch their companies. Still, there is no question that small business drives economic growth and has the power to transform our society in ways big enterprises cannot.

How to Get Your App Launched on Time

App launch is a key milestone for any mobile app, but it’s not something to rush. Aim for a smooth and bug-free release that will keep users coming back and recommending your app to others.

Prioritizing speed without sacrificing quality can be challenging, especially if you’re working with a tight deadline. To get ahead of this challenge, use an app builder that handles all the heavy lifting for you. BuildFire’s easy app maker is perfect for DIYers, making it simple to create and publish apps for iOS and Android. It takes just seconds to create a free preview and add features using our feature marketplace.

Setting a specific launch date can create excitement and hype, and it will give you a solid timeline to work against. This will ensure your app is ready for when it gets published, and it will help your team stick to a well-defined plan.

The launch timeline should include a buffer period to conduct rigorous testing, fix any bugs, and polish your app before it’s released to users. This is non-negotiable for a successful app launch.

Identifying and reaching out to media contacts is essential for promoting your app at launch. Creating connections with publications that cover your app’s industry or solve related problems positions you as an expert and amplifies your reach through trusted third-party endorsements. Similarly, forming partnerships with influencers who have established audiences that align with your target audience also helps spread the word about your app.

Business News

Business news is a type of journalism that covers economic and financial activities and changes in societies. It focuses on commercial and industrial sectors of the economy. Journalists who specialize in business news gather, research and disseminate information about businesses and the economy to readers through all types of media.

The term business describes an organized set of interrelated activities that produce goods or services and earn money in exchange. The primary goal of any business is to make a profit. Businesses may be for-profit entities, with profit distributed to owners or investors, or not-for-profit organisations that invest all profits back into the company to achieve stated goals or improve infrastructure.

Writing compelling business news requires constantly monitoring fresh developments across industries, identifying stories with broad appeal and structuring articles clearly. Business journalists must be able to explain complex topics in ways that are engaging and understandable for non-experts. They need to develop trusted industry sources, optimize their publishing cadence and promote their work on social media. With strong news judgment and an engaging style, business writers can inform, inspire and influence readers.

For many people, financial news can feel intimidating and confusing. It’s important for journalists to break down complex topics into their basic components and avoid using jargon. Visual aids can also help explain complex data, and can be particularly effective in business news stories where the audience might not have a lot of prior knowledge or understanding.

Investing in Stocks

Investing in stocks can be an important part of your financial strategy. It’s also a way to help support the economy. For example, tax cuts can increase consumer confidence and boost stock prices. On the other hand, high unemployment may cause stock prices to fall.

Companies raise capital by selling parts of their business to investors. The oldest way of doing this is by offering shares in an initial public offering (IPO), but newer methods include private placements, debt offerings, and other ways that a company can sell pieces of itself. Investors trade these securities in the secondary market, either on exchanges or over the counter. More than 58,000 companies are publicly traded today.

Investors can be individuals, such as 401(k) owners, or institutions, including pension funds, insurers, mutual fund companies, exchange-traded funds, and hedge funds. Companies themselves can also be direct participants in the market by trading their own shares. Others use derivatives and other instruments to indirectly participate in the market.

Investors often look at market indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or S&P 500 to get a sense of how the market is performing overall, or in specific sectors. They can also track the performance of individual stocks, such as Apple or Tesla, using their investment account. In general, stocks rise or fall in price based on supply and demand, with supply outweighing demand when the market is optimistic or negative about a company’s future. This dynamic process, known as “price discovery,” helps to allocate resources in an efficient way and promotes economic growth.

What Is a Special Report?

A special report is a financial statement that deviates from standard formats under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These unique reports provide information to specific audiences while maintaining professional standards. Commonly, special reports are used to comply with specific reporting provisions under contractual agreements or regulatory regulations.

This specialized form of reporting involves the auditing of certain elements, accounts, or items in a financial statement. It could be done as a separate engagement, or it may be conducted alongside a normal financial statement audit. Depending on the circumstances, these engagements can involve issues such as an entity that charges rent based on commercial tenants’ sales, as opposed to one fixed rate.

Designed for Digital

The goal of a research report is to present some kind of abridged version of the researcher’s systematic investigation. This includes data and findings as well as a summary of previous knowledge in the area under study. The tone of the report is determined by the audience for whom it is intended; for example, for a general audience, a popular research report would be appropriate, whereas a specialized report may use technical and field-specific terms. Ultimately, the research report should present qualitative or quantitative data, and include relevant visual representations to strengthen its credibility. This includes graphs, pie charts, and other related illustrations. Also, the research should be based on first-hand verifiable sources and should cite them. This helps build credibility, especially if the report is submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

What Is Tech Innovation?

Tech innovation is the creation, enhancing, and application of new or improved technologies, tools, systems, and processes that drive transformative advancements across industries. The process involves leveraging research, expertise, and resources to develop solutions that address challenges, optimize efficiencies, and generate value.

Tech innovations can be hugely beneficial to businesses and customers alike. But, they only create real value when tied to execution and a clear business need. Otherwise, they can be a waste of time and resources (and even put people at risk of harm).

For example, the iPhone was an innovative technology because it combined many different ideas into one device that solved real customer problems. The result was an integrated, user-friendly solution that has revolutionized the way we communicate and work.

On the other hand, many other technologies have had great potential but failed to deliver on their promises. For example, Google Glass was a cool concept with a lot of promise but didn’t gain widespread adoption due to a lack of compelling use cases and consumer interest.

Companies that prioritize tech innovation as a core business function are more likely to anticipate and evaluate emerging technologies before implementing them. They’re also more likely to incorporate a wide range of technology tools into their operations and strategy. And they’re nine times more likely to leverage technology to break down organizational silos and enable cross-functional collaboration. As a result, these companies are more agile and able to make more data-driven decisions.

Top 5 New Gadgets

new gadget

There’s a reason we live in an age of gadget technology: it makes our lives better in many ways. State-of-the-art devices boost productivity, keep us in touch with friends and family, and entertain. They also give traditional hobbies a digital upgrade — from e-readers that feel like paper to intelligent musical instruments that teach you how to play. New devices can even improve health. Fitness trackers can monitor heart rates and sleep patterns, and help people lose weight and reduce stress.

Whether you want to treat yourself or a friend, there’s something here for everyone. Unlike the bulky, overpriced tech that was once commonplace, these new gadgets are small, sleek and affordable.

If you’re a fitness fanatic, this might be the perfect gift: the Theragun Prime looks like a cross between a weapon and a power tool but is actually a percussive therapy device that beats physiotherapy hands down. Its battery-powered motor delivers a burst of pressure up to 40 times a second, helping to relieve muscle soreness, aches and pains.

This might be the most fun-looking gadget we’ve ever seen, but it is a seriously useful one too. This little circular thing attaches to your bike and can remove the stress of navigation by providing easy, minimal instructions based on data from real-life journeys. Or try this smart meat thermometer, which will tell you the internal and external temperatures of your barbecued meat. It has Bluetooth to pair with your smartphone and is waterproof too, so it’s ideal for the bbq master in your life.

How the Unemployment Rate is Calculated

unemployment rate

The unemployment rate is an important economic indicator that helps us assess the health of the labor market and the economy as a whole. It is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) using a monthly survey that asks people whether they are working or looking for work. The most commonly cited unemployment rate is the U-3 rate, which only counts those who are unemployed and have actively searched for jobs within the past four weeks. This excludes people who have given up looking for a job and those who are incarcerated or have other reasons for not being in the workforce, such as students and retirees.

Besides the obvious loss of income for those who are unemployed, high unemployment causes other problems. For example, when people lose their jobs it affects consumer spending. This can make it harder for businesses to be profitable, which in turn can lead to further layoffs and a cycle of unemployment. Moreover, people who are unemployed often experience negative psychological effects such as stress, low self-esteem and a loss of social support.

There are several ways to measure the unemployment rate, but the one that the BLS uses is the U-3 rate. This includes people who are neither employed nor looking for work but are available for employment, and who have actively looked for a job in the last four weeks. Other unemployment measures include: U-1 – People who have been unemployed for 15 weeks or longer; U-2 – people who lost their jobs or completed temporary work; and U-4 – discouraged workers, which are those who were looking for work but have become disillusioned and believe there are no jobs available.

What is an Economic Forecast?

economic forecast

An economic forecast is the prediction of future economic trends. It is often based on mathematical models and/or a judgment of expert economists. It is commonly used to support policy decisions or financial planning. Forecasts are often compared to actual values to determine their accuracy and validity.

A popular method of economic forecast is the econometric model. It uses mathematical models to predict the future evolution of the economy by modeling past behavior using time series data. The results of the econometric model are then compared with those of a more traditional model in order to assess accuracy and identify systematic errors.

The most important economic variable most commonly forecasted is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the national accounts. Other economic variables often forecasted include inflation and unemployment. A retail company, for example, may use sales forecasts to optimize production capacity and inventory.

One of the biggest issues with economic forecasting is that it is a highly subjective endeavor. Predictions are heavily influenced by what type of economic theory the forecaster buys into. For instance, the same economic model can yield drastically different predictions between an economist who believes that business activity is determined by the supply of money and another who believes that hefty government spending hurts economic growth.

Global economic prospects have been weighed down by rising trade barriers and elevated policy uncertainty. In addition, high debt levels continue to constrain fiscal space and limit the transmission of looser monetary policy. A reversal of new trade barriers and a peaceful resolution to ongoing conflicts would help to lift global economic growth.

Smart Home Devices

smart devices

Streamline and automate your routine with smart home devices that connect to the internet and work together. These include digital voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, as well as smart light bulbs, locks, thermostats and security systems. Some even offer built-in AI to monitor and adjust themselves based on your routine. For the ultimate convenience, you can add a smart hub to your smart home and control many of these devices with just one device.

Most smart devices rely on wireless protocols like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave and Zigbee to communicate with other connected devices and to the outside world. They also rely on sensors to generate data and act on the basis of that data. Some smart devices, such as wearables (like the Apple Watch) and mobile phones, have an internal computer to process the data they receive. Others, such as smart cameras and security systems, rely on the cloud for processing and storage of data.

Most smart devices harvest data about your habits, such as when you turn on the lights, open the fridge or enter your home. This data can help companies refine their products, fix bugs and develop new ones. It can also be used to market other products to you or people like you. To keep your information secure, you should read privacy statements, service agreements and terms of use carefully before buying a smart device. And you should check whether a smart device has been tested for security vulnerabilities by third parties, such as the NCSC.