Small Business United Blog

Are the Clouds Beginning to Part?

by Nora Denzel

Our latest Intuit Payroll survey findings are out, and the results give me hope. While unemployment figures have reached a 26-year high, 44 percent of the 1,000 Intuit Payroll customers we surveyed said they plan to hire new employees within the next 12 months.

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Today’s Young Entrepreneur

by Rachel Euretig

It must be the month of the Young Entrepreneur. A couple weeks ago, BusinessWeek announced its fifth annual list of the country’s top 25 entrepreneurs 25 and under. And the October issue of Inc. Magazine features America’s 30 “coolest entrepreneurs” under 30.

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Reverse Innovation - Lessons From Emerging Markets

by Steve King

One Laptop Per Child’s (OLPC) mission is to produce low cost laptops designed for children to use for educational purposes in the developing world.  Their first product, the XO, was released in 2007.
Because the XO was designed for the developing world, the price had to be very low.  To keep costs down, OLPC built a ...

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Fighting Greenwashing

by Anne Field

Seems every time you turn around, another company is trying to increase sales by pretending to sell an environmentally responsible product. Trouble is, consumers are so sick of this greenwashing. They often regard all claims skeptically, even those made by legit businesses.

That means even the greenest companies can’t rest on their laurels, assuming consumers will believe their marketing message. Sure, it’s unfair and highly inconvenient, but they have to bend over backwards to prove their bona fides…

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Getting Paid in a Tough Economy

by Will Hambly

Looking back at a survey our team conducted last year, I came across a staggering statistic: small businesses have an average of $1,500 in overdue payments from their clients. The fact that so much money is left on the table and perhaps goes completely uncollected is huge burden on cash-strapped businesses. Over the last month or so I’ve talked with dozens of freelancers and micro-business owners who need to get paid faster, which I’ve learned can be an even more difficult task in a tough economy.

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Open Innovation: Breaking down barriers

by Jan Bosch

Innovation is the lifeblood of any company – those that fail to innovate wither over time. Traditionally, innovation processes tend to be internally and technology focused, best illustrated by the large R&D labs of several large product companies, e.g. Xerox PARC, AT&T Bell Labs and Philips Research.
During the last decade, however, two developments ...

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Energy Efficiency Opportunities for Small Business

by Steve King

One of the key Future of Small Business trends we are currently focused on is the new energy economy and its impact on small businesses. 
There are two powerful drivers of the new energy economy: 

High energy prices and the belief energy costs will continue to rise
A growing scientific, political and consumer consensus ...

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Self-Employed Passionate About Their Work

by Steve King

A recent survey by The Center for the Edge, a reasearch group at the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, shows that the self-employed are much more likely to be passionate about their jobs than people who work for a firm. 
People are passionate about their work when they discover a job they truly enjoy.  With ...

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Using Business Model Innovation to Sell Solar Energy

by Steve King

Solar energy is great.  Sunlight is free, plentiful and clean.  The problem is the cost of solar panels.  It costs between $25,000 and $35,000 to install a solar photovoltaic system on the average house.  This upfront cost is simply too high for most homeowners.
 
To solve this problem several companies have started “solar as ...

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A Coming Wave of Small-scale Manufacturing Innovation

by Steve King

Desktop manufacturing systems use 3D ink-jet printer technology to “print” an object by spraying layer upon layer of fine beads of plastic or resin.  These beads build up to create a freestanding product. 
 
Desktop 3D printers, which are about the size of a desktop laser printer, have been around for a long time and are ...

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