Small Business Labs

JUNE 12, 2018

The article stresses how much lower the cost of doing business - and living - is in the Midwest. But as the article chart below points out, the Midwest is also an economic powerhouse that has traditionally been undervalued by the tech industry. While we very much liked The Hustle's article, we have one quibble.

2010 134

2010 Stress AT&T UPS 134

Small Business Labs

APRIL 24, 2017

  The Quartz article An Uber model for manufacturing is ready to upend the industry  covers the distributed manufacturing company MakeTime. More broadly, this is another example of shift to variable costs.   Despite its importance, the shift to variable cost business models get little attention.  

Collaborate 150

Collaborate Equipment 2016 Purchasing 150

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 2, 2019

  Taking their place in attracting talent are lower-cost cities and towns, mostly in the sunbelt.  the study also found continued growth of remote workers - again, especially in lower-cost areas of the country.  In addition to finding talent is spreading out across the U.S., This is about 4.7% of the workforce.  

Restaurants 143

Restaurants Collaborate Skills Management 143

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 16, 2019

Quartz’s members-only article (meaning you have to be a paying subscriber to see it) The stars, teams, and investors turning esports into big business nicely covers the rise of esports. BTW, we find the Quartz premium membership service to be well worth its cost. Alex Trabek of Jeopardy fame even hosted one of the episodes. 

2019 130

2019 Training 130

Small Business Labs

APRIL 23, 2018

It's one of the world's most expensive real estate markets and has some of the highest labor costs in the U.S.  Key quote from our article back then on this topic : Related to this, I've been in several corporate meetings lately where the topic was discussing moving offshore manufacturing back to the US. 

2007 172

2007 Expenses 172

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

How do we reduce costs while ensuring that care is accurate and delivered expeditiously?    We've quoted more liberally from the article than we usually do because it's an Extra Crunch article and behind a paywall.  How do we make care better, more personalized, and more open?    4.

Health 160

Health AT&T Management UPS 160

Small Business Labs

JUNE 4, 2019

The article starts by pointing out the long decline in the membership of traditional clubs. " The broader point of the article is that the new wave of clubs need to charge high prices because they are ventured backed, have lots of amenities and high costs. Fast Company's Social clubs died out in America.

2012 237

2012 Equipment Collaborate Learning 237

Small Business Labs

JULY 26, 2018

Bloomberg's Inside Google's Shadow Workforce covers the use by Google of what they call TVCs, or “temps, vendors and contractors" According to the article about half of Google's workforce is comprised of TVCs.    We've recently covered a number of studies confirming this.

Google 155

Google Temping 2017 Social Media 155

Small Business Labs

APRIL 11, 2019

But as the TechCrunch article Y Combinator Bets on the Booming Podcast Industry points out, revenues are expected to rapidly increase.  This is due in part to podcasting's low production and distribution costs. Successful business models are emerging.

2019 183

2019 2018 AT&T 183

Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 9, 2017

  The show is based on a Quartz article that also isn't positive. " The show and Quartz article focus on the downsides of multi-level marketing programs. " The show and Quartz article focus on the downsides of multi-level marketing programs. And there are many downsides. and these factors aren't going away. 

Skills 150

Skills Health Management 150

Small Business Labs

MARCH 8, 2018

This means rideshare drivers have different cost structures. So using a set of average costs - as the MIT study and our study did - also leads to imprecise results. Combining these two factors means any findings using surveys to get revenue and averages for the cost data are going to have large margins of error.

Expenses 155

Expenses Policies AT&T Confidence 155

Small Business Labs

AUGUST 16, 2018

        Rural America rising: why professionals are moving to the countryside , an article on the study, provides a good explanation of why people are moving to small towns: Surveying Minnesota realtors and the new arrivals themselves.   The chart below shows the key findings from the study.

Networking 172

Networking 172

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

  As the article points out, this is already happening. Also echoing this comes from the LA Times article Opinion: California is making the writing life even harder. Key quote: "Facing ever narrower margins, media companies prefer to avoid the time and cost of parsing the law and any risk of running afoul of it.

Policies 190

Policies Health 190

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

   Axios also covers this topic in their article Remote Work Won't Kill Your Office.    Suburbs will also likely see an increase in new residents, due to people leaving the cities in search of lower costs and more space. .  They think it improves cultural, social cohesion, teamwork and innovation.  

AT&T 213

AT&T Environment UPS 213

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

Key quote from the Backchannel article  AFRICA’S DELIVERY DRONES ARE ZIPPING PAST THE US : Zipline’s rugged, fixed-wing drones have already made over 1,400 flights and delivered 2,600 units of blood, even during bad weather conditions involving heavy rain or wind in Rwanda.  Like pizza delivery. 

Medical 145

Medical 2018 2016 Expenses 145

Small Business Labs

JULY 6, 2015

The article suggests these workers will increasingly be contractors provided via online talent marketplaces instead of traditional employees.    The article argues that the hyperspecialization has several key advantages - speed, quality and cost. " We agree. The talent also quickly deploys and gets the work done. For

100

100

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 13, 2020

  According to MarketWatch's article on Quibi : "Lighthouses,” the service’s premium videos, will cost about $100,000-per-minute to produce, on par with some of the most expensive shows on TV. .  These bite-sized pieces of content will have Hollywood quality production values, meaning they're expensive to make. 

Expenses 130

Expenses Forms Phones UPS 130

Small Business Labs

MAY 20, 2019

The Axios article The American Baby Bust covers the latest fertility data from the U.S. " As the article chart below shows (click to enlarge), in 2018 there were 59 births per 1,000 women ages 15-34.  Centers for Disease Control. Key quote: "The U.S. This leads to fewer adults wanting them.

2018 114

2018 2014 114

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 7, 2017

  Modern Farmer's article on the study  nicely covers the demographics of young farmers:  The demographic picture of the survey is interesting: 60 percent are women, 69 percent have degrees beyond high school, 75 percent didn’t grow up in a farm family, and 75 percent describe their farms as “sustainable.” (63

Networking 178

Networking UPS 178

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

  And the primary reason Nimbus hires gig workers is not to cut costs. In addition to hiring gig workers, Nimbus uses contract lab space, partnerships, cloud based technology and outsourcing to keep their fixed costs down and business flexibility up.  The WSJ article focused on companies doing this to cut costs. 

Collaborate 100

Collaborate Skills AT&T UPS 100

Small Business Labs

MAY 20, 2014

The picture above, for example, is from the article Will Baxter and Other Robots Take Your job.   The article argues that through the use of robotics and automation the cost of making things in developed countries like the U.S.   But there's also a positive side to botsourcing. The has gotten cheaper.

Learning 100

Learning 100

Small Business Labs

JULY 18, 2016

The first is cost. As the Wall Street Journal article Revival of Universal Basic Income Proposal Ignores Needs of Labor Force points out, giving all adult Americans $10,000 a year would cost about $2.4 kids to the program would, of course, raise theses costs substantially.  Adding roughly 100 million U.S.

Budget 100

Budget Policies 100

Small Business Labs

MARCH 6, 2018

There have been a number of recent articles pointing out that despite having to compete with several giant beer companies, the craft brewing industry has dramatically expanded over the past decade.   Technology is lowering the costs of serving niche markets and making artisans able to compete with even the largest of firms.  

2008 174

2008 Equipment Goals Skills 174

Small Business Labs

MAY 31, 2018

Second, Americans bear the risks of paying those unaffordable costs to an extreme degree, bearing the risks that institutions should, and so those risks are now ruinously high. As the article chart below shows (click to enlarge), the 9.9% The article is not positive about this group (which the author says he's part of).

2016 145

2016 Expenses 2014 2017 145

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Key quote from the article, which is written by a MIT engineering professor: I nonetheless believe that the slowdown is due, in part, to an acceleration of “near-shoring,” the practice of producing closer to the customer. The article lists 4 main drivers of the shift to near-shoring: Lower US energy prices.

2007 100

2007 Skills 100

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

Up until very recently 3D printers were only cost effective for small batches of 500 pieces or less.  Key quote from their article How to Position Your Company in the 3D Value Chain : In 2015, the entire 3D-printing market—which includes products made from plastics, ceramics, and metals—totaled $5 billion.

2015 184

2015 2020 AT&T Networking 184

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 4, 2014

The New York Times article Shops on Wheels, but the Goods aren't Sold From the Trunk covers the growing trend towards trucks being used as mobile retail/service outlets. Having the truck involved a lower total start-up cost and felt a lot less risky.”. Goldenberg said.

Clothes 100

Clothes 2012 AT&T UPS 100

Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 30, 2014

According to several recent articles the financial problems of millennials is leading to changing behaviors and purchase patterns as well as broader societal shifts.   For example, the New York Times article No Picket Fence: Younger Adults Opting to Rent focuses on the shift away from home ownership and towards renting by young adults.

2008 100

2008 2014 Retirement Health 100

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 2, 2015

But as the Harvard Business Review article  The Sharing Economy Isn't About Sharing At All points out: the sharing economy isn't really a “sharing” economy at all; it’s an access economy. " Because of this, the authors of this article think this sector should be called the access economy.

Suppliers 100

Suppliers 2012 AT&T UPS 100

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

.  This is one of many interesting stats about the growing number of rich Americans in the Baron's article Penta Millionaires: The New Rising Class. Superyachts are those that cost $10 million or more and we didn't even know they were in a sales slump.  families with $5 million or more in investable assets.

2003 100

2003 2015 2010 AT&T 100

Small Business Labs

MAY 3, 2018

  This data comes the interesting HBR article  More and More Jobs Today Require a License. The drawback is it puts restrictions on who can work in a licensed field and it also results in higher costs for consumers.  In the 1950's about 5% of full time U.S. workers had a professional, occupation license.

Legal 175

Legal Health Skills Travel 175

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 3, 2016

Key quote from Wired's article on Uber's plans : Within five years, according to the white paper, Uber expects the market to produce a fully electric, vertical-takeoff-and-landing plane that can fly 100 miles at about 150 mph, carrying multiple passengers and a pilot. The bigger issues are costs, safety, noise and regulations. 

Travel 100

Travel Forms Environment AT&T 100

Small Business Labs

JULY 6, 2010

Manufacturing The New York Times article Is Manufacturing Coming Back to the U.S.?  discusses the increasing and hidden costs of manufacturing in China, resulting in manufacturing in the U.S. becoming more cost effective.   The increasing and hidden costs of off-shore manufacturing. several years ago. 

2010 100

2010 Retirement 2020 Policies 100

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

 Openview's article David vs. Goliath: Your Startup's Guide to Giant-Killing does just that by describing 6 advantages small businesses have relative to bigger competitors. You can run on next to zero sales and marketing costs. The article explains how to use these advantages in more detail. You can turn on a dime.

100

100

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 2, 2017

  The article profiles Green Summit, a New York city based ghost with 8 online brands and two kitchens.   In addition to cost, online restaurants also have an agility advantage. They keep their fixed costs down, reducing their risk and capital requirements by not having storefronts and partnering with delivery firms. 

Restaurants 100

Restaurants Health UPS 100

Small Business Labs

AUGUST 4, 2015

And several recent articles have extensive data illustrating this.    The New York Time's article We're Making it Too Hard for Millennials points out: "The most educated generation in history is on track to becoming less prosperous, at least financially, than its predecessors."

UPS 100

UPS 100

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 15, 2015

The article is based on studies by the authors and taken from their soon to be released book Agile Talent  (I've already pre-orderd my copy). The article answer this question nicely with a succinct list of the 5 key reasons: The Top 5 Complaints of Executives Regarding External Talent 1.

International 100

International Skills Management 100