I run coffee shops and bars in Chicago. Tariffs and uncertainty forced me to freeze hiring, cut jobs, and raise prices.

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
Michael Salvatore with a bike
Michael Salvatore, who runs coffee shops and bars, has made some changes and is figuring out how else tariffs will affect business operations.

Melissa Salvatore, Field Creatives

This small business made $1 million in a year with marketing and social media

Tech Insider : Business, Style

Mav's Top Buns generated over $1 million in sales within a year by leveraging social media and smart marketing. The business has sold more than 500,000 cinnamon buns to date.

An entrepreneur who built his 6-figure business around 'unreasonable hospitality' shares the books he makes employees read

Tech Insider : Business
kyle ray
Kyle Ray is the founder of Geek Window Cleaning.

Courtesy of Kyle Ray

My parents didn't approve when I dropped out of high school. But it became the first step toward starting my own company in China.

Tech Insider : Business, Sports
Christopher Zhang at CryoZone, a cryotherapy center in Shanghai, China.
Christopher Zhang had no interest in college, so he dropped out of high school and focused on his career in Shanghai.

Provided by Christopher Zhang

American diners are dying. I visited the diner capital of America to find out if they can survive.

Tech Insider : Business, Style
Abby Narishkin & Jimmy Golemis at summit diner
Business Insider Producer Abby Narishkin chows down on a Taylor Ham Egg and Cheese Roll, a New Jersey classic.

David Degner / Business Insider

The end of the de minimis exemptions is creating a fresh round of frustrations for American small businesses

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Business
Container ship MSC Ronit R docks in Newark after arriving from France
The end of a long-standing duty exemption for low-value items is creating chaos and shipping difficulties for small American businesses.

Eduardo Munoz/REUTERS

'I have a warehouse full of berets': Small businesses suffer from a US mail change

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
Daan Kolthoff, owner of South Pacific Berets with French manufacturer.
Daan Kolthoff, owner of South Pacific Berets, with a French manufacturer.

Daan Kolthoff

I left my corporate career to start a cleaning business 5 years ago. I still don't take a salary, but my family is doing much better off.

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
A man wearing glasses, a gray baseball cap, and a red and blue shirt smiles for a selfie. He is standing on a grassy lawn with a driveway and trailer in the background.
Burgess Heberer started his business 5 years ago and 6 weeks later left his job to pursue it full-time.

Courtesy of Burgess Heberer

Trump's election changed how Americans feel about the economy

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics, Economy
Photo collage featuring Donald Trump standing in front of two arrows, one pointing up and the other pointing down, each with a 100-dollar bill pattern, and stars
 

Getty Images; Rick Scuteri/AP Photo; Alyssa Powell/BI

He quit his corporate job at age 28. Now, he runs his family's business of selling paper gifts for the dead.

Tech Insider : Business, Economy
Alex Teo holds joss sticks and joss paper at his warehouse
Alex Teo is the third-generation owner of Ban Kah Hiang Trading.

Erin Liam

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