3 holiday shopping rules I swear by after two decades investing in small businesses

Tech Insider : Business
A woman uses a computer and iphone to shop and looks down at a credit card to pay.
Slow spending, gift cards, and reviews are the keys to helping small businesses stay viable after the holidays.

Nicholas Shkoda/Getty Images

Restaurant chain K&W Cafeteria abruptly closes all its locations after 88-year run

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Style
K&W Cafeteria outpost
K&W Cafeteria shuttered all of its locations this week.

Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa USA/ Reuters

Inside the factory where NYC's food carts get ingredients

Tech Insider : Business, Style

Every morning, New Yorkers stop at chrome breakfast carts for coffee, bagels and doughnuts — a routine that fuels the city's workforce. But behind that ritual is a fragile industry built on large suppliers, early-morning shifts, and a permit system that has prompted street protests.

A couple spent $26,000 turning their garage into a kitchen. The space has boosted their cookie business to new heights.

Tech Insider : Business
Inside Mandy Edmunds' cookie kitchen.
Inside Mandy Edmunds' business kitchen, which was built inside her garage.

Mandy Edmunds

The Inspiration Lab

Tech Insider : Business, Environment, Style
The Inspiration Lab

I'm a CEO pivoting my business abroad because of tariffs. I'm treating the US like hot lava.

Tech Insider : Business, Technology
Matthew Hassett and Abbey Phaneuf
Abbey Phaneuf, marketing director at Loftie, and founder and CEO Matthew Hassett have worked to pivot the company to focus on sales outside the US.

Courtesy Loftie

A husband and wife built a million-dollar business selling cinnamon buns. Here's how their edgy, quirky Instagram posts launched them to a viral sensation.

Tech Insider : Business, Style
Husband and wife feeding each other cinnamon buns.
Nikki and Mike Ashkar at their bakery eating cinnamon buns.

Jacky Zarra/Business Insider

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

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