On the latest edition of Small Biz Breakdown, our expert panel discusses the latest economic conditions and how they might be impact small business owners and entrepreneurs.
How are the current stock market conditions, tariffs from the Trump administration, and other factors affecting small business owners right now? The panel on Small Biz Breakdown weighs in on this topic and many more this week.
To see what they have to say, check out the always lively discussion on the latest episode below …
Small Business News Roundup
Here are the latest headlines important for small business owners:
Xero and Sumday Partner to Offer Free Carbon Accounting Tools to Small Businesses
Xero has announced an expanded partnership with carbon accounting software provider Sumday, offering Xero customers 12 months of free access to Sumday’s tools to help track and manage their carbon footprint.
Nimble Launches Email Marketing and Template Editor to Support Scalable Campaigns
Nimble, a CRM platform tailored to small businesses and marketing professionals, has introduced its new Email Marketing feature, enabling users to conduct large-scale, HTML-powered, and trackable email campaigns directly from within the platform. The feature, announced on April 3, 2025, is designed to support outreach efforts such as newsletters, webinars, and promotional messages.
Remote Work Gains Ground Despite Return-to-Office Push, Study Finds
A new study by Flatworld Solutions shows that remote work in the United States continues to gain momentum in 2025, even as some major companies reinstate return-to-office (RTO) mandates.
ADP: Private Sector Adds 155,000 Jobs in March; Annual Pay Up 4.6%
Private sector employment in the United States grew by 155,000 jobs in March, while annual pay increased 4.6% year-over-year, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report produced in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The report offers a high-frequency, independent view of the labor market using anonymized payroll data from more than 25 million U.S.
Instacart Launches Will Call Delivery to Solve Supply Chain Disruptions for Foodservice Industry
Instacart has announced the launch of Will Call Delivery, a new solution designed to address urgent same-day supply needs for foodservice distributors and their business customers. The offering aims to mitigate common challenges such as delayed truck dispatches, warehouse fulfillment issues, and the growing expectation for rapid delivery in the hospitality and food retail sectors.
Fiverr Launches Freelancer Equity Program for Top U.S. Talent
Fiverr has introduced a new Freelancer Equity Program aimed at providing top-performing U.S.-based freelancers on its platform with a financial stake in the company. The initiative offers eligible freelancers up to $10,000 in Fiverr shares, with equity grants distributed over four years based on annual eligibility requirements.
CLEAR Moves Payments and Billing to Stripe to Enhance Customer Experience
Stripe announced a new partnership with CLEAR, the identity verification platform trusted by over 30 million customers, to power its billing and payment infrastructure. As of March 24, 2025, CLEAR has officially migrated its online and in-person payments to Stripe, adopting the platform’s suite of tools including Stripe Billing, Stripe Terminal, and Stripe Radar.
How to Move Past Shame When Your Small Business Fails
A lot of small business owners feel shame when their company fails because they link who they are so much with their business. This is compounded when they lose money from people they know. What do we do with this shame? On The Small Business Radio show this week, I interviewed Dr.
Long Beach Launches Visual Improvement Program Grant for Businesses Affected by Vandalism
The City of Long Beach is now accepting applications for its Visual Improvement Program (VIP) Grant, a financial assistance initiative offering up to $1,500 to small businesses and nonprofits impacted by crime or vandalism occurring on or after October 1, 2022. The grant aims to help cover the cost of storefront repairs, boarding, insurance deductibles, and operating expenses.
Cash App Begins Rollout of Afterpay’s Pay Over Time Services to Millions of Users
Cash App has announced it is beginning the rollout of Afterpay’s pay over time offerings to eligible customers across the U.S., bringing the popular Pay-in-4 product to hundreds of thousands of merchant partners starting this week. The integration marks a major step in unifying the two leading fintech brands under a new identity: Cash App Afterpay.
OpenAI Unveils Image Generation Capabilities in GPT-4o
OpenAI has launched its most advanced image generation technology to date, integrating the capability directly into GPT-4o, its natively multimodal model. The new feature is now rolling out to Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users in ChatGPT, with Enterprise and Edu access coming soon. Developers will also gain access via the API in the coming weeks.
Meta Rolls Out New Threads Features for Personalized User Experience
Meta has announced a suite of new features for its Threads app aimed at enhancing personalization and user control. The updates, launched March 20, 2025, include expanded topic tagging, follower-only interaction settings, a customizable feed experience, and improvements to video playback.
Small Biz Breakdown: Are Small Businesses Suffering from AI Burnout?
On this week’s Small Biz Breakdown, our expert panels debates artificial intelligence and its place in business. They talk about whether AI is the answer for any number of business processes or whether people are getting burned out by all the AI talk they hear day after day, especially lately.
Gas Prices Rise as Spring Travel Begins
As Spring Break kicks off across the U.S., drivers are seeing a modest but expected rise in gas prices, according to AAA. The national average for a gallon of gas has climbed three cents since last Thursday, now sitting at $3.15. Gas prices typically begin their seasonal climb in spring and tend to peak during the summer months.
SBA Reinstates Lender Fees to Restore Financial Integrity of 7(a) Loan Program
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has reinstated lender fees for its 7(a) loan program, reversing a Biden-era policy that the agency said contributed to financial instability and undermined the program’s zero-subsidy requirement.