There are tools that can strengthen your business. And there is important information that can put you one step ahead of the competition. Each week, the Small Business Trends editorial team works to bring you stories that will help your business not only survive but flourish.
If you didn’t get a chance to check in daily this week, we’ve rounded up the top posts that will make a difference for your business’s survival. Take a look.
New Tech and the Latest Upgrades
Amazon Kindle Fires singe the market. They look like hot new entries into the tablet market. The increased functionality may prove attractive to small business owners and entrepreneurs on the go. What do you think?
Turn in your iPhone for a Windows device. The non-Android using world can probably be divided into those who find this offer attractive and those who don’t. In any case, if you’ve gotten tired of your iPad or iPhone and want a change, take a look.
New 10-inch tablet coming from Samsung. Move over iPad. Stand aside Surface. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is almost here. It’s like the Samsung tablet/phone hybrid Galaxy Note 3…but bigger. And it’s coming Oct. 10.
Web Tools to Watch
Wix heads for IPO. The DIY web builder claims it has more than 38 million users. The company says 679,536 of those subscribe to premium accounts, some aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses. Those aren’t Facebook numbers, but time will tell.
Pinterest looks at sponsored pins. As it has come to so many other social sites, the discussion of monetization is now a topic on Pinterest. But the social site that lets you collect and pin pictures of your favorite things vows to do it right.
Measuring AdWords conversion offline. If you had said you wanted to do this a year ago, many people would have probably looked at you funny. Today, the search engine is touting it as a new feature.
Other Top Trends
Payroll cards offer an alternative. Just make sure you follow the rules when asking your employees to take their paychecks on plastic. Is there another alternative? Can they get to their money without fees?
Are your Yelp reviews for real? Turns out, the reviews for lots of other businesses might not be. There are many people disappointed over all the fakery out there. But a more important question would be how valuable even genuine online reviews are after all this?
Grants
$3 million in grants are up for grabs. Small business lender Chase will award that money to 12 winners in its annual Mission Main Street Grants Program (#MissionMainSt) competition. Visit the link above and learn more about what it takes to enter.
Acquisitions
GoDaddy goes right on buying. This time the web hosting giant says it’s bought online invoicing application Ronin. It seems like a logical choice on GoDaddy’s path to become more attractive to small business users.
Security
Dun & Bradstreet and others hacked for private data. Three major “data brokers†have been hacked by a group seeking personal information. They then sold access to that data on another website. If your business also has customer information on your website or database, you could be at risk.
Policy
SEC rule change doesn’t enable true crowdfunding. So if this is what you were expecting after last year’s Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, prepare to be disappointed. Of course, the new rule change may make it easier to find private investors. We’ll have to see how it works out.
Reading Photo via Shutterstock
