Category: Small Business Success Stories

A New Loan Program Helps West Bank Small Business

Posted by: Stacy Perman on November 06

There is a growing faction that views disparity in income and a dearth of economic opportunities in the Middle East as much of a factor that fuels extremism and volatility…

Entrepreneurship = Obsession?

Posted by: Amy S. Choi on November 03

Here at SmallBiz, we spend a lot of time thinking about what drives an entrepreneur. The issue was at the heart of our special report earlier this year on social…

How an Art Gallery Raised Venture Capital

Posted by: John Tozzi on October 26

Earlier this year we wrote about online art gallery 20x200 in our series profiling some of America’s Most Promising Startups. Founder Jen Bekman bootstrapped the site, which sells fine art…

An Update from one of BW’s America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneur Finalists

Posted by: Stacy Perman on October 15

Last spring, when we first wrote about Sam Goldman and Ned Tozun, founders of D.Light Design, they were one of BusinessWeek’s America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneur finalists. Goldman and Tozun,…

A Success Story For the Dogs (and Cats)

Posted by: Stacy Perman on September 02

Four years ago I wrote about Denver-based Camp Bow Wow, a new and rapidly growing doggie day care business. At the time, when pet owners were buying kosher dog food…

Who To Follow On Twitter

Posted by: John Tozzi on August 21

For the last week or so, I’ve been reaching out to our Twitter followers with a question: What one person should every entrepreneur on Twitter be following? The response has…

KIND Bars Land in Starbucks

Posted by: Stacy Perman on July 01

One of BusinessWeek’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneur finalists: Daniel Lubetzky, whose PeaceWorks Foundation helps spur Middle East peace through business ventures between Arabs and Jews, just earned a big business…

Richard Branson Still Thinks Like An Entrepreneur

Posted by: John Tozzi on June 26

Virgin founder and Chairman Richard Branson visited BusinessWeek Wednesday to record an interview with Stacy Perman, based on some questions submitted by readers: Afterward, Branson joined BW staff for an…

The Counter: Restaurant (Re-defining) Success in a Recession

Posted by: Stacy Perman on June 09

When last we heard from Jeff Weinstein, the man behind the hip and popular burger eatery, The Counter, it was 2008. At the time, Weinstein had developed a loyal following…

More of America’s Longest Running Restaurants

Posted by: Stacy Perman on May 20

Last week we ran a story and accompanying slide show looking at some of this country’s longest running eateries – the oldest being New York City’s Fraunces Tavern, which was…

A taste of social entrepreneurship

Posted by: Amy S. Choi on April 06

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend the day at Greyston Bakery to learn about their mission of providing jobs to the community of Yonkers, N.Y. The…

Two of the First Successful Women Entrepreneurs in America

Posted by: Stacy Perman on March 20

According to both Census Bureau data and anecdotal evidence, women are considered one of the fastest growing segments of American entrepreneurs. That said, two of the first, cosmetics moguls: Elizabeth…

Can entrepreneurs revive the Rust Belt?

Posted by: John Tozzi on February 18

Anita Campbell has a good post about how the Youngstown Business Incubator is nurturing a cluster of software start-ups in the Rust Belt city. The incubator was featured in an…

An Entrepreneur For the Ages

Posted by: Stacy Perman on January 27

Proving that you’re never too old to launch a startup, the Los Angeles Times reports on the remarkable story of 70-year-old entrepreneur C. Kumar N. Patel, the inventor of the…

America’s Best Social Entrepreneurs

Posted by: Stacy Perman on January 22

On January 13 we kicked off BusinessWeek’s inaugural search for the most promising social entrepreneurs in the U.S. We are looking for U.S.-based companies that aim to both turn a…

An Indie Bookstore Celebrates its Centennial

Posted by: Stacy Perman on January 14

I recently wrote a piece examining the demise of independent bookstore and Berkeley, California institution Cody’s Books. It is not an underestimate to say that indies have had a tough…

How we attempted to measure startup success

Posted by: John Tozzi on December 29

Michael Arrington at Techcrunch raised an eyebrow today at our list of startups that have received the most venture capital over the last four quarters, saying that search engine Cuil…

Philippe: Celebrating 100 Years in Business

Posted by: Stacy Perman on October 07

In these times of economic uncertainty, rampant bankruptcies and businesses closing all around, it is nice to hear about one business that runs counter to both conventional wisdom and…

A Safe Business That’s Thriving

Posted by: Stacy Perman on October 06

While many small businesses are being squeezed during this economy, one outfit is actually seeing an uptick: Baumann Safe & Alarm Company in St. Louis, Missouri. “We have been fairly…

Speaking in Tongues

Posted by: Stacy Perman on September 10

On September 5th Businessweek.com published my interview with KISS front man Gene Simmons in which he talked at length about his business prowess and well, himself. While we weren’t too…

Success for high school entrepreneurs

Posted by: John Tozzi on September 10

We just published our annual list of America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs. One nominee that didn’t qualify, because the company is a non-profit, has a story that we want to highlight…

Thomas J. Bata (1914-2008) R.I.P

Posted by: Stacy Perman on September 03

According to the Canadian-based company that bears his name: Thomas J. Bata, also known as “shoemaker to the world” has died. The Czech-born Bata, fled Europe in 1939 and emigrated…

Grabbing The Gold

Posted by: Jeremy Quittner on August 26

It turns out entreprneurs were critical to the success of swimmer Michael Phelps, who broke world records and grabbed eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics. According to an August…

Negative Nancy, no more

Posted by: Amy S. Choi on August 21

No need to be a pessimist. The present economy may be rocky, but that doesn’t mean you should stop investing in your future. “The climate for small businesses will always…

Why stay small?

Posted by: John Tozzi on August 20

Matt at 37 Signals profiles legendary Brooklyn pizzeria Di Fara. Here’s an excerpt: [Owner Domenico] DeMarco doesn’t care about experts, franchising, or expansion because he doesn’t have to. That’s what…