Small Biz Spotlight

AI is changing how small businesses operate, and some major updates could make running your business easier and more affordable! In this episode of Small Business Spotlight, we're covering Google's new Gemini 4 Argon, NetSuite's FREE AI-powered financial platform for startups, UPS's holiday shipping improvements, Slack's shareable AI skills, and Microsoft's latest advancements in manufacturing aut...

What if startup founders could spend less time on bookkeeping and more time building their businesses? Oracle NetSuite is introducing NetSuite QuickStart, a free, AI-powered financial management solution for early-stage technology startups. In this Small Business Trends interview, I speak with Josh Goodwin, Group Vice President for NetSuite QuickStart at Oracle NetSuite, about how the platform wor...

How can artificial intelligence help farmers conserve water and protect their crops during droughts? In this interview, Leland McFarland of Small Business Trends sits down with Edgar Bello Gonzalez and Eduardo Bello Gonzalez , twin brothers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and winners of Zoho's first-ever "From the Ground Up" AI Hackathon . Their winning project, Dos Ojos , combines...

Big changes are creating new opportunities—and challenges—for America's small businesses. In this episode of Small Business Spotlight, we explore major SBA announcements, the growing influence of AI on shopping and employment, changing consumer spending habits, and the latest small business deals and Reddit discussions. SBA Expands Small Business Contracting Opportunities The Small Business Admini...

This episode of Small Business Spotlight covers the latest news, trends, and conversations shaping the small business world. We start with the IRS launching a new mobile app that gives taxpayers easier access to refunds, payments, balances, tax records, and account settings from their phones. Then we look at how artificial intelligence is reshaping the role of the CFO, with new IBM research showin...

Amazon is pushing deeper into AI-powered selling tools, and this episode of Small Business Spotlight breaks down what the latest changes could mean for entrepreneurs and small businesses selling on the platform. One of the biggest updates is persistent memory for Amazon Seller Assistant. The AI can now remember details such as pricing patterns, inventory cycles, business goals, and previous conver...

AI shopping, changing consumer habits, government contracting, and real-time business data are all reshaping how small businesses compete—and this episode of Small Business Spotlight breaks down what owners need to know. We start with Meta and Stripe’s new integration that brings Stripe Link into Meta’s AI shopping assistant, Muse. With hundreds of millions of consumers already using Link, the tec...

This week on Small Biz Spotlight, we’re breaking down a wave of new technology, funding opportunities, and business challenges that could shape how small companies operate in the months ahead. Google is rolling out Gemini 3.5 Transcribe, a new speech-to-text model built for more accurate, real-time transcription across meetings, customer calls, voice apps, and more. We also look at Intel’s latest...

In this episode, we take a closer look at several major developments that could impact small business owners, entrepreneurs, and their employees in the months and years ahead. We start with the eBay Foundation’s new Global Give program, which is awarding nearly $3 million to more than 30 nonprofit organizations across 10 countries. The grants are focused on expanding access to entrepreneurship, me...

This week on the Small Biz Spotlight Podcast , we’re covering a packed lineup of news, funding opportunities, business trends, deals, and real-world challenges that matter to small business owners. We start with major developments from the U.S. Small Business Administration, including a new $50 million grant initiative designed to expand training and skills development for small manufacturers. Tec...

Women entrepreneurs, workplace regulations, pandemic loan fraud, hiring challenges, and rising consumer costs take center stage in this episode of Small Business Crossroads . We begin with the SBA’s new $6 million grant competition designed to modernize the Women’s Business Center program and expand support for women-owned businesses in underserved and fast-growing regions. We also examine a propo...

YouTube Description In this episode, we break down the latest small business news, tech updates, funding opportunities, and real-world challenges business owners are facing right now. We look at Lyft’s clarification of its surge pricing model and what fluctuating ride costs could mean for small business travel budgets. We also cover a new IBM study showing that 91% of executives lack clarity on th...

In this interview, Leland McFarland of Small Business Trends speaks with Ross Buhrdorf, CEO and co-founder of ZenBusiness, about ZenBusiness Velo®, an agentic AI advisor designed to help entrepreneurs start, run, and grow a business. Buhrdorf explains how Velo goes beyond a traditional chatbot by using ZenBusiness’ experience from more than one million business formations and millions of customer...

Small business owners are facing a mixed economic picture: optimism is slipping, job openings have hit a six-year low, and inflation continues to pressure cash flow. But there are also major opportunities on the horizon, from IBM’s $10 billion quantum computing push to rural entrepreneurs using eCommerce to reach global customers. In this episode, we break down the latest small business headlines...

Small business owners are facing a mixed economic picture: optimism is slipping, job openings have hit a six-year low, and inflation continues to pressure cash flow. But there are also major opportunities on the horizon, from IBM’s $10 billion quantum computing push to rural entrepreneurs using eCommerce to reach global customers. In this episode, we break down the latest small business headlines...

Leland McFarland of Small Business Trends sits down with Hari Hara Prabu, Head of Product for Zoho POS , to discuss the launch of Zoho POS and what it means for independent and growing retailers. In this interview, Hari explains how Zoho built Zoho POS to help small retailers move away from disconnected systems and manage sales, inventory, purchasing, customer data, reporting, and payments from on...

This week on Small Biz Spotlight , we look at the biggest issues facing small business owners, from housing affordability and AI spending to digital advertising changes and rising fraud threats. We break down a congressional hearing on how small home builders could help address America’s housing crisis, including the role of modular housing, 3-D printing, and local regulatory reform. We also discu...

In this episode of Small Biz Breakdown , we look at the latest headlines shaping small business growth, technology, marketing, and risk management. The SBA is doubling the combined 7(a) and 504 loan limit to $10 million, giving eligible small businesses more room to finance expansion, equipment, hiring, and production. We also cover YouTube’s new Demand Gen tools designed to help businesses create...

In this episode, we cover the latest small business news, trends, deals, and real-world business questions. The SBA has launched a $1 million Patriot Pitch Competition to showcase innovative small businesses, while PayPal and Anthropic are rolling out free AI training to help entrepreneurs close the AI skills gap. We also discuss how LEO satellite broadband could drive massive global growth and cr...

Small businesses are facing a fast-changing mix of challenges and opportunities — from password security risks and AI adoption gaps to new HR tools, workforce changes, manufacturing grants, and productivity upgrades. In this episode of Small Biz Spotlight , we break down a new Zoho-commissioned survey warning that many companies understand the danger of weak passwords and stolen credentials but st...

Cybersecurity risks are growing for small businesses, and weak password habits remain one of the biggest vulnerabilities. In this interview, Leland McFarland of Small Business Trends speaks with Mouli Dorai, Chief Evangelist of Cyber Solutions at Zoho, about Zoho’s recent World Password Day survey and what the findings mean for business owners. The conversation covers why many organizations feel c...

AI is changing how small businesses work, market, and manage risk—and this episode breaks down what that means in practical terms. In this episode, we cover Oracle and Google Cloud’s new AI database agent and how it could help small business owners get faster insights from their data without needing advanced technical skills. We also look at a major PPP fraud case involving a lobbying firm fined m...

In this episode, we break down some of the biggest trends shaping the small business landscape right now. From falling small business optimism and rising costs to a surge in entrepreneurship as traditional jobs decline, there is a lot changing at once. We also look at what small business owners can learn from a new Workday study on outdated financial systems, why Gen Z is rethinking career paths a...

In this episode, we break down some of the biggest stories shaping the small business landscape right now. Intuit has gained FedNow certification, opening the door to faster payments and improved cash flow for businesses using QuickBooks and other Intuit tools. We also look at Visa’s new AI-driven commerce solution and what it could mean for the future of payments, retail, and customer transaction...

In this episode, Leland McFarland of Small Business Trends sits down with Bharath Kumar, Head of Marketing and Customer Experience for Zoho Bookings, to unpack new U.S. data on appointment scheduling trends among small and medium-sized businesses. The conversation explores why so many SMBs still rely on email and phone calls to schedule meetings, even though the process often creates delays, misse...