Author: wildgreenquest@gmail.com

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Motion isn’t progress. Networking can feel productive, but no introduction will make up for a weak product, poor service or a lack of customer trust. Build first, and the right relationships follow. Doing great work, collaborating well and following through on specific outreach earn the trust that turns contacts into lasting relationships. Most entrepreneurs spend a lot of time thinking about networking, and it makes sense. Industry events, conferences, panels, coffee meetings and dinners can lead to customers, partners, hires and investors that would never come through a cold channel.…

An unlikely hero has emerged in the grocery store, and it’s not even a hero sandwich. Frozen dinner sales are flat this year, but handheld frozen sammies are the one bright spot, growing to $4.6 billion, Food Business News reports. Leading the charge is the humble PB&J, thanks to Smucker’s Uncrustables, which became a $1 billion brand in 2026. Now everyone wants a bite of the prepackaged PB&J sandwich market. Grape giant Welch’s jumped in this summer with Real PB&Js, which it says are 50% bigger than the leading brand’s sandwich. Consumers “wanted a bigger sandwich for bigger appetites,” says…

Though this move is challenging, you’re literally balancing on one side of your body, it can provide a boost to your glutes, core, and hamstrings, which can help you power through your next trek. (Photo: BongkarnThanyakij/Getty; Design: Ayana Underwood)Published October 1, 2026 11:59AMReporting Note: Jenny McCoy, a NASM-certified personal trainer, explains why the B.O.D.Y. Challenge targets the muscles that can make you a stronger outdoor athlete. In exercise, sometimes the most challenging moves involve no movement at all. That’s the idea behind the B.O.D.Y. balance challenge (which does not appear to be an acronym), a buzzy social media core-strengthening exercise…

DoorDash wants you to ditch the app and start texting your orders. At its Dash Forward 2026 event, the company unveiled an AI agent that takes orders by text message. Ask for your usual lunch and it finds local spots, builds a cart and checks out right in the thread. The bot gets smarter the more you use it. It remembers repeat orders, hunts for deals and can join a group text to round up everyone’s picks. Send a photo of your fridge and it will flag the ingredients you’re missing for a recipe, then deliver them. DoorDash text ordering…

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Entrepreneurs spend an extraordinary amount of time thinking about growth. Customer acquisition costs. Conversion rates. Lifetime value. Retention curves. Marketing attribution. They’re all important metrics, and they deserve attention. But every now and then, something happens that reminds you that the most powerful driver of growth doesn’t appear on a dashboard. It’s a human decision. I am something of a creature of habit. When I find a brand I love, I tend to go all in. Once a company earns my trust, I tend to stop shopping around. It saves time, reduces…

Our top pick for best carbon-plated marathon shoe is getting an upgrade—which means now’s the time to stock up on the current iteration. (Photo: 101 Degrees West)Published October 1, 2026 09:29AMFor a marathoner, finding the best marathon shoe for you is like Goldilocks finding her “just right” bed: some are too bouncy, some are too firm, and some make you feel like you can fly (okay, that speaks to shoes more than beds). Once you find your perfect mix of propulsion and stability, the real fear sets in—watching it slowly disappear from your run shop’s shelves, never to return. The…

Deep inside McDonald’s Chicago headquarters is a nondescript room that holds 71 years of fast-food history. The McDonald’s archive is a veritable McMuseum packed with giant stuffed Big Macs, a four-eyed Grimace, shelves of Happy Meal toys and even a 2020 Travis Scott Chicken McNugget body pillow, Restaurant Business reports. Senior archive manager Mike Bullington has overseen the collection for 21 years. He says the most valuable item is a 10-year anniversary ring Ray Kroc once wore. There are also Kroc’s Multimixer milkshake machines that he sold when he met the McDonald brothers in 1954. The archive is closed to…

Researchers have identified a sweet spot between fear and fun that explains our obsession with creepy night hikes and haunted campfires. We compiled a month of terrifying tales in our It’s Dark Outside series to celebrate that exact feeling. (Photo: CharlieChesvick / Getty)Published October 1, 2026 03:01AMWhen I was a teenager, my friends and I piled into my 1989 Toyota Camry to visit what some call the most haunted place in Minnesota. As the sun set, we drove to Gray Cloud Island Township, about 20 minutes south of Saint Paul and a 15-minute trip from my childhood home, blasting, I’m…

Hike, bike, paddle, and more in McDowell County, North Carolina (Photo: Destination McDowell)Published October 1, 2026 06:06AMNorth Carolina mountain towns enjoy a special place in outdoor culture: They welcome you with Appalachian hospitality and fill your cup with adventure. That’s exactly what you’ll find when you visit McDowell County. Tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Marion and Old Fort are a dream for active travelers, offering easy access to hiking, backpacking, biking, paddling, and more. What makes a getaway here so satisfying is a product of partnership: Residents, local leaders, and community organizations have joined together…

Ready for jacket season? You will be with this versatile combo of puffy and rain shell.The Camel Volcanic Shell Pro. (Photo: Camel)Published October 1, 2026 06:03AMHere comes winter, which means it’s time to make sure you have a kit to match. Like all fans of the fourth season, you’re tuning your equipment, getting your boots fitted, and figuring out your layering system for the weather ahead. New from CAMEL, a U.S.-based brand rooted in Italian craftsmanship with more than 60 years of history behind it, the Volcanic Shell Pro 3-in-1 was made to provide versatile, reliable protection in the cold…