Author: wildgreenquest@gmail.com
Key Takeaways Bill Lewis, 58, lost his $180,000 retirement savings after investing it in a Nestlé Toll House franchise that he operated for four years. The franchise’s sales growth could not overcome the high costs of operating in a mall location. Lewis now drives for Uber and Lyft in the Poconos and works roughly 75 hours a week. Bill Lewis didn’t expect to be driving Uber and Lyft seven days a week. However, when the 58-year-old former Wall Street broker lost his entire $180,000 retirement fund after investing it in a franchise, he had no choice. He now drives up…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Treat a stray order as market intelligence, not as a fluke to fulfill and move past. Listen when your product is used differently than intended. Diagnose the actual problem before guessing at solutions. Reaching customers and growing sales is the top operational challenge facing small businesses right now, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2026 Report on Employer Firms, based on a survey of more than 6,500 small employer firms across the country. Most owners read that as a marketing problem. I read it as a signal problem.For years, I sold…
Golfing great Shane Lowry has won a Claret Jug, competed in Ryder Cups, and this year drained a hole-in-one at the Masters in front of a roaring crowd. But ask him about his proudest role, and he brings up his father Brendan, a former Gaelic football player, who needed both a hip and knee replacement. Shane took on the role and responsibilities of caregiver, and that experience is at the heart of his new partnership with Stryker, a global medical technology leader. The company’s mission, says Joint Replacement division president Katherine Truppi, is simple: “Together with our customers, we are…
Key Takeaways Yuhas’ pet-sitting business grew quickly thanks to word-of-mouth endorsements. She began hiring people she trusted to help her expand The Funny Sitter. Now, she averages $5,000 a month, with a significant spike during the holiday season. This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Stephanie Yuhas, an award-winning film and television writer and producer and founder of pet-sitting service The Funny Sitter. Income from her pet-sitting side hustle currently averages approximately $5,000 per month but can reach about $15,000 during the holiday season. The piece has been edited for length and clarity. Image Credit: Courtesy of The…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways A website redesign creates an opportunity to align the company around a clearer story. Defining how offerings, audiences and messages fit together gives every team a stronger foundation. Recurring discussions can reveal where greater clarity will have the most impact. A simple decision register helps teams establish ownership, use the right evidence and move forward confidently. Making key choices before the sitemap improves collaboration and reduces revisions later. The strongest websites translate organizational alignment into a system customers can easily understand. Consider a company that has expanded from one service…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Now that everyone has access to AI, our ability to compete is shifting toward critical thinking, judgment and taste. Tasteology is the discipline of making better marketing decisions through critical thinking, accumulated human experience, cultural intelligence, multidisciplinary knowledge and evidence. Taste is accumulated experience turned into judgment. But in the age of AI, judgment doesn’t operate alone. I think of it through a framework I call HEJA: Human, Emotional Intelligence, Judgment and AI. Before putting anything into the world, ask yourself: Would I invest $10,000 of my own money to…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Layoffs may reduce costs quickly, but companies that simply rehire into the same org chart risk recreating the inefficiencies that created the crisis in the first place. Rebuilding successfully requires real-time workforce data and managers equipped to make better hiring, compensation, promotion and team-design decisions. AI-related layoffs tend to generate headlines, and they’re rarely flattering.Just ask Amazon, which drew fire for eliminating thousands of corporate positions while doubling down on generative AI investments. Or Klarna, which was skewered for firing 700 customer support agents, only to hire them back when…
Key Takeaways On Wednesday, Apple introduced its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, which is priced at $1,999. The company’s new CEO, former head of hardware engineering John Ternus, took over earlier this month and led the event. Apple also announced the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, revamped AirPods and upgraded Apple Watches. Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event on Wednesday was packed with new products, from the foldable iPhone Duo to an Apple Watch equipped with upgraded heart rate sensors. Apple also released the newest generation of iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods. The event, Apple’s biggest launch of…
With incredible mountain views, trail towns serving up local delicacies, and easy logistics, Slovenia’s Kamnik-Savinja Alps Water Trail should have a place on any globetrotting hiker’s life list.Logar Valley (Photo: Mediaspeed, foto: Jan Godec)Published September 9, 2026 12:19PMThe trail passes through the 3,000-foot-high Logar Valley cinematic as a Peter Jackson sequence: Gnarled apple trees and wildflowers line long, narrow fields of bright green grass, and forests of knobby conifers sweep toward a horizon of snow-capped peaks. Historic stone and plaster homes with low-slung shake roofs huddle near the woodline.The path follows the upper Savinja River, which flows clear and aquamarine…
Tamworth Distilling created a new whiskey spray intended to keep bugs away while you sip. Here’s what happened when I tested the science on a recent trip.Listen to this articleListen (Photo: Tamworth Distilling, Canva)Published September 9, 2026 12:57PMI’d heard of patchouli oil to ward off mosquitoes, of various plants that prevent mosquitoes from breeding, and even of a battery-powered insect-repellent device. But I’d never heard of using a cocktail to keep the pests away until a new finishing spray came onto my radar.Skeeter’s Nootkatone Flavored Whiskey, made by New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling, is an atomizer spray with citrus flavors that…