American small business
I talk to small businesses every week. Here is what's happening.
Reporting and stories on the small business world, written by someone who spends his weeks with the people running it.
Latest
All articles →What I cover
Two beatsThe shifts that hit small businesses first
Changes in costs, tools, platforms, and the rules of doing business, explained without the hype so you can tell what actually matters for your own shop and what is just noise.
Owners doing something right, in their own words
Honest conversations with people who found something that works and are willing to show how they did it. Fewer highlight reels, more of what really happened along the way.
Why this exists
I hear what is working for small businesses all week. This is where I write it down.
I'm Dave Lertola. I run a marketing agency, which means most of my weeks are spent talking with the people who own small businesses. Contractors, clinics, shops, studios, service crews. You hear the same worries and the same quiet wins over and over, and after a while you start to notice the patterns that an owner buried inside one business cannot always see from where they are standing.
That vantage point is the whole reason this site is here. I wanted one place to put down what genuinely moves the needle for a small business, what slowly sinks them, and which trends are worth watching before everyone else catches on. It is just what I am seeing, reported as plainly and honestly as I can put it.
Some of it is news and trends. Some of it is profiles of owners who are getting something right and are open about how. If that sounds useful, put your name on the list and I will send new stories as they go up.
Stay in the loop
Get new stories when they go up
Leave your name and email and I will send new articles and the occasional note. No spam, and you can step off the list whenever you want.