US small business
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'People can change': ex-prisoner smashes stereotypes, one workout at a timeCoss Marte served time for drug offences. Now he’s opened a prison-based fitness studio on Fifth Avenue, where sessions are taught by ex-inmates themselves
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New York graffiti tour turns the illicit underground into accessible artMeet the street artist who gives tours around the city as part of a group that’s found success showing the legal side of what some consider urban blight
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Cobbling together: the Brooklynites who gather to make handcrafted shoesFormer corporate fashion designers get ‘close to the product’ at Brooklyn Shoe Space, a shoemaking collective focused on sharing the ‘addicting’ trade
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Moves like Middleton: the New York etiquette class that's fit for a queenMyka Meier runs a school of manners with locations throughout the city. Olga Oksman attends a class – and learns how etiquette can be empowering
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How Brazilian women avoid sexism at work: by working for themselvesSaleswomen at companies such as Tupperware take out micro-loans and sell products directly, becoming financially independent on their own time
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Could a marijuana tax help Portland's minority-owned businesses?People of color are conspicuously absent from Oregon’s lucrative legal weed business. Now, advocates say a proposed 3% marijuana tax could help
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What do you do when Ivanka buys your stuff? Donate her money to anti-Trump causesJewelry designers used the $84 Ivanka Trump paid for an ear cuff to back opposition to her dad – and they’re not alone in making such donations
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This Colorado poet is disrupting Alaska’s commercial fishing industryLacie Richardson is hoping her troll-caught Alaskan salmon will catch on with sustainably minded American shoppers
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No-tipping policies at US restaurants bring delight – and disasterWhile ditching gratuities in Portland and elsewhere has meant ‘less judgment, angst and anger’ at some establishments, others have seen staff members quit
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Three in four female small business owners say glass ceiling still existsBank of America survey also shows 28% of women owners feel they have less access to capital, borne out by 2014 study that they receive only 4.4% of loans
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The trick to having it all: asking for help … and hiring a butlerThe Guardian spent a day with a 21st-century-style butler supplied by Hello Alfred, a startup that takes care of life’s little chores so you don’t have to
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Trump backer speaking at RNC, billed as boss of 100,000, employs zero workersMichelle Van Etten, billed as small business owner on official schedule, is ‘multi-level marketer’ of nutritional products who says she doesn’t have employees
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New York's oldest witchcraft store still casting its spell after 34 yearsNeed some supernatural aid to change your luck? Enchantments in the East Village offers candles, books and incense to work some positive magic
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Portland's black residents putting faith in 'Soul District' to counter gentrificationDistraught by the disappearance of the neighborhood’s cultural identity, professionals hope to reclaim the area with black-owned business developments
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Other Music's closure after two decades is a tragedy for New York's crate-diggersIt’s no surprise to see another small business fall prey to gentrification, but the loss of this record store and its knowledgable staff is a particularly bitter blow
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Oregon grapples with consequences of landmark minimum wage lawSmall businesses have expressed alarm at the state’s pledge to raise its rate over six years to the highest in the country but advocates say the move falls short
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Co-living – the companies reinventing the idea of roommatesShared housing is nothing new but the number of young people living with roommates has doubled since 1980 and some entrepreneurs see an opportunity
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An indoor agriculture startup is bringing 'local farming' to every corner of the USAlternative farming companies like FarmedHere see a bright future in indoor agriculture, which they say can take over local food production
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How a mobile marketplace is creating a new kind of micropreneurMobile task marketplace Spare5 connects big businesses with people looking to earn extra cash in their spare seconds – but there’s a downside
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Time for vinyl to get back in its groove after pressing timesCascade Record Pressing, near Portland, Oregon, is only the 21st pressing plant in the country after many closed with the advent of CDs and MP3s
Pot blocks: obstacles keep small business owners from a multibillion-dollar market