How to Start a Business
Why More Freelancers Are Building Small Agencies
For years, the core appeal of freelancing was simple, complete autonomy, flexibility, and control over your client roster. As the digital economy has matured, however, many high-performing freelancers have hit a ceiling. Because working as a solo operator inherently...
Can a Stranger Explain What You Sell?
When sales slow down, owners tend to suspect the product. Maybe the service isn't good enough, the market moved, or the idea was wrong from the start. Sometimes that's true. But a surprising number of small businesses are selling something people would happily buy,...
Kleenex Was Leftover War Material Sold as Makeup Remover
During World War I, Kimberly-Clark made a material called Cellucotton, a creped wadding made from wood pulp that was far more absorbent than cotton and cheaper to produce. With cotton in short supply, the military bought it for surgical dressings, and the company...
Bubble Wrap Failed as Wallpaper, Then Failed Again
In 1957, an engineer named Al Fielding and a Swiss inventor named Marc Chavannes ran two layers of plastic shower curtain through a heat-sealing machine. The sheet that came out was full of trapped air bubbles. They thought they had invented a new kind of textured...
When It Makes Sense to Turn Your Side Hustle Into A Real Business
If your side hustle is generating more income than expected, you might be considering turning it into a full-time business. You may already be turning down jobs because you don't have the spare time, or struggling to keep up with customer demand, or noticing...
Your Next Business May Already Be Buying From You
Every business has an idea of who its customer is. The bookkeeper serves restaurants. The photographer shoots weddings. The web designer works with local retailers. That picture shapes the website, the pricing, the marketing and the way the owner describes the...
YouTube Launched as a Dating Site Nobody Used
In early 2005, three former PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, registered the domain YouTube.com. The plan was a dating site with a twist: instead of writing a profile, you'd upload a video of yourself. The slogan was "Tune In, Hook Up." It...
Groupon Was a Side Project of a Site That Wasn’t Working
In 2007, Andrew Mason launched a website called The Point. It was an ambitious idea: a platform where people could rally around a cause, from a neighborhood fix to a consumer boycott, and pledge to act only if enough others pledged too. Once a campaign hit its...
Call the Customers Who Left
When a business starts to slide, the instinct is to look forward. New offer, new marketing, new website, new niche. What almost nobody does is look back at the people who already told them something was wrong, by leaving. Former clients and lapsed customers are the...
Instagram Was What Was Left After They Cut Everything Else
In 2009, Kevin Systrom started building an app called Burbn. It was a location check-in app, the kind that was fashionable at the time, and it did a lot. You could check in at places, make plans with friends, earn points for going out and post photos. In March 2010 he...
Entrepreneur Magazine
- The Great Wealth Transfer Is About More Than Money. Here’s What’s Being Overlooked. November 11, 2026We’re talking about the Great Wealth Transfer too narrowly. Here's why millions of heirs are looking to value and sell inherited jewelry.
- This Billionaire Invested in OpenAI in 2019. Here’s What He’s Betting on Next. November 10, 2026This billionaire is betting that AI will revamp websites as we know them.
- How ‘Boring’ Businesses Can Turn Black Friday Into a Competitive Advantage November 10, 2026Black Friday isn't just for big retailers. Here's how small businesses can attract customers, boost sales and stand out without big budgets.