One of the most important things we think the media can do is connect small business owners and creatives across industries and markets to give them an opportunity to learn form each other. The insights on trends in particular can be transformative if our communities were better connected and so we’ve tried to create a space where folks can share the trends they are seeing and read about trends other sharp entrepreneurs are seeing.

Maggie Marshall

There is infighting within the dog industry that is damaging people, their businesses and taking up a whole lot of time and attention away from actually training dogs. There are two camps of thinking in the dog training industry; using only positive, reward-based methods, or using positive, reward-based methods and aversives. Unfortunately, the ideology has become more important than our work and experience and has resulted in attacks, poor leadership, and our educational resources becoming propaganda rather than something from which to learn. Read more>>

Jarrett Goins

One of the biggest trends I’m seeing right now is the integration of technology with the food and hospitality industry, especially when it comes to mobile businesses like food trucks. The push for real-time customer engagement is growing, and it’s not just about posting a picture of your latest dish on Instagram anymore. It’s about being connected with your audience in a meaningful way, allowing them to know exactly where you are, what you’re serving, and how they can interact with your brand. Read more>>

Terri Villafana

One of the biggest trends I have noticed is personalization. Couples are less inclined to follow tradition but embrace themes that are unique to their personal interests. I planned a wedding for a couple who shared a deep love for travel and instead of the traditional table numbers, etc. They opted for a travel-themed wedding highlighting the various countries they had visited together during their engagement. Each table represented a different destination and included travel souvenirs, decor with maps, and photos.  Read more>>

Jing Wu

Imagine a retail customer service environment where thousands of inquiries pour in daily. Previously, human agents had to answer questions manually, and while automated systems existed, they were limited to pre-scripted responses and often failed to handle complex requests. GenAI is now enabling a new era of customer service automation where models can generate highly personalized, context-aware responses at scale, significantly reducing the workload on human agents while improving customer satisfaction. Read more>>