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A new, national survey of over 650 small and micro business owners released today by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, finds the state of America’s small business community strong with 52 percent indicating they are optimistic about their own small business’ future, while also indicating they face challenges due to rising Health Care and Prescription Drug Costs (47%), Taxes (46%) and Inflation (45%). The survey also found that 66% of small business owners indicated they view the economy as “fair” or “poor”, suggesting that the challenges have directly impacted their view of the nation’s economic conditions. However, the economic ratings among small business owners tracks better than recent public opinion polling of the general public which finds a 77% (Pew, May 2024) and 79% (Gallup, May 2024) rating the economy either “fair” or “poor”.

As students head to college this upcoming school year, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, today announced it is awarding $15,000 in educational scholarships to five dependents of current NASE members, each granted $3,000 for their academic studies.

In the late 80’s, an author by the name of Robert Fulghum wrote a best-selling book filled with short, personal essays. One of his anecdotes was about meeting strangers while traveling and how every interaction started with the same two questions: 1. What’s your name? 2. What do you do for a living?

Gregory A. Dunlap Sr is the CEO & Principal Broker of Dunlap Financial Services LLC located in Baltimore Maryland. Dunlap Financial Services is a Minority-Owned Insurance Agency that sells adequate and affordable Insurance of All Types. Founded by Gregory Dunlap in 2018, the Company’s product line includes Life, Health, Property, Casualty, Accident & Health or Sickness, and Travel Insurance.

The last 30 days have been a whirlwind of political activities that have serious implications for the 2024 Presidential campaign. June 24 President Biden and former President Trump met for an unprecedented, early debate. Technically, both were presumptive nominees of their parties, as neither the Republican or Democratic Convention had been held to formally nominate them. The Biden-Harris campaign fully negotiated the terms of the debate: no audience, auto microphone turn off for the person not speaking, and two commercial breaks. The debate was an unmitigated disaster for President Biden. Immediately following the debate, concerns related to Biden’s age and mental fitness started to swirl.

Making time for mid-year planning is essential for self-employed individuals and small business owners to continue progressing throughout the year and finish it out at the highest potential. It helps keep a business owner or entrepreneur on track with their goals and allows them to make the necessary adjustments needed to finish the year strong through reflection and intentional planning. Whether your micro business, small business, family business or freelance business is exceeding expectations in the first part of the year or isn’t quite where you intended to be, mid-year business planning can help get you where you desire to be by the year’s end. If you’re exceeding expectations, then seeking out new opportunities and challenges will be part of your mid-year plan. For those that need to get back on track, making adjustments, setting new goals reallocating resources will be a crucial part to your mid-year plan. No matter where you are at in your business journey this year, you can benefit from the following mid-year planning tips from The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

Sherri Lynn is the Founder & President of 4PPL cosmetics LLC located in Orono, Minnesota. Previously, Sherri had a position as a food broker which shaped her outlook and set things in motion. That’s when she initially became interested and more fond of the natural beauty industry. So much so, that as we fast forward to today she is now the Founder and President of 4PPL cosmetics LLC. It’s a cosmetics and beauty company that caters to people who are looking for a more healthy approach to the more common, standard applications. The 4PPL tribe are those that appreciate clean, cruelty free and vegan products and the company motto is “What makes us better — is what makes you better.” That means, that the products that our customers use that makes them feel better, cleaner, allowing them to make better decisions — allows 4PPL cosmetics LLC to be better.

The past few years have witnessed an unprecedented surge in entrepreneurial spirit. Fueled by a confluence of factors, the United States has seen record numbers of new business applications, with 2023 marking the strongest year on record at a staggering 5.5 million filings.

Just six months after the announcement that the United States set a record of new small business applications over the last three consecutive years, the nation hit another record-shattering 18.1 million small business applications. Keith Hall, president and CEO of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE),celebrated this today by saying “America’s small business community has never been so powerful, attracting attention and support by policymakers of all political stripes.”

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard at least one person mention Chat GPT. Artificial intelligence is now bigger than it has ever been before, with companies like Open AI, Google, and Microsoft all throwing their hats in the ring with generative AI.