small.opinions Op-eds written by small business owners, sharing personal perspectives about the realities, challenges, and opportunities for small businesses globally. Whether you’re a small business owner or you know someone whose voice should be heard, we want to hear from you! Small Businesses Will Win by Choosing Clarity Over Hype In 2026 In 2026, the businesses that win won’t be the loudest. They’ll be the clearest. For the last decade, growth advice has sounded the same: post more, optimize more, stay visible at all costs. Read more March 9, 2026March 7, 2026 Tax Season Isn’t Stressful for Small Businesses—Disorganization Is Every year, as tax season approaches, I watch capable, intelligent business owners brace themselves for a storm. They’re not afraid of taxes. Read more March 2, 2026February 26, 2026 Flexibility Without Clarity Is Failing Workers and Small Businesses Flexibility is one of the most talked-about workplace benefits today. Leaders say they offer it. Employees ask for it. Read more February 23, 2026February 20, 2026 Amazon Could Strengthen the Economy by Rethinking Small Business Contracts When I tell people I own a skincare company, I often get nods and silence. When I tell them I sell on Amazon, everything changes. people immediately perk up. “Oh, you sell on Amazon?” Read more February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 Employee Advocacy: The Leadership Advantage Small Businesses Can’t Afford to Ignore In a job market dominated by uncertainty, employee advocacy has become one of the clearest indicators of strong leadership, especially for small businesses. Read more February 9, 2026February 8, 2026 From Brokenness to Brilliance in the Small Business World We don’t talk enough about pain in the business world. We talk about profits, strategy, and scaling, but we rarely discuss the emotional toll of life behind the scenes. I am guilty of this, too. Read more February 2, 2026January 31, 2026 Learning Before Leading: How I Built What Didn’t Exist Over the past several years, I’ve had the privilege of working within the modelling and creative industry of Trinidad and Tobago—an industry rich with culture, passion, and raw talent. Read more January 26, 2026January 23, 2026 Small Businesses Don’t Fail From Lack of Hustle. They Fail From Bad Infrastructure Let’s stop lying to small business owners. Most of them did not fail because they lacked discipline, passion, or grit. Read more January 19, 2026January 15, 2026 Building Resilience As A Part Of Sustainable Business It was one of those harder days. A busy stretch had piled on responsibilities, and the long-term stress finally caught up with me. Read more January 12, 2026January 9, 2026 The Gift of Small Joys for Small Businesses: Showing Up For Yourself This season, give yourself the gift of small joys: tactile textiles, little luxuries, and clothes that support you as much as you support and care for your family, employees, and clients. Read more December 15, 2025December 15, 2025 Birthing a Business: Passion, Purpose, and the Path to Trust “I’m having a baby.” This deeply personal analogy is how I often describe the feeling of nurturing my business. Read more December 8, 2025December 8, 2025 Humanizing Hiring: How Storytelling Can Transform Candidate Engagement A few years ago, long before I became a founder, I interviewed a young woman named Neha for a marketing role. Her résumé looked average—decent education, two internships, nothing extraordinary on paper. Read more December 1, 2025November 28, 2025 From Outsider to Insider: Building True Team Connection in a Consultant’s World In January, I will celebrate 24 years of running my own business, a milestone that still surprises me. Read more November 23, 2025November 24, 2025 Stop Selling Products, And Start Telling Stories That Transform These days, we hear a lot about storytelling. It shows up in marketing workshops, leadership books, and agency taglines. Read more November 17, 2025November 14, 2025 The Realities Behind Building Destiny Creek in Botswana Starting a business is often described as an exciting adventure filled with possibilities—and that’s true. But what people don’t often talk about is the reality behind that adventure. Read more November 10, 2025November 7, 2025 Why Small Business Owners Are Missing the Real ROI of AI If you’re a small business owner, chances are you’ve experimented with AI. Read more November 3, 2025November 2, 2025 Burnt Out But Polished: The Lie Leaders Everywhere Are Still Living I used to think the burnout would pass if I just pushed through. That somehow, being tired all the time, mentally tapped out, and disconnected from myself was simply part of being a ‘professional.’ Read more October 27, 2025December 10, 2025 Why Small Businesses Struggle to Hire and Retain Talent—and What We Can Do About It Small businesses in the United States have an astoundingly difficult time hiring and retaining talent. Read more October 20, 2025October 16, 2025 The No-Stress Guide To Social Media For Small Business Owners Social media doesn’t have to be stressful. When you focus on what actually works, you can spend less time online and get better results. Read more October 13, 2025October 8, 2025 Stillness Is Hustle: What I Learned From A 1-Year Sabbatical Taking a sabbatical wasn’t about ditching the hustle. It was about rethinking it. The plan—or at least, the neat one that was scribbled in the Full Focus Journal—was to come back sharper and more efficient. Read more October 6, 2025November 26, 2025 Entrepreneurship Made Me Devout I didn’t become an entrepreneur because it sounded glamorous. I became one because my calling wouldn’t leave me alone. Read more September 29, 2025September 29, 2025 Too Busy to Think: When Your Business Runs You, Not The Other Way Around Every small business owner has experienced the hustle. “Busy” is often worn as a badge of honor. How many people believe that day-to-day tasks over, leaving little room for vision, strategy, or growth? Read more September 22, 2025September 29, 2025 How to Create ‘The Organized Life’ as a Small Business Owner A space can be beautiful yet still feel like a nightmare to work or live in if there’s no system behind it. Without functionality and systems, beauty fades quickly, and it won’t stay neat and tidy for long. Read more September 15, 2025September 29, 2025 Laundry Isn’t Glamorous, But It’s Impactful: Why We Need More Respect for ‘Unsexy’ Small Businesses When most people think of owning a small business, they picture sleek tech startups, but “unsexy” industries are the lifeblood of local economies. Read more September 8, 2025September 29, 2025
Small Businesses Will Win by Choosing Clarity Over Hype In 2026 In 2026, the businesses that win won’t be the loudest. They’ll be the clearest. For the last decade, growth advice has sounded the same: post more, optimize more, stay visible at all costs. Read more March 9, 2026March 7, 2026
Tax Season Isn’t Stressful for Small Businesses—Disorganization Is Every year, as tax season approaches, I watch capable, intelligent business owners brace themselves for a storm. They’re not afraid of taxes. Read more March 2, 2026February 26, 2026
Flexibility Without Clarity Is Failing Workers and Small Businesses Flexibility is one of the most talked-about workplace benefits today. Leaders say they offer it. Employees ask for it. Read more February 23, 2026February 20, 2026
Amazon Could Strengthen the Economy by Rethinking Small Business Contracts When I tell people I own a skincare company, I often get nods and silence. When I tell them I sell on Amazon, everything changes. people immediately perk up. “Oh, you sell on Amazon?” Read more February 16, 2026February 16, 2026
Employee Advocacy: The Leadership Advantage Small Businesses Can’t Afford to Ignore In a job market dominated by uncertainty, employee advocacy has become one of the clearest indicators of strong leadership, especially for small businesses. Read more February 9, 2026February 8, 2026
From Brokenness to Brilliance in the Small Business World We don’t talk enough about pain in the business world. We talk about profits, strategy, and scaling, but we rarely discuss the emotional toll of life behind the scenes. I am guilty of this, too. Read more February 2, 2026January 31, 2026
Learning Before Leading: How I Built What Didn’t Exist Over the past several years, I’ve had the privilege of working within the modelling and creative industry of Trinidad and Tobago—an industry rich with culture, passion, and raw talent. Read more January 26, 2026January 23, 2026
Small Businesses Don’t Fail From Lack of Hustle. They Fail From Bad Infrastructure Let’s stop lying to small business owners. Most of them did not fail because they lacked discipline, passion, or grit. Read more January 19, 2026January 15, 2026
Building Resilience As A Part Of Sustainable Business It was one of those harder days. A busy stretch had piled on responsibilities, and the long-term stress finally caught up with me. Read more January 12, 2026January 9, 2026
The Gift of Small Joys for Small Businesses: Showing Up For Yourself This season, give yourself the gift of small joys: tactile textiles, little luxuries, and clothes that support you as much as you support and care for your family, employees, and clients. Read more December 15, 2025December 15, 2025
Birthing a Business: Passion, Purpose, and the Path to Trust “I’m having a baby.” This deeply personal analogy is how I often describe the feeling of nurturing my business. Read more December 8, 2025December 8, 2025
Humanizing Hiring: How Storytelling Can Transform Candidate Engagement A few years ago, long before I became a founder, I interviewed a young woman named Neha for a marketing role. Her résumé looked average—decent education, two internships, nothing extraordinary on paper. Read more December 1, 2025November 28, 2025
From Outsider to Insider: Building True Team Connection in a Consultant’s World In January, I will celebrate 24 years of running my own business, a milestone that still surprises me. Read more November 23, 2025November 24, 2025
Stop Selling Products, And Start Telling Stories That Transform These days, we hear a lot about storytelling. It shows up in marketing workshops, leadership books, and agency taglines. Read more November 17, 2025November 14, 2025
The Realities Behind Building Destiny Creek in Botswana Starting a business is often described as an exciting adventure filled with possibilities—and that’s true. But what people don’t often talk about is the reality behind that adventure. Read more November 10, 2025November 7, 2025
Why Small Business Owners Are Missing the Real ROI of AI If you’re a small business owner, chances are you’ve experimented with AI. Read more November 3, 2025November 2, 2025
Burnt Out But Polished: The Lie Leaders Everywhere Are Still Living I used to think the burnout would pass if I just pushed through. That somehow, being tired all the time, mentally tapped out, and disconnected from myself was simply part of being a ‘professional.’ Read more October 27, 2025December 10, 2025
Why Small Businesses Struggle to Hire and Retain Talent—and What We Can Do About It Small businesses in the United States have an astoundingly difficult time hiring and retaining talent. Read more October 20, 2025October 16, 2025
The No-Stress Guide To Social Media For Small Business Owners Social media doesn’t have to be stressful. When you focus on what actually works, you can spend less time online and get better results. Read more October 13, 2025October 8, 2025
Stillness Is Hustle: What I Learned From A 1-Year Sabbatical Taking a sabbatical wasn’t about ditching the hustle. It was about rethinking it. The plan—or at least, the neat one that was scribbled in the Full Focus Journal—was to come back sharper and more efficient. Read more October 6, 2025November 26, 2025
Entrepreneurship Made Me Devout I didn’t become an entrepreneur because it sounded glamorous. I became one because my calling wouldn’t leave me alone. Read more September 29, 2025September 29, 2025
Too Busy to Think: When Your Business Runs You, Not The Other Way Around Every small business owner has experienced the hustle. “Busy” is often worn as a badge of honor. How many people believe that day-to-day tasks over, leaving little room for vision, strategy, or growth? Read more September 22, 2025September 29, 2025
How to Create ‘The Organized Life’ as a Small Business Owner A space can be beautiful yet still feel like a nightmare to work or live in if there’s no system behind it. Without functionality and systems, beauty fades quickly, and it won’t stay neat and tidy for long. Read more September 15, 2025September 29, 2025
Laundry Isn’t Glamorous, But It’s Impactful: Why We Need More Respect for ‘Unsexy’ Small Businesses When most people think of owning a small business, they picture sleek tech startups, but “unsexy” industries are the lifeblood of local economies. Read more September 8, 2025September 29, 2025