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As Amazon raises minimum wage, not everything is good news for its workers

Michelle R. Matisons Retail

As more pressure mounts to raise the federal minimum wage to a $15 living wage, Amazon announced on Oct. 2 that its lowest paid workers will make $15 per hour. However, Amazon’s much-scrutinized workplace practices leave people scratching their heads about its influence and long-term goals. On one hand, the embrace of the Fight for $15 goal is lauded. But the company remains embroiled in controversies like high-pressure work cultures for its white-collar employees and surveillance-style tracking of its warehouse workers.

Negotiating commercial leases: Don’t forget the parking

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield Retail

For many commercial tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized salespeople. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate. Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, here are two money-saving tips.

When it’s time for an employee to go

Anne Rose Business Management, Services & Risk Management

An old Buffy Sainte-Marie love song crooned about staying until it’s time to go. That applies to the work world, too, when a longtime, valued employee, seemingly out of the blue, announces he’s quitting because, "it’s time to go and move on." Why, you ask, stunned? Because it’s just time, is the vague answer. When is it time to go, and is there a way to delay that time, and should you even try?

Want to hire the right people? AI can help

Linchi Kwok Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machines can now perform many jobs traditionally done by human beings. Even in the restaurant business, where many believe only real human beings can accomplish most tasks, some entrepreneurs have already begun using machines to cook and serve customers. According to a recent CNBC update, AI can help businesses manage their human capital, too. For example, AI can help companies pick the best candidates, and more.

Are we in the middle of a street food renaissance?

Bambi Majumdar Food & Beverage

You can usually trust California to lead innovation and change. The Golden State legalized street food vending in September, a move that may soon be reflected elsewhere. Street food has been a fixture of the state’s landscape for decades. Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco are known for their food trucks and eclectic street foods, popular with both locals and tourists. But it was not an easy road to popularity for these businesses.

Replacing NAFTA: A better 3-country pact ahead?

Seth Sandronsky Civil & Government

Canada and the U.S. have renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect Jan. 1, 1994. President Trump, who called NAFTA "the worst trade deal ever," praised its successor, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). "Promise made, promise kept," the president said on Twitter, of his campaign pledge to renegotiate NAFTA to improve trade fairness for American businesses, consumers and workers. That stance resonated with voters, especially in Rust Belt states where blue-collar employment has plummeted.

Skin care sins clients commit that have serious consequences

Elizabeth Donat Retail

It's not commonplace for clients to readily admit some of the horrible and unsafe things that they do to their skin. But when they do — or when you have a suspicion that they do — it's important to encourage clear and honest communication about it. After all, if we do not have a complete understanding of our spa and medical spa clients' habits and lifestyle choices, then we cannot recommend and perform safe treatments.

Dream big: 4 ways AI, VR, and AR can enhance your marketing

Emma Fitzpatrick Marketing

A few years ago, having an Amazon Echo or Google Home was a novelty. In early 2017, only 7 percent of U.S. households had them, according to 2017 Gartner and Inside Radio research. By March 2018, that number skyrocketed, according to Voicebot.ai research, and 20 percent of U.S. adults had a smart speaker in their home. In just two years, Gartner predicts 75 percent of households will have one. That adoption and the embrace of smart speakers’ artificial intelligence (AI) will soon come to marketing and business as well.

The power of the pop-up: ‘Temporary use’ strategies in US cities

Lucy Wallwork Construction & Building Materials

The concept of "temporary" or "meanwhile use" goes back to long before the term slipped into the narrative of urban policy agendas. The first time an enterprising trader rolled a food truck into an empty square, they were practicing temporary urbanism. But today the "temporary use" movement is taking on a new light and even becoming a mainstream strategy. The approach fits with the new, more flexible approach to urban planning we are increasingly seeing currently. Approaches vary, but the philosophy is one that views empty lots not as an urban problem or eyesore, but instead as opportunities.

The impact employees have on your business

Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

The other day, we took a friend for drinks and appetizers at a restaurant called Stephanie’s on Newbury Street in Boston. In the middle of taking our order, our waitress said, "Excuse me," and dashed away to retrieve an empty glass of water from a patron. We sat there in disbelief. I compare this to my recent experience at the Capital Grill in Providence, Rhode Island.

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