In the News: Slack, Zoho Unveil New Features and Offerings

If you use tools like Slack to communicate and collaborate with your team, innovative new features can make a big difference in the success of your projects. And Slack just unveiled a new feature that lets you share control of your screen with team members.

But Slack isn’t the only tool out there to help you collaborate and manage projects. Zoho just launched a new project management app for functions like planning and tracking shipments. Read about these updates and more in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.

Small Business Operations

Slack Literally Lets You Share Control of Your Screen for Team Collaborations

A new Slack screen sharing feature is going to expand the platform’s collaboration capabilities by letting small business teams, freelancers and clients work together as if they were in the same room. Slack just announced users can now invite their colleagues to write, code, design and simply work together from a shared screen to contribute.

ZOHO Sprints Is the Latest Agile Project Management App for Small Businesses

If your small business deals with potentially shippable products, planning and tracking of such shipments may have just gotten a lot easier and more effective for your team. Business management software as a service (SaaS) provider Zoho Corporation has launched a new agile project management application called Zoho Sprints.

Amazon,  Stripe, Google Top List of Brands Small Businesses Trust the Most, Index Says

When it comes to the brand names that small businesses trust most, Amazon, Stripe and Google top the list. Alignable Q3 2017 Trust Index That’s the finding of the third quarter SMB Trust Index (PDF) report by Alignable. The company surveyed 42,000 small businesses to gauge their level of trust in other brands that aid small businesses.

Brian Solis Discusses the Evolution of Customer Experience at NextCon17

We live in an age of continual disruption. One wave follows another. And with the good comes the challenges.

Nextiva CEO Introduces NextOS, Offers Tips for Better Customer Experience

Tech tools can help you create great customer experiences. And a new platform from Nextiva, NextOS, aims to help businesses do just that. NextOS is an all encompassing operating system for businesses. It includes a CRM system, chat function, survey platform, improved analytics and more.

DHL Express for Shopify Handles International Shipping for Ecommerce Sales

Selling internationally just got easier and more affordable. Canadian ecommerce company Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) has teamed up with DHL Express to help you access the fast-growing global retail market. You can now ship with the same premium carrier that major retailers use, with guaranteed express service, negotiated shipping rates and service to over 220 countries.

Economy

Cloud Tech Has Small Accounting Businesses Optimistic about the Future

The cloud is transforming the accounting industry and the role of the CPA and right now, they’re feeling pretty optimistic about their future. Right Networks Cloud Impact Survey A survey from Right Networks found that well over half of the 364 small accounting businesses and other accounting pros polled were optimistic, in some way, about the economy.

Obamacare Copper Plans Could Offer 18 Percent Lower Cost for Small Businesses

If Obamacare remains a part of the healthcare discussion into 2018, the Copper plan is a way to stay covered and avoid any mandate penalties. Obamacare Copper Plans Last week, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation, the Increasing Access to Care Act, that would create so-called Copper plans in Affordable Care Act exchanges.

Small Business Favorite PayPal Sees 21 Percent Revenue Increase

PayPal’s 2017 third quarter result reports a 21 percent revenue increase to $3.239 billion. Currently, the small business favorite for online payments (NASDAQ:PYPL) has 218 million active users in 200 markets around the world, delivering financial transactions online, on mobile, in an app, or in person.

Majority of U.S. Workers Will be Freelancers by 2027, Report Says

Did you know that by 2027, most workers in the US will be freelancers, enjoying the flexibility and freedom of being their own boss? This was the finding of the ‘Freelancing in America: 2017’ report, jointly commissioned by Upwork and Freelancers Union.

Employment

MetLife  and IBM Partner to Improve Health Insurance Options for Small Business Employers

MetLife (NYSE:MET) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have teamed up to deliver a new digital healthcare option for small business customers with IBM Health Care Insurance. The first-of-its-kind platform will mean MetLife can administer and maintain small businesses insurance policies on the IBM Cloud.

Small Grocery Chain Sells Business to Employees

After 88 years in operation, family-owned Buehler’s Fresh Foods is selling the business, not to any old buyer though, to its employees. Through an Employee Stock Ownership program (ESOP), the small Ohio-based grocery chain, is selling its 13 supermarkets to its eligible employees. The new company will be run by three veteran executives of the small grocery brand.

Finance

7 Year End Financial Tips Your Small Business Should Consider

It’s important to take a look at where your small business stands as the year comes to a close. These small business year end tips can help you to make sure your small business is in good shape financially as you head into the new year.

SBA’s Revamped Lender Match Tool Seeks to Connect More Small Businesses with Loans

The recently announced Lender Match online referral tool from the Small Business Administration (SBA) was created to simplify the process of connecting lenders and borrowers. Lender Match used to be called LINC (Leveraging Information and Networks to access Capital), which was launched in 2015.

Local Marketing

10 Brilliant Ways Non-Retail Businesses Can Celebrate Small Business Saturday

Small Biz Saturday isn’t just for retail businesses. Even service providers and other types of small businesses can get in on the fun. Small Biz Saturday is on November 25 this year and it’s one day where shoppers are looking to spend their money at companies like yours, specifically.

Marketing Tips

At NextCon17, Carol Roth Suggests Ways to Create Customer Loyalty 3.0

There’s no question small businesses today have to fight harder to maintain customer loyalty. At the NextCon17 conference organized by cloud communications company Nextiva in Scottsdale, Arizona Oct. 23 -25, 2017, customer experience was certainly center stage.

Add 2 Sources of Additional Revenue Through New CorpNet Partner Program

Does your small business help other entrepreneurs establish their own company? CorpNet has created a new partner program designed to help you manage the formation and compliance of businesses for your clients. At the same time, you can become a Corpnet Reseller or Referral Partner to increase your revenue.

Small Biz Spotlight

Spotlight: Urban Bricks Pizza Stands Out in a Crowded Market

The pizza market is already fairly saturated. But that doesn’t mean that there are no new opportunities in the industry. Businesses like Urban Bricks Pizza are still finding new ways to differentiate their offerings. You can read more about Urban Bricks Pizza and how the business sets itself apart in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.

Social Media

Data Shows LinkedIn’s Value as a Networking, Branding Tool (INFOGRAPHIC)

Back in 2003 when LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) was launched, it was primarily used for job hunting. A lot has changed since then. Today, it is extensively used for networking and personal branding. This fresh insight comes from data collected by NumberSleuth, a company helping to discover details about the numbers of your incoming calls.

Startup

48 Percent of Millennials Want to Be Part of the Startup Trend, Survey Says

Millennials are changing the way people work and run their businesses. And as they also become entrepreneurs and small business owners, their approach will again change the status quo. The third annual First Citizens Bank Small Business Forecast reports 48 percent of millennials want to be part of the startup trend.

Technology Trends

What is PayPal for Marketplaces and How Can It Help Your Small Business?

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) recently announced it is rolling out a new PayPal for Marketplaces product, an end-to-end global payment solution, designed to help businesses manage and tailor payments to their specific needs. Introducing PayPal for Marketplaces PayPal for Marketplaces is a flexible and comprehensive payment solution for businesses that accept and disburse funds.

NextCon17 Conference Launches With Focus on Customer Experience

Customer experience took center stage today as an estimated 750 guests arrived for the first day of NextCon in Scottsdale, Arizona. The conference, now in its second year,is put on by cloud business phone service provider Nextiva. The focus on customer experience is actually a new part of the conference this year.

What is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and Can It Benefit Your Small Business?

Understanding best practices when it comes to cyber security is just as important to a small business’s bottom line as a good product. Being hacked or otherwise compromised can drive up costs, decimate profits and even land you in hot legal water. That’s where the NIST Cybersecurity Framework comes in.

MasterCard Says Signatures No Longer Required at the Checkout Counter

What’s happening at the checkout counter is changing in a big hurry. Checks are basically extinct. Cash is almost gone. Credit cards are being replaced by phones. And even the cards are changing — though that’s going slower than originally planned. Now, you can start saying good-bye to the signature — or what your customers call their signature.

Image: Slack

This article, "In the News: Slack, Zoho Unveil New Features and Offerings" was first published on Small Business Trends