running a small business

Small Business Survival Story: A Hairdresser's Ordeal

The dream of Raphael Alvarez was to open a salon. His timing, it seemed, could hardly have been worse: Finding a loan was impossible, and his original location was snatched away. But Alvarez still managed to start his small business, without help from a big financial institution, in this desperate economy. Here's how he did it.

The Grass-Roots Business Issues of Medical Marijuana

Colorado, where medical marijuana has been legal for a decade, recently passed new laws regulating the hundreds of dispensaries that have popped up to meet soaring demand. Not everyone there is happy about that boom, but most of these businesses probably won't last long anyway.