Entrepreneurship - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

60 Percent of Closed Businesses Will Not Reopen

September 17, 2020

According to data collected and analyzed by Yelp, nearly 163,700 businesses have closed since the start of the pandemic in March. This marks an increase of 23 percent from July when Yelp last released statistics about closures. To make matters worse, about 98,000 of those businesses will remain closed permanently.

More than 32,000 of those shuttered businesses are restaurants, 61 percent of which have closed for good. Yelp claims that restaurants like pizzerias, delis, food trucks, and bakeries Continue reading →

Health, Restaurants, Food & Drink, Coronavirus, Ethics, Entrepreneurship

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship

Italy’s Renaissance-Era Wine Windows Return to Use

August 18, 2020

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced countless companies around the world to come up with new ways to sell products or else risk going out of business. For instance, many bars and restaurants have made the switch to carry-out service and installed take-out windows to easily access waiting customers. For some lucky Italian entrepreneurs, though, their businesses come with built-in to-go kiosks constructed more than 500 years ago.

Known as “buchette del vino,” or “little wine holes” in English, these Continue reading →

Operations Management, Promotions, Global, Italy, Entrepreneurship, Health, Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Managers Start Scheduling Meetings in Video Game Worlds

August 11, 2020

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For many Americans who have been working from home for six months, each day can seem like the same procession of Zoom meetings and email exchanges. As a result, some professionals have had trouble scheduling meetings with new clients who don’t want to add another video chat to their already packed calendars. For example, a Brooklyn-based ad executive named Lewis Smithingham tried for weeks to set up a meeting with an investment analyst only to receive a string of postponements Continue reading →

Organizational Culture, Entertainment, Video Games, Telecommuting, Management, Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Networking

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Nearly 73,000 Businesses Have Closed Permanently

July 30, 2020

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According to data from Yelp, more than 55 percent of the 132,500 businesses listed on the site that closed during the pandemic will remain shuttered permanently. Although government relief bought some companies time, businesses that are now closed will likely remain that way for the long term. Restaurants account for the greatest share of permanent and temporary closures, followed closely by retailers and then beauty salons and spas.

“Businesses are needing to decide, ‘Do I renew my lease on Continue reading →

Regulation, Economics, Health, Ethics, Layoffs, Entrepreneurship, Coronavirus

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Approximately 140,000 Businesses Listed on Yelp Remain Closed

July 7, 2020

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Over the last few weeks, restaurants and retailers across the country have gradually reopened with limited capacity, plexiglass barriers, and other anti-Covid restrictions. According to a recent study of the review site Yelp, however, approximately 140,000 listed businesses that closed in March remained shut down in June. What’s more, 41 percent of those companies have closed for good. Retailers accounted for the highest number of closures at 27,000. Coronavirus lockdown measures also majorly hurt restaurants, with 53 percent of closed Continue reading →

Health, Product Distribution, Ethics, Restaurants, Entrepreneurship, Food & Drink, Coronavirus, Promotions

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

[VIDEO] How Airbnb Fell From Successful Startup to Crisis Mode

May 27, 2020

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A couple of weeks ago, we looked at how Airbnb hosts are struggling after the travel industry came to a standstill due to widespread stay-at-home orders. This video explains in greater detail why the once successful startup was so vulnerable to an economic downturn and what that means for both Airbnb and its hosts in the long term.

Questions:

What factors made Airbnb so successful for nearly a decade?
Do you think Airbnb will be able to recover from this Continue reading →

Food Delivery Apps Often Make More Problems Than Profits

May 19, 2020

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Before the coronavirus pandemic, takeout and delivery orders made up just a small portion of total sales for most restaurants. With countless customers now homebound, though, to-go business has never been more important for eateries across the country. Many restaurants use apps like Grubhub, Seamless, or DoorDash to handle delivery orders, but these services come with quite a few problems for all their convenience. Besides signing up companies that don’t offer delivery, food startups have also deceived restaurants and Continue reading →

[VIDEO] How One Business Pivoted to Fighting Coronavirus

April 30, 2020

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Although many companies remain closed during the ongoing pandemic, some businesses have been able to alter their operations to produce increasingly vital supplies. This video looks at how Dogfish Head Brewery managed to keep its employees on the payroll while also supplying local hospitals with hand sanitizer.

Questions:

How did Dogfish Head Brewery change its operations to make hand sanitizer?
What is the three-step process that Dogfish Head Brewery used to engage with their community during the coronavirus crisis?

Product Distribution, Coronavirus, Operations Management, Ethics, Product Development, Entrepreneurship, Health, Human Resources, Manufacturing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Videos

New Round of Small Business Relief Arrives with Similar Problems

April 28, 2020

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Last week, legislators approved of another round of small business loans after funding failed to reach thousands of companies the first time. Unfortunately, many of these desperate businesses are encountering the same problems as they did a few weeks ago. Shortly after going online on Monday, the Small Business Administration’s electronic loan portal crashed due to high demand. “The SBA’s systems were not designed to and are not capable of handling the volume of loans banks processed over the last Continue reading →

Regulation, Operations Management, Health, Ethics, Small Business, Entrepreneurship, Financing, Coronavirus, Loans

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Retail Sales Plummet with Worst Monthly Loss on Record

April 16, 2020

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With thousands of stores closed around the country, U.S. retailers saw sales plunge by 8.7 percent in March. That represents the worst monthly decline on record as millions of consumers stopped visiting restaurants, bars, and shopping malls due to stay-at-home orders for coronavirus containment. While sales of cars, furniture, and electronics all experienced double digit drops, spending at clothing stores plummeted by more than 50 percent. Manufacturing capacity and oil production also fell to their lowest rates since the end Continue reading →