Ooma, Sage and More Announce New Solutions for Businesses

Taking your business mobile is becoming increasingly possible thanks to the introduction of new tools. And this week, businesses got a few more options thanks to Ooma, Sage and more. Check out those developments and more in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.

Small Business Operations
Meet Ooma for Office Mobile: Now You Really Can Run Your Business from Your Phone

If you are a small business looking for an affordable office phone system, Ooma might be what you are looking for. And with the launch of Ooma Office for Mobile, you will be able to take all of the features it offers with you no matter where you go.

Is Your Business Ready For the Latest Cloud Solutions from Sage?

Sage Group, a multinational provider of cloud accounting and payroll software, used its Sage Summit 2016 conference held July, 26-28 in Chicago, IL to announce the release of several of its latest cloud-based products, including two aimed specifically at small businesses: Sage Live for Accountants and Sage One Partner Edition.

Canvas 8 Productivity App Refresh Adds Cloud, Enhanced Mobile Experience

Canvas, a mobile platform that makes it simple for business to automate how work is done, recently unveiled a comprehensive refresh to its iOS Canvas App for smartphones and tablets, and updates to its cloud-based mobile platform with Canvas 8 App.

NFL Cancels First Game of the Year Due to Taffy-Like Field Conditions (Watch)

Imagine a bunch of NFL players running around on a field made of taffy. That was almost the case this Sunday during the league’s annual Hall of Fame Game, the traditional kickoff to pre-season football. The unfortunate field conditions came as a result of using the wrong paint. And so the field became gummy and sticky as it dried.

Management
Oops! More Than Half of U.S. Employees Are Seeking New Gigs: How About Yours?

An amazing 63 percent of full-time employees are seeking a new job right now, a new survey says. Could some of your employees be among them? A research report by iCIMS, Inc., provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) talent acquisition solutions, shows that today’s employees are constantly searching for new jobs.

Marketing and Retail Trends
Why Is Hulu Getting Rid of Its Free TV Shows? (Watch)

Hulu is getting rid of the free streaming TV episodes that made it famous. For years now, the company has been moving toward a more subscription-based model, offering several different tiers for viewers to choose from. But it still offered those last five episodes from select shows for free — until now. The free episodes weren’t exactly prominently placed on Hulu’s site or apps.

What The Girl Scouts Can Teach Businesses About Launching New Products (Watch)

The next time you buy Girl Scout cookies, you’ll have a few new options to choose from. One features a graham cookie dipped in crème icing and chocolate. And the other includes two graham cookies with marshmallow and chocolate filling in between. The two new varieties commemorate the Girl Scouts’ 100th year of selling cookies.

Most Back-to-School Shopping Begins Now, Don’t Miss Out!

It’s nearly mid-August and if you listen closely, you’ll hear the school bells off in the distance. Well, not really. But it is the end of summer. Everybody sigh in 3-2-1 … Though it may be sad to see summer go, it could also be a great time for businesses that cater to Back-to-School shoppers.

Take a Page from Starbucks with this Simple Strategy (Watch)

Almond milk seems to be all the rage right now. And Starbucks is taking notice. The coffee giant just announced that it would be adding almond milk to its selection of non-dairy milk options after receiving tons of requests on its crowdsourcing platform for customers and employees.

Small Biz Spotlight
Spotlight: Bizstarters Helps Entrepreneurs Over 50 Build Businesses

Starting a business isn’t always easy. But there’s help out there. And if you’re an entrepreneur over 50, that help might come in the form of Bizstarters.com. The company provides coaching and support for entrepreneurs in the Baby Boomer generation. Read about how the business got started and what it does in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.

Social Media
Massive Q2 Revenue Growth at Facebook Comes with 15 Percent Boost in Active Users

Facebook’s Q2 earnings report saw a 186 percent increase in net revenue and a 15 percent growth in monthly active users, highlighting that businesses, whether large or small, cannot take Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) for granted.

Economy
Bank of America Launches Inaugural Study: Women Entrepreneurs More Optimistic Than Men

Despite facing challenges, women entrepreneurs are more optimistic about revenue and growth than their male counterparts, a new study has found. Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) inaugural Women Business Owner Spotlight study (PDF) surveyed 1,000 small business owners across the United States and found some interesting insights into the minds of women entrepreneurs.

Biz2Credit: Brexit Has Little Impact on Small Business Lending

Contrary to some expectations, the great upheaval caused by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union — colorfully known as Brexit — has caused little economic disturbance at all here in the U.S. That’s at least as far as small business lending is concerned. The Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index for June 2016 indicates virtually no impact from the Brexit decision.

Technology Trends
eFax Upgrade: Fax from Phone Service Adds Large File Sharing, Unlimited Storage

When eFax started out, paper fax still dominated and the company offered a paperless alternative with just a basic send and receive functionality on a computing device.

FileMaker Introduces Idea for iPad Bundle To Make Custom Apps Easier

A series of new releases by an Apple-owned company seek to aid small businesses in creating custom apps to help digitize their processes. FileMaker, Inc., a wholly owned Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) subsidiary that develops and delivers software to create custom business solutions for individuals and organizations, has introduced the Service Business Toolkit and Idea to iPad Bundle.

$99 Superbook Turns Android Phone Into Laptop — Sort Of

If you’re looking to converge your laptop and smartphone experience, at a fair price, you might only have to wait for the release of the Andromium Superbook in early 2017. The Superbook is basically a laptop shell that uses your smartphone’s brains to operate.

Datto Drive Offers File Sync and Share Priced for Small Business

Digital file sharing has become a crucial aspect of daily life for small business owners across the planet. Incredibly efficient cloud systems have helped untether workers and redefine the limits of what companies can achieve. But recently, businesses have been jumping ship and abandoning free cloud sites in search of more dynamic file sync and share (FSS) services.

Over 75 Cybersecurity Tips in This Free eBook!

Are you worried about cybercrime against your business? The increasing reliance on technology can certainly make running a business easier. But it also opens up the possibility for hackers to access and potentially steal your important data. More and more, small businesses are seeing news reports of cybercrimes and online security threats.

LG Will Be First to Introduce Phone with Android Nougat — But What Does That Even Mean?

LG (KRX:066570) has announced it will unveil it’s latest phone — the v20 — on September 6. And one thing at least is for certain. The phone will be the first to run the new Android Nougat operating system.