Piranha Pond Investing Opportunity—Entrepreneurs Latch On

Hopeful entrepreneurs and established businesses are always looking for more money to develop and expand. Finding investors through pitching to “angels” has become a popular way to make the connections necessary to learn the ropes and get the money necessary to make it big with a great idea. When it comes...

Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for Artists in Central Massachusetts

Massachusetts is known as a place of innovation and achievement in fields such as technology, medicine and manufacturing. It is also home to a vibrant community of artists practicing a broad spectrum of creative disciplines. But these painters, sculptors, performance artists and countless other...

Worcester Chamber Lists Annual Business Award Winners

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce announced their list of local business award winners, all of whom will be honored at a special ceremony commencing at 4:00 p.m. on May 14, 2015, at The Haven Country Club in Boylston. The Richard B. Kennedy Business of the Year award goes to Imperial Distributors,...

Boston to Investigate Gender Wage Gap

On Tuesday, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh jumped head first into the bickering swirling around the issue of the gender wage gap. He did so by announcing that the city is getting set  to study the wages of male and female employees at dozens of  local companies. This is the first attempt by any major U.S....

Coffee is… GOOD FOR YOU??

Over 50% of the American adult population drink coffee daily. The next time you feel bad about making your fourth trip to the break room in two hours, allow yourself to bypass the guilt of relying so heavily on the bean and remind yourself that your caffeine habit (it’s totally not an addiction) could...

Berkshire County Rep. Proposes Change to Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers

Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Berkshire County, Massachusetts has presented a bill that, if passed, would gradually increase the minimum wage for tipped workers in the state until they are paid the same as other minimum wage workers. This is an addition to the current law, which will increase...

WPI Introduces Data Tool to Evaluate Massachusetts’ Competitive Edge

Worcester Polytechnic Institute has announced the development of a new system to help evaluate Massachusetts’ competitive position among leading technology states. The program has been dubbed the Massachusetts’ Technology, Talents and Economic Reporting System (MATTERS). MATTERS is an online...

“Snow Loans” To Help Small Business Owners Recover from Difficult Winter

The Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) has issued its first snowstorm loan, part of an initiative to help small business owners bounce back after record snowfall this winter. Up to $1 million has been set aside in a fund that is available to qualifying businesses throughout the state. “As small...

Mass Revenue Gains Are Good – Not Great

With the month of January coming to a close, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts received a mixed bag of news as legislators poured over projected revenue surpluses and the instability of state, national, and world economies. Economic experts forecast an increase in state tax revenues around 4.5 percent for...

Massachusetts adds 10,900 jobs in December

According to a January 22, 2015 statement from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), there were 10,900 jobs added in Massachusetts in December. The EOLWD based these figures on early estimates provided by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The largest...

It’s #GivingTuesday

We just had a day of giving thanks, plus two more for getting great deals on seasonal gifts. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. Today, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world come together for one common purpose: to celebrate...

Do You Hate Your Boss?

You know the feeling! The very thought or mention of your boss causes your knuckles to turn white and your blood pressure to go through the roof. Family members and friends know to avoid mentioning his or her name unless they want the conversation to take a turn for the worse. Dealing with a bad boss can be...

Eight Tips About Holiday Networking

As the holiday season approaches, professional holiday parties will also begin sprouting up. This is the perfect time to begin perfect your networking skill set. Here are a few ways in which you can master holiday networking and take new connections with you into the new year!   1. Go...

THE CHALLENGE: Keeping Our Graduates Closer to Home

The dearth of graduates from Worcester-based colleges who remain in the area recently served as the main topic of the day for the Worcester Regional Research Bureau at Assumption College. Hosting a panel discussion entitled, “Degrees of Separation: Retaining College Graduates in Greater Worcester,” the...

Three Lessons Jeff Bezos Taught Me About Running a Startup

Approximately twenty years ago, serendipity helped new Seattle resident Maryam Mohit take a giant leap toward her dream to start an online bookstore. That vision helped blossom due to a friend’s suggestion that she meet with “a guy named Jeff” who had a similar outlook. That person turned out to be Amazon...

Keeping Your Customer’s Secrets

Cray Computers are priced anywhere from $500,000 for their “discount” XC30-AC model all the way up to $60 million for the Cray Titan. The company is world-famous for their line of supercomputers, and their products are used by many of the biggest companies – and governments – around the globe. Recently,...

Apple and Bose Settle Patent Dispute

These days, as we are constantly surrounded by noise and seek personal respite, noise cancellation is an increasingly popular – sometimes necessary – technology that subtracts noise in the surroundings from what is heard through a headset. This technology has proven to be “big money.” Two...

Starting Salaries Projected to Rise 3.8 Percent in 2015

According to human resources firm Robert Half, it is expected that annual salaries for professionals in the USA will increase by 3.8 percent in 2015.  Those working in information technology (IT) and other technology fields are expected to benefit the most. New entrants in the information technology...

Massachusetts Task Force Challenges Companies To Promote Women

A state task force was established by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to encourage the hiring of female employees in the Commonwealth. The task force is suggesting that companies permit more flexible scheduling, and hire and promote female workers to higher positions. Almost half of the employees in...

Three Ways to Grow Your Business

Building a business requires hard work, determination and talent. When it comes to the methods used to build your company, there are literally hundreds of processes to choose from. In reality however, there are only three effective ways to build any business. Bringing In New Clients The only way your...

Needham wins Google’s Annual eCity Award in Massachusetts

This Wednesday Google will honor the the city of Needham, MA with the company’s annual eCity award. In an attempt to identify the “digital capitals” of America, the award (which went to Westborough last year) is meant to recognize the communities with the strongest online business presence in every...

What Caused Last Month’s Increase in the Massachusetts Jobless Rate?

Showing signs of improvement over weak August numbers that had the state losing an estimated 5,000 jobs, Massachusetts employers reported on Thursday they had added 9,400 jobs in September. The data came from the monthly jobs survey conducted by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce...

Massachusetts Receives $327,000 in AT&T Settlement

Class Action Case No. CV-09-1529 SI never went to court. The two sides – the Federal Trade Commission and AT&T – settled in October, 2014. AT&T, the largest mobile phone service provider in the nation, agreed to pay $105 million for unauthorized cell phone charges in a practice known as “mobile...

2014 Big E Enjoys Record Breaking Attendance

The 2014 Big E set a new attendance record of 1,498,605 as fair enthusiasts flocked to the annual regional event. Eager visitors also broke 1980’s single day attendance record on Saturday Sept. 20th when 170,612 visitors poured into the fairgrounds. This year’s attendance figures represent a healthy...

Cuban’s 12 Rules for Startups

In the modern American business landscape, few have been more successful – and outspoken – than Mark Cuban. If his $2.7 Billion net worth isn’t impressive enough for you, a quick glance at the list of companies with which he is involved is truly staggering.  (For those who may be...

Should the New Pro Soccer Stadium be in Boston?

The New England Revolution is on the search for a new stadium to call home, and Boston might just be it. While some soccer fans are eager to see this stadium come to town, especially as the sport becomes increasingly popular in American society, others are saying that the city already has enough traffic and...

Mass Raises Minimum Wage to Highest in U.S.

In the aftermath of the Obama administration’s failure to garner sufficient support for a federal minimum wage increase, some states are taking action on their own – including Massachusetts. State Governor Patrick has signed a measure that would raise the state’s minimum wage to eleven USD...