For years, small business ownership has served as a “gateway” to the middle class, particularly for residents in Gateway Cities like Holyoke where economic mobility is otherwise limited and educational attainment is low. But since the pandemic, experts and advocates have warned that Massachusetts’s small businesses are struggling to survive.
small business
Posted inHEALTH CARE AT 20
Chapter 58 has made health care unaffordable for families and small businesses
We need an honest reckoning with the shortcomings of Massachusetts health care and what it would take to address them
Posted inGateway Cities
‘Couldn’t come at a better time’: Six Gateway Cities to get economic boost in downtown districts
Malden, Holyoke, Fitchburg, Chelsea, Peabody, and Lowell were selected for the latest round of support last week. Each city will receive a three-year economic development fellow who will provide on-the-ground expertise, leadership, and planning to help support small businesses, real estate development, and arts and culture projects.
Posted inOpinion
The Massachusetts data privacy bill is a threat to small business
The legislation’s aims are laudable. But several of its proposed restrictions on data collection and use are likely to hurt small businesses — which employ nearly 45 percent of the state’s workers and are critical to our economy.
Posted inEconomy
Mass. small businesses going through transition period
THE MASSACHUSETTS SMALL business economy is struggling to recover from COVID-19, even as it enters a major and time-sensitive transitional period. Many long-time small business owners are eying the exits, […]
Posted inOpinion
Pasta shop rethinks its role in the community
OVER THE PAST YEAR and a half, we all have been focused on a singular mission: survival. Now, as restrictions lift and we begin to venture out, we turn to […]
Posted inOpinion
Promising to be champion of small business
MASSACHUSETTS IS at an inflection point. Decisions we make as we emerge from quarantine will define the character of the Commonwealth for decades. Small businesses should be at the center […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts unemployment rate highest in the country — again
MASSACHUSETTS HAS THE HIGHEST unemployment rate in the country for the second month in a row, as the state continues the struggle to regain its economic footing. The Bay State had the […]
Posted inEconomy
Almost half of Massachusetts businesses helped by federal aid
NEARLY HALF OF the state’s businesses and nonprofits received aid from a key federal loan program meant to keep people employed amid the coronavirus downturn, according to a new analysis by the […]
Posted inEconomy
Rent payments pile up for business owners
DANIEL BOJORQUEZ, the owner of the La Brasa and Fat Hen restaurants in Somerville, is being squeezed by his landlord and the coronavirus. His restaurants have been shut down since mid-March by the virus and they’re […]
Posted inEconomy
2d Paycheck Protection Program set to go
BANKS ARE PREPARING to submit applications for the second round of federal loans to businesses as coronavirus shutdowns continue to impact the income of US firms. The Small Business Administration […]
Posted inEconomy
Gambling dollars can boost small biz
WITH THE ENCORE BOSTON casino scheduled to open in June, fiscal year 2020 will be the first year that the Commonwealth will receive significant taxes on gross gaming revenue, creating a […]
Posted inOpinion
Winter costs make region cold for business
TO SAY THAT this has been a tough winter is an understatement. Already, we’ve seen record cold snaps, soaring energy bills and story after story about how Massachusetts has burned […]
Posted inOpinion
Downsides of minimum wage boost and paid family leave
FOR MASSACHUSETTS small businesses, 2018 is shaping up to be a potentially devastating year. A coalition backed by big labor is making a strong push for both a $15 minimum […]
