You’re the Boss Blog: Today in Small Business: A Vending Machine for Pizza

What's affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners today.

Retail

One of Sydney's top pizzerias has bet hundreds of thousands of dollars on an "ingenious" pizza vending machine. Urban Outfitters is making big changes to its business model. A couple of entrepreneurs offer a way to stand out among Amazon's two million sellers. A blogger complains that Walmart is targeting small businesses with its new smaller stores. NPR continues its look at the decline of shopping malls.

Mobile

If your customers have PayPal on their phones, they'll soon be able to pay for things with a single touch.

Start-Up

Starting a successful one-person business is harder than it looks. This is how to test whether your business model is worth pursuing.

Opportunities

The language business is booming.

The Law

A lawyer explains how her small-business clients use her outsourced legal advice.

Finance

With $9 million and counting, a cooler could become the biggest Kickstarter campaign ever. A new report reveals that small-business owners don't save enough for retirement.

The Economy

Twenty-eight percent of small-business owners said the economy is the biggest challenge they face, according to a new survey, topping sales, regulations and financing. Important measures indicate low inflation in July (but the price of Nutella could be surging soon).

Washington

Uber hires a lobbyist. An editorial argues that federal contractors should follow the law — or not get more federal contracts.

Health Care

Here's the good news: Health coverage is soaring, but health care prices are not. And the bad news: Health care data breaches have hit 30 million patients and counting. And the mixed news: More people, not fewer, may be signing up for employer coverage — which would cost employers more.

Marketing

Here is what you need to know about content marketing. And here are seven ways to get the most out of exhibiting at a trade show.

Social Media

A social media junkie explains how he's getting his brain back. In the wake of the ice bucket challenge, consider other ways to help: "It's great to give to charity, but your business will receive more benefit from making a true connection with a local cause that you can support in a variety of ways than it will from a momentary trend."

Around the Country

A local New Jersey paper supports Governor Christie's veto of a "feel good" bill that would have made it illegal for a company to not hire a job seeker because he or she was unemployed. A New York City councilman proposes an app to save the taxi industry. These are the most pro-business lawmakers in the central New York, according to one business group. Nursing moms are protesting an Oregon restaurant's request to "cover up." A dental lab owner plans to revitalize downtown Savannah. An incubator in suburban Philadelphia is helping high school entrepreneurs. More people are moving into downtown Kansas City. Atlantic City is trying to decide what to do with empty high-rise casinos.

Technology

Microsoft is looking to boost law firm productivity with cloud technology. A UPS Store in North Carolina becomes the first to offer 3-D printing.

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

source : http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/640316/s/3db10ad8/sc/28/l/0Lboss0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C0A80C20A0Ctoday0Ein0Esmall0Ebusiness0Ea0Evending0Emachine0Efor0Epizza0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm