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5 days ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:For sellers on TikTok Shop, the free ride is over. Chefs are using AI to solve technical problems and to brainstorm recipe ideas. A new economic forecast shows that the tariffs are hitting the U.S. hardest. As the year began, the housing market seemed to be on the verge of recovery.
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6 days ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:AI is also about to transform the home-services industry. CDFIs may be the best-kept secret in small-business lending. Trump is doubling his tariffs on steel and aluminum (and betting big on coal). An AI CEO says the technology could spike unemployment to as much as 20 percent in less than five years.
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1 week ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:Lou Mosca talks about how to get the most out of your morning huddle. Vermont’s farmers thought they wanted stricter immigration controls. If this beloved family business can’t govern itself peacefully, what hope is there for other family businesses? Could your youngest employees use some etiquette training?
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1 week ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:In our latest podcast episode, an owner asks the 21 Hats community to help him assess the importance of business growth. The first evidence of tariff-fueled inflation may be surfacing in home furnishings. But some business owners say they would rather close their business than raise their prices. It’s getting harder to get help from the SBA.
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2 weeks ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:The evidence suggests tariff-induced inflation is starting to arrive. In our latest Dashboard podcast, sales expert Lance Tyson talks about AI’s impact on sales. In his latest video, Lou Mosca encourages business owners to keep fighting. Today’s question: Have the prices your business pays started to rise? Are you charging more? Here’s hoping you have a delightful Memorial Day weekend. The Morning Report will return on Tuesday.
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2 weeks ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:The SBA has introduced a portal to help businesses source U.S. manufacturing. Josh Inglis, founder of a PR firm, expects AI to have a profound effect on PR firms. Kevin O’Leary thinks a section in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is “unfair” and “unAmerican” to small businesses. Today’s question: Should the SBA focus on getting capital to entrepreneurs or on balancing its books?
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2 weeks ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:“Every time we authorize a shipment from one of our factories,” says the owner of two ecommerce businesses, “we’re rolling the dice on what we’ll have to pay in import fees.”There’s a growing movement to make grocery stores more like farmers markets. The rise of cremation is killing funeral homes that don’t adjust. Today’s question: What do you see AI doing to PR firms and other professional-service businesses?
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2 weeks ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:The new SBA lending rules are causing deals to sell small businesses to fall apart. A LinkedIn executive says evidence that AI is killing entry-level jobs is mounting. So far, despite the crackdown on immigration, the expected worker shortages have yet to arrive. Here’s how to find a bonded warehouse to delay paying tariffs.
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2 weeks ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:In a video and a blog post, Nile Livingston captures the flavor of our 21 Hats Live event in Ann Arbor. In our latest Dashboard podcast, John Arensmeyer points to reasons to be optimistic that lawmakers can work together to support small businesses. America already has half a million unfilled manufacturing jobs. The Trump administration has stopped enforcing regulations that it doesn’t like.
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3 weeks ago | 
21hats.substack.com | Loren Feldman
Good Morning!Here are today’s highlights:Lou Mosca says entrepreneurs are always optimistic, but uncertainty is a killer. Renewable energy has been booming in Texas (until now). Whitney Wolfe Herd has been behind two big innovations in dating apps. She’s shooting for another. This impressive group of entrepreneurs has been hanging out in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this week, comparing notes, getting inspired, and eating a lot of good food courtesy of the nice folks at Zingerman’s.