small businesses

Weddings and other events are resuming across the Chicago area and boosting the bottom lines for businesses that cater and create memories for couples and event attendees.

The work-from-home strategy adopted by many companies and employees during the pandemic will soon be shifting as employees return to fill the office buildings of downtown Chicago, according to people who run the towering structures that make up the city’s iconic skyline.

The work-from-home strategy adopted by many companies and employees during the pandemic will soon be shifting as employees return to fill office buildings. NBC 5 Investigates’ Chris Coffey has the story.

Hair. It comes in all textures, colors, lengths, types and densities. But for Black women, the topic of hair can be complex — especially when it comes to caring for your natural locs. Enter Kazmaleje, a Miami-based business focused on creating hair tools and products for curly and kinky hair types. The business was launched by three sisters with a…

For Miami-based Kazmaleje, a business focused on creating hair tools for textured hair, the COVID-19 pandemic hit at an especially inopportune time. Owner LaToya Stirrup was committed to pushing through the challenges, however, and found ways to grow the business during the pandemic, thanks to the greater mission behind the business.

“We’re all figuring out what next week is going to look like day to day.” How can a party-based business pull through a pandemic? That is the question certified balloon artist Ava Sealey, who owns Ava Party Designs in Bethel, has been facing since March. Many small businesses are struggling during the pandemic, but Sealey believes in her business’s...

Harriett’s Bookshop, Brooklyn Chop House and Next Step Training discuss being Black-owned businesses during the pandemic and trying to raise awareness about social justice.

The coronavirus pandemic is tamping down the joy — and the revenue — associated with the Carnival season in New Orleans

Yelp searches for Black-owned businesses increased 2,400% in 2020.

Thousands of minority-owned small businesses were at the end of the line in the government’s coronavirus relief program as many struggled to find banks to accept their applications

Several businesses throughout the Chicago area will receive federal financial relief amid the coronavirus pandemic. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter reports.

Chicago area small businesses were boosted Thursday by a mix of last-minute shopping and customers wanting to support local businesses. NBC 5’s Chris Coffey reports.

Chicago area small businesses were boosted Thursday by a mix of last-minute shopping and customers wanting to support local businesses.

Two 12-year-old brothers from Connecticut have created a solution to a common Christmas problem – falling ornaments. Ayaan and Mika’il Naqvi joined LX News to talk about their invention of the “ornament anchor” and how their small business is helping homeless pets.

The past year has taken a massive toll on small businesses across the country, but some can start preparing for a better 2021. The CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International, Chloe Demrovsky, joined LX News to explain what businesses should expect in 2021 and how they can start preparing now.

Bigotry toward Asian Americans and Asian food has spread steadily alongside the coronavirus in the United States. Distorted information about the virus that first appeared in China has led to a revival of century-old tropes about Asian food being dirty.

When the swine flu pandemic hit the world in 2009, designer Irina Blok took her idea for fun face masks onto ‘Shark Tank.’ But in what may be the biggest face-palm moment in the show’s history, the ’Sharks’ nearly laughed her out of the room. We talked to Blok about the experience and saw how one of the investors is...

The coronavirus pandemic has been incredibly damaging for the restaurant industry in the United States: The National Restaurant Association estimates that at least 17% of the country’s food service establishments have already shuttered, with 10,000 restaurants having closed their doors in just the past three months.

The deadline for Illinois small businesses to apply for coronavirus relief grants comes early next week, according to state officials.