Launching or scaling a small business in 2026 will mean understanding key trends and how to align your organization with these shifts. Upwork, an online marketplace for hiring skilled freelancers, dug into the top trends shaping the small business landscape in 2026 and how adapting your strategy to match could empower you to make more confident decisions, prioritize investments and structure your business for long-term resilience.

The missing ingredient in direct selling’s next chapter. For decades, leadership development was the heartbeat of direct selling. The companies that lasted didn’t just build volume. They built people. They had systems that turned someone new into a builder and eventually into a leader. Those systems weren’t fancy—they were clear, consistent and culture driven. Then […]

Women have long been the minority when it comes to franchise ownership, but that gap is shrinking. In the past ten years, the number of women-owned franchises has grown by 38%. When compared to earlier decades, the improvement is astonishing.

In a peer-reviewed study published to the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that 90% of people typically experience severe life regrets. These regrets can range from feelings of discomfort from perceived flaws in personal choices or a complex emotional experience that elicits negative responses like despair and shame.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has formally abandoned its nationwide non-compete ban. In a 3-1 vote, the FTC dismissed the non-compete rule which had been previously stalled in August 2024 by a Texas federal court and had yet to officially take effect.

Although they lived most of their lifetimes analog, Baby Boomers are now showing signs of struggling with digital overuse. A new poll of adults aged 59 to 77, conducted by Addiction Resource, shows that almost half of adults in this demographic now spend more than three hours a day on their smartphones.