Listen to today’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silk-logic-small-business-daily/id1841930957
Small Business Daily Podcast 10/13/2025
Welcome back to the show! Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories: a mix of tech shifts, policy changes, finance moves, and resilience strategies shaping the small business landscape.
This Week In Small Business Technology News: Apps can be used inside of ChatGPT and a big new Microsoft Teams feature
Source: Forbes
By Gene Marks — October 12, 2025
OpenAI rolled out app integrations directly inside ChatGPT using the Model Context Protocol, while Microsoft Teams is adding long-awaited pop-out windows for channels to boost multitasking. Perplexity touted productivity gains from its Comet AI browser, HR pros warned about AI-polished employee complaints, and a Talkdesk survey found SMBs are adopting AI without plans to cut headcount. The throughline: pick an AI platform strategy early, prep for new collaboration features, and upskill your team to use AI responsibly.
Stricter visa rules have Colorado employers that rely on foreign workers scrambling
Source: The Denver Post
By Aldo Svaldi — October 12, 2025
A new $100,000 fee for H-1B petitions and a tilt toward higher-wage roles are forcing smaller tech firms to rethink talent strategies, with some shifting work to Canada or other hubs. Large companies say they’ll absorb costs, but startups and mid-sized employers warn of slower innovation and reduced access to early-career international talent. Knock-on effects are rippling across H-2A/H-2B seasonal labor, while construction groups push for a new H-2C visa to fill year-round shortages.
How GCPL’s in-house creative pivot has paid off
Source: Mint
By Suneera Tandon — October 12, 2025
Godrej Consumer Products consolidated creative work into its Lightbox Creative Lab, boosting speed, consistency, and cost efficiency (saving 40 bps) across markets. A compact in-house team now produces about 35 campaigns a year, adapting a single core idea locally while still outsourcing media buying and production to avoid sameness. For brand-heavy companies, the lesson is clear: tighter creative cycles and continuity can lift marketing ROI without sacrificing local relevance.
Windows 10 end of life — Apple gives SMBs 5 reasons to switch to Mac before Windows 10 goes AWOL
Source: TechRadar Pro
By Mike Moore — October 12, 2025
With Windows 10 support ending October 14, 2025, Apple is pitching Mac as a secure, integrated alternative—highlighting built-in protections, seamless iPhone workflows, Microsoft 365 compatibility, and Apple Intelligence features. Apple’s experts also stress total cost of ownership, pointing to durable hardware and strong resale value. SMBs planning migrations should evaluate security needs, device ecosystems, and lifecycle economics now.
State-funded U.K. Business Bank raises direct investment in startups
Source: Forbes
By Trevor Clawson — October 12, 2025
The British Business Bank has crossed £250 million in co-investments across 33 scaleups and plans to ramp direct activity under the Modern Industrial Strategy. Priorities include backing research-intensive companies and “crowding in” private capital—particularly pension funds—via the new British Growth Partnership. For founders, that could ease the chronic funding gap between Seed and Series A and improve access to growth-stage capital.
African Bank wants more flexibility for SME loans
Source: Sunday Times (Business Times)
By Khulekani Magubane — October 12, 2025
African Bank’s R700 million social bond aims to expand SME credit aligned to UN SDGs while urging more flexible collateral and underwriting approaches. The oversubscribed issuance and ongoing policy dialogues signal momentum to unlock credit for underserved entrepreneurs, including energy transition projects. If paired with clear regulations (e.g., movable asset registries), this could materially widen SME access to finance in South Africa.
How a family-owned costume shop is keeping tariffs from making Halloween a nightmare
Source: Associated Press (via Roanoke Times)
By Anne D’Innocenzio — October 12, 2025
Facing steep tariffs on China-made costumes, Chicago Costume cut new orders by 40% and creatively repackaged years of inventory to avoid shocking customers with price hikes. Some suppliers shifted work to Mexico, while big-box rivals flooded the market with low prices—raising the bar for independents. The store’s approach—reuse, differentiation, and all-hands creativity—shows how small retailers can navigate policy shocks without losing their edge.
Meet the millennial father of six who went from homelessness to building a thriving trades business—and a blueprint for America’s reskilling revolution
Source: Fortune
By Eva Roytburg — October 12, 2025
Arkeem Sturgis rebuilt from homelessness to a $100,000 handyman/HVAC business through vocational training, mentorship, and relentless work. His message: trades offer fast, debt-light paths to stability—and the economy desperately needs more skilled workers. For policymakers and SMBs, it’s a playbook for reskilling at scale: fund vocational pathways, expand mentorship, and back small-business growth in the trades.
The cybercrime tsunami: how firms can stay afloat in an age of digital predation
Source: Finextra
By Stanley Epstein — October 12, 2025
AI-fueled phishing, deepfakes, ransomware-as-a-service, and supply-chain exploits are reshaping the risk calculus for every business. The article lays out a playbook: board-level governance, defense-in-depth, continuous training, third-party risk controls, and tested backups/disaster recovery. With regulatory scrutiny rising, security maturity is now a core business capability—not an IT add-on.
Father put a small business sign in his yard—but when the HOA ordered him to remove it, he found a loophole
Source: TwistedSifter
By Heather Hall — October 11, 2025
When a homeowner’s association demanded removal of a sign supporting a local painter, one homeowner read the bylaws and moved the sign from the yard to the flower bed—where rules didn’t apply. It stayed up for nearly a month, a small but telling win for community-level support of local businesses. The takeaway: knowing your rules can help you advocate for Main Street in everyday ways.
