Listen to today’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silk-logic-small-business-daily/id1841930957
Small Business Daily Podcast
Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories: From AI receptionists and tokenized finance to holiday retail tactics, growth marketing, and security alerts, here are the headlines shaping small business right now.
Exclusive: Beside, an AI voice startup, raises $32 million to build an AI receptionist for small businesses
Source: Fortune | Author: Beatrice Nolan | Published: not provided
Beside secured $32 million to scale its AI receptionist, which already handles millions of calls monthly and supports 20,000+ paying customers. Aimed squarely at solo operators and small teams, it books appointments, follows up, and creates a searchable “second brain” from calls and texts—helping owners capture missed revenue without hiring. With plans to expand in the U.S. and Europe, the company is positioning voice AI as a practical assistant for phone-first jobs.
Intain, FIS roll out tokenized loan marketplace on Avalanche for small banks
Source: CoinDesk | Author: Krisztian Sandor | Published: Nov 11, 2025
FIS and Intain launched Digital Liquidity Gateway on Avalanche, letting regional and community banks tokenize loans as NFTs and settle with stablecoins to reach institutional investors directly. By integrating with FIS core systems, the platform aims to increase transparency, prevent double-pledging, and unlock faster liquidity—so smaller banks can recycle capital into local business lending. Hundreds of millions in transactions are expected by year-end, starting with commercial real estate and aviation pools.
Canadian small businesses scale back holiday promos, hiring as nearly half expect weaker spending
Source: Financial Post | Author: Business Wire | Published: Nov 11, 2025
Nearly half of Canadian SMBs expect customers to spend less this holiday season and 77% say they won’t hire seasonal staff due to wage pressures and uncertainty. While 55% still forecast higher sales than last year, many are trimming promotions—42% won’t offer discounts at all—focusing limited deals on new customer acquisition, loyalty, and cash flow. The takeaway: owners are prioritizing margin discipline and operational flexibility as inflation weighs on consumer confidence.
How to use Google Pomelli for free
Source: SmashingApps | Author: An Jay | Published: Nov 11, 2025
Google’s Pomelli, a free (beta) AI assistant, scans your website to build a “Business DNA” and generates on-brand campaign ideas, visuals, and captions in minutes. Available in select English-speaking regions, it helps small teams spin up a week of content quickly while keeping human control over tone and compliance. Practical tips include proofing copy, refreshing the brand scan after site updates, and exporting assets to your scheduling tools.
AEO: How to make ChatGPT promote you
Source: Mixergy | Author: Andrew Warner (interviewer), Ethan Smith (interviewee) | Published: Nov 11, 2025
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) aims to get your brand cited inside AI-generated responses across tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. The playbook: turn high-value keywords into customer questions, seed credible offsite content (Reddit, YouTube, help docs), and iterate with short test cycles as models refresh. For startups, AEO offers a fast, scrappy path to visibility without waiting on traditional SEO authority.
Fake Facebook Business pages are bombarding users with phishing messages — so what can be done?
Source: TechRadar Pro | Author: Sead Fadilpašić | Published: Nov 11, 2025
Attackers are impersonating Facebook via the legitimate facebookmail.com domain to phish Business Suite users with urgent-sounding alerts. With tens of thousands of messages observed, SMBs should assume exposure and harden basics: enable MFA, use a password manager, train social managers to verify senders, and monitor for suspicious activity. Treat all “Meta Partner” or “account verification” emails as high-risk and confirm through in-app notifications.
How top learning tech companies reduce CAC and accelerate pipeline growth
Source: eLearning Industry | Author: Christopher Pappas | Published: Nov 11, 2025
A practical framework ties lower customer acquisition cost (CAC) to faster pipeline velocity through tighter sales–marketing alignment, smart segmentation, and relentless A/B testing. Focus on high-intent retargeting, mobile personalization, simplified conversion paths, and retention programs to raise ROI while spending less. Weekly shared dashboards and closed-loop attribution keep budgets flowing to channels that actually close.
The new RoboUP Raccoon 2 SE promises to be the best-value robot mower for small lawns: just press play
Source: Gizmodo | Author: not provided | Published: Nov 11, 2025
RoboUP’s Raccoon 2 SE, launching on Kickstarter at a $299 early price, promises “press play” simplicity with automatic yard mapping, quiet operation (<56 dBA), and 150 minutes of runtime per charge. Owners can schedule cuts, adjust heights, and even control it remotely, while the mower auto-docks to recharge and pauses for rain. For time-strapped homeowners, it’s a low-cost way to automate yard care without complex setup.
