Archive: Small Business

By Eliza Morgan The recent release of the MasterCard Business Network is a service for small and mid-sized businesses. The platform, powered by Rearden Commerce’s Deem platform, allows business owners to save time and money while managing expenses simultaneously.  This one-stop-shop is a reflection of the company’s commitment to “perfecting commerce” by pairing businesses with the right consumers; and in this case, businesses are the consumers. All current MasterCard card holders are eligible to register. There are plans for an updated network release in upcoming...

I’m in the trenches with our small business customers. I need to understand their business concerns, priorities, and headaches, and relate them back to our engineering team to constantly innovate and improve our offering. The latest collaboration between our product development and engineering teams is Deem at Work, a suite of integrated spend and expense management applications that helps small businesses save on the items and services they buy every day, including essential tools to manage their spend, all in one place. The feelings I’ve had leading up to the launch...

I’ve always rooted for the underdog, whether it’s a sporting event or a local mom and pop business. One of the things that motivates me every day as CEO of Rearden Commerce is seeing our Deem technology in action, enabling small- and mid-size businesses everywhere to compete and realize the benefits of their large, enterprise competitors. Today we announced Deem is powering the MasterCard Business Network, helping more than 15 million small businesses save time and money by operating smarter. MasterCard selected Deem because the platform offers a complete solution that...

By Hayley Spencer It would be an exaggeration to say that technological advances necessarily make work easier, no matter what your specific type of business. However, certain technological improvements can at least help minimize some of the annoyances and busywork that impair your productivity. Incorporating such improvements into your everyday work life could provide a significant time savings. Cell phones have become significantly more advanced than their brick-like ancestors. Modern smart phones can now run apps of all types, including several that can be invaluable for...

I’m constantly reminded by our entrepreneurial customers that starting a business is an enormous achievement. Maintaining and growing that business is an even bigger one. The challenges inherent in managing all the aspects of a small business — simultaneously playing the roles of CEO, product manager, marketing lead, customer service and help desk — aren’t always enjoyable. Small business owners must be more dedicated, disciplined, resilient and organized than the rest of us. They must learn to understand finances,...

As National Small Business Week comes to a close, I’d like to pause to say it’s been pretty incredible to be a part of the events celebrating small business, the drivers of our economy. My team and I have had ample opportunity to talk with small businesses owners, and what stands out to me the most is their ongoing struggle to manage it all — simultaneously building customer relationships, managing business operations and producing a product or delivering a service. It’s the time small business owners spend purchasing supplies, planning travel, reporting expenses,...

by Joshua Zerkel In my work with small/medium businesses and entrepreneurs, I hear a near-constant refrain: overwhelm, overwork, and lack of productivity. While there’s no one silver bullet that can solve all of these problems in one fell swoop, choosing and implementing the right technology can make a HUGE difference not only to how you work, but to your overall bottom line in your business. In particular, online or cloud-based tools (that is, applications or services that you access via the internet, instead of being installed on your computer) have a number of...

Our team has had the opportunity to sit down recently with many small businesses owners and their employees. We know these workers are constantly strapped for time — but we were looking to understand more about what’s filling their schedules. We recently spoke with a woman who manages multiple parts of a small Bay Area-based biotech company. She wears many hats for the company — marketing and communication, business management, purchasing, and several one-off day-to-day tasks. Her job is a constant balancing act. For her purchasing role, she relies on a series of...