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For this toy store, back-to-school shopping looks different this year

Sep 10, 2021
Millions of students are returning to in-person classes this school year. What does that mean for businesses that sell school supplies?
While consumers are spending more on technology and COVID-19 related products, spending fell for traditional school supplies, clothing and accessories, according to a report from Deloitte.
Philippe Huguen/AFP via Getty Images

How a choir teacher found new purpose during the pandemic

Aug 30, 2021
Jordan Leckband, the general music teacher at Windsor Elementary School in Des Moines, Iowa, figured out a new direction for his career.
About 20% of workers switched jobs during the pandemic, and 26% plan to look for a new job when the threat of the pandemic decreases, according to Prudential Financial’s Pulse of the American Worker Survey.
Photo by Graeme Robertson/Getty Images

How a travel agency is bouncing back from a devastating year

Aug 11, 2021
Denver travel agent Sarah Fazendin says clients are spending more on extras than they would have before the pandemic.
Sarah Fazendin, owner of Videre Travel, a Denver-based travel agency, with her family at Machu Picchu in Peru. Her business has seen a massive uptick in travelers looking to navigate changing COVID restrictions.
Courtesy Sarah Fazendin

The microwedding is here to stay, this event planner says

Aug 10, 2021
When business came to a halt for Gretchen Culver in Minneapolis, she launched a new business focusing on weddings with 30 or fewer guests.
Wedding planning is booming as analysts forecast the highest number of weddings in over a decade for 2022, according to market research firm The Wedding Report.
Photo courtesy Amanda Nippoldt Photography

For this mom, finding a job means reuniting her family

Aug 5, 2021
Nandita Godbole has stayed in Georgia for 11 years while seeking a job in California, where her husband waits for her and their daughter.
Georgia resident Nandita Godbole has tried to find a job in California for 11 years and worries about whether her small business would survive a cross-country move.
John Moore via Getty Images

For this teen, working a summer job is about more than some extra cash

Aug 2, 2021
Teenagers have been picking up more jobs during this year.
While some teenagers use their summer break to relax from the daily grind of school, many use the free time as an opportunity to pick up a summer job.
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Teenagers are flooding the hot summer job market

Jul 19, 2021
Many employers are turning to younger people to fill labor shortages as business reopen. Two teenagers share their work stories.
The number of 16- to 19-year-olds who work jumped to 31.9% in June from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

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A nearly 200-year-old sweet shop stood the test of time. How is it weathering the pandemic?

Jul 5, 2021
The Oldest Sweet Shop in the World has witnessed wars and other strife from its location in northern England.
“We stock many traditional sweets,” says Ben Howie, owner of the Oldest Sweet Shop in the World, located in Pateley Bridge, England.
Courtesy Elizabeth Hotson (BBC/Marketplace)

At this toy shop, the kids are finally coming back

Apr 7, 2021
Irene Kesselman, owner of Ali Cat Toys in North Carolina, describes what she's seeing this spring.
Ali Cat Toys made over 50 Easter baskets, Irene Kesselman said, with "a lot of stuffed bunnies and rabbits and lambs."
Courtesy of Irene Kesselman

An epidemiologist reflects on her pandemic child care decision

Apr 5, 2021
“I think I made the best decision I could,” said Whitney Robinson, a professor and public health expert.
When schools and day cares shut down last spring, epidemiologist Whitney Robinson faced a choice.
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