Trends
Addicted to tasks
Alexandra Cain Even when we could be having fun, we feel the need to do chores.
Customise your life
![The Daily Edited's Alyce Tran at her pop-up shop in David Jones.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/g/y/u/o/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnjehk.png/1458524330734.jpg)
Cara Waters Technology is enabling businesses to offer consumers customised products on a mass scale.
Why aren't we developing Gen Y?
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gnj1cy.png/1458018137683.jpg)
Alexandra Cain They're not lazy, they are smart and talented and they deserve a break.
Beware the Google fraudsters
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gndk9g.png/1457469264218.jpg)
Alexandra Cain An email promising to get you to the top of search engine results is a scam.
Battle of the burgers
![Daragh Kan says while there will always be new trends and cuisines, the burger will always be the classic food that ...](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/a/a/d/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gna806.png/1457295932261.jpg)
Kate Jones There's a new burger bar on every corner but is there enough business for them all?
How to work zero hours a week
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gn71ik.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain This entrepreneur wanted to work just four hours a week. She was able to do a lot better than that and is earning millions.
The death of the video store
![Rob Jones shut his video store, Movie Reel, in Northcote, Melbourne, last year.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/u/s/i/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gn3t81.png/1456739661736.jpg)
Sylvia Pennington What happens when your industry is in terminal decline.
The problem with proper nouns: Why good grammar is good for business
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gmul4u.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain Why is it that so few people know the difference between upper and lower case?
Outsourcing gets personal and private
![Would you outsource your wedding speech to a canny small business?](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/o/9/6/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gmr1a3.png/1455153347443.jpg)
Louis White Meet the small businesses that can help you write a wedding speech, do a last-minute dry-cleaner run or find a missing legal document.
Ten tips to declutter your digital life
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gmp2p7.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain There are many steps you can take to inject elegant simplicity into the way you use technology.
Chin chin to the gin renaissance
![Cameron McKenzie, one of three owners of Four Pillars, in the company's distillery in Healesville.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/t/1/l/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gml6lh.png/1454655130895.jpg)
Small Australian distillers are tapping in to a global boom in gin.
Bunking in with Airbnb for business travel
![Guy Pearson uses online room booking service Airbnb for his work travel.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/l/n/q/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gmhcs7.png/1454563666432.jpg)
Cara Waters Small businesses are turning to Airbnb for their business travel as the sharing economy continues to gather speed.
How I quit procrastinating
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gmjn4m.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain We all do it and it's wasting our time and energy. Here's how to break the habit.
Are tattoos at work still taboo?
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gmehc7.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain Certain businesses that hire staff with visible ink are taking a substantial risk.
How to be an Uber driver
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gm8w7l.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain There are a few secrets you need to know to make your car ride business a success.
Five tips for surviving hump day
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gm45mw.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain Wednesdays are tough at the start of the year. Here's how to breeze through them.
5 business trends set to shape 2016
![Immersive reality technology could have important applications for small business.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/m/j/g/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gm03fi.png/1452041749488.jpg)
Adam Courtenay Futurists predict the top trends that will impact on your small business this year.
Boss pays $1 million to replace dodgy solar panels on 182 homes and businesses
![Fiona O'Hehir, chief executive and founder of Greenbank Environmental, is paying $1 million to rectify the shoddy work ...](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/y/y/8/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glyrda.png/1451947651765.jpg)
Cara Waters The founder of Greenbank Environmental is paying to replace 182 solar panels that were found to be non-genuine, "because it's the right thing to do".
Moving on: Fruit and veg traders settle into new market
![Flavorite hydroponic tomatoes wholesale business manager Grant Nichol says small traders found the move tough.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/y/o/l/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glyogd.png/1451889486671.jpg)
Engel Schmidl Fruit and vegetable traders are trying to put teething issues and 10 years of bad blood behind them as they settle into the new Melbourne Wholesale Fruit Vegetable and Flower Market.
How business can boom on New Year's Eve
![Sydney's spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks display is the work of small family business Foti Fireworks.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/p/t/o/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gluidg.png/1451529369832.jpg)
Kate Jones For the small business behind Sydney's New Year's fireworks spectacular and other hardworking small business New Year's Eve is one of the busiest times of year.
Nordic countries seek to claim Santa
![Santa Claus is big business for some small towns in Europe.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/p/o/3/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glul8s.png/1450919909495.jpg)
Matti Huuhtanen Where Santa Claus is actually from is an issue of economic significance for the small towns involved.
All I want for Christmas is a hoverboard
![Paulina Ciurzynska and Laeyna Rillotta from Future Wheels are tapping into the demand for hoverboards this Christmas.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/t/d/p/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gltdef.png/1450758046921.jpg)
Kate Jones Are hoverboards just this year's hipster fad or the transport of the future?
Five tips to present like a TED pro
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glt8lw.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain Anyone can address an audience like an expert orator with these easy lessons.
The Christmas e-card blight
![Emma Isaacs, founder of Business Chicks has written 370 Christmas cards this year.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/q/n/w/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glqnix.png/1456968060136.jpg)
Cara Waters Are e-cards a harmless way to spread Christmas cheer or spam polluting our inboxes this festive season?
What happens when the trend is over?
![Sheryl Thai, founder of Cupcake Central, says there will always be demand for cupcakes.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/p/t/z/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gloa0u.png/1450323452637.jpg)
Cara Waters Cupcakes reached when Sex and the City was screening and macarons can now be found in McDonalds but some businesses thrive when the fad has finished.
A make or break time of year
![Mandy Krywulycz from Itha's Puddings starts budgeting for next year as soon as Christmas is over.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/n/x/r/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glnzu6.png/1450160785537.jpg)
Kate Jones 'Tis the season to make a once a year profit for these small businesses.
Terrified to take time off?
![Alexandra Cain](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/n/z/o/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glnwxj.png/1456881820217.jpg)
Alexandra Cain If you're burnt out and in desperate need of down time but can't bear to go on holiday, chances are you're suffering from FOTAL.
Cat yoga is officially a thing
![Perth yoga studio Yoga Vine recently held cat yoga classes to raise money for charity.](/web/20160326073137im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/n/0/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkmfe.png/1449811517826.jpg)
Cara Waters There's humming yoga, hip-hop yoga and now one Sydney yoga studio is offering cat yoga.