Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Authenticity reward: Doing business under your own name leads to higher profits
It may seem vanity but customers like it better: Entrepreneurs are more successful when they name their companies after themselves. A survey of two million companies over the period 2002-2012 shows that almost 20 percent of the firms were named after their founders. And, on average, they generated Read More...
GM expands its car sharing service for Uber and Lyft drivers
Maven Gig, the car-sharing service for gig economy workers owned by General Motors, is expanding to a few more cities. Starting today, the service is available in Los Angeles. Later this fall, it will launch in Boston, Phoenix, and Washington, DC. And Baltimore and Detroit will follow soon after. Read More...
Airbnb is banning people trying to attend a white supremacist rally
Ahead of a white supremacist rally this Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, Airbnb has deactivated the accounts of some people who are trying to attend the event, BuzzFeed first reported. It’s not clear how many accounts Airbnb has deactivated (we asked and the company told us there are no Read More...
Lyft partners with Amtrak for first- and last-mile trip tie-ins
Lyft and Amtrak are teaming up on a partnership that will allow Amtrak app users to book a trip directly in the train operator’s mobile software. The Lyft ride quest feature is designed to help travellers manage those first and last legs of their journey, and the team-up also comes with a $5 Read More...
Lego invests $155 million in developing bioplastics to make its toys sustainable
Lego has set the target to replace 20 types of conventional plastics used in making its bricks with sustainable materials by 2030 to help curb the company’s total carbon dioxide emissions. The Denmark-based toy maker has invested $155 million into a Sustainable Materials Center, where materials Read More...
Waste is money as this pickle company found out
Many companies produce a lot of waste creating their products and services. Very few realize that with a little creativity that waste could add additional value and income to their operations. This pickle company was able to turn a byproduct of the pickling process, cucumber-infused water, into a Read More...
This startup is quite literally Airbnb for pets
In the digital world, there is one certainty: if there’s a need, sooner or later (and probably sooner) there will be an app for it. Digital technology has revolutionized, streamlined and enhanced just about every area of our lives. And now it’s time to do the same for our pets’ lives. Now Read More...
The developing world is turning its poop problem into a resource
In developing countries, human waste is often left out in the open or funneled into the ocean, where it contaminates the water supply—leading to thousands of deaths each year due to gastrointestinal diseases. That’s beginning to change after an alliance of companies like Unilever and nonprofits Read More...
Refugees find temporary havens on Airbnb
Sefani Tadesse got the heads-up at dinnertime. Five Airbnb guests would arrive at midnight. Tadesse and her daughter Bella, 13, rushed to clean their Oakland condo, washing towels, making the beds, buying flowers — and packing their own bags, because they vacate their one-bedroom place and stay Read More...
Calm under pressure? Run your business the mindful way
If recent events in politics have confirmed anything, it is that we live in unpredictable times where old assumptions no longer hold true. Creative thinking is crucial for business success through a period of uncertainty. Upheaval presents a chance to embrace uncertainty and remain level-headed, Read More...