These ideas, categorized from low to high effort, can help you and your clients save on utility bills as we enter the colder months.

Targeting a different client base can increase your customer pipeline. Follow this roadmap for branching out into another market.

Build trust with your team by being transparent in your communication, acknowledging their concerns, following through on your commitments and giving them a sense of how their work contributes to the overall success of the company, writes leadership coach Marcel Schwantes. "This can be done by communicating how their work, even the most mundane tasks, ties into the company mission, strategy, and end goals," Schwantes notes.

The metallic sheen of stainless steel is evolving beyond appliances—to countertops and cabinets.

Return-to-work policies are prompting some owners to put their houses on the market as they relocate closer to offices. Seattle agent David Palmer of Redfin has seen an uptick in inquiries from clients who want a home closer to work.

Private developers in Pittsburgh are holding back on construction or slowing down work on existing projects as they grapple with high interest rates and building costs. McCaffery Interests CEO Dan McCaffery notes it's worse nationwide, saying, "It's not a slow down. It's a dead stop."

Advancements in artificial intelligence are enabling small businesses to tap into conversational search, allowing visitors to query websites in a seamless way. This emerging technology is seen as a boon to customer service.

Build in time for self-care in order to set boundaries around the work-life balance you want to achieve.

California's building electrification laws are meant to reduce emissions and save energy, but could also lead to higher rent and evictions, according to a Strategic Actions for a Just Economy report. In some counties and cities, laws allow landlords to evict renters during renovations, while another law may allow landlords to recover renovation expenses through rent increases when leases are renewed.

A recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found 65.8% of households saying they could find $2,000 to cover an unexpected expense in the month ahead. That figure is the lowest since 2013, when the survey was first conducted. The survey also found 17.8% of credit card holders were seeking higher credit limits last month, up from 11.2% in October 2022, while reported average rejection rates were up year over year for credit cards as well as applications to refinance auto and mortgage loans.