How To Make Money In Trendy Businesses-And Survive When The Trend Ends

Nate Martin’s timing was perfect. “Escape rooms” were having an international moment -- starting with one business in Kyoto, Japan, in 2007, and then rapidly expanding across Asia and Europe. They’re like an interactive puzzle: People pay to be locked inside a room and work together to complete a series of tasks in order to “escape.” In August 2013, just as the concept was expanding in the U.S., Martin invested $7,000 to build one called Puzzle Break in Seattle, and he made his money back by the end of the year. He then franchised in Long Island and struck a deal with Royal Caribbean to install escape rooms on cruise ships -- grossing $660,000 in 2015, and putting him on track to more than double his revenue in 2016.

Despite his success, he cautions entrepreneurs against following his lead. “There are now more than a thousand escape rooms, each competing with exponentially larger budgets,” he says. “The barrier to entry is rising so fast, no one could get away with what we did.”

The Ins and Outs of Microfinancing Your Small Business

Venture capital may be the hot, sexy funding route that helps a few businesses and grabs a lot of headlines every year. But it turns out another type of funding works out better for most entrepreneurs: microfinance. Microfinance loans are small loans typically in the range of up to $50,000 in the United States, with an average loan amount between $9,000 and $10,000.


Non-bank lenders such as Accion USA provide loans that average just $7,000. Here’s the funny part: The businesses they lend to have a survival rate that’s twice the national average. Repayment rates are on par with traditional banks, too.

Why do micro-borrowers do better than owners who use traditional bank loans or credit cards? Here are three reasons:

What 70 Airbnb Stays Can Teach Anyone About Running Any Business

When a four-foot snake slithered through our window, we screamed and hopped around, then chased it out with a broomstick. Next we emailed our host. We were at an Airbnb in Koh Lanta, Thailand. It took 24 hours to hear back. Locals, she wrote, believe “a snake in the home is good luck.” Wrong answer! And wrong attitude. Let’s get one thing straight: For all of Airbnb’s live-like-a-local propaganda, it’s about paying money to sleep in a stranger’s bed. An Airbnb listing is a small business: Guests are clients, hosts are vendors. This simplicity makes Airbnb an instructive space to discover what makes a good business.