By Henry Williams on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
UPDATED: As a retailer, you need a point of sale (POS) system that can not only handle a high number of sales (and at an affordable cost to you), but that makes your day-to-day easier, so you can focus on the most important aspects of running your business.
While many retail POS systems have very similar offerings, it’s the differences in costs and features that can make one best for a retail clothing store and one best for a retail grocery store.
From tablets to touch screens and inventory, we’ve dug down into the specifics of a variety of card machines to bring you the six best retail POS systems for you to compare.
Or, if you feel like you’re ready to decide, why not get quotes for your perfect POS system today. All you need to do is provide us with some basic info about your business in the form below and we’ll match you with the best providers for your needs.
Bellingham, WA – eXp World Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPI) (the “Company,” “eXp” or “we”), the holding company for eXp Realty®, FrameVR.io and SUCCESS® Enterprises, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.
“2025 was a defining year for eXp Realty, validating our belief that transparency and agent empowerment are the only sustainable paths forward,”
said Leo Pareja, CEO of eXp Realty.
“Our results reflect a year of relentless execution where the industry took notice of our momentum. We aggressively strengthened our value stack, from innovations in our AI-enabled platform to the rollout of the co-sponsor program, and key leadership appointments that position us for scale. We expect 2026 to be a pivotal year as our prior investments begin to yield margin improvements, driven by focused execution. We will also continue to assess opportunities to accelerate growth, expand our capabilities, and drive long-term shareholder value. We believe our platform is well-positioned to drive durable, profitable growth while combining the speed of innovation with the operational trust our agents rely on to thrive.”
“Our focus this year has been on building a boundary-less platform where technology and community converge,”
said Glenn Sanford, Founder, Chairman and CEO of eXp World
LifeWave is thrilled to announce the promotion of Janine Weber to Regional President, North America.
Weber previously served as Regional Vice President of Sales, North America, where she delivered “sharp strategic insight, authentic partnership and an unwavering dedication to strengthening cross-functional alignment” with field leaders.
LifeWave stated that Weber’s work drove meaningful progress across its regional initiatives and global programs, particularly in events and recognition, and has earned the trust and respect of both internal teams and salesforce leaders.
“We are fortunate to have Janine Weber leading LifeWave North America into its next chapter,”
said Meredith Berkich.
“I’m confident that with her leadership, the future of North America will be filled with growth, alignment and even greater momentum.”
SOURCE: Lifewave
About LifeWave, Inc.
LifeWave, Inc., headquartered in Draper, Utah, is a global wellness and technology company dedicated to helping people live happier, healthier, and more energetic lives through innovative life technology products. With millions of customers worldwide, LifeWave continues to pioneer advancements in wellness technology and human performance.
For more information, visit: www.lifewave.com
The post LifeWave Promotes Janine Weber to Regional President, North America appeared first on Direct Selling Facts, Figures and News.
Reese Witherspoon says that career success is less about “chasing your dreams” and more about pursuing your talents.
In a new social media video, Witherspoon argues that it is your responsibility to figure out your specific, unique talents.
Her advice is that “everybody has dreams,” but that doesn’t mean you’re going to fulfill that dream — you’re supposed to do what you’re genuinely good at.
In a recent video posted to Instagram and shared with her 30 million followers, the actress and entrepreneur described talking to a young woman over the phone who wanted to leave a job she disliked. When Witherspoon asked, “What are your talents?” the woman had trouble answering.
Witherspoon, who has starred in hits like Legally Blonde, The Morning Show and Big Little Lies, made the interaction a learning experience. Instead of chasing your dreams, “you chase your talents,” she said. Her point is that the path to meaningful success is less about romantic ideals and more about self-knowledge: figure out what you do uniquely well, and then go after that as hard as you can.
“Everybody has dreams. Doesn’t mean you’re going to be that thing. You are supposed to do what you’re talented at,” Witherspoon explained in the Instagram video. “It’s your job in life to figure out what your specific, unique talents are and go chase them.”
Witherspoon has taken her own advice. She rose to fame after starring in hit films like the 2005 musical Walk the Line and the 2014 adventure film Wild, then expanded her career by founding a successful production company, Hello Sunshine. Witherspoon sold a majority stake in Hello Sunshine in 2021 in a deal that valued the business at about $900 million.
Experts agree with Witherspoon that dreams alone shouldn’t guide a career. Leadership coach Amina AlTai told CNBC in December that passions are “by nature fickle,” and they could “fizzle out fast.” She cautioned against tying your entire career to whatever engages you in a particular season. Dreams can evolve quickly, whereas careers are long-term bets that demand staying power, she explained.
Suzy Welch, an NYU Stern School of Business professor, also told CNBC last year that it is important to identify what you are good at, or the inner aptitudes that make you better at certain skills and competencies. This aligns with Witherspoon’s advice to “figure out what your specific, unique talents are” and follow them.
Welch framed the pursuit of a purposeful career as finding an “area of transcendence,” where three things intersect: values, skills and interests that can financially support you. Dreams often reflect your values and interests, but Welch warned that without a real skills component and some economic viability, they aren’t enough to sustain a career.
Discovering your strengths
Witherspoon’s advice is “to do what you’re talented at,” which demands that you have to do the hard work of identifying your talents.
According to Welch, finding where you shine could look like answering the following questions: “What do people consistently praise you for? What tasks feel easier to you than to others? Where have you produced real, measurable results?”
Welch said that recognizing these innate skills is what “unlocks the work we should engage in and the life we should lead to thrive.”
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MIT researchers built a 3D printer that can produce a fully functioning electric linear motor in about three hours for 50 cents in materials.
Linear motors are typically used in optical systems and simple robotics.
While a linear motor is still far away from the complexity of a car engine, the development is a significant step in the right direction.
MIT researchers just built a 3D-printing platform that can spit out a fully functioning electric linear motor in about three hours. The advancement brings researchers one step closer to printing out a car.
A 3D printer takes filament and produces solid objects. The process starts with a 3D model on a computer. The printer slowly builds the shape, often using melted plastic, until it creates a 3D item.
In an article in the industry journal Virtual and Physical Prototyping, the researchers explained that their new 3D-printing system can handle different materials in a single build, switching among four different tools as it prints layer by layer.
Instead of printing just plastic shells or simple parts, the 3D-printing system can fabricate all the key components of an electric machine in a single go, on a single platform. In their demo, the researchers printed an electric linear motor entirely on this system.
Preparing the filaments inside a standard 3D printer. Credit: Getty Images
It’s important to note that a linear motor generates straight-line motion, unlike a more complex rotating motor, like the one in a car. Researchers use linear motors in optical systems and simple robotics.
While a linear motor is still far away from the complexity of a car engine, the development is a significant step in the right direction, researchers say.
“This is a great feat, but it is just the beginning. We have an opportunity to fundamentally change the way things are made by making hardware onsite in one step, rather than relying on a global supply chain. With this demonstration, we’ve shown that this is feasible,” Dr. Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, one of the senior authors of the research paper, told MIT News.
3D printing is cheap
The 3D-printed linear motor matched or outperformed comparable motors made with more complex, conventional manufacturing, and only cost 50 cents in materials, the researchers found.
In comparison, electric linear motors, which are used in telescopes and optics and medical and lab systems, range from around $300 to $800 to make at the lower end, with high-end models costing thousands of dollars. It costs more than $3,500 to build a rotary motor for a car.
The researchers did not disclose how much the 3D-printed system costs overall. 3D printers start at about $200 and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for more sophisticated machines.
Why this matters for printing a car
If researchers can one day 3D-print advanced motors and other components, the idea of assembling a car from downloaded designs becomes more of an engineering problem than science fiction, per Gizmodo.
Going forward, the researchers say they want to move from linear motors to rotary motors found in cars. They want to 3D-print the kind of technology seen in electric vehicles and advanced robots today.
They also write about adding more toolheads so that the same 3D-printing platform could one day manufacture more complex electronics, including vehicle subsystems and medical devices.
“Even though we are excited by this engine and its performance, we are equally inspired because this is just an example of so many other things to come that could dramatically change how electronics are manufactured,” Velásquez-García told MIT News.
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A research report went viral over the weekend. By Monday, the stock market was in free fall. Citrini Research published a 7,000-word hypothetical scenario dated June 2028 that painted a scary portrait of AI disrupting white-collar jobs and sparking financial contagion. The report tapped into a fear: What if AI is so good for the economy that it’s actually bad for stocks?
Many stocks named in the report tanked. Software firms Datadog, CrowdStrike, and Zscaler each plunged more than 9%. IBM fell 13%, its worst one-day performance since 2000. American Express, KKR, and Blackstone—all called out by Citrini—also tumbled.
Trade policy uncertainty also played a role in the fall. Still, the market’s response to a thought experiment shows how anxious Wall Street has become about AI disruption.
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Uber wants to pick up customers even when they’re behind the wheel. The company announced it’s acquiring parking app SpotHero for an undisclosed sum. SpotHero offers parking reservations at more than 13,000 garages, lots, and valets across 400 cities in the U.S. and Canada. Uber plans to integrate SpotHero’s service into its app to help users find parking for events, venues, and airports.
The Chicago-based SpotHero launched in 2011 and last raised outside funding in 2019, when it secured $50 million led by Macquarie Capital.
The acquisition reflects Uber’s broader expansion strategy beyond ride-hailing and Uber Eats. The company’s delivery business—which now includes groceries and retail alongside restaurants—was its strongest revenue growth area in the fourth quarter. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the first half of 2026.
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By Anna Jordan on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
The Spring Forecast is scheduled for March 3, 2026. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is set to provide its latest fiscal forecast, which the Chancellor will respond to.
First of all, don’t expect any new policy – Reeves has stressed in the past that there is to be one formal fiscal announcement per year in the form of the Autumn Budget. There won’t be any assessment of the government’s performance against fiscal rules, either.
For the first time in its 16-year history, the OBR will not publish an assessment of how the government is progressing in meeting its own fiscal rules.
Unlike the lateness of last year’s Autumn Budget, this is the earliest Spring Forecast on record. This makes it easier for businesses and accountants to plan before the new tax year.
The government reported its greatest ever surplus in January. The public sector recorded a £30.4 billion surplus, according to ONS figures, which is double the surplus and £6.3 billion higher than the OBR’s November forecast. That said, the surplus tends to be higher at this time of year because of an increase in tax receipts.
Nearly six million employees at small businesses have gained access to 401(k) plans since 2019.
The numbers have surged due to federal legislation reducing the financial barrier to launching a 401(k).
Small businesses also want to stay competitive and are using 401(k) plans as a recruiting tool.
Small businesses are rapidly becoming some of the biggest new adopters of 401(k) plans, opening up retirement coverage to millions of workers who have historically had little or no access to employer-sponsored savings.
Gusto, a payroll and benefits provider that works with smaller employers, estimated in a report released on Saturday that the number of workers at small firms with access to 401(k) plans has jumped by nearly six million since 2019.
The report, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, estimated that 21.2 million employees at firms with two to 99 workers have access to a 401(k) account, up from 15.6 million in 2019. Small businesses employ roughly 62 million Americans.
In comparison, 90% of workers at firms with over 500 employees have a retirement plan, according to Department of Labor data. That percentage has stayed consistent since 2019.
Industry research suggests the “micro-plan” market, or plans sponsored by employers with only a handful of workers, is set for especially fast growth. Research and consulting firm Cerulli Associates predicts that there will be nearly one million smaller 401(k) plans by 2030, a 30% increase from an estimated 772,000 plans today. Ceruli states that small businesses will be the main growth driver, leading more employees to adopt retirement plans over the next five years.
Why 401(k) plans interest small businesses
Retirement plans are now showing up at places that traditionally offered only a paycheck: farms, fitness and sports clubs, small professional offices and other Main Street operations. The expansion is starting to close one of the biggest gaps in the U.S. retirement system, where workers at large corporations long enjoyed access to tax-advantaged savings while many small-business employees did not.
A key driver of growth is a generous package of federal tax incentives created by the original SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act, signed in 2019 and expanded by SECURE 2.0 in 2022. For example, for employers with up to 50 workers, SECURE 2.0 covers 100% of 401(k) startup costs through tax credits, up to $5,000 per year for the first three years. That effectively allows many small firms to launch a plan with little to no net out‑of‑pocket administrative expenses.
Competitive dynamics in the labor market are just as important. In a volatile hiring environment, small-business owners increasingly see a 401(k) as a necessary benefit rather than a luxury, per the WSJ.
Vanguard’s small‑plan data shows that assets in small-business retirement plans rose from an average of $2.9 million in 2022 to $3.9 million in 2024, reflecting both market gains and increased employee contributions. For a small firm trying to keep mid‑career workers from jumping to larger employers, being able to advertise a 401(k) with employer contributions can be a critical recruiting and retention tool, according to the WSJ.
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Your car is a tattle tale. About 90% of new cars on the road collect detailed information on your driving behavior and tell third parties like insurance companies about your driving behavior. You agreed to it when you bought the car, even if you don’t remember doing so. The consent form was buried deep in your contract.
Philip Siefke found out the hard way. He hit his brakes hard while driving. Less than 24 hours later, Progressive already knew about it. His Toyota ratted him out to the insurer. Siefke was “pissed” and when he called to complain, a rep told him he’d agreed to share the information. Six months after buying a policy for less than $300 a month, his rate jumped to over $400.
The Federal Trade Commission warned consumers about the practice in 2024, calling cars powerful data-gobbling machines that threaten privacy and financial welfare. Last month, the FTC prohibited General Motors from selling driving data for five years—though GM paid no fine and said it had already stopped the practice a year earlier.
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