YouTube offers advice on converting long-form content into Shorts and driving engagement, noting that Shorts generate more than 70 billion daily views. The company recommends identifying key hooks, using high-energy visuals, maintaining consistent branding, adding captions and experimenting with different formats.

When it comes to social media marketing, authenticity is prized over perfection, and more businesses are moving away from polished, high-budget campaigns to create real, relatable content using micro-influencers and user-generated content, writes Tony Pec, co-founder of Y Not You Media. Genuine content, transparency and engaging two-way conversations can help build trust and emotional connections with audiences, Pec writes.

Creating a self-sustaining business requires proactive succession planning, strategic delegation and appropriate use of technology, writes Jason Smith, founder and CEO of C2P. By identifying and training potential successors early, entrepreneurs can ensure the continuity of their businesses.

Some small businesses in the US are turning to outsourcing to manage rising wage expectations and maintain financial viability, according to Winston Ong, CEO of BruntWork. Outsourcing companies like BruntWork offer services that have evolved beyond a mere cost-cutting measure to become a strategic advantage, helping businesses manage expenses, access expertise and maintain financial readiness.

Founders sometimes overlook personal estate planning amid business pressures, but it is crucial for managing tax exposure and ensuring a lasting legacy. Michael Clear and Erin Nicholls of Wiggin and Dana highlight the importance of core planning, business continuity and liquidity and advanced wealth transfer strategies. "Life insurance is often used as a tool in connection with buy-sell agreements," they note.

Many small business owners delay their own compensation due to fear, guilt and a scarcity mindset, but this approach can lead to burnout and financial instability, according to Melissa Houston, author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Creating a Profitable Business. Self-payment allows owners to better manage personal finances, qualify for loans and plan for retirement.

Small businesses increasingly use bundled financial services to manage cash flow, improve visibility into finances and optimize working capital amid economic uncertainty, says Priority Technology CEO Tom Priore. These services enable faster fund settlements and better supplier negotiations, offering a unified commerce experience with various payment solutions in one platform. With nearly 80% of consumers curbing spending, according to PYMNTS Intelligence, small businesses must proactively manage cash flow to mitigate the effects and sustain operations, advises Priore.

Western Bagel, a third-generation family business in Los Angeles, has diversified its revenue streams to withstand economic fluctuations, generating most of its revenue from co-packing for larger companies and supermarket chains, followed by sales at its 10 Southern California stores. Other sources include national wholesale outlets, food delivery, ecommerce, global sales and supplying coffee shops, and the company plans to build a third manufacturing plant and open new stores. Still, the business remains committed to the local community, its family-run culture and its employees. "Without them, we don't have a company. We're loyal to them and them to us," says President Jeff Ustin.

Small businesses, which make up 98% of retailers and support more than 13 million American jobs, are particularly vulnerable to tariffs. Owning a small business embodies the ideals of freedom and opportunity that are central to the American Dream. However, tariffs jeopardize the very foundation of these ideals. In their own words, small businesses share how tariffs are impacting them.

Consumers plan to spend a total of $23.6 billion on Easter this year. Source: NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

New tariffs put in place by the Trump administration are shaking consumer confidence and financial markets and raising prices on everyday goods. Congress must hear from those who pay tariffs -- America's consumers, small businesses and retailers in our communities.