Month: May 2024

Originally published on GoDaddy Newsroom

TEMPE, Ariz., May 7, 2024 /3BL/ — More U.S. microbusinesses are using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to grow and compete, with 50% of owners and operators recently surveyed indicating they have tried Gen AI tools in the past few months. The findings come from GoDaddy’s international research initiative, Venture Forward, which quantifies the economic impact of small businesses and explores their owners’ experiences, challenges and ambitions.

The Venture Forward 2024 U.S. National Survey found that 44% of microbusinesses, which have 10 or fewer employees, a domain and an active website, agree that GenAI helps them compete with big businesses.

However, attitudes, long-term goals and use cases that stem from GenAI usage vary across demographic groups. Key findings include:

Young (those aged 18-35) and Black microbusiness owners are 50% more likely to have used GenAI for their business in the last several months compared with their white counterparts.About one in three Black and Hispanic-owned microbusinesses use GenAI for business while only one out of every four white- and Asian-owned microbusinesses use GenAI for business.Those relying on or trying GenAI for their business use it most frequently for content creation, regardless of race or age. However, Black-owned microbusinesses are almost twice as likely as white-owned microbusinesses to use it for customer service.Gen AI users have a more positive outlook about their business (81%) and the national economy (40%). This is true for those who have used Gen AI for business. Those who haven’t used GenAI tend to have a more negative outlook about both their business (72%) and national economy (36%).

“Generative AI is already showing early potential to help level the playing field for small businesses as they go up against larger and often better-resourced competitors,” said Alexandra Rosen, senior director of GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative. “We’re seeing the most ambitious ones embrace it the fastest.”

Explore the survey results, visit https://www.godaddy.com/ventureforward/2024-u-s-survey-results/

For more information on the state of microbusinesses across the country, visit www.godaddy.com/ventureforward.

About GoDaddy Venture Forward 
GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative analyzes more than 20 million online businesses with a digital presence (measured by a unique domain and an active website). Most of these businesses employ fewer than ten people, categorizing each as a microbusiness. To find out more about GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research, visit: www.godaddy.com/ventureforward

About GoDaddy 
GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) helps millions of entrepreneurs globally start, grow, and scale their businesses. People come to GoDaddy to name their idea, build a professional website, attract customers, sell their products and services, and accept payments online and in person. GoDaddy’s easy-to-use tools help microbusiness owners manage everything in one place, and its expert guides are available to provide assistance 24/7. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com.

*GoDaddy customer survey of more than 3,500 microbusiness owners conducted in February 2024. 

Source: GoDaddy Inc.

LAS VEGAS, May 7, 2024 /3BL/ – Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) has contributed $100,000 through Sands Cares to Dress for Success® (DFS) Southern Nevada to support the organization’s free business styling and workforce development services for women who are unemployed and underemployed.

Funding is focused on organizational capacity building in the areas of job readiness, career coaching and mentorship; styling services; and financial literacy programs for women who need resources to assist them on their paths to meaningful employment and economic independence.

DFS Southern Nevada is the local affiliate of the leading global nonprofit employment resource for women. The organization empowers women in Southern Nevada to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and development tools to thrive in work and life. Since its founding in 2009, DFS Southern Nevada has helped more than 13,000 women of diverse backgrounds and experiences on their road to achieving economic independence.

DFS Southern Nevada’s signature Styling for Success program provides personalized suiting and styling services for clients to address their immediate needs for appropriate interview and work attire and instills a sense of self-assurance and professionalism that is crucial for successful interviews. Services include consultations, fitting sessions and curated outfits that align with industry standards, ensuring that each woman feels empowered to present her best self to potential employers.

The Sands Cares contribution also supports the organization’s financial literacy programs, which close knowledge gaps among underrepresented minority women who make up the majority of the nonprofit’s clients. Online and in-person courses cover topics such as budgeting, saving, investing and managing debt.

Finally, the Sands Cares donation enables other capacity-building initiatives such as purchasing software tools for resume builders and career assessments, upgrading DFS Southern Nevada’s Career Center hardware and software resources for virtual mentorship and training sessions, and providing new group learning, networking and mentoring opportunities for various industries in Las Vegas.

“This latest Sands Cares investment continues to be transformational as we aim to help more women in Southern Nevada achieve financial independence and plan for sustainable futures,” said Roxann McCoy, executive director at Dress for Success Southern Nevada. “Sands understands that empowering women to advance in the workforce not only provides economic independence but also helps them build resiliency and confidence in their futures.”

In March, Sands again participated in DFS Southern Nevada’s Your Hour, Her Power campaign, held in conjunction with Women’s History Month 2024. The campaign raises funds for the nonprofit while providing underserved women with encouragement for reaching their job and career goals. Women leaders at Sands shared inspirational messages for DFS Southern Nevada’s social media campaign, and the company’s EmpowHER Team Member resource group for women held a clothing drive to support its clients.

“Dress for Success offers valuable resources for unemployed and underemployed women, and we want to help ensure its continued ability to meet their needs with critical job readiness services,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility initiatives for the company. “These offerings closely align with our workforce development and economic empowerment goals by supporting women on their journeys to find meaningful employment that creates pathways to financial freedom and a foundation for their overall well-being.”

Sands’ partnership with Dress for Success Southern Nevada is aligned with the company’s People and Communities corporate responsibility pillars in the areas of empowering workforce development initiatives under the People pillar and helping disadvantaged and underrepresented populations overcome hardship through access to services and resources under the Communities pillar.

To learn more about Sands’ corporate responsibility initiatives and other Sands Cares community engagement activities, visit https://www.sands.com/responsibility.

To learn more about Dress for Success Southern Nevada, visit https://dressforsuccesssouthernnevada.org/.

About Sands (NYSE: LVS) 
Sands is the world’s preeminent developer and operator of world-class integrated resorts. The company’s iconic properties drive valuable leisure and business tourism and deliver significant economic benefits, sustained job creation, financial opportunities for local businesses and community investment to help make its host regions ideal places to live, work and visit.

Sands’ portfolio of properties includes Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Sands Macao in Macao SAR, China, through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd.

Dedicated to being a leader in corporate responsibility, Sands is anchored by the core tenets of serving people, communities and the planet. The company’s ESG leadership has led to inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for World and North America, as well as Fortune’s list of the Word’s Most Admired Companies. To learn more, visit www.sands.com.

About Dress for Success Southern Nevada 
Dress for Success Southern Nevada is the local affiliate of the leading global nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, development tools, and professional attire to help women thrive in work and in life.

Since 2009, the organization has helped more than 13,000 women in Southern Nevada to achieve economic independence by providing a myriad of programs — including career development, job skills preparedness, mentorship and coaching, financial education, and professional attire.

SOURCE Las Vegas Sands