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Many entrepreneurs’ lightbulb moments come from a problem they’ve experienced themselves. It’s the first sign that there’s a gap in the market.

According to a 2025 Shopify survey, 38% of business owners relied on their personal experience as a customer to validate their business idea before launching. When one person is experiencing a problem, chances are good they aren’t alone. Not only does this mean a captive audience is likely ready and waiting to buy, but it also means you know exactly what they’re looking for.

These four brands found their sweet spot by solving real problems their founders experienced firsthand. Each discovered strong demand by listening to customers and testing their ideas before going all in—here’s how.

Lighting the way for new moms

When Julie Carty became a new mom, she hit a wall with nighttime feedings. Her top-rated bedside lamps were either too harsh—waking up the whole family—or too dim to see clearly. “I hated my lighting setup at home, and I had the ‘best’ bedside table lights,” Carty says on Shopify Masters.

Recognizing the gap, Carty decided to fill it. She created LatchLight, a wearable, hands-free, soft-glow light made for nighttime baby feedings.

Carty spent two and a half years developing and tweaking LatchLight, getting feedback from other new parents, doulas, and lactation consultants to make sure the product met real needs. When she repeatedly heard how the light “was a game changer for them and a super helpful tool, that is when I decided to move forward,” Carty says.

From there, Carty grew her customer base by selling directly to hospitals as well as promoting LatchLight at trade shows and through influencers. Today, the brand also has a retail partnership with Buy Buy Baby.

Reimagining packaging solutions

The idea for Hero Packaging hit cofounder Anaita Sakar while she was packing orders for her previous business.

“I just wanted to use packaging that was better for the environment,” Sakar says. But nothing worked well. “Boxes were way too expensive to ship. I looked into paper, and it was great—it was recyclable and compostable—but not waterproof.” That’s when she got the idea for a waterproof, plastic-like mailer that would break down naturally.

To test her idea, Sakar asked other small business owners if they’d be interested in switching to this type of packaging. “It was a resounding yes,” she says.

Sakar tested the market before launching using search ads: “We targeted people on Google, so we were hitting anyone that was typing in ‘sustainable packaging’ with a landing page and they would get a free sample,” Sakar says. “We thought we were going to get about 30 or 40 sign-ups for free samples, and in a week we got a thousand people.”

That test showed Sakar there was already a

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Most people’s first thought for help with medical bills is their health insurance. But if you’re a small business owner and you, your employees or your customers suffer an injury at your business, some types of business insurance may be able to cover some of those costs.

NEXT shares how business insurance, specifically general liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance, could help to cover a range of medical expenses such as doctor visits, treatments, medication and physical therapy.

The way business insurance can cover medical expenses depends on who needs the care: Are they a guest, an employee or are you looking to protect yourself?

How general liability may help with medical costs

A standard general liability insurance policy usually includes medical payments coverage. But this coverage could only help non-employees who accidentally get hurt while visiting or interacting with your business.

General liability policies can usually only cover bodily injury for visitors, customers, and others who visit your workplace.

For example, suppose a client visiting your office trips, breaking a leg. The medical payments coverage in a general liability policy might reimburse the client for the doctor visit, plus the X-ray to diagnose the break and the cast to treat it (up to your policy limit) since the accident happened at your business.

How workers’ compensation insurance could cover medical expenses

If an employee is hurt on the job, your workers’ compensation coverage may kick in to help cover costs. Most states require you to carry this coverage if you have employees.

Say one of your employees develops carpal tunnel from long days at the computer. Your workers’ comp policy could cover their doctor visit, medical brace and ongoing physical therapy.

Small business insurance that helps pay for medical expenses like these, whether for a client or an employee, can save you thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. Coverage depends on many variables, so it’s important to review your policy details for specifics.

Can business insurance cover medical fees for business owners?

You can’t use your business insurance to pay for your own regular doctor visits or medications — that’s what your personal health insurance is for.

Business insurance coverage for business owners, an add-on to your employee workers’ compensation policy, could help you cover medical expenses for yourself after a covered work-related injury or illness.

10 examples of medical expenses that could be covered by business insurance

Business insurance can cover a wide range of medical costs that spring up after a work-related accident or illness. The key is that

PanuShot // Shutterstock

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of driving a brand-new car off the lot. The spotless interior, the gleaming paint, the distinctive “new car smell”—it’s a moment of pure excitement. You have signed the papers, secured the loan, and your vehicle is covered by your essential car insurance policy, which includes collision and comprehensive coverage.

But here’s the brutal reality check your finance manager may have casually alluded to: depreciation. The instant those brand-new tires hit the pavement, that vehicle’s value takes a serious nosedive. Most vehicles depreciate by 20% or more in their very first year on the road.

Here’s where the important difference is: Your regular auto insurance, even with a “full coverage” including collision and comprehensive, only pays out an amount up to the vehicle’s actual cash value (ACV) at the time of a total loss. This is not the same thing as the purchase price or the amount you owe the bank.

That is no minor fluctuation, but rather a financial gap that could seriously expose you in case the worst happens. This is where gap insurance or guaranteed asset protection comes in, playing the vital role of the wallet’s safety net. Before you delve deep into quotes, Cheap Insurance explains what you need to know about gap insurance.

What is Gap Insurance? (And Why Does It Matter?)

To understand gap insurance, you first have to understand the gap it covers, which is a common issue when securing a loan for an expensive asset like a new car.

The Anatomy of the Gap

When you finance a new car, you owe the lender a specific loan balance. If your car is declared a total loss (due to a covered event like an accident or theft), your standard auto insurance policy with comprehensive or collision coverage pays out an amount based on the vehicle’s ACV. The ACV is the fair market value of the vehicle just before the incident.

Because of rapid depreciation, this ACV is almost always lower than your outstanding loan balance. Your insurance company will only reimburse you for the ACV.

Example Scenario:

• Day one: You buy a new SUV for $40,000, financing the full amount.
• Month six: You are involved in an accident, and the car is totaled. Your loan balance is still $38,000.
• The problem: Due to depreciation, your insurance company determines the ACV is only $32,000.

In this scenario, your auto insurance company writes you a settlement check for $32,000. You still owe the bank $38,000. That leaves you with a $6,000 shortfall that you must pay out of pocket for a car you no longer own. That is the gap.

Gap insurance is designed to cover this specific, painful difference. It settles the remaining loan balance, ensuring you do not walk away from a totaled car with nothing but a huge debt.

The following chart was created by CheapInsurance.com based on statistical data from Kelley Blue Book, LendingTree, and AutoNation.

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Jack Goras // 2025 NACCHO360 Conference

As CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, Lori Freeman spends much of her time on the road talking with the people on the front lines of public health.

It’s been a challenging year for local health departments.

The federal government in March announced it was pulling back $11.4 billion in funding allocated across the nation for pandemic response and infrastructure, an action that has been debated in the courts. More cuts are expected amid a dramatic reorganization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has traditionally sent about 80% of its domestic budget to states, localities, tribal organizations, and other public health partners.

Meanwhile, swaths of the American public have grown increasingly distrustful of scientific and public health institutions.

Healthbeat spoke with Freeman to get her insights on five questions about some of the current challenges facing local health departments. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What public health concept do you wish the public better understood?

It’s this concept that from the youngest age possible, that public health is around them, keeping them safe.

They don’t see it, but they need to know that for all of their lives, that we will be there on the ground, in their community, helping to make sure that there’s safe water to drink, safe air to breathe, safe places to play and walk, safe restaurants to eat at, safe pools to swim in.

We need to make it real for them, because we just haven’t done that.

You recently co-authored a journal article titled, “Where Do We Go From Here? The Way Forward for State and Local Public Health.” The article notes that the future of public health depends on rebuilding trust with the community. What are some ways to do that?

We talk about this a lot. There is a lot of distrust right now in our federal government, and we have to not automatically extend that distrust further down to the community, because that simply isn’t the case.

Broadly speaking, our local health departments still are very well trusted in their communities. Not as much as the No. 1 primary care physician, but close up there.

For me, this is about how we retain trust, not regain trust. We had some missteps during the pandemic, but they weren’t all of our fault at local public

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If you’ve been waiting for mortgage rates to drop significantly, 2026 may not bring major relief — but there is good news. Zonda’s economists forecast that rates will stay in the low-6% range for most of 2026.

That’s higher than the ultra-low rates of 2020–2021, but lower than the 7%+ levels that made headlines in 2023 and parts of 2024, NewHomeSource reports.

This “higher-for-longer” environment has become one of the defining factors shaping buyer behavior.

Why Rates Are Staying Elevated

Mortgage rates today reflect more than just the Federal Reserve’s policy rate. According to the report, they’re also affected by:

• Sticky inflation
• High Treasury issuance
• A large federal deficit
• Investor sentiment and demand for mortgage-backed securities

These forces have kept rates from moving lower, even as economic growth has slowed.

Small rate drops matter — a lot

Even if rates remain in the low-6% range, tiny movements could open the door for many buyers.

A chart in the report shows that dropping rates from 6.25% to 6.0% would allow 2.1 million more households to qualify for the median-priced home.

That means even modest declines — 0.5%,0.25%, or even 0.125% — can shift affordability in meaningful ways.

What Buyers Can Do in a Higher-for-Longer Market

1. Consider new construction

Builders often offer rate buydowns that can drop your effective rate into the 5s or even high-4s — something rarely available in resale.

2. Shop lenders aggressively

Rate spreads between lenders can be wide. Two lenders quoting 6.25% vs. 5.875% could determine whether you qualify.

3. Look for a small dip — and act fast

If rates ease slightly this year — or even for a week — your buying window may open unexpectedly.

Bottom Line

Rates aren’t expected to plunge in 2026, but they don’t need to. Even small shifts could dramatically increase affordability and bring more buyers back into the market. Staying ready — and watching the numbers closely — will help you take advantage of the right moment.

This story was produced by NewHomeSource and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

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