Free Startup Food Is Great But Watch Out For The Weight Gain

Robert Libetti/ Business InsiderHere's what you need to know in small business:

• All that free food at startups is a great perk, but you can easily develop a gut if you're not careful.
• Small business sales are up, but hiring still lags, according to a Sageworks survey.
• Maybe scale back on the coffee a little bit — it turns out caffeine may cramp creativity.
• If your business throws a Fourth of July barbecue, it looks like it's going to cost more this year.
• Founders are even more difficult to move on from when they're the face of the brand.
• Why Darby Smart's founder left a comfortable Goldman Sachs job to start a business.
• Advice on running a small business from the various winners of the SBA's state Small Business Person of the Year awards, including national winner John Stonecipher.
• Technology helped one Virginia entrepreneur survive in a business everyone thought was dead.
• Google's ultra high-speed Internet in Kansas City has helped spark a startup renaissance.
• Food trucks are a really tough business, which is why many, like Kelvin Natural Slush, aim to transition towards wholesale.