Of all your business expenses, coffee probably isn’t the most significant … but those golden-roast K-Cups might be more like 14K-Cups soon. That’s because the price of arabica beans rose over 80% to all-time highs in 2024. This was due to weather conditions in Brazil and Vietnam, according to the BBC.

For months, manufacturers like Nestle and Lavazza ate (sipped?) the extra cost, but they’re done getting burnt like an amateur espresso pull. “So we have been forced to adjust prices,” a Lavazza spokesperson told reporters.

If your business sells mochas, handling all that extra cash could get stressful, so check out our guide to The Best POS Systems for Coffee Shops.

Perks: 2024 was the year Silicon Valley got less cushy

Jingle All the Way: Scarcity marketing is a holiday tradition

Job hopping: Do recruiters still consider it a deal-breaker?

(Source: business.com / Midjourney)

Silicon Valley used to be revered for its culture. From CEOs in T-shirts, jeans, and hoodies to Google’s infamous “nap pods,” it was the opposite of Wall Street’s buttoned-up, stuffy, 20th-century vibe, attracting workers from all over the world.

But as job losses in tech piled up all year long, something else disappeared: the lavish perks.

Meta axed free on-site laundry, dry cleaning, and valet parking, and cut back on office food and wellness stipends. They also fired dozens of employees who had allegedly misused meal credits for household items like laundry detergent and toothpaste.

Google slashed fitness classes, in-office massages, and reportedly even office supplies like staplers and tape. Salesforce and Twitter have similarly cut back, in the latter’s case even on parental leave, as reportedly has Netflix. These companies are still making billions of dollars, so what gives?

Quite simply, when employers are desperate for workers, incentives get rolled out; when workers are desperate for employment, incentives get rolled back. Cory Stahle, an economist at Indeed, told b. that San Francisco job listings are over 30% below their pre-pandemic levels.

But Stahle is optimistic about the industry’s future, especially in comparison to other economic sectors, as layoffs have slowed and hiring is even picking back up. “The gradual rebound in tech job postings in San Francisco over the last year is clearly bucking the [overall] U.S. trend,” Stahle said.

And maybe those perks will gradually rebound, too.

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(Source: 20th Century Studios)

Upon Jingle All the Way’s release in 1996, critics treated it like a lump of coal, though it’s since become a low-key cult Christmas classic (even if that love is at least a little bit ironic). But under its saccharine surface is a marketing lesson, if a slightly cynical one: scarcity marketing works. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad’s absurd, cutthroat hunt for a trendy Turbo Man action figure on Christmas Eve is a mirror of real life. The Tickle-Me Elmo stampedes, PlayStation 5 scalpers, and Black Friday doorbuster sales prove that FOMO tactics can turbo-charge holiday sales:

• Limited editions or exclusives
• Reserved spots and waitlists
• Cart timers, discount countdowns, and purchase timers
• Low-stock notices
• Personalized offers that make customers feel like they’re part of an exclusive club

And like Phil Hartman does in Jingle’s most iconic scene, smart scarcity marketing can definitely eat the competition’s cookies.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Our long-tenured (yet anonymous) recruiter for a major company answers burning questions about interviews, resumes, and everything else related to getting hired today. Submit your questions to b.newsletter@business.com.

Q: What do recruiters think about frequent job hopping on a resume?

When you take a new job, you typically get a compensation increase and title change. But doing so too often may start to hinder your next job search.

By and large, hiring managers are cautious of frequent job hoppers, [with many] not wanting to spend time interviewing and onboarding somebody only to see them leave 12 months later. Depending on the industry and role, quick exits can also suggest that a candidate hasn’t seen projects through and learned from them along the way.

All that being said, as long as a candidate has spent at least a couple years in one role, a few brief job stints on a resume isn’t a red flag.

My biggest recommendation for frequent job hoppers is to have some strong reasons prepared for your short stints to explain why you moved on and why the next opportunity grabbed you. And know how long you’d prefer to stay in your next role. (Hopefully, more than a year!)

If you’ve got a resume full of brief stops, make an effort to apply to organizations where you can see yourself for the foreseeable future. That can only happen if you find a role (or company) that fits you.

Written by Elizabeth Barton, Dan Ketchum, and Jake Kring-Schreifels. Comic by John McNamee.