Member Since 2017
ProTexting
Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Mr. Kassabov is a founder and CEO of ProTexting.com. He brings with him over 9 years experience within the mobile engagement space as one of the pioneers of the group text messaging industry as it exists today in the US. He specializes in mobile and web-based businesses and marketing strategies, most notably ProTexting, a fast growing enterprise level text message suite of services. In addition he is involved in SendSMSnow, a worldwide multimillion member SMS social community and, ScanAvert, an award winning patented technology for detecting harmful ingredients in grocery products. Other projects include text message services such as NightlifeTexting, which was successfully sold in 2007. Mr. Kassabov has managed projects for media and retail clients including HBO, Sodexo, David’s Bridal, The Prudential Center, and the New Jersey Devils among others. Prior to that he worked as an independent consultant in the financial services industry, developing financial/analysis models for a large asset management company for institutional clients and a private equity fund in New York City.
Being an entrepreneur requires a unique blend of creativity, vision and innovative thinking. To stay ahead in the ever-evolving business landscape, entrepreneurs need constant inspiration and fresh perspectives. Luckily, podcasts have become an invaluable (and readily available) source of knowledge and motivation for ambitious business minds.
From rejection and adversity to self-doubt, entrepreneurs will inevitably encounter many challenges as they work to build a thriving business. Fortunately, there are effective strategies new business owners can leverage to help them navigate the rough patches and stay motivated to achieve their goals.
As mobile technology gets better and becomes more widely used, it's only natural that more users will interact with companies on their devices.
When trying to hire a team with diverse backgrounds and skills, business leaders can be left wondering how to find candidates who are different enough from each other to ensure varied points of view and experience levels but also similar enough to each other to work well together and create a cohesive team culture.
Small, local businesses face unique challenges when it comes to marketing. While many marketing techniques may be effective for larger corporations, they may not yield the same results for small businesses operating within a specific community. Investing in expensive advertising campaigns or generic marketing strategies that fail to resonate with local consumers can be a waste of precious resources.
While the way a first meeting goes may not always make or break a deal, putting your best foot forward is much more likely to lead to a good result—especially when it comes to a potential new business partner or client. The first impression you make could set the tone for your whole relationship, which means it’s vitally important to strive for a positive one.
As an entrepreneur, joining an online group can be a great way to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments in your field. These groups, which can be found on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, offer a wealth of information and advice from other entrepreneurs, industry experts and thought leaders.
Obtaining funding can be difficult for new business owners with a small or nonexistent team, but there are some effective ways to meet this challenge head-on.
An entrepreneur with a fresh and successful idea might consider establishing a franchise, but it's not always the best move. To give them confidence in their decision, they’ll want to consider an industry which is already showing success with the franchise model.
Email is a core component of many companies' marketing strategies, and its success depends on how effectively you can grow and maintain your subscriber list. The more people who opt in to receive your business's newsletters and marketing messages, the greater the number of potential leads you're reaching every time you send a campaign.
No one enjoys having difficult conversations—especially with their boss. However, whether it’s about a problem with a co-worker, a mistake that’s been made or a disagreement on a project, difficult conversations are often necessary in the workplace and can help you and anyone else involved move forward and grow as a professional. But, that doesn’t make approaching your boss with a problem any easier.
Certain business trends may be popular among the entrepreneurial crowd, but that doesn't mean they're all worth pursuing.
When it comes time to upgrade or replace your business's equipment—such as computers, vehicles, tools or anything else your team may use to get the job done—it would be quicker and far simpler to merely purchase the newest model or renew your subscription without much thought. However, to truly ensure you’re getting the best return on investment in terms of cost and team productivity, careful research and reflection is necessary.
During difficult economic times, “layoffs” are often one of the first fears that enter professionals’ minds. Whether it’s a sudden economic downturn or a looming recession, many business leaders resort to laying off staff in a desperate attempt to keep their companies afloat. Even successful tech companies and large financial corporations sometimes exercise this type of cost-cutting measure.
Many professionals look up to entrepreneurs for their determination, perseverance and freedom to have more control over their day-to-day lives. But even entrepreneurs have role models they look up to. Whether they’re other highly successful entrepreneurs, billionaires or simply inspirational people, the world is full of those with amazing stories who serve as inspiration for today’s business leaders.
While increasing the number of visitors to your site is always the goal of any e-commerce business, it’s a goal that can quickly become overwhelming if your site isn’t properly set up first. As your e-commerce business and your customer base grows, a sudden spike in traffic or just a gradual increase in purchasers over time can result in slower load times, unprepared customer service agents, irritated customers and even a total website crash.
Though it began in early 2021, the Great Resignation and the resulting attitude shift toward the workplace was still widely prevalent throughout 2022. Easily categorized as a job seeker’s market, 2022 was a year when employers either rose to meet the demands of their candidates or they failed to attract the talent they needed to keep operations running smoothly.
It only takes one unhappy customer leaving a negative review to damage a company's reputation and drive away future business. Therefore, it's imperative that customer service teams immediately resolve any customer complaints before they can snowball and turn into bigger problems for a company.
When you first start your business, you must essentially build your company culture from the ground up. This can often mean taking the personalities and values of your small team into consideration and also defining what the overall values and mission of the company will be. But as your company grows and you add more team members into the mix, the original culture can get muddled or lost entirely as you face new challenges.
Let's look at why this is the ideal time to take advantage of this important marketing development.
Every year, new technologies are introduced or improved upon that have a major impact on the business world. From major to minor innovations, and from physical machines to complex code, each advancement has the potential to change the way the world does business—and this year was no exception.
The workforce of 2023 will continue to change and evolve, from more hybrid work policies to a greater focus on global candidates.
A toxic workplace can lead to lower-quality work, a decrease in productivity, and employee dissatisfaction—all of which may lead to staff turnover. When you’re a leader, it’s important to address the signs of a toxic workplace as soon as you notice them in order to avoid cultivating a negative company culture.
In an effort to be unique, informative and persuasive, many businesses can end up with overly complicated and wordy websites that may be doing more to push customers away than pull them in. When it comes to building an effective website, often simplifying its content and design is the most effective approach, giving visitors the space they need to find the answers to their problems.
Whether you run a fully remote or a hybrid business, keeping corporate files safe while your employees work from home is of the utmost importance. Remote work creates new challenges for business leaders to contend with—such as employees using personal devices to access documents or working from unsecure public networks—and that means leaders will need to take certain steps to ensure sensitive information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
When just starting out, many new business owners don't have all the financial tools or experience they may need to run a business successfully. They may rely on their peers, what information they can find online and various business books to get them started, but nothing can truly beat experience when it comes to knowing how to handle and succeed with money in business.
Whether it’s to make a purchase, fill out a form or sign up for a list, the natural purpose of any business website is to get visitors to convert. When first starting out, entrepreneurs may focus more on the logistics of their website—ensuring each page works properly and that it is designed to meet brand standards—but in the process, they may forget to think about action steps for potential customers.
For many entrepreneurs, experience can have a major impact on the way they conduct business. Whether it’s changing a marketing strategy after an unexpected failure or pivoting a product after getting more acquainted with their target audience’s needs, leaders must constantly evolve alongside their businesses if they’re to succeed long term. This can also mean changing the way they interact with their customers, their employees and their peers on a regular basis.
Resolving conflicts in the workplace is imperative to a healthy workplace culture. Leaving conflicts unsolved builds resentment among team members and creates a toxic environment that can be distracting from the work that needs to be completed.
Maintaining good relationships with your vendors helps ensure that you consistently receive the goods and services you need and achieve mutually beneficial goals. But when the buyer-supplier relationship begins to sour for whatever reason, it may be best for your business to cut ties and move on.
With so many companies competing for consumers' attention on social media, creating compelling, unique advertising campaigns is a great way to stand out. On Facebook in particular, there are a few key strategies that can help you target your audience effectively.
Creating great content on social media doesn't mean much without a highly engaged and loyal following.
In marketing, attracting new customers is only one half of the equation; businesses must also focus on how to keep those customers once they earn them. Sending customer retention emails is one way to help accomplish this. But simply asking customers to make another purchase likely won’t be effective—and could come off as pushy, which may turn off otherwise interested customers.
Receiving a bad review for your product or service—no matter if it’s your first bad review or your 50th—can often feel like a personal attack. After all, entrepreneurs often put a lot of themselves in their businesses, including time, effort and passion. But a bad review doesn’t have to be a negative issue. In fact, it can be a great opportunity to learn.
Of the many duties of a leader, perhaps one of the most important is bringing out the best in their team members. Understanding their needs, strengths and weaknesses and giving them opportunities to shine can help you set them up to succeed in any endeavor they take on. This is especially true as Gen Z professionals enter the workforce with their own perspectives and challenges to overcome.
Negotiating your salary—especially when you haven’t officially gotten the job—can be a frightening prospect. Obstacles like imposter syndrome or inexperience can make you feel as though you should just accept the company’s original offer and move on, but it’s important to know your worth and to advocate for yourself if you believe you deserve a higher salary.
Live chat is one of the most effective ways to provide quality, real-time support to website visitors.
There’s a lot of great business advice out there—but there’s also an equal amount of unhelpful advice. While many people think they have the answers, only you can know what’s right for your business. However, it can sometimes be hard for new business owners to know what advice is worthwhile, leading to costly mistakes.
Employers look for a variety of qualities and traits in job candidates. While you’ll always want to highlight the hard skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for, there are also soft skills that could help you land a job, even if you’re a little less qualified than the other candidates.
Innovation comes from teams working together to collaborate on projects and share ideas. However, when ideas aren’t flowing as they should, a little friendly competition can offer a boost of creativity and innovation.
Increasing productivity and focus is something most professionals strive for. But while there are different tricks and tips for being more productive and focused on your work, the tips don’t always work for every person. The key is to find advice that works for you and your lifestyle.
If bad managers are a top reason why people quit their jobs, you should strive to be a leader who makes people want to stay.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share advice for creating a solid internal communications strategy for remote businesses.
Hybrid and remote work models have quickly become the new normal for many companies. While working remotely offers many benefits to employees, many of the perks that used to keep staff productive and happy in an office setting are no longer relevant when employees are working from home.
Small businesses starting from scratch have a long road ahead of them when it comes to building a brand. Defining a mission, finding your voice and building trust all take time to develop, but luckily there are a few key steps new entrepreneurs can take to get there a little faster.
The day-to-day life of a business owner is often fast-paced, with a multitude of problems to solve and employees to answer to. This means that, when faced with a decision, entrepreneurs may not have time on their side and they may be forced to make quick decisions on the fly or with very little time to weigh out every possibility.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to gather applicants for an open position is to post an ad on a job board. There are several popular boards out there today, and each has its benefits and drawbacks.
With so many electronic devices and social media platforms, it's easier than ever before for even the most focused and organized of professionals to get distracted from the task at hand. Combine that with the fact that work-from-home and hybrid work models have become popular for many companies, and it should really come as no surprise that people are having a hard time focusing.
Whether it happens while participating in meetings or partaking in company surveys, the best ideas happen when there's plenty of room for everyone to share. This means that businesses at the helm of true innovation provide each employee with the chance to have their voice heard. However, this can become more difficult to ensure as your company grows larger.
Whether you're applying for a position at a large corporation or a job at a growing startup, the potential employer is likely going to have a lot of applicants to comb through and some tough decisions to make before they settle on one particular candidate. When you’re interviewing, your first impression is often a lasting one, so it’s vital to leave a positive impression during the hiring process.
Every job application you fill out presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Whether you're writing a cover letter, ensuring your resume is tailored to the job description or trying to remember what to say during your interview, you have a chance to impress the hiring manager and land the job. The challenge, of course, is making sure your application outshines the dozens of others a hiring manager may receive.
For years, podcasts have been delivering high-quality content to businesspeople around the world. Whether you're looking for business advice, inspirational feedback, personal stories or industry updates, there's a podcast to suit your fancy. To offer up an idea of the best business podcasts out there today, 11 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) respond to following question:
A negative mindset can be poisonous in the workplace. It can lower morale, decrease productivity and spread to other members of the team, leading to toxic work culture.
Data and metrics are critical drivers of a business's overall success. The more data streams you have, the better you can understand your customers, their needs, what works and what doesn’t.
Whether you're an experienced entrepreneur or just starting out, investors can be a crucial part of your startup's continued success. While it's possible for investors to take a chance on a business, many investors have certain criteria they'll look for before they take the plunge.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss their favorite tech that's come about in response to ongoing culture changes.
With so many competing companies in today's marketplace, customers have countless options when it comes to patronizing a business. To influence their decision-making, customers look for companies that they believe will add value to their lives.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain how to merge your website's copy and design to create a more engaging user experience.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their best advice for moving your physical retail store online.
As the Covid-19 pandemic pushed more companies to embrace remote work, global hiring and flexible schedules, the traditional 9-to-5 workday has become less and less standard among professionals. Instead of requiring everyone to work during the same hours, companies are beginning to entrust their workforce to manage their tasks on their own time.
Throughout the pandemic, it has been difficult for many professionals to build and maintain new business relationships. Interactions may have been limited to Zoom calls or virtual happy hours, while valuable in-person networking events were placed on the backburner.
The relationship between you and your clients shouldn’t be solely focused on business transactions. Deeper client relationships start with a willingness to get to know your customers on a personal level rather than as a number on your invoice.
There's a story behind the start of every business, and many entrepreneurs write books to share their own. Whether it's a motivating story of overcoming challenges, an inspiring story of passion or a story full of practical lessons and advice, an entrepreneur's first book can be used to help them grow their business.
Email marketing campaigns can be a cost-effective way to reach a lot of people in a very short period of time. However, many companies rely on ineffective practices, like clichéd subject lines and recycled “limited-time offers.” These practices can be annoying to readers and cause your email to end up in the trash.
Guest posts are an excellent way to gain publicity for your business. Through this form of content marketing, you'll establish yourself as a credible expert in your industry and gain valuable brand exposure to the publication's audience.
Choosing the right software-as-a-service (SaaS) product is like choosing a new car or buying a new house — you want to make sure that it's high quality and meets all your wants and needs. However, if you're not used to shopping for software, it can be hard to know how to choose the best option for you.
Super Bowl commercials are known for capturing their audience’s attention in an extreme way, whether through humor, storytelling or the star power of their commercial cast. It seems that everyone has a favorite Super Bowl commercial that, no matter how many years have passed, they still remember.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend upgrading your business software or hardware when you notice these signs.
Every business has employees who aren't on the same page from time to time. Whether it's clashing personalities or differences of opinion, conflicts can arise at any point, and it's up to the manager to help mediate them.
One of the best ways to attract customers to a business is by offering discounts. Whether your business is brand new or a multimillion-dollar company that's been in the game for over a decade, this tried-and-true tactic will always increase traffic. However, small businesses often can't afford to offer deep discounts on their products or services in the hopes of attracting new customers — They need to be strategic and creative in offering other incentives instead.
The metaverse will provide many opportunities for businesses of all sizes and types to reach a wider audience.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council list the tech skills company founders need to get their businesses off the ground.
Email marketing is an essential component of any strong marketing strategy. This form of marketing gives businesses the chance to convert their audience members into long-time customers and provide value in a convenient way.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, it put many professionals out of work. Others faced cutbacks on hours or began working remotely, which allowed more time for pursuing multiple income streams. These factors led to a major uptick in startup and small business launches, many of which are still thriving as we enter 2022.
As a new entrepreneur, getting your product out into the market is hard enough, but when there is a lot of competition in your market, it can make things even tougher. When trying to differentiate their products in a situation like this, entrepreneurs are bound to make mistakes along the way.
A CEO's email inbox can quickly become unruly if not properly managed. While being constantly bombarded with emails from various recipients making different asks of them, many CEOs may find they get overwhelmed by their inbox, leading to lower productivity and missed communication in the long run. And unfortunately, they don’t always have much time to deal with a mess of emails.
Even if you're not feeling on top of your game, you can still use these "fake it 'til you make it" tips.
Determining the right price for a product or service is one of the most important elements in a business's formula for success. If the price is too low, you'll be losing out on well-deserved profits, but if the price is too high, you'll be losing out on potential customers and clients. There are several factors to take into consideration when setting a fair price for a product or service. To share insights into what these factors are and why they're important, nine professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answered the following question:
E-commerce has steadily risen in popularity among aspiring entrepreneurs who want a simple business model with less overhead than a traditional retail store. Selling online is a great way for inexperienced entrepreneurs to make money, test their business acumen and interface with customers online.
Sometimes, all you need is a little boost to get yourself and your goals on the right track.
Every business needs to market its products and services, but there's a lot of competition out there. When you're creating a content marketing campaign for your brand, the last thing you want to do is use precious time and resources to create content that doesn't measure up to your direct competitors'.
Let's explore some ways you can prepare for these challenges and keep your business running smoothly.
When starting their businesses, a major concern for entrepreneurs is whether or not their company will succeed. This can hinder them from taking chances, expanding or starting a company altogether.
With so many work stressors, it can often feel difficult to feel grateful for your professional life. Long days and difficult co-workers can be hard to handle, and these factors may sometimes overshadow your job’s positive benefits in your mind. However, intentionally looking for the good can help you feel more gratitude for the opportunity you’ve been given and improve your overall mental state.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend using these e-commerce tricks for lowering shopping cart abandonment rates.
Holiday shopping can be a stressful time for many people. Customers are worried about items being in stock, finding the perfect gift and avoiding long lines when searching for help or checking out.
When you first started your business, you may have found a few trustworthy team members to back you up. As the business is growing, you may be noticing your original startup team isn't aligning with your overall vision or perhaps you've simply "outgrown" the need for the roles you hired them to do. This misalignment can ultimately lead to stagnation within all facets of your company as well as an unhappy workforce.
Whether you're an entry-level employee, a CEO or anything in between, if you're passionate about your career, sometimes downtime can get pushed to the side. Instead of burning yourself out on work, however, there are ways you can use your downtime wisely.
Anyone who’s hired an employee knows that a resume is not the only indicator of whether or not a job candidate will be a good fit. However, there are some key elements to look for in a resume that usually signal that a candidate may be the right person to join your team.
In business, making an active effort to support the entrepreneurial community can be game-changing for your company’s growth. After all, these individuals have been through similar experiences and challenges as business owners themselves, and can often help you navigate them.
Pinpointing a target audience is one of the most crucial steps in launching any successful business effort, including creating marketing campaigns and increasing sales. However, determining your audience is often much easier said than done. Before you can narrow down your ideal customer, you need to know how to do it correctly.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share alternative fundraising solutions for entrepreneurs not looking for investors.
In order for any business to thrive, it needs to have a productive leader and team. However, productivity means a lot more than simply keeping busy. Sometimes, you can keep yourself busy working on tasks that essentially amount to nothing and lead you down a dead-end path of wasted time and energy.
As conditions remain uncertain in 2021, coworking remains a viable option for businesses and entrepreneurs.
In the world of business, leaders aren’t only giving advice—they’re getting it too. Whether it’s tips from books, movies, friends, family or other leaders, leaders are often surrounded by others with well-intentioned advice on how they should run their businesses or how they can succeed in top leadership positions. However, not all of it is advice that should be followed.
One of the most significant milestones for any business is the day it reaches a point of expansion. While every business owner looks forward to the day they can grow their business, it's important not to be hasty in doing so. A successful business expansion depends on a number of factors and needs to be carried out at the right time. To help you understand when the time is right for you to expand your business operations, 13 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answer the following question:
With so many other ways to keep in touch digitally and so many other places businesses can compete for attention, email may not seem like a good first choice for communicating with your customers. And yet, while it's no secret that many people ignore their emails these days, email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to reach customers.
There's a lot of planning that goes into designing the look of a retail store. While you definitely want to add style elements that are expressive of your brand, you also need to consider your target customers. A well-designed store will not only attract more customers, but can also lead to higher sales. To help you figure out the most important aspects to consider when designing your retail store, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answered the following question:
Garnering tons of social media engagement sometimes requires an out-of-the-box approach.
Getting involved in your local community is an easy way to build relationships and find loyal customers for your business. Hosting a community event can help you kick-start these relationships, but events can be expensive, and a new small business may not have the resources necessary to host one.
Content is the key to reaching and engaging new and existing customers. But after you've been creating content for so long, it can start to feel like you've covered everything you can possibly cover about your brand or in your niche.
A critical aspect of gaining recognition online is mastering the all-important blog post. While blogging has been around for decades, many people still struggle with understanding how to utilize blog posts to attract readers and gain more recognition.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some major issues with the e-commerce experience.
As companies look ahead to the post-pandemic world, many are struggling with whether or not to bring employees back into the office. Some have opted to stay remote full time, some will bring employees back to the office and others have considered embracing a hybrid workforce with a mix of in-office and remote work.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss why open-source software meets small business needs better than tech from major corporations.
Learning how to speak up in a group and make your voice heard is an essential professional skill.
Having a “side hustle” can be a great way to test the waters of entrepreneurship. Aside from providing a creative outlet and a chance to develop new skills, a side hustle can also turn into a reliable income stream.
Businesses have access to a treasure trove of valuable customer data, from how their audience is engaging with a social media post to their feedback on a product or service. When properly collected and analyzed, this data is invaluable for improving the customer experience — but you need to be collecting the right data.
As social media becomes a go-to communication platform for consumers across all demographics, it’s important for companies to increase their brand awareness on the platforms their audiences use. Leveraging these social media platforms effectively can help create strong connections with customers, draw them to your business, and build brand loyalty.
With social media, businesses have a unique tool to get firsthand insights from customers in an environment which allows them to interact with their audience, ask questions, highlight new products and share information.
Making thorough, educated decisions doesn't have to take tons of time.
New entrepreneurs start businesses every day with great ideas and visions for success. However, many of these ideas never materialize and up to 20% fail within the first year.
Everyone is going to have to gradually adjust to reopening, and you want to make it as convenient and painless for everyone as possible.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council predict which industries AI is likely to have a major impact on in the near future.
Everyone experiences changes in their lives, whether big or small, and the stress that comes along with these changes can either hurt you or allow you to grow stronger. One of the best ways to manage this stress is to learn to be more adaptable.
Content marketing is one of the most effective methods of gaining exposure for a brand and bringing potential customers into the sales funnel. By integrating strategic distribution, search engine optimization and inbound tactics as part of this approach, most businesses see excellent returns on their investments in content marketing.
Newcomers to the world of business ownership may have a hard time navigating all the requirements and challenges of setting up their first company. If you’re just starting out, finding another founder who has been through it and can provide sound advice may be worthwhile. With industries evolving so quickly these days, though, it could be difficult to find someone who understands your target market very well.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain how to encourage employees to play an active role in shaping organizational culture.
One of the biggest influences on a business and its employees is a positive attitude. Leaders who have a positive mindset and are pleasant to be around get the most out of their peers and employees. A happy attitude is infectious, and when workers are in a good mood, they yield good results.
Not every online storefront is the same and, when looking to set up and maintain their own online store, business owners can end up spending hours researching various components, add-ons, features and capabilities to find the right software to use.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain how to craft SEO content that will withstand trends.
Entrepreneurs can face obstacles from many different areas, but when you’re young and new to the business, there always seem to be extra hurdles to jump over. Both external and internal pressures can wear down on you, and before long, you can start feeling overwhelmed. But these pressures shouldn’t deter you from becoming an entrepreneur, and there are steps you can take to overcome them.
No matter what else changes in the business world, negotiating will remain an essential skill.
Writing a business email? Don't hit "send" until you've completed these key steps.
With the advent of social media, companies are now closer than ever to their buyers' feedback. However, these buyers may or may not be charitable with their opinions. Occasionally, a business may encounter a consumer who wasn’t happy with their experience or the product itself.
When you think about outstanding personal branding, at least one person comes to mind. This person displays all the elements of what a personal brand should be, but they also have a little something more—an “X” factor.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain the first steps a business should take upon discovering a negative review.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer tips for developing effective, sales-boosting e-commerce ads.
Putting together a book takes time, energy and a lot of effort. And while it accounts for a lot of the book's labor, writing isn't the only thing an entrepreneur needs to concern themselves with. Publishing the book and the marketing associated with it also have a place in the overall success equation. But not all new writers know what to expect from the writing process. To help, 11 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answer the following question:
No matter how stressed or busy you get, the right habits can keep you moving forward.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their favorite resources to help you stay abreast of industry changes.
Staying tuned in to the pulse of your industry is key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Public groups, online forums and the like are among the most valuable resources for gathering and contributing industry information. But if someone is looking for in-depth insight into their business niche, locating the right groups where this discussion occurs is the first step. To help you find them, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) respond to the following question:
It may not be easy to find a job right now, but it’s definitely possible.
Finding a core audience to market to is a crucial part of making a business profitable. Many marketing departments spend thousands of dollars building a picture of their ideal customer to inform how and where they should market. Once they do that, it's just a matter of unifying their content and media planning to target their product's most viable buyers.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some foolproof ways to break down a complicated concept for your target market.
Encouraging and maintaining a high level of audience engagement is critical for any brand keen on building a loyal following and a tight-knit community of reliable customers. Engagement serves as a foundational pillar to growing a business’s presence in the broader market, and those happy customers are often your best form of advertisement.
2020 brought a plethora of changes to consumer behavior. Many of these changes will serve as inspiration for new product ideas and functions that will help businesses better serve their customers in the year ahead.
At a time when in-person meetups are typically off the table, virtual networking platforms like LinkedIn can be valuable resources for business owners. The opportunity to connect regardless of location can open doors that just aren’t possible without these online tools. But while LinkedIn has some of the same features as traditional social media sites, its purpose, and therefore its use, should differ.
Business advice can come from anywhere, even from those who have never owned a business. But if you’re a new entrepreneur just starting out, you tend to soak up all the information that you can. The most significant problem is there’s no simply way to tell the lousy advice from the good advice. Sometimes experience is the only way to figure out the difference.
Let's look at some top small business trends that can help you respond to these challenges and find success in the coming years.
Email lists are fantastic tools for keeping in contact with consumers, sharing information and generating leads. But putting together an email list and figuring out how to attract customers to your list can take a lot of time and effort if not done thoughtfully.
As a new business owner, it isn't easy to sort out which business strategies work and which ones don’t. There's no standardized roadmap that guarantees success. Instead, success in business is a series of trial-and-error tests that result in a positive outcome, with plenty of mistakes along the way.
Last year's challenges were too many to count, but one of the most ever-present ones was the shift to an online workforce. Remote workers are nothing new—they've been around for at least a decade in some form or another. However, they've been mostly contractors and freelancers, not full-time employees.
Social media is a place for anyone to express their opinions and beliefs, and often that means talking about controversial topics. Sometimes, a business may post something that sparks a heated debate, or its social media followers might bring up these touchy issues on the business’s page, leaving the brand to come up with a response that won't offend or alienate its audience.
2020 caused many disruptions for small businesses, including restaurants, coffee shops and bars. The future of dining out is quite uncertain as 2021 approaches. What can such business owners do to help see them through this challenging period?
18 entrepreneurs from YEC look at the main reasons why an organization should get insurance.
Facing adversity can help you grow in ways you never imagined.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that the workforce can be adaptable and deal with many challenges as they arise. From pivoting into remote work to changing their priorities from real life to the digital realm, employees have had to evolve their practices to remain competitive.
Self-doubt can be debilitating for some individuals. If you're trying to advance your career, the belief that you’re not good enough can quickly put an end to those aspirations. It can make you feel less confident about your abilities, which in turn can make you seem less trustworthy and dependable to others. If you can't believe in yourself, will anyone else?
One of the worst things for a budding entrepreneur is to realize that the problem they're solving already has a solution. The business environment has diversified a lot, but the low cost of entry has now made it easy for others to develop similar ideas.
Prices can make or break a business, and deciding on what to charge for a particular good or service varies by the company. Finding the "sweet spot" for your pricing takes a bit of market research and a lot of trial and error, especially for new entrepreneurs. Sometimes, their approach to pricing structure can change over time, evolving to account for further information they learn in their journeys as business owners and new key considerations that affect a company’s pricing model. That’s why we asked 12 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:
Programming is highly in demand in today's digital-first world. Try these tools, courses and platforms recommended by business leaders.
Email marketing is still among the most effective ways to target an audience. However, for email marketing to be successful, you need to encourage people to sign up for your email list. This step might seem like a simple task, but recently consumers are extra-protective about their email addresses. Individuals have been flooded with spam and have become a lot more cautious about who they share their information with.
If you've been around the marketing world at all lately, you'd realize how much of a game-changer social media can be for a business. Setting up posts, scheduling them to come out, and engaging with those who follow your social media feeds can help you cultivate your audience.
With the holidays approaching quickly, many are ready to set their “out of office” messages and relax and recharge. It’s important for employers to encourage this balance and promote the use of paid time off around the holidays. However, if everyone takes off at the same time, it may leave you with a skeleton crew and piles of work for when employees return, making for a not-so-happy start to the new year.
One of the best ways to call attention to your business is to give things away.
Everyone online shopper has added items to their cart, only to close out of the website before completing the purchase. This behavior has led to an average online cart abandonment rate of 60% to 80% for many e-commerce sites.
LinkedIn is often thought of as the go-to social network for professionals, but it’s more than just a social media platform. It’s a powerful marketing tool for brands to engage with customers, employees and business partners.
It's often said you only get one chance to make a first impression, and that holds true for your company website. The visual appearance and written copy on your sign-up and landing pages must be compelling enough to grab a visitor's attention and convince them to take the next step in their relationship with your brand.
Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some creative ideas for tech companies that want to leverage more user-generated content.
As entrepreneurs, we understand how powerful the classification of personality types can be in recruitment. From Myers-Briggs to Enneagram, the number of ways to gauge a person's innate traits can be measured in a hundred different ways. Several companies use one or more of those personality tests to develop their employees' potentials.
You may measure your effectiveness with several metrics. However, not everyone has the time to dedicate to figuring out their level of daily effectiveness and productivity. As professionals, most of us have to learn how to spot the red flags indicating that we are being ineffective.
These 20 entrepreneurs from YEC discuss their favorite market research tools and why you should be using them.
Employees are a critical resource in any business. When they take on the role of brand advocates, they become even more valuable.
With each passing year, demographics change. Where a company's core demographic might have been millennials a few years ago, today it's shifted to Generation Z. Unfortunately, there's a marked difference in values between generations, and businesses need to revamp their marketing strategy to reach out to their newest client base without alienating their other followers.
Social media following is an integral part of executing a successful marketing strategy. Engagement on social media is far higher than other channels. However, despite their constant presence, social media networks aren't the only way for a company to do outreach and connect to their core audience.
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As more people are working from home and staying in, online shopping has become the dominant means of commerce. It’s more important than ever for small brick-and-mortar retailers to get their products online and accessible to their customers. However, with so many large e-commerce competitors like Amazon, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd.
Having the right clients can make all the difference in your business’s success. Of course, finding those ideal clients isn’t always easy. You don’t want to be too selective and turn down a good business opportunity, but you also don’t want to overextend yourself for a client who won’t stick around in the long run.
The entire marketing world knows how powerful a well-funded social media campaign can be when growing a brand image. It can be challenging for smaller entrepreneurs to determine how much money should go into this part of your marketing, as there are several dozen social media channels that you can invest in. How do you determine how much money to dedicate to one or more of those social media accounts?
Small-business owners realize almost immediately how different their businesses are to run than large corporations. For success, a small business needs to adopt its own strategies that work with limited available resources. Entrepreneurs in this position need to make critical decisions about what approaches they'll take to elements of business growth and development.
It’s easy to have an “always-on” mentality when you’re an entrepreneur. You own a business that depends on you to survive, so you never really get a day off – right?
Social media is constantly evolving, and your business needs to keep up.
Content marketing has become a cornerstone marketing approach in the world of business and for good reason. It's a cost-effective method of getting new clients to notice the company while keeping current customers engaged with valuable information. However, for the bloggers, it can be a pain to come up with new ideas. With content so widespread on the internet, it's challenging to develop new topics or new spins on old issues.
When you're negotiating a deal, misinterpreted tone or poorly-chosen words could ruin an otherwise-successful conversation. Sometimes you may not know even which phrases might turn a deal sour. That's why we asked 16 members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:
Leadership is a battle for constant improvement.
A strong daily routine can make all the difference in a team's productivity. Things like creating a to-do list at the start of each day and blocking off time for "deep thinking" work often help people get organized and feel more focused throughout the workday.
As a leader, you know your workplace dynamic directly impacts employee morale and, in turn, your bottom line. No matter how great your company culture might be, there is always room for improvement. But to make impactful changes, you’ll have to first understand which areas warrant the most attention.
Even if you started doing virtual events out of necessity, you'll likely find it advantageous to continue the practice.
When your company's growth is gaining traction, make sure your culture grows right alongside it.
Transparency in business has become a practice that’s favored by not only consumers, but by employees as well. When leaders are transparent with their team about the business, it builds a sense of trust and equips employees to make informed decisions. However, sharing more information than necessary can be distracting at best, and detrimental to company culture at worst.
Entrepreneurs can be so busy in today's business world that they lose sight of themselves. Introspection has an essential place in an entrepreneur's mindset. Understanding one's goals and motivations can help one come to terms with what one wants out of life.
Small business owners are especially vulnerable during a crisis.
Despite the overwhelming preference for digital media among modern marketers, traditional advertising methods are still being implemented today and driving great results. Newspaper, TV and radio spots can offer tons of potential for businesses looking to reach a local market -- if they're used the right way.
One of the most common complaints that professionals have in the 21st century is how little time there is in a day. The truth of the matter is that the day hasn't changed, but how we manage our time has. Losing time on frivolous activities is nothing new. However, with the advent of attention-stealing applications, we lose more time than ever before without even realizing it.
In the wake of COVID-19, many businesses have had to significantly modify or even temporarily shut down their daily operations. In tough times such as these, finding new revenue streams can be a great way to make up the lost income and keep the company afloat.
Working from home comes with advantages, such as increased flexibility, and drawbacks, such as feelings of isolation.
A famous adage that many young entrepreneurs know is that there are never enough hours in a day. If you feel like this, the problem is probably not with the day, but with how you utilize the time available to you.
When you're focused and consistent with your efforts, LinkedIn can be one of the most cost-effective sources for B2B leads.
Many a company had to reinvent themselves and especially their customer interactions in order to stay in business. Listening closely to your target audience is often the first and best step your organization should take when planning a major shift.
Automation and a personal touch don't have to be contradictory.
A leader is someone who takes the initiative and drives the business forward to fulfill its goals. Within a company, leaders are responsible for guiding and inspiring those whose departments they lead. Many leaders get to their positions after years of experience and learning what their jobs entail.
Not understanding how to manage your money can undermine your business.
As an entrepreneur, you’ve likely encountered various risks and obstacles while juggling a myriad of responsibilities. With all these challenges, it’s common for self-doubt to strike at some point in your career. However, it's important to not let those negative perceptions and fears get the best of you. Many members of Young Entrepreneur Council have felt the sting of uncertainty throughout their careers -- and they’ve figured out how to conquer it. Read on for their best practical tips for banishing self-doubt and growing from the experience.
Not every trend impacts you equally, but it's important to remember they're still influencing your customers' expectations.
Entrepreneurs usually have to locate a source of funds to make their dreams into a reality. Sometimes, all you have is an idea, and as good as that idea is, unless you know how to get funding, it'll remain a thought in your head. Convincing people to invest in a business is more than just laying out the positives and negatives. Finding the right pitch for the correct type of investor is crucial in securing their financial help.
Polls and surveys, when done right, are a simple way to learn more about your customers.
The world has been enamored with the use of virtual reality ever since the movie “Tron” came out in the 80s. Today's VR is a bit different from the fancy world of the silver screen, but the technology has a lot of practical uses.
Local SEO is a huge factor in attracting prospective customers to your brick-and-mortar location.
The more reviews you have, the more trust consumers will place in your brand.
If you let a negative review pass without responding, your silence could speak volumes to potential customers.
Here are some creative free strategies to get the world to take notice of your business.
It's definitely possible to engage in effective branding on a small budget.
You don't have to spend a lot to build your brand.
Stay vigilant and don't give any information to someone you don't know.
Small businesses may not be able to compete on selection and price, but they can offer personalized customer experiences.
Networking, when done right, can help you build brand awareness.
No matter what form of marketing you use, make sure it is consistent.
I've learned that, while you can't literally stretch time, you can get more done.
Figure out what you can do to sell online, even if it's a one-off product.
Having your customers help build up your business's reputation takes hard work and collaboration.
Give your customers a specific reason to seek out your services.
The more you know about your customers, the better you can serve them.
You may find that one or more of these strategies is just what you need to take your business to the next level.
There are many tactics that businesses can use to connect with their cities and regions.
Think of ways to connect with people that differentiates you from the competition.
Jump right in and put in the work, but most importantly, don’t forget to laugh along the way.
Outstanding customer service could even be considered a type of marketing.
It often takes extra effort and determination to get people to try something new, but the rewards can be tremendous if you succeed.
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Mobile is only going to get bigger in the coming years. Every type of business needs to adjust to this reality if they want to stay relevant.
ProTexting helps you communicate with your contacts more efficiently through a suite of highly interactive mobile marketing campaigns.
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