Kevin Leyes

December 30th, 2020

18 Things to Consider Before Committing to Business Insurance

18 entrepreneurs from YEC look at the main reasons why an organization should get insurance.

December 30th, 2020

12 Leader-Recommended Marketing Strategies (And Why They’re so Effective)

December 28th, 2020

8 Entrepreneurs Share the Best Marketing Lesson They've Learned in 2020

[LONG FORM EMAILED TO KELSEY]

December 28th, 2020

Eight Obstacles Entrepreneurs Never Expected To Have To Overcome When Starting Their Businesses

The easiest part of opening a business is coming up with the idea and filing the paperwork. The most challenging part often might not be apparent right away. No leader can predict or prepare for every obstacle they might encounter as a business owner, and hurdles can vary by industry and by each entrepreneur. However, with a little insight from more experienced entrepreneurs and the right mindset, you can successfully guide you and your business through any challenge.

December 17th, 2020

12 Considerations When Creating Your Pricing Structure

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:

December 2nd, 2020

16 Excellent Sales Automation Tools

16 entrepreneurs from YEC share their favorite sales automation tools and strategies and explain why they work.

November 23rd, 2020

 11 Critical Qualities Your Part-Time CFO Should Have

Occasionally, a business may require a part-time chief financial officer because their full-time employee has left or transitioned to a new portfolio. A part-time CFO doesn't need to have the same skill set as the original office-holder. However, to be successful in their endeavors on behalf of the company, they need to have a series of qualities making them suitable for the position.

November 12th, 2020

8 Low-Cost File Sharing Services for Teams

With the current corporate focus on remote work, file-sharing and syncing services have become an essential part of the modern office. While some companies have bespoke designed solutions that meet their needs, these can be complicated and clunky to implement, requiring cybersecurity and IT administration input.

November 4th, 2020

16 Best Practices for Optimizing Your Sign-Up and Landing Pages

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.

November 2nd, 2020

Want Loyalty From Your Team? Here's How To Earn It

A business is only as good as its employees. In order to thrive, you have to ensure our workers are on the same page and willing to grow with you. A truly loyal team will stand with your business during the ups and downs and dedicate themselves to the business’s overall success.

November 2nd, 2020

13 Signs You May Need a Motivation Boost

Staying motivated as an entrepreneur takes a lot of effort. In several situations, business owners find themselves struggling to point themselves in the right direction, whether in their profession or in their personal life. In both of these cases, your inspiration dictates the drive you have to accomplish your goals.

October 9th, 2020

How to Communicate Important News Internally: 15 Best Tips

An effective internal communications strategy is essential when trying to build a cohesive team working together toward the same goal. Especially when it comes to announcing important news to your team, using the right internal communications approach is of utmost importance. The right communications strategy ensures the communicated message is clear and easily understood, leaving no room for error. That’s why we asked 15 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:

October 5th, 2020

15 Entrepreneurs Share the First Hires They Made for Their Business and Why

October 2nd, 2020

11 Considerations When Offering Equity To Early-Stage Non-Tech Hires

When you set up your startup and start hiring your first few people to staff, not all of them will be tech workers. Non-tech professions such as sales, marketing, etc. are also crucial to the success of a product. Some companies don't offer these hires any equity, but this may be a huge mistake. You can lose talented professionals if you don't sweeten the deal enough.

September 30th, 2020

11 Unique Strategies for Reaching Out to Generation Z Audiences

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.

September 30th, 2020

Customer Service Recovery: Six Keys To Turn Complaints Into Good Experiences

Losing a customer, or running the risk of losing one because of dissatisfaction or anger, can be very damaging to the brand.

September 24th, 2020

15 Smart Ways to Get More Mileage Out Of Your Digital Content

If your company has a blog and social media presence, you know how challenging it can be to keep up with the constant demand for new content. Recycling and updating existing content is a great way to put a fresh spin on what you’ve previously published without the hassle of coming up with a brand-new idea.

September 23rd, 2020

10 Strategies To Generate Word-Of-Mouth Through Digital Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the best ways to achieve organic growth for your business. Having people advocate for your services can help you attract new customers and increase loyalty among your existing customer base.

September 23rd, 2020

17 Utilities to Automate Marketing for Better ROI

17 leaders from YEC share the tools and processes they use and why they work.

September 21st, 2020

Stressed Out? 15 Practical Actions to Combat Doubt, Fear and Anxiety

Today's world is more stressful than ever. The fast-paced, always-on environment many of us operate in is enough to cause anxiety among even the most organized leaders. Throw in the current global pandemic and an economic recession, and it's no surprise that many people are experiencing doubts and fears in their personal and professional lives.

September 21st, 2020

13 Best Tips for Practicing Your Investor Pitch

Entrepreneurs should all know by now how nerve-wracking delivering a pitch to investors can be. If you've invested a lot of your time and effort into designing a business idea, you want to get the point across to investors effectively. As with anything, practicing your delivery can go a long way toward making a steadier presentation. That’s why we asked 13 successful entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:

September 18th, 2020

12 Effective Recruitment Methods to Help You Find Your Next Best Hire

September 15th, 2020

THE 14 MOST EXCITING DIGITAL MARKETING DEVELOPMENTS OF 2020 (SO FAR)

Young Entrepreneur Council members share some of the most exciting trends and developments they've seen in digital marketing this year.

September 14th, 2020

15 Common Buzzwords Hiring Managers Hate Seeing on Job Applications

September 9th, 2020

How A Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business This Year

Virtual assistants are increasingly popular among freelancers, entrepreneurs and large business owners — mainly because they can help in so many different ways.

September 4th, 2020

14 Smart Ways to Leverage a Virtual Assistant for Productivity

September 3rd, 2020

12 Critical Elements to Consider When Looking for a Mentor

September 1st, 2020

Here's How To Truly Take 'Time Off' As An Entrepreneur

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?

August 31st, 2020

15 Important Questions to Ask Yourself When Developing Your Company Mission

August 31st, 2020

15 Tips for Developing an Effective Success Plan

Plans are crucial to success in any endeavor. It doesn't matter if that project is building a business or writing a book. Without planning, even the most well-intentioned projects can hit a roadblock and stop. Developing a success plan takes time and effort. It also requires a certain level of experience, and newcomers are unfortunately hit with this realization after they start their projects.

August 31st, 2020

Improve Your Mood in Under 10 Minutes With These 12 Strategies

August 28th, 2020

10 Clear Signs You Need To Make A Mobile App For Your Customers

Many businesses see a major shift in their success once they establish a website that lets them provide new information and tools to their customers. However, some may see even greater success if they develop a mobile app.

August 24th, 2020

Here's How To Successfully Communicate Your Brand Story To Your Audience

Building your brand is an important part of running a business. To truly connect with your audience, you must define and express who you are and your goals as a business. Often, the best way to do this is by telling your story.

August 11th, 2020

The New Normal For Business And Marketing

Consumer demands evolve every day, even more so during times of uncertainty, so business leaders need to be ready to adjust accordingly.

August 10th, 2020

Nine Common Misconceptions About Changing Habits

Switching a “bad” habit for a good one is not always the best option.

August 7th, 2020

Eight Essential Skills To Look For In New Hires

No business’s recruiting process is the same, largely because of the fact different organizations look for different things in their candidates. Each company has a particular skill or set of abilities it values above others.

August 5th, 2020

10 Smart Habits For A Successful Marketing Career

A marketer's job is a challenging one in today's always-on, digital-first world. Not only do they have to come up with an appealing brand image and message, but they have to figure out how to adapt marketing collateral to countless different channels and learn best practices for each one.

July 30th, 2020

14 Things That Could Throw Off The Wearables Revolution

Electronic wearables were an exciting new concept just years ago. Now, they’ve slowly become the norm, with gadgets like smart watches and sleep trackers overwhelming the market.

July 14th, 2020

Here's How To Ensure Your New IoT Product Keeps Its Data Secure

The internet of things (IoT) has given consumers and businesses the ability to make their homes and offices "smart." Because IoT devices can communicate and exchange data with one other, they have vast potential for streamlining workflows and making us more efficient. However, with all the data each internet-connected device collects, stores and uses, there's also an inherent security risk.

July 13th, 2020

15 Essential Steps for Creating a Business Exit Strategy

July 10th, 2020

Small Team? 15 Tips for Expanding Your Marketing Efforts With Limited Resources

Employees who work on small teams may need to play multiple roles to ensure everything runs smoothly. With such limited resources, you may not be able to have a dedicated full-time marketing person to help you reach your full potential as a brand. That's why we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

July 10th, 2020

11 Strategies to Make Your Voice Heard in a Crowd

It takes more than just raising your voice

July 6th, 2020

12 Effective Strategies For Better Corporate Meetings

Internal meetings can be a fantastic strategic tool to help a business get all stakeholders of a project on the same page, but they can easily turn into massive time sinks if they are not properly scheduled and managed. Unfortunately, many companies don't strategize their meetings. The result is a once-weekly report that doesn't have any noticeable impact on the business. 

July 6th, 2020

Stop Feeling Like A Fraud: Five Tips To Overcome Impostor Syndrome

Break the barrier of fear and work on achieving your goals.

July 1st, 2020

11 Entrepreneur-Recommended Tools for Your Next Online Meeting

In the age of remote work and social distancing, try these video conferencing tools for your company's online meetings.

June 26th, 2020

13 Things to Remember Before You Apply for a Business Award

Winning a business or industry award can be a great honor for your business, as well as a highly effective PR opportunity. However, to be considered, you'll first need to submit an application to be reviewed by the award committee. To help you with this process, we asked the members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

June 19th, 2020

27 Books for Success to Add to Your Summer Reading List

June 15th, 2020

15 Key Traits Entrepreneurs Should Cultivate to Improve Themselves

June 12th, 2020

15 Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams (That Aren't Slack)

With so many remote working teams in the world today, productivity requires utilizing tools that can connect the team through voice, chat and video. Slack rules the roost as the team collaboration software, but it’s far from being the only reliable one. Dozens of team collaboration tools have gained growing popularity over the last two months. Some of them offer similar functionality to Slack and might even be better at some things. Others are sorely lacking in utilities to help a team get organized.

June 11th, 2020

8 Clear Signs of a High-Quality Job Candidate

[long-form article emailed to Kelsey]

June 11th, 2020

16 Things to Avoid When Doing Content Marketing The internet is full of tips and advice on what to do when developing a content marketing strategy, but knowing what not to do is equally important to ensure success. Here are 16 things marketers should definitely avoid when doing content marketing.

June 9th, 2020

How To Make A High-Ticket Selling Strategy Work For You

Grow your company’s sales by selling high-value products and services, also known as high-ticket items.

June 8th, 2020

15 Ways to Bounce Back When Things Are Going Badly

In all walks of life, there will be pitfalls that plague professionals. For an entrepreneur, especially, it may occasionally feel like nothing is working out, no matter what you do. There's a saying that success only comes to those who get back up each time they get knocked down. The problem is that the saying doesn't detail how you get back up from a fall. Some leaders can find themselves falling over and over, and each time the recovery takes more out of them. 

June 8th, 2020

8 Smart Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service

[LONG-FORM EMAILED TO KELSEY]

June 8th, 2020

Hiring Your First Remote Employee? Follow These 16 Tips

Working remotely has become the new standard in the COVID-19 era. Companies that followed a traditional in-office model have had to adjust to how they presently work, and soon have to learn how to hire remotely.

June 5th, 2020

Scale Your Company by Leveraging Your Customer Feedback

Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn more about what your customers want and need.

June 5th, 2020

Offering Live Customer Chat? Follow These 15 Important Tips

In today's always-on, digital-first world, consumers increasingly expect companies to offer fast and convenient channels for customer support. To this end, many brands now offer live chat so customers can reach them faster than an email or phone call.

June 4th, 2020

15 Effective Ways to Reach Gen Z on Social Media

As the up-and-coming generation of consumers, Gen Z has become a hot target demographic for many brands. This generation of true digital natives is even more entrenched in the world of technology than the millennials who came before them. Therefore, companies that want to reach them need to go all-in on social media, Gen Z's preferred place to "hang out" online.

May 29th, 2020

10 Key Factors in Determining Whether an Employee Should Get a Raise

It takes a lot of mental fortitude for an employee to approach their employer for a raise. There's no playbook for managers and business owners to know how to gauge whether an employee deserves a raise or not. The factors as to whether an employee deserves to earn more can be approached in several different ways. From the addition of value to the support they provide, each plays an integral part in determining whether a raise is warranted. That’s why we asked 10 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:

May 26th, 2020

Here's How to Run a Successful 'Traditional' Ad Campaign for Your Local Market

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.

May 6th, 2020

Should You Be Outsourcing This Business Function? Eight Signs to Look For

As more businesses start to realize the benefits of outsourcing, they slowly start cutting down on the number of things they do in house. In many industries, the reduction in costs is so significant that it allows the business to thrive and grow much faster. However, even though outsourcing is an excellent idea for increasing profitability for a business, not all solutions should be outsourced, even if they could be.

May 4th, 2020

How Businesses Can Adapt To An Uncertain Future

How can entrepreneurs and business owners prepare for the “new normal”?

April 23rd, 2020

How to Find an Ideal Co-Founder for Your Startup

Remember, two heads are often better than one.

April 7th, 2020

10 Ways To Craft A Truly Captivating Brand Story

Competition among companies can be fierce, especially those in the same field with similar messages. With so many other brands out there, it can be difficult to make your story stand out among the crowd. However, you need to identify that “something special” about your business that truly makes it shine.

To help you, we asked 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members how to captivate customers through the art of storytelling. Here’s how they recommend crafting a brand story that captures attention and engages your target audience.

April 7th, 2020

https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/6-bad-business-situations-that-turned-out-to-be-blessings-in-disguise.html

April 1st, 2020

Learning To Unlearn: The Importance Of Reinventing Yourself

The unlearning process can promote your life, and in this case your entrepreneurship, to higher levels.

February 25th, 2020

Five Benefits Of Having Multiple Sources Of Income As An Entrepreneur

Multiple sources of income provide you with a wider safety net and the chance to achieve financial freedom.