Maria Thimothy

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In the current hiring market, competition is fierce. With so many options available to job seekers, companies must attempt to out-compete others in their industry in order to attract and hire talent, and this has led to many companies struggling to fill roles—and wondering what they can do to make the top of candidates’ lists. In today’s market especially, attracting applicants must be approached differently than in the past, and it’s likely some companies are making a few mistakes along the way. To help, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members discuss a few of the mistakes they’re seeing companies make when it comes to competing for talent and explain what leaders should be doing to fix them.

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When you’re in a position of authority, and when you have the livelihoods of not only yourself but also your teams to consider, it can be easy to develop certain mindsets around yourself, your work and the way your business should be run. While many of these mindsets can be positive, many can also be toxic, threatening to overwhelm you and, ultimately, your team’s morale if left unchecked. As successful business leaders themselves, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council are familiar with the toxic thoughts that can sometimes cross your mind when you run a business. Below, they list a few of those toxic mindsets as well as share what you can do to eliminate them when you feel them start to take over.

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When you're working to complete a project that will span a long period of time, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Without proper preparation and oversight, a long-term project runs the risk of getting derailed along the way as more immediate and pressing concerns pop up. Anyone leading this type of project should take the necessary steps to make sure every piece of the endeavor stays on track and progresses smoothly. To help you do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members discuss how to ensure long-term projects reach successful conclusions.

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Every successful entrepreneur has one special "something" that has made a unique, lasting contribution to their achievements, be it a former mentor, a previous role they held or an event that impacted their life. Our lived experiences help define who we are as individuals and hone our perspectives throughout life. As we advance as professionals, these experiences take shape as new traits, resources and accomplishments that help drive our ongoing maturity and achievement. Whether it’s in their personal or professional lives, Young Entrepreneur Council members have been influenced by many milestone moments and memories. Below, nine of them describe the most important things they've gained as they've advanced in their careers and how these additions benefit them in the roles they play now.

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For some, the meaning of the adage “the customer is always right” has evolved from “businesses should listen to consumers because they drive the market” to “businesses should always focus on giving customers exactly what they want—no matter the ask or the cost.” However, sometimes the customer isn’t actually right, and giving in to their demands isn’t the wise move. When a customer is angry or frustrated, it’s important for a business to listen to and empathize with their concerns. But if that customer is ultimately wrong, you shouldn’t make unreasonable sacrifices or do something that’s not really in their best interests just to get back into their good graces. Here, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members share their thoughts on how to strike a balance between ensuring a customer feels well-treated and doing what’s right for your business.

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Building positive client relationships is the key to the success for any business. However, when you run your business from home, the way you go about building these relationships may look a bit different than it would for a more established organization or in-office environment. While it may take some adjusting for maximum effectiveness, it is possible to build positive client relationships while working from home. Here, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss their best tips for doing so.

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As restrictions lift once again, businesses are beginning to come to terms with the fact that hybrid working is probably here to stay.

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Launching a new company often involves a lot of moving parts and a number of different hats an entrepreneur must wear in order to get the business off the ground. With so many tasks that need to get done, new entrepreneurs can be left feeling overwhelmed with a mounting to-do list and no sense of direction for what needs to be prioritized first. Is it sales? Social media? Designing the right logo? Building a website? The members of Young Entrepreneur Council suggest the answer may not be what you expect. Below, they list out eight of the tasks you should be spending more of your time on as you’re launching your business and explain why those tasks are so key to your future success as a business owner.

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Jumping on the latest cultural trends can be a good way to make some quick money or earn some fast fame. However, steering your ship off course to try to take advantage of passing trends isn't always the best long-term decision.  It often happens that businesses try to profit from what's trending just to end up wasting time and resources in the end. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their arguments for why it’s actually better to stay the course with your business and let the trends pass you by.

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In all the excitement of opening a business and launching that first product or service, it can be easy for aspiring entrepreneurs to forgo a thorough audit of their finances in favor of speed to market. However, it's absolutely crucial for business owners to keep a close eye on their income and expenses—especially if they want to ensure their survival past year one. Making such financial mistakes early on can be detrimental, but it doesn’t mean early-stage entrepreneurs can’t turn it around for the better. To help your business survive its first year in operation, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared some important financial tips every new business owner should follow.

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The idea of a four-day workweek isn't a new concept, but since the pandemic, whether or not this type of work model should be implemented has become a hot topic of debate in the professional world. Some say four-day workweeks make employees more productive, while others argue that, even if this is true, they can't spare their entire staff on a Friday. It boils down to leaders knowing what will work for their companies. But with so many factors to consider, coming to a practical conclusion can seem overwhelming. To share their own perspectives, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members offer their opinions on the popular four-day workweek model and whether or not they believe leaders should consider it as a valuable solution for better work-life balance.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend upgrading your business software or hardware when you notice these signs. A business can only be as successful as the tools it uses to conduct that business — which means that having the right technology at your disposal is vital to your ability to please your customers and succeed in the long term. Trying to make due with outdated or inefficient technology may save you money upfront, but the effects of this can build up to major problems down the line. So how will you know when it’s time to upgrade? Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share 11 clear signs you can look for that will indicate it’s time to update your current technology and improve your productivity.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council suggest the information you should try to find when researching your business’s competition. Every business faces competition. In order to succeed in the marketplace, companies must do what they can to stand out from each other. An important step in this process is analyzing the competition to figure out what they do well — and what they don’t — so you have a better idea of where your company stands and what you need to do to get ahead. To help get you started, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared a list of helpful pieces of data or information you’ll want to find out when studying your competition and why those things will help you succeed.

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When you first start a job or career path, it can be easy to assume you already know everything you need to know in order to succeed in the position. While you might be able to get by with your day-to-day duties, if you want to “climb the ladder” or advance your career in some way, it’s important that you develop a “learning mindset” and figure out ways you can educate yourself, learn new skills and make yourself more marketable for whatever future position you may want to move into. But how do you get started, especially when you’re not used to taking initiative? Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer a few strategies for developing a habit and a passion for learning that can help take your career to new heights.

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At the beginning of the year, companies and employees alike are setting resolutions for the months ahead. As employees set their sights on new goals, there are a few questions leaders should be asking them at the start. With these thought-provoking questions, leaders can be a part of the solution to set employees up for success and help them contribute to the company goals. To help you identify the best things to ask, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council each offered one question business leaders should ask employees in January to pave the way for a successful year.

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January is a time when many professionals and businesses set goals and company resolutions for the year ahead. However, even the most well-intentioned may lose sight of their goals as the year goes on. The key to following through with your business's big annual goals is measuring your progress each week, month and quarter. To help you do this, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council each provided an effective solution for tracking progress on your department-specific goals over the next 12 months.

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You will surely find long-term business success with a team that takes ownership.

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Strong, clear communication is a must when it comes to manager-employee relationships, but certain behaviors can work against you. Strong communication skills can help anyone thrive in a business environment, but when it comes to managing employees, they are absolutely essential. An effective communication strategy can help leaders optimize the flow of information within their organization and keep teams on track.  Below, 12 Young Entrepreneur Council members shared some of the biggest communication mistakes managers make. Follow their advice for avoiding these common errors and setting up stronger lines of communication with your team.

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As many professionals continue to leave their jobs in favor of new ones, employee turnover has been steadily rising, meaning many HR professionals have been working harder than normal. Whether that means fielding more applications, serving as a mediator when letting go of an employee or listening to burned out employees vent about their working conditions, HR teams often take the brunt of the emotional work at many establishments. This may mean that HR employees need more support from leaders and upper management during periods of high turnover. From offering additional time off to providing educational development tools, seven Young Entrepreneur Council members shared the best ways business leaders can support their HR departments in their endeavors.

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During the holidays, business owners are pulled in all different directions. Both customers’ and employees’ needs change during this time, and leaders are often left to figure out how to balance them out. With the increased demand and added chaos from the holiday shopping season, this can be a tough task; however, there are steps business leaders can take to ensure they’re keeping everyone happy. Below, nine Young Entrepreneur Council members share some tips for business owners looking to meet the needs of their teams and their customers throughout the season and into the new year.

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Taking initiative is something that can and should happen at all levels of business and across all roles and is the key to being resilient as an employee and a business.

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There is no shortage of advice blogs, books and podcasts about entrepreneurship these days. Sifting through all of this advice can take up valuable time and, unfortunately, not all of it will actually help you succeed. That's why it's helpful to learn targeted tips from entrepreneurs who understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful startup. To share the good and warn against the bad, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council gave their advice for first-time entrepreneurs. Follow their tips when you need guidance to get you through the early days of your business endeavors.

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High turnover rates are a tell-tale sign that something is wrong within your business. Whether the turnover rate is in a specific department or company-wide, it’s important for business leaders to address the issues that are occurring to prevent any further issues.  Not addressing a high turnover rate can be problematic for a business and will likely lead to an unsuccessful team, a bad reputation, and low company morale. To help leaders better understand what’s happening, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members recommended some steps a business leader should take to investigate what is going on in the company and solve the root issue.

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Knowing when to draw the line and terminate your relationship with a client is not always cut and dry, but there are some specific red flags to look out for.

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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. Some of the most successful professionals in the world use their downtime to practice self-care, focus on ways to build creativity and learn new things. Here, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the things they believe every professional should be doing in their downtime if they want to truly succeed in their career and improve their life.

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Part of creating a successful team is getting them to buy in on your company’s mission, vision and goals. Those employees who do this are likely to develop an “ownership mindset” in which they feel that they have ownership over their responsibilities and outcomes and are more willing to do what is necessary to accomplish tasks. But getting every employee to feel this way can come with its own set of hurdles, so how can leaders encourage their team members to have an ownership mindset, no matter their job description? Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council list some tips for leaders looking to achieve this very goal.

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As a leader, it’s important to ensure that every voice at your company is heard, no matter the size of the team. Barriers should be broken between upper and lower management, if they exist, to allow for the free flow of information and ideas. But it can still sometimes be difficult for lower-level employees to feel their ideas are being heard all the way at the top. Below, nine Young Entrepreneur Council members share specific steps leaders can implement to encourage the sharing of ideas across all levels of the organization.

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Customers are the key to success for any business. The way you communicate with your customers can make or break their decision to work with you. That's why it's crucial your customer communications are always impactful and meaningful. As business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council know the importance of effective communication. Below, nine of them share what they've learned about customer communication during their careers and why those lessons were so important to their professional development.

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Think of it as showing your work on a math problem. Even if you arrive at a wrong answer, the fact that you can show the work you have done along the way still earns you points.

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Many professionals believe that having a large network is the key to success. However, it's often more crucial to have a few select contacts you can truly count on. These individuals can not only help further your career, but they'll also come through when others won't. Below, nine Young Entrepreneur Council members shared some powerful ways to forge meaningful professional connections. Follow their tips to curate a professional network that will be there when you need them.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their advice on how to stop chasing an imaginary perfection and move forward with your business. Entrepreneurs naturally want their businesses to be as perfect as possible. What many business leaders may not realize, however, is that in striving for perfection, they may actually be doing more harm than good. Leaders who always seek perfection can end up delaying projects, spending unnecessary money, destroying team morale and undermining their own self-confidence if they aren’t careful about how they channel this perfectionism. To provide guidance on how to do just that, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their best advice for overcoming perfectionism in business.

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At the heart of all good business advice is a deep understanding of how a business works.

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Working from home was gaining popularity in the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic. As most businesses were then forced to operate remotely during pandemic lockdowns, many people who may not have considered working remotely before got to have a taste of all its benefits. Now, many companies and organizations are choosing to keep operating with a hybrid workforce as a permanent solution. As leaders accept hybrid workforces as the new normal, they need to establish solid company cultures that revolve around working with in-office and remote teams simultaneously. Below, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their thoughts on how to build a solid company culture with a hybrid workforce and talk about overcoming any challenges that leaders might face while doing so.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council list some common missteps companies make with social media engagement. Achieving high social media engagement rates is a valuable goal for any modern company. Likes, shares and comments all give companies a quantitative way to measure how positively they’re perceived by their audience members. But in striving for these numbers, companies can overlook certain mistakes that, when resolved, would actually end up helping their efforts in the long run. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members list some of the most common mistakes companies make when it comes to engaging their audience on social media and explain what they should be doing instead.

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Influencer marketing has become one of the primary ways brands advertise their products since the rise of social media. However, when celebrities and influencers become embroiled in scandal, the brands they represent end up dropping them. In addition, the pandemic has changed the way customers have been interacting with brands, forcing many to rethink their strategies. It's apparent that influencer marketing is changing, but what direction it's headed in isn't exactly clear. To share their insights, members of Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in with their predictions for the future of influencer marketing in the coming months and years.

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At a time when consumers crave authenticity in messaging, personal branding strategies have never been more important. Celebrities and big brands tend to make headlines often in this regard, offering the rest of the world valuable opportunities to learn and grow from their mistakes or successes.  Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council each shared a brand or personality they believe has a top-notch branding strategy. Here's what the panel thinks others can learn from these influential individuals and organizations.

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Chief operating officers (COOs) are important assets to every organization. This critical C-level role oversees the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the business they serve, as well as manages departmental leaders under their areas of purview. When it comes to hiring the right person for the role of COO, you may need to think beyond your normal hiring processes. To help, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared 10 tactical steps all companies should take to ensure they hire the best COO for their team.

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One of the biggest challenges for any new entrepreneur is learning their own sales habits and processes. It can take years for a person to really hone their skills and become an excellent salesperson. To help those starting out on their sales journey, the experts of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their experiences. Below they discussed the sales tips they wish they knew when they first started out and how those lessons can help new and aspiring entrepreneurs get on a path to business success.

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No matter how organized and productive you normally are, there will be times when you'll feel overwhelmed with the amount of work you have to do. Feeling like you’re behind on your work can cause additional stress that can affect your output. It's important to recognize when you're feeling this way and take the proper measures to get back on track. To that end, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discussed the steps they take to reset their work and get back on track. Here’s how these strategies can help you establish a better overall plan for managing your workload.

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The process of hiring new employees can be both rewarding and difficult. Hiring managers or HR representatives need to make sure each candidate not only fits into the company culture and values, but also can do the job successfully. Some hiring decisions can be particularly hard to navigate, especially as a small business owner. Below, nine Young Entrepreneur Council members shared the biggest hiring challenges they've ever faced and the steps they took to overcome them. Read their advice to help you if you're struggling to recruit, hire or onboard new talent for your company.

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In order to continue to improve our skills and deliver better services to clients, we have to keep asking questions.

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Success starts with building one small habit at a time. Some of the most successful people in the world swear by following a daily routine and building positive habits. When you focus your attention on building positive work habits, you'll notice things start to change. You'll be able to communicate better, tasks will feel less overwhelming and you'll be able to approach problems with a clear mind.  Sometimes building a small habit takes a lot of focus and effort, but it's well worth it for the success of your future. Here, 15 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the positive work habits they have been cultivating and how those habits have helped them be more successful leaders.

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Garnering tons of social media engagement sometimes requires an out-of-the-box approach. Having a strong social media presence is a must-have for entrepreneurs, as this is where most consumers search for or connect with businesses. However, it isn’t enough just to have an active account. To really reap the benefits of social media marketing, you must actively engage with your followers.  To help companies better leverage their social media presence, 14 Young Entrepreneur Council members share some effective, yet potentially unconventional ways companies can maintain and boost engagement with their audience.

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Cash flow is a crucial element of success whether your business is just starting out or well-established. However, as a business owner, you may find it difficult to move toward positive cash flow while juggling the other management tasks on your plate. Often, entrepreneurs and leaders make some critical errors in handling their cash flow, especially in the early stages. From having too many expenditures to neglecting taxes, there are a number of mistakes that can easily jeopardize the future of your business. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared nine common mistakes to avoid when managing your cash flow and how you can remedy them.

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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. This is especially true of one-person businesses, which make up a considerable portion of new companies. These "solopreneurs" may have the best intentions starting out, but many end up running out of funding or aren’t able to reach their target market. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council laid out the main reasons why many one-person businesses fail and what solopreneurs can do to prevent this.

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Often, we are so keen to capitalize on a business relationship that we fail to see that it may not be the right moment.

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When it comes time to start marketing your business, you either have a ton of ideas you want to try or you have no clue where to begin. You likely understand the importance of sharing the benefits of your products and services with prospective customers, but it can be hard to know if you're taking the right steps in sharing your brand's message. Whether you have a bit of marketing know-how or you're still unclear on what you should do first, you can learn from the experiences of successful entrepreneurs who have been in your shoes in the past. Below, these nine Young Entrepreneur Council members share the top marketing advice they wish they had known when they first started marketing their businesses. Read their experiences to help inform what’s best for your business.

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With the rich educational value podcasts often provide their listeners, it’s no surprise that the business community turns to this popular form of content to improve their skills and strategies. Some entrepreneurs even make major business decisions based on the information they’ve learned and the stories they’ve listened to on podcasts. With this in mind, 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council responded to the following question:

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Whether you are a niche company focusing on B2B or a small business offering products DTC, you absolutely need to focus on branding even if you have a limited budget.

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A positive role model is someone others want to emulate and follow, and successful entrepreneurs often become — sometimes unknowingly — the role models for other professionals. Whether it’s at work or in their personal lives, these leading entrepreneurs become a focus of attention because they have qualities that aspiring founders strive to replicate. The members of Young Entrepreneur Council recognize, however, that in order to be positive role models for others they need to work on being the best versions of themselves as well. Below, 13 of them share some ways you can work to become a great role model not only for other people, but also for yourself.

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Major changes are often necessary for a company that wants to keep growing and scaling. When critical moments occur, however, (such as a merger or landing a major client) leaders need to set the tone for the rest of their employees. How they respond to them will trickle down and set the example for how everyone else will work. One of the most important things a leader can do in these times of change is fortify and maintain the trust of their employees. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their methods for keeping employees' trust during pivotal moments for a company.

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As a business owner, it's easy to lose sight of the office morale around you. Most entrepreneurs are focusing on many concurrent tasks that can strongly affect the business's health and success. While important, these packed schedules and heavy workloads can mean they don’t notice the issues that may be rising all around them. Ideally, a business owner must learn how to balance monitoring employee morale with completing their own tasks to ensure the efficient running of the business—but how? To help, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council talk about the strategies they employ to successfully juggle the demands of their companies while keeping an eye on the morale of their teams.

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When examining the habits and routines of successful people, specific patterns start to emerge. While they may approach their morning schedules differently, successful business leaders all include essential steps that help them prepare for their day. The small details may vary from time to time, but the overall sense of preparation remains. However, there are some actions that successful people just don’t include in their morning routines—for good reason. Here, eight leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council list a few of those actions and explain why successful people never do these things in the morning (and why people looking to achieve success shouldn’t either).

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Most facets of business rely on persuading others. In sales, the goal is to convince the buyer that your product is better than your competitors’. In a job posting, it's to persuade the candidate that your company is better than others. The art of being persuasive, however, is something many entrepreneurs overlook, despite it being such a core component to a successful business. But how can today's business owners be more influential in their business operations? Is it worth investing time and money to learn how to persuade others? Below, seven leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council suggest several methods that business owners can use to improve their persuasion tactics within their daily lives.

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One of the most important ways you can continue to build your brand and maximize your business potential is through developing subject matter expertise.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain what every prospective smart home system owner should think about before making an investment. From video doorbells to smart locks to thermostats, smart home systems can be incredibly beneficial for homeowners. They can make tasks simpler and make your home run more efficiently. However, there are a few things homeowners should know before installing one. To help you prepare for this investment, 13 members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss what they believe all consumers should know before purchasing a smart home system. Keep these insights in mind as you're shopping for your next device.

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With the increasing awareness of the need for diverse workplaces and teams, diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies have become a pressing issue in the business world. Yet, not every business owner knows where to begin or what to do to ensure their company is hiring for diverse backgrounds and skills. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the steps a business owner can take to ensure that they have a hiring process that embraces diversity, as well as explain why this is so important to creating a truly successful business.

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Members of the Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in on whether a long-term or campaign-by-campaign content strategy works best for brands. One important consideration in any marketing strategy is whether you should use a long-term approach, take things campaign-by-campaign, or forge some combination of the two. Of course, neither is inherently better than the other; each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Understanding the value of each strategy can help you determine when and how to best use that approach. To help with this, 13 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights on their preferred approach and why it works for them. Use their insights to inform your own content strategy.

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Many entrepreneurs learn early in their careers that they are never going to be the best at everything. When it comes to running a business, most entrepreneurs do some things really well but can be terrible at something else. However, strengths and weaknesses are all part of the human condition, and even the most seasoned business owner is not without weakness. However, you can always be more intentional with how you approach your weaknesses. With the right plan, entrepreneurs can shed some light on their weaknesses and work to improve them. To offer a few strategies, eight leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of their tips for turning weaknesses into strengths and how that can positively affect your business.

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While testing new business ideas can seem intimidating, you can mitigate the risk by understanding how to develop innovations and make calculated decisions on where and when to experiment.

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When you're running an organization, communication breakdowns can lead to severe efficiency and productivity problems. While smaller teams may be able to quickly deal with the difficulties of communication inefficiency, this problem becomes harder to solve as the business grows and evolves. Cross-departmental communication is at the heart of a business's ability to respond to issues effectively. Without proper communication channels, the business runs the risk of losing customers and appearing unprofessional. So how can a company make sure that all its departments are on the same page? Seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend a few tips you can use to ensure your organization's departments are communicating well.

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If you want to lead, you may want to nurture these traits first. Many people want to be influential, to be able to lead and solve problems and create real change in the world. But not everyone knows what it takes to get there or what qualities one must have in order to achieve that influence. If you study someone you find influential, however, you’ll likely find they have certain characteristics that help them seem that way.  But what are these elusive traits? Here, 13 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council examine this by answering the following question:

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Good web design can make or break a modern business. If your website is smooth and easy to navigate, it will attract more users and is a vote of confidence for your organization. A poorly designed site can have the opposite effect, turning users away no matter how good the product is. Below, 12 members of YEC shared what they believe is the most important design element to incorporate into your company’s homepage to increase traffic. Try out their recommendations to start bringing in more website visitors.

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To appeal to today’s on-the-go world, many businesses have considered the value in creating a branded mobile application for their customers. In theory, it's a great idea—but app fatigue is very real, and if you don't want users to delete your app after a few uses, you need to give them a good reason to keep coming back. Many members of Young Entrepreneur Council have experience building and deploying successful business mobile apps, and they understand what it takes to create something engaging and long-lasting. To offer their insights, a panel of members shared some important steps businesses should take when building their mobile apps. Follow their tips to ensure your app becomes a regular habit for those who download and use it.

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There may come a time for certain employees when they notice that their skills or interests are better suited to another part of the company and they ask to switch to a different department to better serve their goals. When this happens, managers may not know how to react as the request may come out of the blue or it could be taken as a slight on their current department. However, it’s important to keep a few key ideas in mind and help this employee grow and develop the most positive way possible. To help managers keep perspective, eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss what managers should do when an employee asks to move to a different department and why facilitating these moves could be to the benefit of the employee and the company as a whole.

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When an entrepreneur starts a business, the immediate concern is how much it will cost to set up. Cost can sometimes seem like a barrier to entry for those hopeful business owners looking to get started on a budget. Luckily, evolving tech has provided many free alternatives to the paid tools other professionals use. But with so many of these tools on the market, you could spend months sorting through them to find the ones that work best for you and your business. To help you narrow down the list, 15 leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council offer their best suggestions for free tools that solopreneurs can use to help keep startup costs down.

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Sometimes, even employees who have a track record of excellent work can have bad days. But when bad days become bad weeks or even months, leaders should take the time to investigate. However, because it could be a sensitive situation, it may be best to take it slow and follow a few key steps. Below, seven leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the first steps they'd recommend taking when trying to figure out why a normally high-performing employee is suddenly off their game and what you can do to help them get back on track.

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When you’re trying to get a business off the ground, you don’t always have a lot of resources at your disposal. In order to gain some momentum, it may then be necessary to “cut a few corners.” However, this doesn’t mean you have to betray your ethics, as there are a few elements of business you can reasonably (and legally) cut or save money on to help give your business the kick-start it needs to get going. For guidance on where to begin, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer a few suggestions on how to save money in the early days of your startup and why you should do so to provide better service to your customers and successfully grow your business.

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Relationships are complicated. How many times have we heard that sentence or even believed it or experienced it to be true? Businesses, however, are often under the misconception that business relationships are simple, transactional, and black and white.

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Many businesses rely on software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies to help them run their everyday operations. However, with so many specialized vendors, it's easy to lose track of the number — and price tag — of the SaaS providers you're working with. To help, members of Young Entrepreneur Council weighed in on the following question:

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their firsthand insights on leveraging social media effectively this year. Social media is one of the most powerful tools business owners can use. How you leverage your accounts can make all the difference in terms of your overall success and business growth. As 2021 moves forward, it’s important for entrepreneurs to know how to maximize their social media use to achieve success throughout the year. To help, 15 members of Young Entrepreneur Council use their firsthand experience to share some of their best social media tips for today’s business owners.

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Between investors, customers, employees and all other people with particular interest in a company, business leaders can have a difficult time trying to please all their stakeholders. But because the performance of a business is directly related to how the stakeholders feel about the company, aiming for overall stakeholder satisfaction is a necessary goal. So what is the key to impressing them? Stakeholders each have their own points of view on what counts as success in the industry. Yet, they still share some overlap, and finding that common ground will be key for any entrepreneur. Below, six members of Young Entrepreneur Council examine some strategies for ensuring stakeholders are satisfied with company performance and explain why these techniques are helpful in impressing them.

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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. However, building a loyal community is only possible if the brand is strong enough and forges a robust relationship with those customers. To offer guidance on how to achieve this goal, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss a few lesser-known ways brands can encourage engagement and why those methods are so successful.

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Being a leader is more than running meetings and managing a team. It’s a skill that takes a lifetime to master, and there will always be room to grow as a mentor, coach and source of inspiration to your employees. In your quest to become a better leader, you’re bound to hear about countless fads and trendy tips for “modern” managers. However, there are some pieces of business advice that will never get old. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared a few of the timeless leadership tips that have been important to them throughout their careers and why.

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This is why helping a client develop a minimum viable product is a very important process that, if done correctly, can prevent a client from investing their time and money in a product or service that will not work. It could also help them find the next great business opportunity.

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Building a brand takes a lot of time, effort and resources—but so does monitoring the competition. No business can perform both at the maximum possible effectiveness, and so compromises must be made. Companies must balance their time and other resources to ensure they can achieve both. However, how companies balance these responsibilities differs. Some prefer a more brand-centric approach, while others prefer to know what the competition is up to. Below, eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in on how they think businesses should approach competition monitoring and how to balance these demands to best benefit the company.

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Inclusion and diversity have certainly become buzzwords in recent years, but they are more than just a passing fad; They are vital elements to a business's success. A diverse, inclusive workforce leverages the knowledge and experiences of a broader cross section of society and helps bring the business closer to the people it serves. However, not all leaders know the best way to promote inclusion and diversity in their businesses, and even some well-intentioned efforts could harm the business in the long run. Here, eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the more effective ways you can promote diversity and inclusion in your company and explain how these methods can help any business succeed.

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You can't avoid the occasional upset customer, but you can quickly and effectively smooth things over. A business depends on happy customers for lasting success. Unfortunately, no matter what steps you take to prevent customer service issues, not every client is going to be happy. Whether their reason for anger is justified or not, you’ll need to address the situation and the person’s concerns. The way you respond can make the difference between a customer who’s ultimately satisfied and one who refuses to do business with your company again. To help you assuage angry customers, these successful entrepreneurs share their top tried-and-true tactics for conflict resolution.

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Information can be a valuable resource, and having enough of it is key to helping business owners make smart decisions. But lack of information or experience can also have an impact. Even seasoned entrepreneurs have regrets or moments when they wish they had done something differently if they knew at the beginning what they know now. Here, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council reflect on their current knowledge and business experience in order to share some of the steps they wish they would have taken before starting their businesses.

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Entrepreneurs share their favorite tools, apps, and software for managing and interacting with customers. Connectivity is of the utmost importance in the modern world. In business particularly, social media, email, and other outreach methods have the potential to engage consumers like never before. In such a highly connected society, a business that doesn't leverage these tools for consumer engagement is at a disadvantage compared to its competitors.  This is why many businesses utilize several channels of communication to ensure that their customers always feel engaged. But what sort of tools do they use to accomplish that job? Here, 18 members of YEC discuss their favorite tools, apps, and software they use to drive customer engagement efforts and connect with their audiences.

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Market disruption happens. While it can often be perceived in a negative light, many times it actually heralds a time of innovation and growth. Some of the biggest companies around have become successful because they disrupted the market.

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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. To give these smaller businesses a leg up, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council how brick-and-mortars can still thrive in today's digital landscape. Here’s what they had to say.

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There are more accurate (and less overused) ways to tell the world what you do.

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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. To help those working remotely in a group, we asked 15 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:

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It takes time to develop and live up to your brand message.

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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.  Recovering from a fall doesn't have to be such a trying experience, however. Here, 15 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council provide their most effective methods for bouncing back from life's setbacks.

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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. It's possible to find the right candidate via online screening and video interviews, but a fully virtual hiring and onboarding process can seem like a daunting proposition for companies that haven't done it before. To help, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council to share some insights from their personal experiences with bringing on remote hires. Follow their advice when you're ready to hire your first remote team member.

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It's often said that a happy employee is a motivated, productive one. If your team members are feeling good about themselves and their work, they’ll bring that positive energy into everything they do. That's why it's so important to keep a close eye on your overall team morale. We polled a group of Young Entrepreneur Council members to find out how they keep tabs on the general sentiment among their team members. Below, nine of them share their best and most effective approach.

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As a busy professional or entrepreneur, you’ve probably wished there were more than 24 hours in a day. While you might not be able to find huge chunks of free time, you can always find a few extra minutes a day, which adds up to a few extra hours in a week. Over the course of their careers, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have found some great hacks to add some time to their busy schedules. If you’re looking to get back three to five hours of your time each week, try out their nine best tricks.

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During challenging times, it's important to reflect on what you can do better for future success.

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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. The members of Young Entrepreneur Council understand the struggle of running a business during difficult times, as well as how to navigate that challenge successfully. Below, they share 10 creative ways to diversify your company’s cash flow.

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Effective teamwork is important to any business, but not everyone will be on the same page 100% of the time. Disagreements, big or small, seem to be inevitable when working with others – but that doesn’t mean your team is doomed. It is possible to work through a dispute and move forward as a team, with better understanding than before. We asked eight successful entrepreneurs to share their best approaches for handling disagreements with colleagues. Follow their advice the next time you and your colleagues seem to be butting heads.

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With the number of tasks that an employee has to accomplish daily, many managers believe that it's impossible to monitor staff workloads accurately. The problem becomes even more involved in organizations where it's difficult to track the movement of jobs between departments. However, even though the process may seem like a futile one, several managers and leaders have started looking into ways to monitor employee productivity practically. Experts in many disciplines have developed techniques that aren't just effective at tracking workload completion and status but are flexible enough to be applied in many situations. We consulted eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council about the most effective employee monitoring methods they use and why they're so effective at getting the job done.

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A great digital marketing strategy can drive potential customers to your website. But high traffic doesn't always translate into revenue. Once you get people on your site, you need to ensure they have a reason to follow through on their purchase. To help you do this, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council how they optimize and convert web traffic into real dollars. Their best tips and insights are below.

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When you're just starting out, set up a process for even the smallest of tasks.

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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.

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Starting your own business is not a decision to take lightly. While it’s great to be your own boss with the freedom to set your own schedule, this is only part of the equation. It takes a lot more than just a dream to be a successful entrepreneur. Before you take the leap, there are some important questions to ask yourself to understand if you’re truly ready to launch your own business. To help you make your decision, we asked 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members what everyone should ask themselves before committing to entrepreneurship.

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Look beyond experience and degrees for the ability to figure stuff out.