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While the percentage of women-owned businesses in the United States is quickly approaching nearly half of all U.S. businesses, women in business still face many obstacles their male counterparts may not have to contend with, such as greater difficulties with securing funding and higher rates of workplace discrimination.  As women entrepreneurs themselves, the following members of Young Entrepreneur Council have experienced many of these hurdles and have overcome them in order to achieve success. Here, they each discuss one piece of advice they'd give to any young woman looking to start her own business and why they wish they had heard that advice when they first started out.

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While there are numerous benefits to remote work—schedule flexibility, lack of commute and a more relaxed workspace, just to name a few—isolation is still one of the downsides to remote work that many employees regularly report. However, these feelings can be mitigated with a few key changes to their routine and the support of their leadership. If you or one of your remote employees starts to feel isolated during the workday, consider the following advice from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council. Here, they discuss solutions that have worked for them and their teams and what they recommend you do to help your own employees feel more connected during the day.

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For many entrepreneurs, their values are what drive the purpose of their business. Whether it’s something as simple as excellent customer service or something more complex like contributing to a particular social cause, these values can set the stage for the company’s mission and goals. But what can you do to ensure they become a part of your business’s overall strategy? To help, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the ways they incorporate their personal values and passions into their business strategies as well as the tips they would give other entrepreneurs trying to align their values with their business.

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A business website is an important and essential way to establish your company’s digital presence, share your message and display your brand. However, designing a website from scratch requires a lot of planning and consideration. As successful business leaders, many members of Young Entrepreneur Council have experience creating effective business websites from the bottom up. Below, 10 of them shared what they believe should be the first considerations you should make when designing a new website for your business.

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The end of each year is an important time to reflect on what you accomplished throughout the year as well as any challenges you faced so that you can make a game plan to improve in the future. Sometimes it's difficult to remember everything that happened, but you don't want to overlook significant events when reflecting on them can help you accomplish more in the months ahead. When trying to get the most out of your reflection time, there are several methods you can use to look back at the year and zero in on the wins and losses that mattered most. Here, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members share some tips for reflecting on the past year and how to determine what you can do better in the future.

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Just because a piece of advice is common doesn't mean it applies to every entrepreneur. Follow your passion. Always be hustling. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Every new and aspiring entrepreneur has likely heard common pieces of business advice like this repeated over and over again. The problem is that these types of tips are rarely universal; each business is unique and needs to find its own path to success, regardless of what has worked for other entrepreneurs. Below, eight successful entrepreneurs shared some common business principles that they believe are overrated. Here's why they think you shouldn't necessarily follow these tips, and what they would advise doing instead.

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Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, coming up with a winning business concept isn’t always easy. You may already have some ideas for a new business brewing, but how do you know if it will be successful or if it’s something you’ll enjoy? Where do you even find inspiration in the first place? Fortunately, coming up with an idea for a business doesn't have to be a challenge. There are millions of entrepreneurs who have started out in the exact same place, and below, eight leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council share how they got the ideas for their businesses and what you should do or think about to find the inspiration for your next business venture.

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For new business owners, it may not always be clear when to move beyond core employees and begin bringing on some new teammates. Growing pains are normal for a startup that is doing well, so until you see your employees are struggling, you may not realize that it’s time to bring on additional help. To help you better spot the signs, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members offer eight indications that your company needs additional support staff. Look for these issues within your business so you can face the problems head-on and give your employees the help they need to do their jobs well.

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Social media has changed how businesses and entrepreneurs interact with their audiences. In the past, you were required to go out and meet in person with your customers to establish a rapport with them. The internet has mostly simplified this, making it much easier to engage an audience on a social media platform. Yet even this level of engagement can be overwhelming for more introverted business owners for whom networking and conversation don’t come as naturally. Why then should a business owner still try to engage their potential customers online? Online customer engagement has many tangible benefits for businesses. Here, eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of these benefits, highlighting the importance of engaging on social media for even the most introverted entrepreneurs.

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As an executive, difficult conversations often come up in the workplace. It may be something as sensitive as expressing a concern to an employee or explaining why the company's letting someone go. Part of being in a position of leadership is learning how to navigate those conversations. These difficult conversations are part of the territory, and even though it may be challenging to deal with them, they must be dealt with head-on. So how can a professional best deal with these kinds of situations? We asked eight executives from Young Entrepreneur Council about their most successful strategies when dealing with difficult conversations in their daily work life. Here's what they suggested.

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With the sheer amount of productivity hacks and life hacks on the market today, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Even with all of these, it can be hard to figure out which ones work and which ones are just myths. Increasing your productivity as an entrepreneur means that you can get more done in a shorter space of time. For people who spend most of their waking time getting work done and contributing to their company's growth, productivity hacks that work can be worth their weight in gold. We asked 10 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council about how they improved their personal productivity. Below are their valuable insights into the unique habits they utilize to make themselves more productive.

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Entrepreneurship is a journey that no one is fully prepared to take. No matter how much time you spent researching and learning things before you started, there are always things you’ll wish you had done differently in hindsight. While you can’t prepare for every possible scenario, you can arm yourself for some common challenges and circumstances by learning from other’s experiences. We asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council what they wished they knew before they launched their businesses and what difference it would have made. Ten of them shared their insights below.

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Leading a business can be like a roller coaster: There will always be ups and downs. No matter how smoothly things run most of the time, the occasional problem is inevitable, and when one pops up, your team will turn to you for guidance. Rather than panicking during a company crisis, leaders should have a plan for addressing the issue quickly and transparently. To help you create a plan of action, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members how they recommend moving forward in such instances. Below they shared nine strategic approaches you can take to handle a crisis with competence and calmness.

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If you’re a driven entrepreneur who also wants to make time for family, a home-based online side hustle may seem like a great idea. While this type of work offers more flexibility than a side business you have to run on-location, being at home doesn’t mean it’s easy to find balance. Managing your day job, your side hustle and family – not to mention taking care of yourself – is a lot to handle, but it is possible. Below, eight successful entrepreneurs give their best advice on how to successfully manage this balancing act.