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Whether they intend to promote them internally or simply want what's best for their careers, many business leaders make it a priority to develop their employees into leaders themselves. Doing so not only helps ensure the company has high-quality talent to run it, but it also ensures employee happiness as they see their leader caring for their personal and professional development. If you’re a leader looking to undertake this journey, consider the following advice from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council. Here, they each recommend one specific, actionable step employers can take now to help develop their employees into future business leaders and well-rounded employees.

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Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, but not everyone knows how to get there. What steps should you take? What skills should you learn? The path to entrepreneurship is rarely easy, but getting started on the right foot can help you succeed along the way. For those ready to take the leap into business ownership, leveraging your downtime will be key to making progress toward your goal. To help, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights with aspiring entrepreneurs and explain what they should be doing in their downtime now to prepare to start their entrepreneurial journeys.

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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.  As business leaders themselves, these 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council have evolved in their own ways over the course of their careers. Here, they each share how becoming a more experienced leader has changed the way they speak to others and what impact this has had on their business overall.

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As they plan for this year's holiday season, many business leaders are looking for something new to shake up their current marketing routine. It’s easy for holiday marketing to grow stale, especially when relying on old gimmicks or traditional strategies of years past. To stand out among the sea of other eager businesses looking to increase sales, companies will have to think a bit more creatively. To help, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council each list one thing businesses can do to make their holiday marketing stand out from years past and explain what effect this will have on their relationships with their current and future customers.

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While some people may be naturally inclined toward leadership roles, no one is born a perfect leader. The ability to inspire, motivate and guide a team of people is built up over time, and no matter how many managerial positions someone has held, there's always more to learn. Often, your day-to-day interactions can be a source of inspiration for improving your leadership skills. Here, 12 Young Entrepreneur Council members share the inspirations in their daily lives that encourage them to be better leaders.

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Creating great content on social media doesn't mean much without a highly engaged and loyal following. Whether it's Instagram Stories, Facebook Lives, or TikTok videos, there are more ways to interact with your audience online than ever before. However, once you capture your audience's attention, you'll need to keep them engaged. Because your brand is competing with the countless other accounts your audience may be following, sustaining engagement from your followers may require some unique and unconventional strategies. To help, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members each share their insights on audience engagement.

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In some professionals' eyes, one "con" of remote work is the lack of visibility. Without your peers or your boss around you to notice you working on a project or accomplishing your goals, it can be all too easy to feel siloed, isolated and like you aren’t getting the recognition you deserve for your hard work. But just because you aren’t physically around your boss when working remotely doesn’t mean you can’t achieve the same level of visibility as you would in the office. To help, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the tips they'd give employees for how to increase their visibility and get their projects (and their hard work) noticed.

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In an age when more and more businesses are moving to or being created online, one advantage brick-and-mortars have over online stores is their ability to create in-person experiences and atmospheres that can surprise and delight their customers. Experiences rife with human connection and sensory enjoyment simply aren’t able to be duplicated in the online space in the same way. The key to creating those moments, according to the members of Young Entrepreneur Council, is playing to your store’s strengths. Below, they share specific strategies you can use to awe your customers and give them a truly memorable in-store experience.

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Releasing a mobile app is often an exciting next step in many entrepreneurs’ journeys after their websites are up and running successfully. However, in the excitement of building and launching their mobile app, it can be easy for an entrepreneur to forget one of the most fundamental aspects of creating this technology: protecting it. With cases of cybercrimes only predicted to rise in the coming years, not making cybersecurity a priority puts your app—and those who use it—at risk for data theft, lost money, fraud and much more. Here, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the precautions companies can take to safeguard their mobile apps against cyberattacks and cybercrimes. Taking even just one of the following precautions can put you and your business in a much more secure place.

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To encourage sales, your product—and the platform you're selling on—needs to be appealing to prospective customers. Hard-to-use platforms or unattractive site designs that make a consumer pause should be avoided at all costs. But what seems intuitive to you and your team may not be so to the average user. When you’re building your company website or app, user experience research helps mitigate this problem. Below, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members explain how to conduct effective UX research and how it will help your business in the long run.

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Maintaining a positive relationship with your clients is important for both your business and theirs. However, there are times when your team and your client may disagree about how a project or initiative is being carried out. In cases like this, you'll want to find a solution to move forward respectfully, efficiently and collaboratively. To help you do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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When it comes to brand building, consistency is key. If your brand is humorous and witty one day and then stark and serious the next, or if your logo has a certain look on your product packaging but a completely different look on your website, your customers may struggle to identify who you are and what you stand for—and that can translate into fewer sales and less interest overall.  One easy way to ensure brand consistency is to build a style guide. This guide should contain all the “rules” of your brand’s style and use, and can be used by all members of your staff to keep your brand consistent across mediums. But before you get started building your own, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend you consider these nine points to help make your style guide a thorough one.

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While they may be effective in drawing in more customers, many ad campaigns come and go, doing just enough to catch audience attention and increase brand awareness. However, there are other campaigns that truly stick with an audience—be it a niche group or even an entire generation. These campaigns are not just memorable, but they’ve often become part of popular culture. Whether it’s with their humor, their emotion or their important message, these ads inspire and entertain all while teaching other companies what makes a truly effective campaign. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council describe the ad campaigns they greatly admire and the lessons they’ve learned about advertising and beyond.

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Taking up a side hustle has become increasingly popular and easier to achieve in the modern digital age. While there are countless side hustles people can take advantage of, there may be a few opportunities that are more lucrative than others. If you're looking for your next side hustle idea, it helps to get inspiration from individuals who have successfully launched and grown businesses themselves. Below, members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share one side hustle they believe will be popular in the coming years and why each one is such a good opportunity.

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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.  To help get you started, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members responded to the following question:

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Whether your business is still just an idea or you're in the research phase, it's never too early to think about determining market need. It's essential to figure out what consumers need from your product and pinpoint a target audience. However, there are many ways to effectively determine market need for your particular product or service. To help you do this, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain some specific strategies for uncovering the need for your idea. Follow their recommended tips to complete this essential part of your business research.

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In a competitive labor market, many companies are striving to put their best foot forward during job candidate interviews. However, some interviewers may stretch the truth a bit or omit certain information to better appeal to potential employees. Instead, it’s important to remember that transparency during job interviews will help companies find the best hire for the position while also maintaining company values. To share more insights, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council detail below how interviewers can be more "real" when talking to candidates and how this will help them find the right hire.

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With so many technological advancements taking place and remote and hybrid workforces on the rise, recruiting and hiring processes are much different than they used to be. These days, apps, software and social platforms are where many companies go to seek new talent.  Depending on your industry and company culture, however, some software will be more beneficial than others when it comes to hiring. Here, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss their picks for today's most impactful apps and software for recruiting and hiring.

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Even the most confident professionals have days where they might be feeling a little low or down on their game. Whether you wake up feeling on top of the world or a little less than confident, it's helpful to have a daily affirmation to remind yourself how special and important you really are.  Affirmations can be incredibly useful for building confidence and self-esteem. Below, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their favorite daily affirmations and discuss how they might help other professionals' attitudes or mindsets at work.

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No matter how busy your workday seems, you can always carve out a few minutes to take a breather. On a busy workday, you may begin to feel burned out and yearn for a restful break. But you likely won’t need to take a full-on vacation to reset your mind and feel refreshed enough to tackle your remaining tasks. With the right strategies, you may be able to recharge right in the middle of the workday, no plane ticket or PTO necessary. To help you do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members provided a list of strategies they recommend you try if you need to take a few minutes to unplug and recharge during your day.

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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. However, with a little discipline and a few routine changes, there are some effective ways to banish procrastination, minimize multitasking and achieve focus during your workday. To that end, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) share their insights on the following question:

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One path for starting a business is to leverage a startup accelerator. These programs offer mentorship and education to new business owners while providing funding opportunities in exchange for equity. You may even find there are certain nuances and eligibility requirements to abide by during your search for the right startup accelerator. If you're an entrepreneur trying to determine the right accelerator to apply to, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council can help. Below, eight members discuss what to look for when choosing a startup accelerator for your business.

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When trying to solve a problem—small or large—many people may tend to rush to a solution in order to get a process in motion or to just get it off their plate so they can focus on other things. However, this method has the potential to create negative consequences, especially if the wrong decision was made or all variables weren’t considered.  To help prevent this situation, it’s vital to slow down your problem-solving process. To do this, consider these tips recommended by the members of Young Entrepreneur Council. Below, they discuss their advice in detail and explain why it’s so important to think problems all the way through—especially as a business leader.

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Good customer service teams can help maintain healthy customer relationships and build back any trust that may have been lost due to a poor experience. Conversely, a bad support team can have the opposite effect, leaving customers feeling like their money could have been better spent elsewhere. Properly training customer service teams to handle the myriad of issues that can occur will help customers maintain a favorable opinion of your company and keep them coming back again and again. To help you do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members share the best advice a leader can impart to their staff while training on one of the more popular modes of customer support—live chat.

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Success in content marketing requires a deep knowledge of existing and prospective customers and successful, tailored campaigns to reach them all. But while reaching those customers and making the sale can be achieved with the right plan, there is still the possibility of making a lot of mistakes along the way. To see positive results from your content marketing efforts, there are some important "dos," but there are also some very important "don'ts" that should be considered. Below, 13 Young Entrepreneur Council members share their top actions to avoid in content marketing and why.

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Data is a key factor in determining many critical business decisions. As a business owner, you're most likely tracking multiple points of data each day, from transactions and payroll to projected profits. While there are many metrics out there that are important to track for business growth, there are a few high-level metrics that can uplevel your business operations. To that end, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some high-level metrics your business should be tracking and why.

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All new hires should be given a fair chance to acclimate to their new position and get used to the way things are done within your company. However, after some time, you may start noticing signs that the onboarding period simply isn't going well for your new employee. So how can you tell if it's just new-hire jitters or if they're not a good fit for the role? To help, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) weigh in on the following question:

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Being a solopreneur is exciting and empowering, but it can often feel draining. Because you're starting a company by yourself, you're often forced to wear many different hats to manage all parts of the business before you can hire any staff. Constantly moving from one task to a very different one can leave you feeling stretched too thin and working longer hours than you'd anticipated. But even without a staff dedicated to helping you control the many moving parts, there are ways you can manage your energy and avoid burnout. To help you do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members share their best advice for "doing it all" as a solo business owner.

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Mid-year checks are a great time to reevaluate the goals your company made at the beginning of the year and ensure employees and metrics are on the right track. When conducting these check-ins, it's crucial to look at a few pertinent areas that could hinder your company's success. To that end, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) weigh in on the following question:

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One of the first things a business owner might do when starting their business is determine their target audience. Even after narrowing down your target audience, however, you'll still find a lot of diversity in your customer base. Whether they’re of various ages, genders, careers, cultures or needs, there are many different types of people who may be interested in and find value in your product or service. In order to appeal to them all, then, you’ll need to design your website thoughtfully. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the strategies you can use to make your website more appealing to a diverse audience. Try out one of their methods to ensure everyone has a positive experience with your business.

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Graduation season is quickly approaching, and many soon-to-be grads are now being inundated with advice from advisors, professors and family members about their chosen career paths. Deciding where to work can be a daunting decision, especially with so many promising fields to go into. There are numerous ways for graduates to apply their degrees and past work experiences to find fulfilling and exciting entry-level positions. To help make this decision a little easier for the class of 2022, the experts of Young Entrepreneur Council each share their thoughts on the best careers to get into right now and offer advice for future job seekers.

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One of the main purposes of a business website is to convert website traffic into revenue. This means creating calls to action (CTAs), building sales funnels and curating interesting, valuable content for those browsing your website. But there are multiple ways to optimize your website for conversions and usher potential consumers to your sales page. To help you do this, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council provide their top-recommended "tricks of the trade" to boost website conversions below.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their best advice for moving your physical retail store online. As the popularity (and necessity) of online shopping continues to rise, many business owners are choosing to transition their brick-and-mortar stores to an e-commerce model. However, running a business online can differ dramatically from running a physical store, and it may require new approaches to and new mindsets about selling and advertising goods. To help make the transition easier, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council experts share their best advice for moving into the e-commerce space. Follow their tips to get your online business up and running the right way — the first time.

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Businesses need systems and processes to maintain quality and efficiency in their operations. Systemization helps to communicate to your team how you'd like your business to be effectively run and provides a clear model for them to follow. However, busy entrepreneurs don't always take the time (or have the time) to put those systems in place. Streamlining common business functions like bookkeeping, marketing and employee onboarding can be extremely beneficial for your business. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain which tasks they believe should be systemized and why.

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For entrepreneurs who want a leg up when starting a business, consider becoming a franchisee of an already successful company. This path ensures a built-in customer base, brand recognition and support from a parent company—benefits you might not get if you started a business from scratch. There are many profitable franchising models out there across nearly every industry, so aspiring entrepreneurs of all interests and backgrounds have plenty of options to choose from. To help you narrow the list down, seven Young Entrepreneur Council members weighed in on current franchising trends. If you’re looking for a starting point to explore the world of franchising, check out the industries these experts say lend themselves well to the franchising model.

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There may come a time during your entrepreneurial journey when you need to decide whether or not to sell. Maybe business is booming and sales are thriving — so how will you know when it's time to hang up your hat and walk away? Regardless of the circumstances, it can often be difficult to see the signs that will lead you to the correct decision for your business. To help, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council explained what leaders should be looking for as an indication that they should sell their businesses.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council list the industries they think should make better use of augmented and virtual reality technology. As consumers eschewed brick-and-mortar stores for online shopping and as people distanced themselves from each other, businesses needed new solutions to fill the gaps brought on by Covid-19. Although augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) existed before the pandemic, they were catapulted into the mainstream by necessity, and many adaptations and adoptions have been made since the start of the lockdowns. As our world gets used to living more digitally, even industries that once seemed to have no use for AR or VR could find benefits from the technologies. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members lists a few of those industries and why they believe they could benefit from these innovative technologies.

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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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During the first quarter of the year, businesses often start to notice what’s been working and what hasn’t, what goals have been accomplished and which haven't quite yet. Maybe an initiative started in the first few weeks of the year still hasn't gotten off the ground or a campaign launched at the end of January didn't show the results you expected. Whatever the case, now is the perfect time for your business to do some “spring cleaning.” Whether it's a full reworking of your business plan or reviewing your SOPs, these steps and more could be great ways to refresh your business moving into the next portion of the year. Below, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members shared what they recommend you do to “spring clean” your operations and the impact it'll have on the rest of your year.

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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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Remote work has gained a lot of popularity since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. When most businesses were forced to adapt to remote work as the world went on lockdown, business owners, leaders and employees alike started to understand the benefits that remote work has to offer, with better work-life balance topping the list. But while there are many upsides to running a remote workforce, there are several issues that entrepreneurs and business owners may encounter when trying to build a totally remote company. Here, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the potential solutions to those issues and why they’ll help set you up for success.

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Even when candidates for a role have all the knowledge and experience necessary to excel in a position, they may not end up being the best fit for the job. For this reason, many employers choose to put new hires on a trial period before they decide whether or not to keep them on full time.  When conducting a trial period for a new hire, there are several things you can evaluate candidates on to ensure they’re the right fit. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the criteria they recommend using to evaluate new hires during a trial period and how these play a role in whether or not they would decide to keep them on as full-time employees.

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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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Technology is evolving at a faster pace than ever, and each change affects the consumer market in different ways. Every year, innovations are introduced that impact the market in ways some people never would have imagined.  Now that 2021 has come to a close, professionals in every industry are anticipating the tech innovations that will take the market by storm in the coming year. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in to share which tech innovations they believe will have the greatest impact on the market in 2022.

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Even if you're not feeling on top of your game, you can still use these "fake it 'til you make it" tips. When candidates are interviewing for a job, confidence is key. Employers want to see that you know your stuff and that your skills and qualifications are up to par. However, it can be hard to have confidence while under pressure. Fortunately, there are some strategies and tips that can help you present a confident, collected demeanor, regardless of how you feel inside. Below, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share how these methods work to help candidates perform better during interviews.

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An effective, collaborative team is the backbone of any successful organization. But when you're in the midst of hiring a lot of new players, it can be difficult to bring them all together and ensure they’re connecting as a true team. Figuring out a way to help them feel comfortable with each other and with the existing team, therefore, should be a top priority for any leader. To help, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council outlined the actions they recommend business leaders take to make their teams more in tune. These tips can help leaders bring every member of staff together and truly connect them as a cohesive team.

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Sometimes, all you need is a little boost to get yourself and your goals on the right track. While some people are naturally driven to accomplish their goals, not everybody is as motivated. Although it isn’t always easy, getting motivated can push you forward and help you advance in the world. That’s why it helps to have some go-to strategies for giving yourself a boost of confidence and energy. As successful business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have learned and developed some effective self-motivation techniques to kickstart their drive and passion. Below, they share these techniques and describe how they can help you excel in your career and life. Q. How can someone become a more driven person? What's one unique technique they can use to self-motivate and find the drive to excel in their career and life?

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During the pandemic era, virtual events like webinars and conferences have become more common, offering business value and education from the comfort of your home. Although these online gatherings are popular, it’s hard to drum up the same level of excitement for them that people seem to have for in-person events. As successful business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have seen their fair share of successful digital events and understand what factors will generate interest and engagement. Below, 10 of them offered their best tips on how to draw a crowd and increase sign-ups for your company’s virtual events.

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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. While there isn't a way to fully guarantee your business will do well, there are signs you can look for that might indicate you’re on the path to success. To that end, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members described these telltale signs and how to spot them in your own business.

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Businesses may need to participate in fundraising efforts to secure additional capital, fund research efforts or expand their market reach. Before they can begin, however, leaders must determine their company's valuation. A valuation of a company is determined through various calculations that take into account factors such as market value and annual revenue. This step is crucial as it may determine whether or not investors choose to invest in your business. If you're about to begin the fundraising process for your startup, consider these eight factors that can influence your valuation, as shared by the members of Young Entrepreneur Council.

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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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As a company leader, your email inbox is likely overflowing with unread or missed information on a daily basis.  Missing the wrong email could cause you to miss something time-sensitive or something from a high-priority client. However, finding the time to filter through the seemingly never-ending stream of unread emails can seem impossible with a busy schedule of meetings and strategic work. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council offered their best recommendations for how to tame your email inbox to prioritize responses and ensure you don’t miss out on important information.

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Many product-based companies want to be carried by major retailers, but with so much competition, only a select few ever achieve that goal. Landing your product in a major retail store will take a lot of time and persuasion, and you’ll have to be able to demonstrate why your product is worth a retailer’s shelf space.  To help entrepreneurs sell their product to a big retail store, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their best advice. Here, they offer important steps an entrepreneur can take to get their product on shelves nationally and even globally.

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When people hear the word "sales," they may think of demanding revenue targets, nonstop calls and long hours. While some sales roles can be challenging, this one-sided perception takes away from the fact that the field of sales is often a rewarding career choice.  Depending on where you work, your sales role will likely afford you a flexible work schedule, a chance to diversify your skills and high compensation potential. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council detailed some common misconceptions about sales they don't want industry newcomers to believe. Here's why these leaders say sales is a great field to get into, especially as a recent graduate.

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When meeting with a potential investor, it’s important that entrepreneurs come prepared for any questions that may arise. You’ll likely spend hours preparing your answers, but even then, tough questions may be posed that, without good answers, could damage your confidence. Therefore, to help you avoid being surprised during a pitch, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members each shared the toughest question they’ve ever been asked during an investor meeting and how they recommend you prepare for it.

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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. Given the nature of the holidays, customers may be more anxious or demanding than usual. It’s important for leaders, therefore, to properly train employees to handle the expectations of holiday shoppers to keep them happy. To help, eight Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their best tips for customer service professionals working this holiday season.

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When your team is feeling uninspired, try these activities and initiatives designed to boost morale. High morale can ensure your team stays motivated and engaged through the "daily grind." From hosting virtual happy hours to organizing an escape room outing, the effects of team-building activities can strengthen the bonds between teammates and create unexpected benefits within the workplace. This more collaborative work culture can lead to a more diverse set of solutions leaders might not have anticipated. Below, 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their top-recommended team activities for keeping everyone motivated. Follow their suggestions to take a more proactive approach to company-wide team building, even when people feel stuck in a day-to-day rut.

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Accurately gauging the fit of a job candidate can be difficult, and sometimes new hires who seemed great during the interview process don't pan out as expected. In situations like this, a leader must take action to course-correct and figure out the problem before the whole team suffers. To help you identify some red flags to look for early in a new employee's tenure, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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Employees, especially when new to their positions, often need guidance to be successful in their work. However, too much direction can be less like helpful and constructive feedback and more like micromanagement. This, in turn, can have a negative impact on an employee's work performance and mental health, and they may begin to feel less confident in the work they produce. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council offered advice on what to do as an employee if you feel like you’re being micromanaged at work.

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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. To help you identify those elements, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members weighed in with what to zero in on when reviewing resumes to determine if a job candidate will be a good fit for the position.

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Everyone has certain biases, but making an objective business decision requires you to recognize and set aside those perceptions. Human beings are biased by nature. Each of us forms opinions about the world based on the experiences we've had and the backgrounds we come from.  While bias itself is not inherently bad, it's important for entrepreneurs to understand their own unconscious biases and work to eliminate them from their business decisions to ensure the fairest outcomes for all involved. Below, a group of successful entrepreneurs shared their best tips for recognizing your own biases and removing them from your decision-making process. Follow their advice to achieve greater objectivity within your company.

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The secret to a successful and efficient company culture is transparent communication. This is especially true when you need to announce big news to your team in a way that will make them feel confident about the company's direction and decisions. To help you do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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Seeking a mentor is a crucial step to success, especially if you're a young person just starting out in your career journey. Mentors can help their mentees learn from their own mistakes, widen their networks and encourage them to pursue their dreams. Entrepreneurs often make great mentors, as they can speak from experience on the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurial success. However, it's not always easy to find and convince an entrepreneur to be your mentor. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared what young professionals should know about seeking mentorship from a business owner.

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As the holiday season draws near, so does the chance to market your offerings to holiday shoppers. To ensure successful end-of-year sales, it's important to plan effective campaigns that will entice shoppers to buy from your business. This means getting innovative and thinking beyond the "traditional" holiday ad campaigns and promotions consumers are used to seeing. To help you do this, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share one overused holiday marketing trend they'd rather not see this year. If you want your business to stand out, avoid these tired approaches and try something fresh.

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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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Few people stay in the same exact role at just one company for their entire career. At some point in your professional journey, you'll likely seek out change, whether it's moving up in your organization or finding a job elsewhere. When a job opportunity presents itself, you may wonder whether it's the right move for you at that particular time. You don't want to take too long to make a choice, lest the chance passes you by—but you also don't want to rashly jump into something that isn't a good fit and later regret it. To help you make this important decision, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared nine questions you should ask yourself to determine whether a new professional opportunity is right for you.

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Every decision you make in business will have its consequences. While you always want to make decisions that will result in positive outcomes, things don't always go as well as you hoped they would. In this way, it's important for a leader to take the time to think through a potential decision before committing to it.  Thankfully, there are some important questions you can ask yourself to help you gain clarity on a decision before you make it. Below, members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the questions they always ask before making any major business decisions for their companies and how those questions help them make better decisions overall.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their best advice for switching career fields to technology. People often lose interest in their careers over time. Accelerating this trend, the pandemic has seemed to ignite the spark many people needed to finally realize their dissatisfaction with their current work. As a fast-growing field with unlimited opportunities for the future, the tech industry is a popular place to turn to for those seeking new challenges. Below, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips for breaking into the tech industry when you’re new to the field and explain how you can set yourself up to land that first job. 

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The happiness of its employees can make all the difference in a company's success. The success of a business largely relies on growing sales, stellar customer service and, just as importantly, the positive attitude of its employees. Happy employees are likely more engaged, productive and willing to learn than unhappy ones. This means that team motivation and productivity can skyrocket under the right conditions, but how do you get your employees to that level? As a leader, it's important for you to promote the mental well-being of your employees if you want to see business thrive. Below, 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the ways in which employers can help support the positive mental health of their employees and why it's so important to do.

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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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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. No matter which path companies choose, a few hurdles are bound to crop up—especially in cases where an employee was hired remotely and is now expected to report to a physical workplace. To help curb any issues companies might face during these transitions, members of Young Entrepreneur Council proposed some solutions for employers who want to support their employees as they shift back to "normal."

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss why open-source software meets small business needs better than tech from major corporations. To be an effective business, it helps to have the right technology at your disposal. Because of their name recognition and broad advertising reach, major tech corporations like Microsoft and Google may be the first thought of businesses big and small looking for the right software to meet their needs. However, they may not actually be the best choice. Especially for small businesses with limited staff and often even more limited budgets, open-source software may be exactly what they need. To explain why, nine Young Entrepreneur Council members list off some of the specific reasons why open-source software may be able to help small businesses in ways major tech companies never can.

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When starting a business, entrepreneurs are likely to encounter many barriers to success. Discoverability can be difficult, as companies may struggle to find new customers or clients at first. Cultivating an audience can then be an even larger challenge when it involves a new product or service. Customers are sometimes hesitant to spend money on something new.  But these and many other entrepreneurial challenges all relate to actually selling that first product to your first customer and building sales from there—and convincing someone to actually purchase your product isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds. Below, nine experts from Young Entrepreneur Council share the key facts every company founder should know about sales and how that knowledge can lead to greater success down the road.

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Popular television shows, books, movies and the media in general often paint an idyllic picture of entrepreneurship, but it’s not until you’re actually in the thick of business that you fully understand what it means to be a business owner. While it’s perfectly OK to view entrepreneurship as a positive goal to aspire to, it’s important to be aware of the reality behind working for yourself and running a business to ensure you start your entrepreneurial journey with the right expectations. To offer their insights, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the most common misconceptions about being a business owner and why they’re not always true.

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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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For many professionals, cold-calling is a tall hurdle. They dread having to make the calls, worried they'll be rejected or forget what they need to say. They know the person on the other end isn't fond of receiving these types of calls, and yet they still must pick up the phone and dial the next number on their list because they know cold-calling has the power to get more sales. If cold-calling is a nerve-wracking endeavor for you, you're not alone. To succeed, it’s often about having the right strategies in place. To help, nine entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the techniques that can help you overcome your nerves and make cold-calling a little less intimidating.

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While social media is a popular way for people to connect with friends and share entertainment, it’s also a great way for businesses to market their products and services. But for businesses that haven’t yet cracked the code on going viral, building a solid social media presence can seem like an unreachable goal.  For these eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council, succeeding on social media doesn’t have to mean creating a complicated strategy; it’s about fundamentals. Below, they outline some of the smartest moves they’ve made and how you can replicate them to find your own social media success.

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There are some business leaders who instantly light up a room when they walk into it. They have this charisma that draws people to them and makes others want to listen. However, if you don't feel like you have this type of personality naturally, you don't have to give up on being able to make a positive impact on others. With a few simple techniques, you can be a business leader whom others look up to and wish to be.  Below, 13 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council offer their best advice for how to be a positive influence even when charisma doesn't come naturally to you.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips for marketing your newly launched mobile app. When launching a new app, you’ll want to invest your time, money and effort into marketing it. Otherwise, you won’t reach your intended audience or boost your sales. If people don’t know about your app, they likely won’t be able to find it or won’t feel inclined to try it out.  To that end, 13 members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared marketing tactics a company can use to get people excited about their new application before and after launch. Here’s what they recommend and why these methods work so well.

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Entrepreneurs and business leaders are often filled with ideas, but that doesn't mean they should always move forward with them. It’s first important to determine if that new product or service idea is actually a viable option for your business. Asking yourself some initial questions can help you validate your idea before taking the next steps to see it through to fruition. As business leaders themselves, these eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council have also tossed plenty of ideas around, wondering if they will be successes or failures. Below, they've provided a set of questions you can ask yourself before investing any more time, money or resources into a product or service idea. Spend time thinking on these eight questions to determine if you should move forward with the idea or not.

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Slowly but surely, the word is getting out that sleep deprivation is not something to brag about. However, we need to speed up awareness about this and spread those conversations to more people in order to fully break the cycle.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the best technology innovations they've seen recently and why each is so impressive. The technology industry continues to boom faster than ever, especially in today's digital-first world. New innovations are springing up every day, from smartphone technology to machine learning and more. Tech innovations not only optimize business practices across industries, but also afford a better quality of life to consumers. But which ones are the most impressive and useful? Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council describe what they see as the best recent tech innovations and why each one is so helpful.

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When establishing a startup, it can be difficult to know which metrics you should be focusing on. You may be watching and reporting on basic key performance indicators (KPIs) such as your gross profit margin, but are there metrics you're overlooking? The answer is most likely yes. These eight Young Entrepreneur Council members have learned through experience that not measuring certain metrics could mean missed opportunities for company growth. So review this list of often overlooked KPIs to see if you're missing any important metrics from your reports.

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The key to success for most startups is having adequate funds for growth. In many cases, this means finding investors and raising capital to get your business off the ground. As founders seeking capital quickly learn, finding the right investor is often all about who you know. To that end, nine Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their top tips for building and maintaining relationships with experts in your field. These industry relationships can open countless new doors for you when it comes time to seek an investor for your business.

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Business leaders often think they need to have all the answers. It's true that a manager or executive should be a trusted source of information when employees or clients need something. However, it can be difficult to know how to proceed when someone asks a question you don't know the answer to. Fortunately, there’s power in admitting you don't know something, and it often makes you appear more authentic and human. So to help you navigate interviews, meetings and customer interactions with ease, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council explained how business leaders should answer questions they’re unsure about and why each approach is so effective.

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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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Product packaging is often overlooked as something unimportant. However, like an extension of the product itself, it can attract customers as well as build the brand's reputation. But the look of the product packaging is only the start. The packaging should not only appeal to the customer, but also to any potential retailers. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council examine the key elements that businesses should look at when developing packaging for a product and explain why these factors can help the product be more attractive.

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Regardless of how many hours you work in a day, not all of that time is going to be completely productive. Sometimes it's because of procrastination, other times it's because you've been so bogged down in "busy work" that you haven't made progress on important tasks. Whatever the reason, it's important to find ways to optimize your to-do list to maximize your time for important strategy work as well as personal endeavors. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council discussed strategies busy professionals can use to reclaim up to five hours of their time back each week. Here's what they recommend and how these strategies have worked for them.

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Tracking the progress of your company goals is the best way to ensure they get accomplished. When a business leader sets company goals at the beginning of a year, they should also plan to check in on those goals periodically. One major common check-in time is the mid-year check. This reflection period can be a good reminder of what the organization should be focused on, as well as an opportunity to share progress and alternate plans. To get the most out of this goal discussion, leaders should have a specific and focused agenda. Below, members of Young Entrepreneur Council suggested a few factors leaders should check in on in order to stay on track all year long.

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A journal can be a valuable tool to an entrepreneur. Being able to sit down and reflect on your thoughts throughout the day can provide a much-needed dose of perspective and can help you to improve your focus. Unfortunately, there’s no one step-by-step guide on how you should journal to obtain these desired results. Some techniques work well, and others are less effective. For a busy entrepreneur, journaling effectively may require trial and error. Here, 12 leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council share their techniques for those who may be hesitant to try journaling or those who are unsure of where to begin and how those methods help them get their thoughts in order as business owners.

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If you’re willing to invest a little time now, in the present, you can set up a revenue stream and generate income from it with little or no additional effort in the future.

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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. But if you aren’t where you want to be in your career or you’re unhappy at work, getting to that frame of mind consistently can be difficult. Below, 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the ways professionals can keep a positive attitude and take charge of their own happiness at work—even if they're not in love with their job.

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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.  So what unique features should business owners be zeroing in on? What capabilities are likely to come in handy after the store is up and running? Here, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the most valuable online store management software features and why these elements are so vital to online business owners.

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Conversion is an essential part of crafting a retail website. After all, it's one thing to get people on your website, but it's another to get them to purchase something. Approaches for this process can vary from business to business, but all successful enterprises have a few methods in common. So how can a company convert website visitors successfully? Nine leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council share some of those successful methods for increasing online sales and why they work so well.