Jack Perkins

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expert panel

Running a small business is similar to a juggling act, where entrepreneurs wear numerous hats to keep the show running smoothly. While adaptability and multitasking are key, there are specific skills that stand out for small-business leaders striving for success. These skills go beyond the basics of entrepreneurship and delve into the intricacies of leadership and management. To discuss these skills, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members responded to the following question:

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Organizational success relies heavily on a supervisor's ability to manage their team. When led properly, a well-managed team works cohesively to reach company goals, navigate challenges and explore new opportunities for growth. To help leaders looking to create cohesion and productivity within their own teams, 13 Young Entrepreneur Council members dive into the most potent methods for managing high-performing teams. From servant leadership to delegation, these effective strategies are instrumental in empowering teams and driving organizational success.

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A modern CFO who can thrive in uncertain times is a modern CFO who can thrive all the time.

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As more and more Gen Zers make their way into the professional sphere, businesses are presented with unique opportunities and challenges. For business leaders who have already hired individuals from this generation, several key lessons have emerged about effectively engaging and recruiting this tech-savvy and value-driven group.  To impart these lessons to businesses looking to hire the current workforce's youngest generation, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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Entering into a business partnership should not be taken lightly. Even if your new partner is your best friend, you'll want to make sure you plan ahead for all possible contingencies. To help mitigate any future problems, business leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council recommend that these 10 elements be part of a partnership contract.

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Kicking off the new year as an entrepreneur means taking a step back to lay down a strategic foundation for success. Taking certain pivotal steps can set the stage for a year full of growth, resiliency and accomplishment. But what are the steps that every business leader should take this January to start the new year strong?  Here, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members explore their top tips for jump-starting your business in the new year. From strategic planning to embracing a growth mindset, follow their advice to propel you toward success in 2024.

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From securing funding to handling growth, launching a new business comes with several hurdles that must be cleared. Failure to understand these challenges can cause a business to falter before it ever truly gets off the ground. However, with the right preparation, entrepreneurs can overcome (and sometimes, even mitigate) obstacles and continue on the path to success. To help new and aspiring business owners looking to launch, Young Entrepreneur Council members share 10 common hurdles startups face—and how to most effectively overcome them.

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As technology and business customs have changed, the role of the modern CFO has transitioned from money manager to financial growth leader.

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When it comes to communicating with customers, every company has their own way of doing things. Whether it’s following the “the customer is always right” rule or following a pre-written script designed to deescalate conflict, each customer service team draws on their past experiences to communicate with customers in the most effective way. But as this is a process that evolves over time, the practices you follow now may not be the same ones you used when you started. To shed some light on their own experiences with customer communication, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share the best lesson they ever learned about communicating with customers and the impact that lesson has had on how they do business now.

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While sound financial fundamentals are still a prerequisite, there is much more to being a strategic CFO in modern times.

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Often, one of the most gratifying parts of being a small-business owner is building a connection to your local community. One of the many ways business owners can do this is by hosting local events. Whether it’s an intimate gathering in your store or a big summer bash, events are key opportunities for strengthening your relationship with your customers — but that doesn’t mean they have to break the bank. To help you determine the best ways to cut costs while still putting on an event to remember, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) weigh in on the following question:

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The work world looks vastly different from what it did just a few years ago—with the pandemic forcing many employees and employers to adapt to remote work or else shut their doors potentially for good. And while some companies have made attempts to return their work environments back to a pre-pandemic office structure, many employees have come to appreciate the benefits of a remote-work lifestyle and have shifted their expectations around what they will and will not accept in the workplace. This evolving attitude, as well as a number of other factors, has made it difficult for some companies to find the talent they need to continue prospering in the market. Here, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council elaborate on these factors and discuss what employers can do to not only make finding talent easier but also retain that talent once they’ve been brought on board.

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Knowledge is the key to success. This is especially true for entrepreneurs, as the wisdom shared in books can prove to be invaluable for both the budding startup founder and the seasoned business owner. From time-tested strategies for growth to profound insights on leadership and innovation, these literary gems have the power to shape the way entrepreneurs approach challenges and opportunities. Whether you're seeking inspiration, seeking to hone your leadership skills or simply looking to expand your entrepreneurial mindset, books are a must-have resource to empower and guide you on your entrepreneurial journey. To recommend a few of their favorites, Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) business leaders answer the following question:

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When you’re a business leader, you often work a million miles a minute putting out fires and maintaining the current and future health of your company. With your attention pulled in all different directions, you’re forced to balance major decisions with minor ones, all while trying to find time to complete your usual day-to-day schedule. These daily demands can be a lot to handle, and it’s not uncommon for leaders to feel overwhelmed or burned out from tackling these duties. If you feel like you’re struggling to manage your workload as a leader, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their advice. Here, they discuss the best tips they’d give any leader struggling to keep up with the daily demands of leadership and what has worked for them as leaders of their own companies.

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CEOs and other decision-makers need to understand the significance of the CFO's role and the steps required to find the right professional to fill this position.

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Negotiating contracts and terms with clients is a critical aspect of any business engagement. Whether you're a freelancer, a small-business owner, or work for a large corporation, understanding and implementing effective negotiation strategies is crucial for achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. To employ the best practices in contract negotiation—as well as safeguard your interests, foster productive client relationships, and ensure the smooth execution of projects—consider the following advice from members of the Young Entrepreneur Council.

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Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) can be an excellent way to measure the overall health of your business and predict its future successes or failures. From customer satisfaction to the cash conversion cycle, there are numerous metrics business leaders can track that will give them valuable insights into the inner workings of their businesses. Ensuring you’re paying attention to the right metrics may even save you from making costly mistakes that could be difficult to recover from. With that in mind, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend tracking these 11 KPIs if you want to dive deeper into the data behind your company’s performance.

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Being an entrepreneur requires a unique blend of creativity, vision and innovative thinking. To stay ahead in the ever-evolving business landscape, entrepreneurs need constant inspiration and fresh perspectives. Luckily, podcasts have become an invaluable (and readily available) source of knowledge and motivation for ambitious business minds. Whether you're just starting your entrepreneurial journey or are a seasoned professional, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) offer their suggestions by answering this question:

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After many years of being a business leader, and after all the lessons learned and experiences had, sometimes there are those lessons that just stick with you throughout your career. These lessons often shape the way you run your business and make decisions on both a day-to-day and long-term basis.  This is often true when it comes to sales. One of the most important aspects of business, any lesson learned about sales is likely to have an impact on the success of your business. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council each discuss one lesson they've learned about sales that sticks with them even today and why.

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As a business leader, you can sometimes make hundreds—maybe even thousands—of decisions a day. When you first start your business, the decisions you make then can often have a real impact on the way your business will function in the future, even if it seemed trivial or unimportant at the time.  As entrepreneurs themselves, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have certainly made their fair share of decisions, and below, they each share one important decision they made during the first few years of their company that impacted the way it functions today, as well as the important lessons other business owners can learn from these experiences.

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There are countless successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders in the world today, each with a wealth of information and experience to share. Thankfully, many of them have written books that detail their most powerful thoughts, ideas and lessons. The difficult part comes in choosing which ones to read. For the members of Young Entrepreneur Council, the following nine books have been some of the most impactful for their businesses. Below, they discuss these books and why they believe every entrepreneur should read them in order to become better leaders for their teams.

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There can come a time for many established businesses when processes become overwhelming, projects start running off track and tech stacks can get too complicated to function cohesively. All of these signs point to a need for simplification—a “decluttering” of the business and its systems. Taking the time to review what’s no longer necessary, keeping only what adds value to the business, is essential if you want to streamline your processes—but where should you begin? Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer a few suggestions for where you can start as well as what you might want to get rid of or reconsider this year and beyond.

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The recruiting and hiring process is one of the most important aspects of business, as a single hiring decision can have a major impact on the way the rest of the business functions. To make the right decisions during this process, business leaders can collect and analyze data to assist them in their efforts.  But once leaders have collected this information, what do they use it for? How can they best leverage it to not only hire the right talent but also improve the recruiting process overall? Here, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss ways business leaders can use data to support their recruiting efforts and how doing so can help them achieve their goals.

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Gross profit margin is one of the most crucial barometers of your company’s financial health and competitiveness within its industry.

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Tech startups have a reputation for being innovative, scrappy and constantly evolving to get ahead of the competition. However, these qualities aren't just useful in the technology industry. Companies in any sector can apply the "tech startup mentality" to their operations and keep improving. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share one aspect of this mentality that can be applied to any business. Here's why they believe all companies can benefit from adopting these traits.

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When a professional’s goal is to be an industry thought leader, the natural first step is to get their ideas out into the world. For many, this means writing an article. But once you’ve written an article—or many, many articles—what else can you do to show off your expertise and connect with others in your space? Thankfully, the journey to becoming a thought leader doesn’t end with writing, and there are a myriad of ways professionals can promote themselves online or in person. To offer their insights, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share one step a professional can take to become an industry thought leader and why these actions are so effective.

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Choosing the right software as a service (SaaS) tools for your business can prove to be a Herculean task. Whether it's for accounting, marketing or HR, it's important to choose software that will grow with your business and offer ongoing support for your questions and needs. It's also important to consider how well your SaaS selections will integrate and communicate with each other. As you make your decisions, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend asking yourself the following 10 questions. You might find that the answers can help make assembling your SaaS stack a little bit easier.

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Choosing an investor for your business is like choosing a business partner: Their resources and input are going to have a major impact on the way your business functions and the potential it has for success. Determining the right investor for you, then, is not an endeavor to take lightly. As business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have experience seeking investors and weeding out the bad from the good. Below, they provide a list of nine questions you can ask yourself to gain insight into your needs and wants, and help you determine your ideal business investor.

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When your company has a small team but a growing amount of work, it can be easy to let overwhelm set in. While a big boom of business is often a positive sign of success, it can sometimes feel like a negative side effect when your team isn’t able to handle all the new work that’s coming in.  When you’re a company leader, it’s important to set the tone for your team and to give direction and guidance for how to proceed during such an exciting yet stressful time for the company. To help ensure your small team doesn’t feel overwhelmed, consider the following advice from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council. Below, they share their thoughts on what you can do as a leader to help your team conquer their workload and achieve success moving forward.

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Managing your financial operations is essential to achieving success in your business activities.

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With so much at risk, you must vet investors as carefully as they vet you.

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To have proper control and clarity over your company and its growth, you must monitor cash flow constantly.

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Ensuring employees are engaged is key in business, as it leads to higher company morale and improved quality of work. Further, a lack of engagement can be a telltale sign that something is wrong.  For companies finding that their employees aren’t engaged—whether it’s during meetings, feedback sessions or fun social outings—there are ways leaders can drive motivation. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some simple things companies can do to get employees more engaged and involved.

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The underlying strategy for choosing your team is ensuring that responsibilities—new and old—are covered by a well-rounded group of financial professionals.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the rules they think all entrepreneurs new to SEO should know. Whether you’re building your own website from scratch or are just getting a little more hands-on with its creation, entrepreneurs new to search engine optimization must figure out how to rank first (or at least high up) in search results. This project can seem like a daunting task. Luckily, though, a few key rules will help you to get started. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council list the most important rules for those new to SEO and explain why they’re so vital for generating traffic.

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A great employee shows up to work each day ready and willing to do their best work for your business. It's only fair that, as their employer, you support their professional development—especially if these skills will help them grow within your company. If an employee expresses interest in learning new skills, it's crucial that you show them you have their back. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members explained how to encourage your team members' professional development initiatives. Follow their advice to create an environment where employees are eager to grow and learn.

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Social media is an effective, low-cost way to market your company’s products or services, and is also a great way to keep customers engaged while expressing your brand’s mission. However, to make the most of a platform’s potential, you need to be active and strategic, which can require your entire team’s involvement. To get your employees excited to participate, consider the following advice from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council.

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After identifying their necessity, hiring a CFO or financial controller requires patience and prudence.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the steps you should take when seeking an investor for your business. When bringing on an investor to your business, you’re doing more than securing financial assistance — in many ways, you’re bringing on a business partner. To protect their investment and ensure they make a quick return, investors will likely want to have a hand in the business and how it runs. In the same way you wouldn’t bring on a co-founder without first making sure they were the right person for the job, you’ll want to vet potential investors prior to any sort of agreement. In order to vet them properly, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members recommend taking these 10 steps before sealing the deal.

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Over the past year, there have been many changes in the world of marketing. As technology continues to advance and businesses find new ways to be creative with the way they promote their products and services, other companies are faced with the choice to keep up or fall behind. Throughout 2021, entrepreneurs have learned some important lessons about how to market themselves. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share the best marketing lesson they learned last year and discuss how this lesson will impact their approach to marketing moving forward.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the top tools that will help any company improve their remote work process. Whether it was communicating important information or collaborating on multiple projects at once, many companies faced new challenges as they made the switch to a remote or hybrid work environment. Luckily, there exist a multitude of tools and tech solutions that can help struggling companies improve the way they work remotely. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council suggest 12 of the solutions they use for their own companies and explain why they recommend you implement them to make your remote work processes a little more efficient.