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Taking risks is always intimidating. It can be scary to leave comfort and safety behind and leap toward a potentially difficult and life-altering decision. But anything worth having rarely comes from taking the easy path. To inspire you to take that "big chance" you've been dreaming about, we asked 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council about the biggest career risks they’ve ever taken. Below they shared their stories about what happened and what they learned from following their instinct.

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expert panel

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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Stress is common when you’re in a management position. With countless tasks to complete, employees to manage and business operations to oversee, it’s no surprise many leaders end up feeling overwhelmed at one point or another. One of the most effective ways to combat stress in the business world is by improving your adaptability, so you’re ready to take on whatever is thrown your way. Below, 16 members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their best tips for becoming more opportunity-oriented as a leader.

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Professionals, regardless of their work environment, sometimes find their focus flagging. If you're someone who has to deal with divided attention between multiple tasks, the amount of effort you put into a job will start telling on your psyche before too long. To deal with this situation, you'll have to figure out how to retain your focus and discipline within the workplace. Luckily, there are several approaches to reestablishing your focus at work. Productivity is linked to your mindset and your environment, after all. Below, 14 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of their favorite and most effective approaches.

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Over the years, multiple studies have shown that employee happiness is a crucial factor in developing a successful business. Employees who are happier tend to be more productive and also stay with the company long term. Unfortunately, like all forms of feedback, pinning down employee happiness depends on asking them the right questions. Many workers may be uncomfortable sharing their real opinions on the business, for fear of reprisal or displeasing other employees. Thus, companies need to be more proactive about sourcing feedback from their employees about their happiness. These six professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council share their insight into how businesses should gauge employee happiness to determine whether any changes are needed to promote employees' physical and mental well-being.

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Entrepreneurs can be so busy in today's business world that they lose sight of themselves. Introspection has an essential place in an entrepreneur's mindset. Understanding one's goals and motivations can help one come to terms with what one wants out of life. The underlying problem that affects leaders that don't delve into self-discovery when they should, is not fully understanding how this exercise can benefit them. Introspection is more than mere navel-gazing. It imparts in-depth knowledge about oneself that can go on to aid a leaders' business interests. Fifteen associates of Young Entrepreneur Council offer insight into how any entrepreneur can make the most of daily reflection or journaling practices.

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Moving into the second quarter of the year, entrepreneurs should be well aware by now that the only way to ensure that their company gets more efficient is to examine its performance in the previous quarter and see where it can improve. Performance evaluation is much more than just assessments that focus on a small core of metrics. Gearing up for the second quarter relies on determining where the company dropped the ball in the first quarter. In dealing with strategic approaches, these seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council look at their own methods of determining their goals for the second quarter based on performance in the first and explain how their approach helps their teams gear up for a more productive quarter.

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A famous adage that many young entrepreneurs know is that there are never enough hours in a day. If you feel like this, the problem is probably not with the day, but with how you utilize the time available to you. As an entrepreneur, the to-do list is always growing, and you need to be able to figure out which elements hold the most importance. Not all time management methods work for everyone, and you may need to get a broader view to figure out what is likely to work and what isn't. Business owners understand how crucial proper time management is to ensuring that things get done. To this end, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best time management tips for entrepreneurs below.

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Every business owner hopes to succeed in their venture. Access to the right resources plays a huge role in that success -- but barriers do still exist, especially for female entrepreneurs. Women in the business world often talk about the importance and benefits of supporting each other. That's why we asked the women of Young Entrepreneur Council how they tap into the right resources and lift up other female leaders in the process. Here's how they've achieved their own success, and helped their fellow female entrepreneurs do the same.

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Many a company had to reinvent themselves and especially their customer interactions in order to stay in business. Listening closely to your target audience is often the first and best step your organization should take when planning a major shift. Listening and implementing the received feedback shows precisely how important an empowered community of consumers is. It doesn't matter which industry your business is concerned with, a community of users linked by the same likes or taste can be an influential demographic. However, building an empowered customer community isn't something that occurs accidentally. It requires a lot of long-term planning. To help, eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council share what they believe are the crucial steps in developing an empowered customer community that a business can count on.

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You can't make the right decision every time, but you can learn from your past successes and failures.

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As an entrepreneur, you’ve likely encountered various risks and obstacles while juggling a myriad of responsibilities. With all these challenges, it’s common for self-doubt to strike at some point in your career. However, it's important to not let those negative perceptions and fears get the best of you. Many members of Young Entrepreneur Council have felt the sting of uncertainty throughout their careers -- and they’ve figured out how to conquer it. Read on for their best practical tips for banishing self-doubt and growing from the experience.

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A business can learn a lot from data. Business intelligence is the methodology that takes data and derives actionable results from it. When a company utilizes those suggestions, it can lead to higher efficiency and productivity. However, there has been a reluctance in some businesses to give data-driven results a chance. Many feel as though data can't provide the 'human element' that leads to positive change. Despite this, other entrepreneurs have brought data-driven decision-making to the foreground, and below, seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best advice and stories about how data has allowed them to make smarter decisions and drive their business success.

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Risk is often inherent in business, especially when you’re running your own. However, there are steps you can take to manage that risk. As highly successful entrepreneurs in their industries, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have learned a lot about effectively mitigating risk and minimizing its impact on their businesses. We asked them to share some practical tips for new business owners who are also new to risk management. Read on for their best answers.

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13 Great Methods of Expressing Gratitude Thanking others who deserve it makes you a better entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have an unearned reputation for being cold individuals because of the things they may need to do what is necessary for the success of their enterprise. However, showing gratitude and letting others know they are appreciated dispels the idea of the cold business owner. Gratitude shows that you care, and people are compelled to reciprocate, just so long as the thankfulness is genuine. Thankfulness shouldn't extend only to friends and family, but also to coworkers and employees. Below, 13 business owners from Young Entrepreneur Council share what they considered the best way to show gratitude to someone, even if they aren't closely related to them.

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The path of an entrepreneur isn't easy by any means, but it can be incredibly rewarding.