Josh Kohlbach

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More than ever, people are consuming content via social media—a platform where you have to quickly stand out if you don’t want users to pass you by. One of the most popular ways of doing that today is through short-form video content. Only growing in popularity, this medium gives businesses and creators sometimes just a few seconds to make their point and draw viewers in.  This can be difficult for businesses that may be used to producing longer-form content, such as blog posts or interviews. Luckily, there are several ways you can take advantage of tools like TikToks and Instagram Reels even with little to no experience. Here, the business leaders of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their advice for leveraging short-form videos to draw more consumers to your business.

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Starting your business with a limited budget can be difficult, as everything from creating your product to building your website seems to have some sort of cost associated with it. However, there’s one area of business that doesn’t necessarily have to cost any money: press.  Getting your company’s name out into the public and in front of potential customers by generating free press is one of the most cost-effective steps you can take to market your business. From writing guest posts on industry blogs to applying for business awards, there are numerous strategies you can use to get your company noticed. Here, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss just some of those methods and why they’re so effective at helping you positively grow your business.

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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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No business’s sales always trend upward. In fact, there may be times when you see your sales start to even out or even drop for a period of time. While this can be normal, it is also a good indication that you may need to take a look at your current processes to figure out the reason for the dropping numbers.  Stagnating sales also provide you with the opportunity to freshen up old campaigns or breathe new life into your current sales tactics. But before you start, consider the following recommendations by the members of Young Entrepreneur Council. Here, they discuss steps you can take to help turn around slowing sales as soon as possible and get your customers engaging once more.

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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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The hiring process can be a time-consuming and expensive endeavor, so it benefits any company to be able to find a quality candidate sooner rather than later. But hiring quickly means you may be sacrificing many of the steps or processes necessary to find the right match for the role, such as proper vetting and interviewing.  However, by adhering to the following 10 tips recommended by the members of Young Entrepreneur Council, you can weed out the wrong candidates and find the right fit quickly, efficiently and without sacrificing the quality of your hiring process.

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The rise of artificial intelligence is revolutionizing various industries, including content writing for businesses. However, the use of AI tools to generate content has sparked a heated debate in recent times. Advocates argue these tools offer numerous benefits, such as increased efficiency, improved productivity and cost savings. On the other hand, critics express concerns about the potential drawbacks, including the loss of human creativity, ethical issues and the risk of bias. Below, 14 Young Entrepreneur Council members contribute to the ongoing discussion surrounding AI content writing for businesses, examining both the positive aspects and the challenges associated with using these tools. By learning and weighing the pros and cons, businesses can make informed decisions about integrating AI into their content creation processes.

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Employee turnover can be a costly issue for any organization, and it often stems from a lack of adequate training, resources or support for new employees. When new hires feel unsupported or ill-equipped to handle their responsibilities, they may quickly become disengaged and seek employment elsewhere. To prevent this situation, leaders must take steps to ensure their new employees receive the training, resources and support they need to succeed in their roles. Here, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared some strategies that leaders can implement to improve the onboarding process and set new hires up for success.

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In a data-driven business landscape, leaders rely heavily on analyzing company metrics to make informed decisions. However, understanding the multiple factors and points to consider when interpreting these metrics is crucial for accurate analysis.  Below, 18 Young Entrepreneur Council members share their tips to help a leader ensure their analysis of company metrics yields accurate and actionable insights. Using these strategies, a leader can determine whether the data indicates they're on course or if they should be prepared to challenge initial perceptions, alter strategic courses or take proactive measures for future success.

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When it comes to training employees, there’s no one way to do it right—but there are a few ways you might be doing it wrong. Using outdated materials or failing to check in enough may not be intentional blunders, but they could prevent your employee from succeeding as quickly as you’d like them to in their role. However, after years of training new employees, business leaders are bound to have picked up a few lessons along the way. The members of Young Entrepreneur Council are here to share a few of the lessons they’ve learned over their careers about how to train effectively and the advice they would give other business leaders who are training new employees for the first time. 

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Small actions to build trust with your team can go a long way. For employees, the CEO can seem like an elusive figure -- too busy and too important to engage with on a day-to-day basis. However, leaders who take the time to build relationships with their team members can create a more connected and engaged workforce. Being approachable is key, but it's not always easy to know where to start. To help, a group of entrepreneurs shared their tried-and-true strategies for creating an approachable, open work environment and building better relationships with their teams.

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While the way a first meeting goes may not always make or break a deal, putting your best foot forward is much more likely to lead to a good result—especially when it comes to a potential new business partner or client. The first impression you make could set the tone for your whole relationship, which means it’s vitally important to strive for a positive one. To help you do this, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer nine of their top tips for ensuring you make a great first impression with a potential partner or client, and explain why using these methods will be so beneficial for the future of the relationship.

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Every once in a while, a new team member "wows" leadership right out of the gate. Whether it’s because they dove headfirst into an important project, shared feedback on an inefficient process or simply asked great questions, these new employees found creative ways to impress their leadership and quickly establish themselves in their new positions.  As business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have brought on many new hires over the years. Below, they each share one effective method they’ve seen new employees use to jump right into their new roles and explain why doing so can create such a positive first impression with the leadership team.

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As an entrepreneur, joining an online group can be a great way to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments in your field. These groups, which can be found on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, offer a wealth of information and advice from other entrepreneurs, industry experts and thought leaders. To help you find the right community for you, a group of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members weighed in on the following question:

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Starting a new job can be stressful, so as a leader, it's crucial to make sure that your new hires feel welcome and supported from the very beginning. Here, 12 Young Entrepreneur Council members share onboarding strategies that leaders can use to ensure new employees feel welcome and that they get off to a successful start.

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Social media has become an integral part of modern-day marketing strategies, enabling companies to reach out to their target audiences more efficiently than ever before. With the proliferation of different social media platforms, it's crucial for companies to maintain a consistent brand voice across all channels. This not only helps in establishing a strong brand identity, but it also enables companies to effectively engage and inform their audiences. To share their insights on how to do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) experts reacted to the following question:

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Obtaining funding can be difficult for new business owners with a small or nonexistent team, but there are some effective ways to meet this challenge head-on. Launching a business as a solopreneur or with a small team can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it also comes with a unique set of challenges, particularly when it comes to accessing funds. With limited time and resources, finding the right funding opportunities can be a daunting task for new business owners. However, there are little-known but effective ways for solopreneurs and small teams to raise capital and fuel their growth. To help you tap into these underutilized methods, a group of successful business leaders shared some helpful funding options that can assist small startup teams access the capital they need to turn their ideas into successful businesses.

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If any business is to not only survive but also thrive, it's essential to develop simple, repeatable systems for handling common business tasks and functions. Rather than dealing with inconsistencies and the need to make up new processes as various situations or problems arise, having a set system in place for how things are done can speed up work completion and improve overall productivity—and, in many cases, customer satisfaction. There are many aspects of business that entrepreneurs should be systemizing, but below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the most impactful. Consider developing systems for these areas of your business and start improving your team’s productivity today.

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Although working from home has its own perks, the biggest disadvantage of it is that it makes people feel lonely. Fortunately, there are ways to make remote working more fun and productive.

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Email is a core component of many companies' marketing strategies, and its success depends on how effectively you can grow and maintain your subscriber list. The more people who opt in to receive your business's newsletters and marketing messages, the greater the number of potential leads you're reaching every time you send a campaign. To help, 10 members of YoungEntrepreneur Council share some creative and effective strategies to help small businesses gain (and keep) email subscribers.

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Few customers actually enjoy being sold to, yet companies still have to be able to sell their products or services in order to survive. The trick comes in finding the balance between pitching your product and fulfilling the needs of your customers. If you find yourself unsure of how to get started, however, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have a few essential tips. Here, they share their advice for how to balance both the need to sell and the customer's desire not to be sold to when creating marketing content and why doing so will be the key to your business’s success.

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A healthy company culture is critical for fostering employee engagement, productivity and overall success. However, creating a positive culture is easier said than done, and even the best efforts can fall short. When an employee comes to you with negative feedback about the company's culture, it's essential to handle the situation with care and sensitivity. To help you do this, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) share their best approaches for addressing employee feedback by responding to the following question: “When an employee approaches you with negative feedback regarding the company's culture, what's the best approach for handling it? What should be a leader's first step?” Here’s how they recommend you turn this negative situation into an opportunity for growth.

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Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, and entrepreneurs are no exception. With so many  pressures and responsibilities that affect not only themselves, but also their employees and customers, it’s almost inevitable that an entrepreneur will occasionally make a bad decision. However, sometimes big mistakes can lead to big consequences that can tarnish the entrepreneur’s reputation. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no possibility of redemption. Here, eight Young Entrepreneur Council members discuss what an entrepreneur can do if they’re looking to improve their personal brand after making a mistake and why these methods are so effective at turning things around.

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Though it began in early 2021, the Great Resignation and the resulting attitude shift toward the workplace was still widely prevalent throughout 2022. Easily categorized as a job seeker’s market, 2022 was a year when employers either rose to meet the demands of their candidates or they failed to attract the talent they needed to keep operations running smoothly. With 2023 now in full swing, employers have the opportunity to start anew and reconsider or revamp their hiring and recruiting strategies to ensure a successful year. To share their own insights, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share one major lesson they learned last year about how to attract top talent and how carrying this lesson forward into 2023 can help you build the best team for your company.

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When your company starts to grow steadily, it can become nearly impossible for you as a leader to find time to meet with staff individually on a regular basis. Instead, consider alternative communication strategies to save time while ensuring you and your team stay on the same page. To help you do this, 11 Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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Speaking at events can be a great way to build thought leadership and promote your brand. But when you’re new to the business game, or even just the thought leadership space, knowing how to find, narrow down and sign up for these events can seem a little overwhelming at first. The pressure of not knowing where to begin may even prevent you from getting started at all. But finding the perfect speaking event for you doesn’t have to be an arduous task. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council each offer their best piece of advice for finding great speaking engagements and explain why these tips can set you up for success as a new thought leader.

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With the end of the year looming, companies across all industries will begin scheduling end-of-year performance reviews with their employees. But rather than stick to what was always done, even if it wasn’t very effective, leaders can strive to generate more meaning from these reviews and give their team members more actionable, personal feedback they can take with them into the new year. But to do so, leaders will need to consider a few tips first. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best advice for how businesses can make end-of-year performance reviews more meaningful and explain why these techniques may actually be better than what's traditionally done.

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Expanding your business can be exciting and a real show of success. However, there are many factors to consider when deciding on a second location for your brick-and-mortar store.  To help business owners in their search for the perfect spot, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members weighed in on the following question:

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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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When you start a business, you not only become a part of your local community, but you also join a network of local business owners. Being part of this business network means you can often find help among your fellow entrepreneurs and even lend a hand yourself when others are in need. This may come in the form of advice, but it can also take the form of partnerships where you both support each other’s businesses while also marketing your own. There are a few ways to take on a partnership like this, so business owners can choose which solution works best for their situation. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the methods they recommend any business use and why this kind of partnership can be beneficial for both parties.

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Many entrepreneurs start new businesses while also balancing full-time jobs. When there’s limited time to work on developing a new company, you need to pick and choose what tasks to focus on first. Here, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members each share one task that should take priority over all others when you have limited time to work on your startup.

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Sharing bad news with your company's employees or stakeholders is never easy, especially when the bad news may directly affect them. Because of this, it's important to strike the right balance between remaining calm and professional while delivering the news in an empathetic manner. To further help you through this situation, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answered the following question:

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Resolving conflicts in the workplace is imperative to a healthy workplace culture. Leaving conflicts unsolved builds resentment among team members and creates a toxic environment that can be distracting from the work that needs to be completed. As a leader, it's your job to help resolve any conflicts that arise and act as a mediator between employees when necessary. Properly handling conflict resolution can also help influence employees to better solve future conflicts on their own. To help get you started, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council experts share different ways they recommend approaching conflict resolution and the example that sets for your team.

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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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Researcher, author and speaker Brené Brown once said, “Daring leaders work to make sure people can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging.” When employees have the freedom to let their personalities shine and foster a connection to the company and their peers, what often follows is a strong sense of team loyalty and passion for their work. But building a company culture that ensures employees feel comfortable enough to be themselves can take many forms, meaning there’s no one way for leaders to approach this goal. To help you find your best path, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council each discuss one specific thing leaders can do to ensure their employees feel like they can be themselves at work and why this is so important.

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As with many aspects of business, implementing a new digital marketing strategy can sometimes feel like a risky endeavor. When you’re new or have limited experience in business ownership, testing out new tactics and investing money in projects and initiatives that may or may not fail can feel like a waste of money and resources. And while there’s no way to ever fully guarantee a strategy will work, there are some steps you can take to help ensure you obtain a return on your investment. Here, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights on those steps and explain why they find them so beneficial.

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If your team's morale seems a bit lower than usual, acknowledgement and rewards for their hard work can go a long way. As a leader, maybe you've noticed low team morale following the submission of a large proposal or after turning in a long-term assignment. After periods of high productivity, whether professionally or personally, your employees may need to recharge. There are many different ways leaders can help facilitate this, from giving extra time off to rewarding all that hard work with a fun activity or prize. Below, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members share some specific exercises, activities and advice for leaders to encourage employees to get back on track.

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Creating a new business idea is exciting, and it can be even more thrilling when you have a business partner by your side. However, for a partnership to flourish, it’s important to discuss the day-to-day operations and long-term vision for the business right from the start. From taking the time to set collective goals to establishing trust, 11 Young Entrepreneur Council members share the first steps new business partners should take when launching a venture. Follow their advice to set yourself up for success when starting a business partnership.

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As business owners and entrepreneurs, we want to bring out the best in our employees.

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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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A healthy employee is a happy employee, and many companies that understand this go out of their way to support the health and well-being of their employees by offering employee wellness programs. However, even if a company offers an employee wellness program, its benefits can often go unused by employees. In fact, some studies suggest usage of employee assistance programs is as little as 10%.  So how can concerned employers raise participation rates and encourage better health for their team members? Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share nine tips for getting employees interested in your company’s wellness program and their own health and fitness.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights on what makes effective ad copy. When it comes to advertising campaigns, you can tell when a brand has knocked it out of the park. The message is concise but impactful, and it communicates what the reader needs to know while drawing them in to learn more. Equally clear is when ad copy has missed the mark and produced an ineffective campaign. Fortunately, brands can follow a few basic principles to produce excellent, conversion-worthy advertisements. To that end, 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their descriptions of the best ad copy and why they believe every marketer should meet these standards.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer tips that first-time founders might forget to think about. Planning the nuts and bolts of your business is a key first step to starting off with the best chance at success. Determining what the product or service will be, what to name the business, whether it’ll be strictly e-commerce or a brick-and-mortar store and many other considerations are all at the top of the to-do list for new entrepreneurs. Other aspects of launching a business may fly under the radar, however. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members lists some unheralded aspects of starting a business that first-time entrepreneurs may not be planning for and why they should if they want their businesses to thrive now and in the future.

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A new business won't survive long if it doesn't have solid cash flow and a good accounting system in place. Unfortunately, some of the most common financial problems stem from simple mistakes new entrepreneurs may make the first time they're tasked with keeping the books. Luckily, there are ways to avoid or fix most of these common mistakes and save your business's bottom line. To that end, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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Innovation comes from teams working together to collaborate on projects and share ideas. However, when ideas aren’t flowing as they should, a little friendly competition can offer a boost of creativity and innovation. Healthy competition is good for a team and its productivity, but it’s important to do it right. To help, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members offer some ways leaders can foster healthy competition at work, and explain how doing so can benefit the company.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council list the mobile app features they think should receive more attention. Not all mobile apps are created equal. The features you may include for a fitness app are likely going to be different from features you would incorporate for a shopping app. However, there are several features that work across the board — ones the members of Young Entrepreneur Council find are vastly underrated. Below, they list eight of those features and detail why they believe these mobile app features should get a little more attention for business owners trying to improve their user experience and design.

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Creating and maintaining a website is often one of the most important parts of running a successful business. Without a website, customers will have a hard time discovering and purchasing your products or services, so it’s key to ensure your website is up and functioning properly. When you’re a solopreneur, however, and all of the work falls on your shoulders, it can be all too easy to let website maintenance fall by the wayside. To help offer some direction, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the best practices solopreneurs should focus on when maintaining their websites and the impact this will have overall.

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Owning a business is one of the most challenging endeavors a person can take on, and owning a small business is no exception. From strategizing to delegating and everything in between, there are many difficulties that small-business owners face, yet most of them would say that it's all worth it in the end. To offer their thoughts on why facing such trials and tribulations is worth it, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members answered the following question:

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With so many forms of digital communication available, the traditional cold phone call may seem like a lesser form of gaining a sale or finding a business partnership. Some people may believe that cold calling will only lead to rejection—or worse, mid-call hang-ups. However, there are still ways to effectively cold call about prospective business transactions that will lead to success.  Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council each detail a strategy they have for effective cold calling and why it works so well. Rather than dismissing cold calls as a sales tactic, try these thoughtful and personal approaches out.

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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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When your business is one of the most important things in your life, it's hard to trust others to handle any aspect of it. No matter how good a candidate looks on paper, you likely won’t have a good idea of how trustworthy they are until you’re able to meet them face-to-face. Luckily, there are some productive questions you can ask a potential hire to help you gauge their trustworthiness. To help, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members share their thoughts on the following question:

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss how to build a company culture that can successfully handle any issue, mistake or challenge that arises. Businesses thrive when leaders and their teams are able to quickly pivot and change direction when necessary. Trends change frequently and problems often arise unexpectedly, and when this happens, successful companies make the changes needed to rise above the challenge. Not everyone is naturally adaptable, though, so leaders must cultivate adaptability within themselves and within their teams to achieve their goals. Below, 11 Young Entrepreneur Council members share some practical ways leaders can help build cultures of adaptability for their own companies.

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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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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share marketing methods you can use to get potential customers interested in your new mobile app. Even with the right tools and skilled team members in place, companies may find that building a mobile app can be a lengthy and complex process — though a very rewarding one once users experience the app’s benefits. The real problem, however, often lies in marketing the app. Once you build this useful tool, how are you able to ensure the right people discover and find value in it? According to the members of Young Entrepreneur Council, the key is choosing the right marketing methods. To help, they offer their top strategies for companies looking to get people excited about their new apps and explain why these tactics work so well.

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Innovation drives a business forward, so it’s important to know how to tap into it as well as harness the creativity of your team. To help you create an environment that’s conducive to brainstorming and new ideas, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips below.

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Whether you're applying for a position at a large corporation or a job at a growing startup, the potential employer is likely going to have a lot of applicants to comb through and some tough decisions to make before they settle on one particular candidate. When you’re interviewing, your first impression is often a lasting one, so it’s vital to leave a positive impression during the hiring process. So, what's the best way to leave a lasting impression on a potential employer? Ten members of Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in on what you can do to prepare and what you may want to say during the interview to put your best foot forward.

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Great leaders are not just entrepreneurs with the goal of creating a profitable business.

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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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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss what business leaders should do in the event of a cyberattack. You should always take great care to ensure your company is protecting itself against cybercrime. Mistakes can happen, however, and breaches can always occur. Once your company has been hit with a cyberattack, you’ll need to have an action plan in place to ensure minimal damage to your systems and data. To help, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the steps they recommend taking after your business has been affected by a cyberattack. Although opinions differ on the very first step you should take, incorporating all of these action items into your plan in some way will get you off to a great start.

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Everyone struggles with self-doubt at some point in their lives, especially if they own a business. Self-doubt as a business owner can be daunting to overcome and may sometimes derail you from your goals. But part of being an entrepreneur means learning how to grow a thick skin in order to take on the adversity, rejection and low confidence that can often come with the job. To help mitigate these common feelings, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their best advice for becoming more resilient as an entrepreneur and why it's worked for them over the years.

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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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Whether your schedule allows for flexible working hours or you hold a 9-to-5 job, you may find that your energy wanes throughout your workday. Whether it's from decision fatigue, stress or just a natural productivity slump, sometimes you just need a boost of energy to keep you going for the rest of the day. If you're unsure where to look for relief, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council have some strategies that may help. Below, they each share one thing that helps them regain productivity when they're in a slump.

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With the internet, social media, streaming services and more at our fingertips, it's easier than ever to start your own side hustle centered on curating your own content. As the demand for content—especially niche content about a specific subject or area of expertise—continues to grow, thought leaders and creators can establish themselves in the online space and even develop a loyal following, leading to potential revenue opportunities through advertising and sponsorship deals. However, for those unfamiliar with the process, it can be difficult to figure out how to monetize your content, especially early on. To help, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss their top tips for monetizing your content.

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When you invest in ongoing education and professional development for your employees, it shows them that you value their contributions to the company and, in doing so, it may also bolster morale and loyalty. To support this development, many companies will host speakers or workshops, but it's important to ensure your employees are feeling engaged — especially if it's a virtual meeting. To help you do this, 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answered the following question:

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A nightly routine is a perfect opportunity to unwind from the day and focus on your overall wellness. Whether you make a to-do list for the next day, write in a journal about the day's achievements and challenges or take time for screen-free relaxation, following the same practices night after night can help you set yourself up for success the next day. If you're thinking of creating a nightly routine, consider the following recommendations by the members of Young Entrepreneur Council. Below, they explain what they do each night and why they believe it sets them up for a successful next day. Try out their recommendations to see what works best for your evening rituals and habits.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain how to merge your website's copy and design to create a more engaging user experience. Two of the most important elements to consider when building your business’s website are the copy and the user experience (UX) design. Ensuring you write quality text and construct a visually appealing design will give you a great basis for an engaging website. When you combine your focus on these two elements, however, you’ll end up with a truly attention-grabbing business site that will keep your audience coming back. Unsure of how to go about merging your copy with your UX design? Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shares 11 tips to get you started.

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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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Efficient time management is one of the most important skills for busy entrepreneurs to ensure the smooth functioning of their business.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the software or hardware that has helped them succeed while working from home. Many professionals know that having the right tools can really make a difference in your ability to get work done — and get it done well. The same is true while working from home. In addition to dealing with a different environment from a traditional office, working from home also means you may be contending with decreased focus or a lack of communication, so having the right tools in place can be paramount to your success. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council experts share some of their favorite tech tools that have helped them succeed every day while working from home and why they think others should take note.

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For many professionals, having the option to work from home has brought significant benefits, like cutting commuting costs or working in a more comfortable setting. However, it can be even easier to lose time at work when sharing that space with responsibilities in the home, whether it’s the laundry sitting in the corner of the room, the kids’ homework or the dog needing to go outside.  No matter if you’re improving your own time management or your whole team’s, it's important to make sure that your working hours are spent productively, and there are many apps and software solutions for that. Below, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members share their top recommendations for apps that help boost your productivity and your company's overall efficiency.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council list criteria you should look at when determining the right web host for your business. Having a well-designed, easy-to-use website is vital to ensuring your customers have a good experience with your company. Having a good service to host that website is equally important, though. With the right web hosting service, your site can offer fast loading speeds, reliable and safe connections and many more benefits that will only add to the overall user experience — and your bottom line.  When selecting a web hosting service, however, you’ll need to be mindful of the various features and options. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council list the top 11 criteria they believe entrepreneurs should consider when researching the best web hosts for their businesses.

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Throughout the pandemic, it has been difficult for many professionals to build and maintain new business relationships. Interactions may have been limited to Zoom calls or virtual happy hours, while valuable in-person networking events were placed on the backburner. Now that many restrictions have eased and employees are heading back to the office or have settled in to their new work-from-home routines, many people are ready and eager for more intentional networking efforts. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain how professionals can make their networking efforts more effective for the rest of 2022 and beyond.

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Social media is a critical tool for a small business’s marketing efforts. With the number of social media users projected to grow to 4.4 billion by 2025, there are numerous opportunities to get your small business in front of your potential customers. However, it’s important to know how to stand out from the competition.  To help, 13 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) each offered their best advice on the following topic:

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Many business leaders may make the mistake of assuming that a well-designed desktop website will translate into a well-designed mobile website—and will quickly learn that’s not the case. With a different screen size, different applications and varying user behaviors, mobile requires separate consideration when it comes to design and function. But you don’t necessarily have to start from scratch if you want to make sure your existing website is mobile-friendly. For easy changes any business can make, consider the following tips from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council. Making even just one of these changes could have a positive impact on the way your users engage with your business.

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Guest posts are an excellent way to gain publicity for your business. Through this form of content marketing, you'll establish yourself as a credible expert in your industry and gain valuable brand exposure to the publication's audience. However, it's not enough to write an article mentioning your product or service. With guest posts, it's important to strike the right balance between effectively promoting your company and serving the needs of the outlet that's publishing your post. If you have a guest posting opportunity coming up, be sure to follow this helpful advice from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council.

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Success in any business largely depends on the success of its marketing efforts. But with so many ways to market and so many areas to focus on, it can be challenging to narrow a campaign down to a single focal point. However, if you fail to create a focused strategy, your marketing efforts will likely be less than successful.  To that end, 11 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) were asked the following question:

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

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The last couple of years have forced leaders to step up, set good examples and make tough decisions that impact those they lead. Whether they were braving the economic battles brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic or examining diversity, equity and inclusion policies, leaders have been forced to adapt and learn new skills to manage today's most challenging situations. As successful executives and business owners, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council understand the importance of keeping their skills sharp to lead effectively in the modern business world. Below, eight members each elaborated on a skill they've recently learned that has helped make them a better leader.

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Hint: organization and time management go a long way. Any leader, entrepreneur, business owner, or working professional will be the first to tell you that there aren't enough hours in a day to get everything done. No matter what industry you work in, the feeling of being overwhelmed with various tasks that all seem to have the same level of priority is a common one. However, if you don't get a handle on things, you can find yourself burning out fast. Organization and time management are a couple of key factors to focus on when you want to maximize your efficiency at work. But what are the best ways to get organized and manage your time? Here, 13 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in with their best advice. Whether you’re just getting started or are already running your own business, here’s how to get more work done in less time.

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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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Being an entrepreneur can be fun, but it comes with its own set of challenges.

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The future of your business relies on finding the best candidates to hold senior positions. Making the right choice can spell the difference between success and failure for your company, but it isn’t always easy finding the best fit to lead your company to the next stage. To help fellow leaders hiring for senior-level roles, Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members weighed in on the following question:

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As a new entrepreneur, getting your product out into the market is hard enough, but when there is a lot of competition in your market, it can make things even tougher. When trying to differentiate their products in a situation like this, entrepreneurs are bound to make mistakes along the way. Many members of Young Entrepreneur Council have gone through this themselves and have learned some valuable lessons from the experience. Below, eight of them explained the most common mistakes entrepreneurs tend to make when trying to differentiate their products in an oversaturated market and offered advice for how to remedy this situation.

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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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In the war for tech talent, a well-crafted, well-placed job listing can make all the difference. There's a certain art to listing a job, from posting to the right websites to using the right language that will attract the right candidate. This can be especially difficult when trying to find the best tech talent. Depending on the exact wording of the job listing, your company could potentially receive tons of applications from candidates who aren't right for the job. On the other hand, many talented potential applicants may pass by your job listing if it doesn't appeal to their unique skill set and career goals. To help, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members offered their best advice for optimizing your tech job listings.

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Launching a new product on social media can be a great way to go to market, but that’s only if you design an effective social media campaign. From creating content to scheduling, building awareness of your new product on social media requires a lot of careful planning and consideration. To help get you started, 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their best tips for successfully launching a new product on social media.

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When your business starts to grow, it's an exciting indicator of success. However, it can also be an indicator that organizational changes need to take place. If your business has outgrown its current location, it's time to start considering moving into a new office space. There's a lot to think about before making such a significant change, though. To help, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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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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The way you begin your day has a major impact on how the rest of your day unfolds.

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Working hard and being a creative problem-solver can go a long way. Whether managing a team or an entire business, anyone in a management position has a lot on their plates. This means that while you may be itching for a promotion, your position may not be at the forefront of your manager's mind. It's up to you to put it there.  But how can you get your manager's attention and prove to them that it's time for you to move up as a leader? Here, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in and offer their perspectives as managers who have had to give those promotions and employees who have successfully leveled up in the past.

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Competition between businesses gets fierce during the holiday season. This means your marketing game needs to be on point if you want to steal the spotlight from your competitors and attract more customers during this busy time of year — especially if you're a small- and medium-sized business operating on a limited budget. To help get you started, 12 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answered the following question:

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In business, making an active effort to support the entrepreneurial community can be game-changing for your company’s growth. After all, these individuals have been through similar experiences and challenges as business owners themselves, and can often help you navigate them. However, to gain the support of your fellow entrepreneurs, you have to be willing to give back to them. If you’re not sure where to begin, eight Young Entrepreneur Council members explained some simple methods for supporting other business owners and why it's important for all entrepreneurs to do so.

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As the leader of a growing business, you might be tempted to set your goals high and hold your employees to meeting them. You and your team likely have a ton of great ideas and are eager to pursue each of them, but aiming too high can actually be detrimental to your business's growth and success. Rather than setting unattainable standards for yourself and your employees, take your time when developing your business and each worker's path to ensure sustainable, measured growth. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared ways to set realistic business goals that will still stretch limitations and build your team’s skills.

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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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As a new business owner, it's wise to work with someone who has been in your shoes and possesses the experience to help you navigate any uncertainty you might face. Launching and running a successful business requires time, energy and seasoned insight. However, many budding entrepreneurs tend to shy away from spending money on a consultant. If you're unsure whether it's worth investing in a business consultant, there are some clear indicators that might suggest you could benefit from one. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared 10 signs you should hire a consultant for your business.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some important qualities companies should look for in their CTO candidates. Because the chief technology officer position is so important, you need to ensure that the right person assumes the role. A CTO needs to not only have a strong command of technology, but also project management, organization and team dynamics, among other things. If you’re hiring a CTO for the first time, you may not know exactly what to look for when reviewing applications and interviewing job candidates. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared 14 traits they look for when hiring a CTO and why each quality is so essential to the job. 

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In today's competitive world, pitching a potential client can be challenging. Sometimes even the thought of meeting with them can make you feel nervous. 

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Social media can do wonders for a business — as long as you have followers paying attention. It can be a common misconception, especially among new entrepreneurs, that you just need to create a few social media profiles and your followers will find you.  However, if you want to amass a large following of loyal, engaged customers, you’ll need to be proactive. To help set you on the right path, 14 members of YEC share their best tips and hacks for new entrepreneurs who are looking to grow their business's social media following.

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When you want your business to stand out online, it's crucial to have a never-ending supply of new and creative ideas. Sometimes new ideas come naturally, but every business owner or entrepreneur will go through times when the creative juices aren't flowing when they need them to the most.  This is when having go-to strategies for idea generation can come in handy. Here, 12 members of YEC share their best methods for coming up with new ideas to ensure your content stays fresh.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share alternative fundraising solutions for entrepreneurs not looking for investors. Entrepreneurs may have many reasons for not seeking out investors for their startups, not the least of which is the desire to maintain total control of their companies. New entrepreneurs may not realize that other options are available that can be just as effective for getting a business started without all the cons of an investor. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council leaders list some alternatives to investors that entrepreneurs can explore in order to fund their projects. Whether you choose to pursue one or a combination of these suggestions, effective fundraising solutions exist for every type of business.

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Like any other skill, better communication comes with practice. Whether you’re a business leader or an everyday employee, communication is an essential skill that can launch your career to the next level — if harnessed correctly. The power to communicate can better your relationships with your clients and colleagues, move you forward with projects and increase your opportunities for success in your industry. But while communication comes naturally for many professionals, for others, it takes a bit more practice and intention to get right. To offer their advice, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips for professionals looking to improve their communication skills and progress in their careers.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share simple, cost-effective ways companies can build credibility and trust with their customers. As a foundational pillar for business success, consumer trust can make or break a business — and building it from the ground up is no easy feat. With no experience or reputation to back it, a fledgling business can seem questionable and untrustworthy to potential customers. But to build that necessary credibility, new entrepreneurs will have to make the most of their startup budgets. To help set you on the right course, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council provided 13 cost-effective ways new companies can build credibility while earning the trust of their customers.

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In recent years, technological advances and the Covid-19 pandemic have paved the way for many companies to go completely or partially remote. This type of work environment means professionals are now more responsible for protecting confidential company data, no matter where they're working. From using weak passwords to logging into unsecured networks, there are many ways for well-intentioned remote workers to inadvertently open the door for hackers. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain how remote professionals can protect themselves against cyberattacks when they're not working at a central company location.

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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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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss why doing these things could do more harm than good for your business. Even the best businesses are bound to get a bad review at some point, and yet, for new business owners, this can be a difficult reality to face. No business leader wants to hear that a customer had a bad experience with a product or service, especially after all the time and effort put into getting it just right. This situation can lead entrepreneurs to become frustrated or dejected, and they may end up responding in a way that they come to regret later on. If you want to resolve the situation, retain your customer and boost your company’s reputation, there are certain things you should never do in response to a bad review. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council list several of these “don’ts” and explain what you should be doing instead.

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As a leader, your duty doesn’t simply end with ensuring that your team is capable of meeting your business goals in a timely manner.

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With so many other ways to keep in touch digitally and so many other places businesses can compete for attention, email may not seem like a good first choice for communicating with your customers. And yet, while it's no secret that many people ignore their emails these days, email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to reach customers.  To make your emails stand out, you’ll need to employ a few strategies to make your emails more enticing and able to grab the attention of your target audience. Here, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips for creating effective marketing emails and why they work so well.

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

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

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

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share strategies for making your sales pitch over Zoom more effective. It’s a generally understood rule of sales that your sales pitch and technique should always adapt to the individual client or business you’re selling to. To be a truly effective salesperson, however, you must also adapt your technique to the environment in which you’re pitching. Increasingly, the sales environment of choice has been over Zoom or other video conferencing tools. Because you don’t have your usual in-person strategies to fall back on, you’ll want to consider these 10 steps recommended by a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members if you want to nail your next pitch.

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

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

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Getting involved in your local community is an easy way to build relationships and find loyal customers for your business. Hosting a community event can help you kick-start these relationships, but events can be expensive, and a new small business may not have the resources necessary to host one. To help small businesses find some effective yet budget-friendly event solutions, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

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Content is the key to reaching and engaging new and existing customers. But after you've been creating content for so long, it can start to feel like you've covered everything you can possibly cover about your brand or in your niche.  Fresh content is always there, but sometimes you're just too burned out to see it. When you've hit a content roadblock, there are plenty of ways to refresh your perspective and spark new ideas. To help, 10 members of YEC share their best tips for summoning the creativity you need to take your content to the next level.

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A critical aspect of gaining recognition online is mastering the all-important blog post. While blogging has been around for decades, many people still struggle with understanding how to utilize blog posts to attract readers and gain more recognition. If your blog isn't performing optimally but you're not sure why, you're not alone. Here, 14 members of YEC share the most common blogging mistakes companies make and their expert advice on what you should be doing instead.

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Business leaders have a lot of responsibilities to juggle, which often lead to non-stop workdays and sleepless nights. The overwork culture naturally drives entrepreneurs to burn out, whether in the short or long term.  Thankfully, there are some simple, yet powerful changes that business leaders can make in their daily routines to live healthier and more successful lives. Here, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best advice on how to stay strong and motivated without losing momentum.

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It’s a common tenet of American culture that with a little hard work and determination, you can make your greatest dreams come true. While being a hard worker is an admirable trait, it can quickly turn into a negative one if your everyday life is consumed by work. This fact has been amplified by the remote work era, when the line between work and personal time has become completely blurred for professionals who work from home. For any professional, however, it’s best to strive for a healthier, more balanced life instead of working around the clock. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their tips for how best to achieve this balance and break free from this negative stereotype.

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As a strong individual, you need to learn how to face difficult times gracefully and without feeling dejected.

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Learning how to speak up in a group and make your voice heard is an essential professional skill. Anyone who's worked on a group project knows how difficult it can be to ensure each person's thoughts and opinions are heard. When there's a lively discussion happening, there will always be a few people who dominate the conversation and try to take the lead. However, it's important to be able to politely interject and advocate for your ideas. To help you do this, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their best insights. Here's how they recommend making your voice heard in a group setting, and why doing so is an important skill for all professionals and entrepreneurs.

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Being a business leader means being the boss. It means being at the top of the company, making key decisions that affect not only the business, but also those who work for it. But being a successful business leader also means being humble and understanding that you are not alone in your trials and that you can trust your teams to help you through the harshest of times. As business leaders themselves, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have learned many lessons about humility throughout their careers. Below are a few of those lessons and how they’ve helped these entrepreneurs become better leaders and people (and how you can become one too).

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Businesses have access to a treasure trove of valuable customer data, from how their audience is engaging with a social media post to their feedback on a product or service. When properly collected and analyzed, this data is invaluable for improving the customer experience — but you need to be collecting the right data. Below, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) share their insights by responding to the following question:

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While many large companies may have the resources to offer funded relaxation retreats or other extensive mental health perks, it can be difficult for small businesses to find ways to offer similar benefits without those same resources.  So how can a small business owner prioritize the mental health of their employees on a budget? Below, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) shared their thoughts by responding to the following question:

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Fear is a paralyzing emotion and can stop even the most experienced business owners in their tracks. For entrepreneurs — who count on moving forward as a way to keep their businesses thriving — letting fear get out of hand can be debilitating.  But like any business leader, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have had their fair share of fears throughout their own entrepreneurial journeys. Below, 13 members shared what they've been most afraid of as entrepreneurs and how they’ve changed their mindsets to reduce the impact of those fears on their businesses.

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So, you have a great business idea and a basic foundation of your vision. Your next step, before pitching to investors or even thinking about launch day, is to write a solid business plan. A business plan serves as the guide to your business’s beginnings by laying out potential stumbling blocks and fielding your target market. However, crafting one isn't always as easy as it seems. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain what they wish they'd known when they were writing their first business plans and why that would have helped them.

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Making thorough, educated decisions doesn't have to take tons of time. In the business world, leaders often need to make quick decisions. However, because they’re made during a time crunch, these choices can be rash — at least when not approached the right way. Thankfully, there are ways to efficiently make decisions while still thinking through all your options. Below, 13 members of Young Entrepreneur Council offered tips for speeding up your decision-making process while still ensuring quality. Follow their tips to help you get better at making fast, but thorough decisions.

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The biggest challenge with managing a remote team is to have all the members on the same page. This is impossible without proper communication among the team members.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tech hacks for getting time back in your workweek. With today’s abundance of technology, working professionals have more options than ever for streamlining their days. There are countless tools and devices that increase efficiency in the workplace, and it's often easy to start implementing them in your daily routine. It's just a matter of knowing how to leverage those tools for maximum productivity. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared some simple, yet effective ways to use tech to shave hours off your workweek. Here’s why these hacks are so helpful and how you can implement them for yourself.

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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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Thanks to search engines leveling the marketing playing field, even the smallest business can today benefit from the reach that search engine marketing (SEM) offers. But when you’re short on money, time, and resources, learning all about SEO and SEM—and how to leverage them effectively in your digital marketing strategy—can be a challenge. Here, 13 leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council share SEO and SEM tips that work for them, and that won’t break the bank.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council predict which industries AI is likely to have a major impact on in the near future. Artificial intelligence has already had a major impact on the tech industry. The numerous products and applications that now run on AI have allowed businesses and consumers alike to streamline everyday tasks and save valuable time and effort. As AI becomes more readily available, it will continue to become more prominent in other industries. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council experts shared which fields they believe artificial intelligence will disrupt next and why. Keep an eye out for AI-powered trends in these 14 industries.

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Good business advice can come from anywhere, at any time in an entrepreneur's journey. Some of those lessons will come directly from mentors and fellow business leaders; other times, they're learned through firsthand experience. No matter the source, some tips can be so impactful that they influence the course of an entrepreneur's business. The experts of Young Entrepreneur Council each have their own pieces of game-changing advice they’ve discovered along their journey. Below, nine of them share the best lessons they've learned that they want to pass along to fellow small business owners.

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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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Hiring talented new employees can help a company grow. Young employees, in particular, often bring fresh perspectives, new skills, and lots of creative energy to the businesses they join. However, it can be difficult to attract young talent, especially in today’s competitive hiring environment. Here, 10 members from Young Entrepreneur Council share how your business can attract the best young professionals.

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You need to know what exactly needs to be done so that you can protect your freelance business from facing any problem.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the most important lessons they've learned about leading from afar. The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked the world’s foundations in all aspects. Countless companies have had to change their business models and switch to remote work to keep their employees safe. But after more than a year of this virtual work environment, leaders have learned valuable lessons on how to lead—and how not to lead—when their teams aren't all in one location. The members of Young Entrepreneur Council know the challenges of pivoting their leadership style in the current climate. Below, 13 of them shared the lessons that have taught them how to be better leaders in this new remote work era.

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While introversion should not be considered a negative trait, in the world of business, where so many daily tasks require people-to-people interaction, introverts can quickly find themselves drained of energy. Figuring out methods to cope with this issue isn’t always easy. Employers can help, however, by ensuring their work environment and duties are introvert-friendly. To accomplish this, employers should keep a few helpful tips in mind. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some strategies for helping introverted employees succeed in the workplace and achieve their goals, and how that may benefit the entire team over the long term.

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

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More than obsessing about the brighter side of being an entrepreneur, it’s important that you learn about the challenges you’ll have to face at some point.

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

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As entrepreneurs start getting more involved with their businesses, it’s not uncommon that they find there's less time to spend on themselves. Unfortunately, being a successful business owner can often mean spending many hours engrossed in work without taking personal breaks. The result is almost always burnout, which can have negative effects on your health and well-being. But how does an individual take back their personal time? To help, eleven experts from Young Entrepreneur Council offer their suggestions on how entrepreneurs can reclaim some of their time for much-needed rest and relaxation.

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Make the decision to make fewer decisions. Making decisions is a necessary and frequent part of any businessperson's day. The decisions they make can have a significant and fundamental impact on their company’s future. However, making those decisions can have a profound effect on the entrepreneur as well. Having to consider each facet of a problem to come up with a viable solution takes significant mental energy — especially when it happens multiple times a day. To help ease some of that decision fatigue, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council examine the following question:

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It's about time that you prepare yourself to start looking at remote work with a new perspective and leave behind all the misconceptions associated with it.

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

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For many companies, it’s not always clear whether or not they should be responsible for educating their customers about the dangers of cyber attacks and malware. But as cybersecurity becomes a greater threat, even non-tech companies are considering the best ways to communicate these dangers to their customers. But what's the most effective way to do so, given how complex an issue cybersecurity really is? To shed some more light on this topic, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their opinions on whether or not companies have a responsibility to educate consumers about cybersecurity and list some effective ways to go about doing so.

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Bookkeeping is a tedious but necessary process for all businesses. But for small businesses with limited resources, streamlining the process becomes of even greater importance. One way to do this is to invest in a reputable accounting software or tool that keeps you organized and on track. With so many options on the market today, however, it can be difficult to know which accounting software is right for your business bookkeeping needs. It's helpful to get insights from experienced entrepreneurs who have tested out a variety of tools to find what works and what doesn’t. To that end, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared the bookkeeping software and tools they recommend for small business owners.

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No matter how stressed or busy you get, the right habits can keep you moving forward. As an entrepreneur, you’re going to battle stress, busyness, and likely even exhaustion from time to time. While these episodes might feel discouraging, they’re not permanent, and you’ll be able to push through and find motivation again.  The ability to keep up your energy and mental stamina begins with good, healthy habits. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared habits they adhere to in order to maintain productivity. Try some of their tips to get you through the rough patches in your business.

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No matter how big or small your business is, networking is one of the most important things that can help you step up the ladder and be successful in your entrepreneurial journey.

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Video remains one of the most popular marketing formats that companies can use to reach out to their customers, and with so many online platforms adding live video capabilities, more companies than ever are able to interact with their customers in real time.  However, as with all content marketing formats, there are many ways to go about creating live video content. Not every approach will be successful for every type of company. To help you determine what’s right for you, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council examine some specific ways they’d recommend using live video to boost your brand’s following and why these strategies can help your business succeed.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their favorite resources to help you stay abreast of industry changes. The tech industry is notorious for moving quickly and abruptly. If you want to stay relevant in the field, you’ll have to be able to identify and adapt to changes and new trends.  However, keeping up is a daunting task, even for the most seasoned tech professionals. For newcomers, it’s important to build up a collection of reliable resources to help maintain industry knowledge.  For guidance on where to start, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their favorite platforms and resources to help you stay up to date with industry changes.

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Because they often have very limited resources, small businesses have to be intentional about the tools they use. They don’t have the luxury of testing out and paying for expensive software and systems they ultimately may not keep, so it’s important that their chosen solutions are budget-friendly and effective from the start. For these reasons, cloud computing and storage can provide some major benefits for these businesses. With free or low-cost pricing plans available, companies can take advantage of cloud technology to grow their businesses like never before, which is why these eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council offered some specific and impactful ways that cloud technology can be used by small and medium companies to fuel growth.

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

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The world of work has changed significantly over the last year, with many companies moving to fully remote work. With this new environment comes a new way of managing. As teams are physically separated, it becomes even more important for leaders to find ways to bring them together. To offer some ideas on how to build such camaraderie, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their thoughts on the following question:

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As machine learning becomes more prevalent in business, it has the potential to affect a company’s day-to-day interactions with its customers, whether positively or negatively. Many businesses have already invested heavily in machine learning and have found great success. However, new tech can always be intimidating, scary or potentially difficult to implement. Below, eight leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council attempt to quell some of those fears by discussing the merits of machine learning and how they see it affecting their own daily interactions with customers. These are just a few things machine learning can do to help take your business to the next level.

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Digital marketing is one of the most powerful tools for marketers to promote their businesses, capture new leads and eventually turn those leads into sales. But all of this is possible only if you know how to use digital marketing efficiently for productive results.

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Marketing is a crucial element of any successful business, and even small business startups will need to begin building their marketing department as soon as possible. However, some marketing roles are more critical to your business’s success than others. To help you determine which role you need to hire for first, 13 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answer the following question:

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2020 brought a plethora of changes to consumer behavior. Many of these changes will serve as inspiration for new product ideas and functions that will help businesses better serve their customers in the year ahead. In many cases, serving customers better begins with great design. This applies not only to the design of physical products, but to the user experience and interface of digital products. To provide their own expert insight, a group of successful entrepreneurs shared some design trends they expect to see in 2021 and why these trends will be so impactful.

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Business advice can come from anywhere, even from those who have never owned a business. But if you’re a new entrepreneur just starting out, you tend to soak up all the information that you can. The most significant problem is there’s no simply way to tell the lousy advice from the good advice. Sometimes experience is the only way to figure out the difference. To share lessons they’ve learned in their business careers, 13 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council reflect on the following question:

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Push yourself out of this safe place.

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The goal of any recruitment effort is to find a candidate who would be a good fit for the company. This would mean that the hire would not only be proficient in their role, but would also do well within the specific company culture. But beyond an interview, how can leaders ensure new hires will be the right choice? One strategy is to give the potential new employee a trial period during which you are able to evaluate their performance and personality. Below, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips for how to conduct an effective trial period and ensure you’re setting the candidate up for success.

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

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share how to prepare your company for greater integration of artificial intelligence and automation. As modern technology continues to advance, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are playing an increasingly vital role in the workforce. Routine, recurring tasks are being automated in nearly every industry to save time and money. As we rapidly approach the start of the “AI/automation revolution,” businesses may be wondering how they can leverage this technology to their advantage. To help, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share 14 ways companies can prepare for this upcoming revolution to maximize their future success.

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Everyone feels down from time to time, even entrepreneurs. Constantly surrounded by others who are seemingly experiencing success, business leaders can sometimes have a hard time reminding themselves of their own potential. This mental hurdle can be a massive one to overcome, but the key to feeling knocked down is having plans and strategies for how to get back up. Below, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips and personal methods for dealing with this type of negative thinking.

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Being an entrepreneur and owning your own business is an end goal for most people. It's a thrilling end result -- the fact that you're your own boss, you set your own hours, and remain accountable only to yourself can be a heady mix. Yet, the benefits of the position usually overshadow the more pertinent considerations that would-be entrepreneurs overlook. Although there are significant benefits to being a business owner, there's also a considerable amount of background work that rarely gets highlighted but needs to be done. These 12 members of YEC look at these extraneous factors that new entrepreneurs tend to overlook before embarking on starting their business and explain why these elements are so critical to your success as a business owner.

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The modern world has made it really easy for anyone to get started on a side hustle. In fact, most entrepreneurs get started with some sort of side gig. Transitioning those side hustles into standalone businesses that can financially support them usually begins with understanding how to make a significant amount of profit, but not all side hustle ideas are lucrative enough to evolve into something financially stable. Below, 10 entrepreneurs from YEC share their experiences and suggestions for side businesses that are set up to work, and even suggest a few critical steps for success long term.

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Communication is one of the most essential skills that a business leader needs to master to be successful. Great leaders may develop their communication skills early on in their careers, but they also have created and maintained habits that help them communicate more effectively. When you watch great leaders address an audience or interact with others, the practices they cultivate to help them communicate so well may not be immediately apparent. Even so, their effectiveness is unquestionable. Here, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the habits they believe all great leaders have and explain why these help make them such powerful communicators.

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Young Entrepreneur Council members look ahead at consumer IoT device trends they expect we’ll see more of this year. The internet of things (IoT) has been a booming sector of the tech industry in recent years. As people are now spending more time at home than ever, the need for connected devices has taken on new importance and relevance.  Because of this need, 2021 will likely be the year that consumers and businesses alike upgrade their smart home and office technology. Below, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their predictions for which IoT devices will have the greatest impact on the consumer market in the coming months ahead.

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The dark and dreary months of winter often take a toll on people’s mental health. Thankfully, there are ways to keep your spirits bright through this season so you can stay motivated and inspired in your business and life. As business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council know that regular self-care can help manage stress and beat the winter blues. Try some of their suggestions to get you through this winter season.

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Social media is extremely engaging, which makes it distracting too. And it’s difficult to stay away from it. But you can stop yourself from indulging in any social media activities by creating a distraction-free zone for yourself. 

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While it's not a common thing, some businesses do explode into popularity overnight. For the companies that do, it can be a completely new landscape to navigate. Suddenly, consumers want your product and they can't get enough of it. Your supply lines and logistics may not be able to handle the traffic at its new demanding level. Successful businesses always prepare for the possibility of growth. Still, so much expansion in such a small span of time can leave a company reeling and result in unsatisfied customers. So how should a company approach newfound success? Below, nine leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss how a company can scale up to meet demand following sudden success that thrusts the business into the spotlight.

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The backbone of a company is its employees, but the brain of a business is its leadership. The best leaders inspire and encourage the employees working under them, but even these leaders need positive reinforcement from time to time. While a lot of this reinforcement comes from those above them in the hierarchy, it has special meaning when the employees under them reach out to show their appreciation. So what are some appropriate ways employees can show their appreciation for key leaders and everything they do? Below, eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council share ways employees can recognize the positive impact of leaders and give them a much-appreciated "thank you."

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Facing adversity can help you grow in ways you never imagined. No one likes to think about facing adversity and hardships. However, everyone must deal with challenging situations at some point in their personal and professional lives, especially in the midst of today's pandemic and social climate. Having a strategy to confront adversity head-on can help you be better prepared when obstacles do pop up. To help, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members for their advice. Below they share their No. 1 tips for overcoming hardships and why doing so can help you grow as a person.

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It's no secret that the holidays are among the most hectic times of the year for businesses. Everyone wants to close off the year well, and the holiday season makes for some fantastic business opportunities, but staff also looks forward to spending more time with loved ones and away from work. However, this year has been challenging for many people. Most businesses adopt an "all hands on deck" approach to the holidays, and this year is no exception, as the state of the world has encouraged companies to juggle an uncertain future in addition to the holiday rush. Here, nine professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in on how businesses can successfully manage the extra holiday workload while already in crisis mode.

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Self-doubt can be debilitating for some individuals. If you're trying to advance your career, the belief that you’re not good enough can quickly put an end to those aspirations. It can make you feel less confident about your abilities, which in turn can make you seem less trustworthy and dependable to others. If you can't believe in yourself, will anyone else? Sadly, self-doubt feeds a negative feedback loop, leading to a spiraling of emotions that may leave you scrambling to find a way out. To help guide you, thirteen experts from Young Entrepreneur Council share some valuable tips on how professionals can seek to conquer self-doubt, and explain why these suggestions can be so practical at helping you overcome this debilitating mental state.

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It’s okay not to find success in following your passion.

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Everyone online shopper has added items to their cart, only to close out of the website before completing the purchase. This behavior has led to an average online cart abandonment rate of 60% to 80% for many e-commerce sites. Whether consumers aren’t a fan of the price or decide to look elsewhere, businesses must figure out why customers are abandoning their purchases so they can address those issues and encourage completion of the sale. That's why we asked 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council how companies can lower their online cart abandonment rate. Read on to learn how you can improve conversions on your e-commerce website.

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When selling business-to-business services, your online marketing approach is different.

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Occasionally, a business may require a part-time chief financial officer because their full-time employee has left or transitioned to a new portfolio. A part-time CFO doesn't need to have the same skill set as the original office-holder. However, to be successful in their endeavors on behalf of the company, they need to have a series of qualities making them suitable for the position. CFOs are responsible for the company's economic health and well-being, and these traits are instrumental for them to understand unspoken truths about the business. Below, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in on the critical qualities that part-time CFOs should demonstrate and why these characteristics are so crucial to the role.

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Entrepreneurs can be easily distracted. Whether it's new ideas popping into their heads or the demands of their businesses, distractions abound and can easily steal away your focus. However, in many situations, you'll need to have all your wits and focus on you if you're trying to resolve a problem. Developing a method to maintain concentration when you most need it is crucial to the success of your business and yourself as a business owner. To help, we asked 11 members of YEC what they usually do to achieve uninterrupted focus. Below, they share some of their secrets, as well as valuable advice on how other entrepreneurs could incorporate these behaviors into their schedules, helping them achieve better focus.

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The holiday season is usually a goldmine of opportunities for product-based businesses that deploy specific marketing strategies to make their offering stand out and be relevant for that time of the year. While service-based businesses typically find it more difficult to capitalize on this season’s business opportunities, there are still several creative strategies they can deploy to make holiday marketing work in their favor. To help, we asked 12 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:

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With most people working from home and away from their office’s internal server, data security is a pressing concern for employers. Companies and employees must make security a priority and understand how to keep their data safe when they’re working outside of their business’s secure network. To help, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council for their best advice on how to keep corporate files safe while working from home. Below, 12 of them shared their insights for remote workers and employers.

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A company blog isn't anything like a personal blog, yet many businesses look to individual bloggers to inform their choices on topics and content. Some strike on their own, coming up with their own ideas and fleshing them out by themselves, but the result can be just as underwhelming. Business blogs need to have a strategy behind them and clearly defined goals before the first post even hits distribution. But what exactly do these companies get wrong about their blogging? Below, 16 professionals from YEC explore some of the most common mistakes and issues they’ve seen with company blogs and suggest ways to address those problems and help ensure blogging success.

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You can’t just sit back and wait for retailers to buy from your wholesale business.

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As entrepreneurs, we understand how powerful the classification of personality types can be in recruitment. From Myers-Briggs to Enneagram, the number of ways to gauge a person's innate traits can be measured in a hundred different ways. Several companies use one or more of those personality tests to develop their employees' potentials. As with all approaches, however, there are significant positives and negatives to using personality tests this way. To help us understand the extent to which employers should rely on personality tests to gauge an employee's viability for recruitment or development, we asked 13 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:

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Working from home requires paying attention to many small details regarding your mental and physical well-being, with work-life balance tending to be significantly higher among remote workers compared to traditional office workers. Most companies have now opted to offer remote work packages for their essential staff in response to the global pandemic. But when you're only just getting into the remote working lifestyle, it can be challenging to figure out a proper work-life balance. Remote work, especially, tends to infringe upon your daily life incessantly, making it hard to set boundaries and stick to them. Below, these eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council share the habits they rely on to achieve a better work-life balance while working remotely and explain why their strategies can help other entrepreneurs, as well.

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Being able to close a deal is a crucial part of an entrepreneur’s skill set, but sometimes, vendor agreements and partnerships can fall through due to unavoidable circumstances. Knowing that a deal is about to fall through before that actually happens can be quite beneficial for a company, as it gives the opportunity to choose its next steps in advance: pursue the agreement more aggressively, back off and let it fail, or do nothing and see if it corrects itself. However, before the business can take any action, it must be able to identify the telltale signs of a deal collapsing. To help, we asked 11 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:

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Doubt is a natural part of being human — and entrepreneurs aren’t immune to it.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain which qualities a hiring manager should seek out in a senior creative director who's working on both print and web campaigns. The right senior creative director can have a huge influence on your business’s marketing and ad campaigns. When seeking someone for this role, it’s important to consider whether they have the right skills to bridge the print and digital gap: If they came from the print world, their thought processes and experiences may be different than someone who’s only worked in digital communications. That’s why we asked 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council what specific traits and qualities to look for when you’re hiring a senior creative director who will be working on both print and web campaigns. Here’s what they believe you should seek out, and why these qualifications are different than if the creative director were hired for one media type over the other.

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Many companies that shifted to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic have helped employees eliminate their daily commute. However, some professionals do still need to make regular trips into the office – and spending time commuting to work can feel stressful and counterproductive. If you use your time wisely, though, there are plenty of ways to maximize your commute and make it a productive one. We asked 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council how they maximize their commute time and how it helps them in their professional and personal lives. They shared their insights with us below.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the past year's most pressing technology concerns and how we should address them. The past year has seen unprecedented changes to public health and the global economy. Many facets of daily life and work moved into the digital realm, and the shift highlighted some underlying business technology issues that are getting in the way of productivity, communication and security. As successful business leaders, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council understand how important it is to have functional, up-to-date technology. That's why we asked a panel of them to share what they view as the biggest business tech problem of the past year. Here are the issues they're concerned about and the innovations they believe will help solve them.  

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When a business advertises for a position, you can be assured that there will be a flood of applications coming in. If you're a young entrepreneur with a small company, you'll be doing most of the application sorting yourself. The first step is determining which applications suit the character, demeanor, and qualifications you're looking for. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time and budget to dedicate to this kind of task. Luckily, there are ways to speed up your sorting process while still allowing the most suitable applications to go through to the in-depth perusal stage. Eight contributors to Young Entrepreneur Council examine the techniques they use to sort applications when they have limited time and budget.

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When you set up your startup and start hiring your first few people to staff, not all of them will be tech workers. Non-tech professions such as sales, marketing, etc. are also crucial to the success of a product. Some companies don't offer these hires any equity, but this may be a huge mistake. You can lose talented professionals if you don't sweeten the deal enough. Yet how much equity is too much for these non-tech hires? What are the elements to look at when considering how much equity they should get? To help, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in on what any leader should keep in mind when figuring out how much equity non-technical hires should receive in their startup.

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Sales is a challenging industry that takes a unique combination of traits and skills to succeed. When we examine the truly memorable salespeople we know, a few things become immediately apparent -- most notably, that there are certain features all successful salespeople share. Logic would dictate, then, that we should pattern ourselves after those people if we are to achieve the same measure of success. To help, we consulted eight associates of Young Entrepreneur Council about the elements they would include on a checklist for those looking to become spectacular salespeople, and what it would take to check those boxes off. These are the factors they highlighted.

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Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the best ways to achieve organic growth for your business. Having people advocate for your services can help you attract new customers and increase loyalty among your existing customer base. However, it isn’t always easy to generate referrals naturally, especially as a service provider. That’s why we asked 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council how a service-based business can use digital marketing to drive more positive word-of-mouth. Their recommendations are below.

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As a dedicated employee, you want to make an impact in your organization and add value without compromising your health and well-being.

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The entire marketing world knows how powerful a well-funded social media campaign can be when growing a brand image. It can be challenging for smaller entrepreneurs to determine how much money should go into this part of your marketing, as there are several dozen social media channels that you can invest in. How do you determine how much money to dedicate to one or more of those social media accounts? Social media has made interacting with customers a lot easier, which means the considerations compared to traditional digital marketing are different. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council explore the critical elements they consider when allocating their social media budgets, and offer advice about budgeting effectively as a small-business owner.

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Small-business owners realize almost immediately how different their businesses are to run than large corporations. For success, a small business needs to adopt its own strategies that work with limited available resources. Entrepreneurs in this position need to make critical decisions about what approaches they'll take to elements of business growth and development. From figuring out how to find and develop new talent to discussing how to expand the business's outreach, these entrepreneurs have to think creatively about solutions they can implement to improve operations and increase productivity. That’s why we asked 13 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:

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Motivation works cyclically. There are moments when you feel as though you can take on the world, punctuated by moments when you feel like it makes no sense to do anything. If you've been feeling unmotivated at work recently, you're not alone. Workers worldwide go through the same moments of "boom and bust" when it comes to their motivation. However, one of the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur is to power through those feelings. The success of an enterprise hinges on its leader being able to escape the doldrums and remain focused throughout their projects. Here, 11 associates of Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the methods they use to remain motivated and stay at the top of their game as industry-leading entrepreneurs.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council explain how companies can optimize their mobile shopping experience. As every successful business owner knows, it’s important to meet your customers where they are. In today's world, that means creating a top-notch mobile shopping experience.  The majority of e-commerce traffic (65%) comes from mobile devices, so optimizing your sales page for mobile is crucial to keeping your business thriving and accessible to your audience. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared tips for creating a mobile-first e-commerce experience. Follow their tips to ensure your customers will love shopping with you, no matter what device they're using.

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Plans are crucial to success in any endeavor. It doesn't matter if that project is building a business or writing a book. Without planning, even the most well-intentioned projects can hit a roadblock and stop. Developing a success plan takes time and effort. It also requires a certain level of experience, and newcomers are unfortunately hit with this realization after they start their projects. Moreover, not all success plans are functional. What sets the viable success plans apart from the amateurish ones? Fifteen entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council share their best tips for success planning and explain why their advice is particularly useful in implementing a plan.

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Maximize your time spent on email and optimize the experience for everyone, including the people you message. 

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Helping your community doesn't mean that your need to dedicate your company to philanthropic works. Even profit-based companies can give back to their communities in a significant way if they start incorporating philanthropy into their company culture or develop a community-focused approach to business operations. The company culture shapes how employees view the business and interact with each other. By promoting philanthropy, a business seeks to leverage its employees' knowledge and experience in a unique way that will build the business's reputation and do good within the community. To help, these ten experts from Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the techniques they use to build philanthropy into their company culture and explain why this matters.

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