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

expert panel

expert panel

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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Landing your first management position can be as daunting as it is exciting. You may feel pressure from superiors to perform well or wonder how you'll best lead your new employees. It's important to take early action to establish your leadership style and set yourself up for success. That's why nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council each shared the most critical thing they believe first-time managers should do within the first 90 days of their new role. Follow their tips to give yourself a head start on your new leadership position.

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

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

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Return on investment is one of the most critical metrics any company can track. Knowing the ROI of each company function makes it easier to make key business decisions. Measuring the return on customer service investments can be especially helpful in improving your service and experience. However, it's not always clear how to distill those numbers in actionable ways. Below, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members discusses the most effective ways to make customer service ROI figures more measurable and impactful for a business.

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As a newcomer to a team, you may initially feel a bit out of place. This feeling isn't something strange, however, as everyone is likely to go through it at one point in time. The first step to eliminating that feeling at a new job is to try to establish yourself in your role. For some, this is as simple as reaching out to other team members and offering your help. However, you may also have to go above and beyond in other ways to make an impact. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend some ways new hires can go about establishing themselves in their companies and making a positive impact and impression on their new teams.

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User experience (UX) informs your consumer's overall impression of your business. Like all other first impressions, you need to make this one count, or else your buyer might just consider going elsewhere. Unfortunately, many young businesspeople underestimate the importance of user experience. Modern business is nothing like the “Field of Dreams” -- it takes more than just building it to make people come. You need to offer a unique user experience to make the visit memorable and worth sharing with others. To help, eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council explain what they learned about the importance of UX and how they have used these lessons to enhance this experience for their customers.

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Having a side hustle is a great way to develop a creative outlet outside of your regular career. However, these projects can consume a lot of your time, energy and money. That's why it's important to consider the required commitment and effort – and the potential return – before going all-in on your idea. To help you determine if your side hustle is worth pursuing, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members how an aspiring entrepreneur can test the idea's viability. Ask yourself these 10 questions to find out.