Jordan Conrad

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Building positive relationships with your customers is essential to running a successful and sustainable business. That’s why many business owners rely on customer relationship management (CRM) tools to connect with clients and nurture ongoing interactions. With so many options on the market, leaders may not know where to start in their search for a great CRM tool. Below, 15 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council shared their favorite CRM tools and why they’re so effective.

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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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Many entrepreneurs will concede that their worst problem is overthinking complex decisions. The issue with overthinking is not only that it stifles creativity and innovation; it also erodes your confidence as an entrepreneur and can make you second-guess yourself. In the world of business, this lack of self-confidence could spell disaster. The best way to avoid overthinking is to focus on the problem at hand and recenter yourself, but doing so requires a bit of effort. To help, these 12 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss a few practical ways to recenter yourself and avoid overthinking as an entrepreneur.

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If you want to lead, you may want to nurture these traits first. Many people want to be influential, to be able to lead and solve problems and create real change in the world. But not everyone knows what it takes to get there or what qualities one must have in order to achieve that influence. If you study someone you find influential, however, you’ll likely find they have certain characteristics that help them seem that way.  But what are these elusive traits? Here, 13 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council examine this by answering the following question:

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer tips for developing effective, sales-boosting e-commerce ads. E-commerce is a great way for a business to boost its sales, especially in today's world of social distancing and online shopping. But with so many businesses gravitating toward e-commerce, the space has become rather crowded. Companies that want to sell online successfully need to maximize their advertising efforts and keep attracting new customers. To help, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared some effective ways to take your e-commerce advertising to the next level. Follow their tips to keep customers coming in your virtual door, even during your off-season.

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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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Putting together a book takes time, energy and a lot of effort. And while it accounts for a lot of the book's labor, writing isn't the only thing an entrepreneur needs to concern themselves with. Publishing the book and the marketing associated with it also have a place in the overall success equation. But not all new writers know what to expect from the writing process. To help, 11 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answer the following question:

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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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First impressions set the stage for how someone sees you. Most human beings draw conclusions about others from the first thing they do or say. In business, that means that initial meeting is especially important.  Authenticity in your actions and speech can create a great first impression in many circles, but only if your authenticity isn't forced. To help, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council reflect on the following question:

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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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Staying tuned in to the pulse of your industry is key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Public groups, online forums and the like are among the most valuable resources for gathering and contributing industry information. But if someone is looking for in-depth insight into their business niche, locating the right groups where this discussion occurs is the first step. To help you find them, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) respond to the following question:

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In business, time is money, and it can be easy for entrepreneurs to overload themselves with work. But with so many demands on their schedules, every task can begin to seem important and too much information can get out of hand. In these cases, it’s vital that entrepreneurs pause and take a moment to figure out how to best manage their time. When projects pile up and a sense of overwhelm is building, the experts from Young Entrepreneur Council recommend following this advice. Below, they’ve offered several actionable tips for entrepreneurs looking to better prioritize their time and avoid information overload.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer their firsthand insights on leveraging social media effectively this year. Social media is one of the most powerful tools business owners can use. How you leverage your accounts can make all the difference in terms of your overall success and business growth. As 2021 moves forward, it’s important for entrepreneurs to know how to maximize their social media use to achieve success throughout the year. To help, 15 members of Young Entrepreneur Council use their firsthand experience to share some of their best social media tips for today’s business owners.

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Members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some foolproof ways to break down a complicated concept for your target market. You come up with a great idea. On paper, it makes perfect sense. You and your team talk about it together all day long, but when you go to explain the idea to your target audience, the idea just doesn’t translate well and you lose them. It can be frustrating to not have the skills or words to properly articulate your concept, but effective communication is a core skill for any entrepreneur. That’s why the members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared some simple ways you can successfully explain challenging concepts to their audience. Try these strategies to help you get your idea across, no matter who you’re talking to.

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Encouraging and maintaining a high level of audience engagement is critical for any brand keen on building a loyal following and a tight-knit community of reliable customers. Engagement serves as a foundational pillar to growing a business’s presence in the broader market, and those happy customers are often your best form of advertisement. However, building a loyal community is only possible if the brand is strong enough and forges a robust relationship with those customers. To offer guidance on how to achieve this goal, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss a few lesser-known ways brands can encourage engagement and why those methods are so successful.

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When surrounded by others, it can be difficult not to compare your successes to everyone else’s. Unfortunately, this competition can lead to stress and can easily create situations where you feel insecure about your path in life. But remembering that success looks different for everyone is just one step to maintaining your confidence. So what are some other ways you can avoid falling into a comparison trap and instead build healthy connections with your peers? Below, 10 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the tips they’d recommend for avoiding unnecessary comparison with others and successfully connecting with peers.

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Remote work has quickly become the norm across much of the corporate world. Yet, with so many professionals used to in-person interaction, this shift to digital messaging has rapidly and fundamentally changed workplace communication. With increased opportunities for misunderstandings in written text, potential overuse of gifs and emojis, plus a completely different dynamic from in-office communication, professionals need to adjust to the new digital workplace, whether that’s on Slack or communication platforms like it. Here, eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council offer tips for how individuals can communicate effectively and professionally on these platforms and explain why they’re so key to a productive workplace.

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You don't need to spend a ton of money to build a great business website. A high-quality website can attract customers and give them a positive experience with your company. If you don't have much web design experience, you may be concerned about the cost and time it might take for someone else to build the site for you. Fortunately, there are tons of website building tools that allow you to create your own business website, even if you don't know how to code. Many of these platforms offer plenty of sophisticated features without the hefty price tag, while also being user-friendly. To help you explore your options, we asked the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their favorite low-cost, high-quality website builders. Check out these DIY tools before you outsource the job.

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Winning a business or industry award can be a great honor for your business, as well as a highly effective PR opportunity. However, to be considered, you'll first need to submit an application to be reviewed by the award committee. To help you with this process, we asked the members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

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An employee referral program is a win-win for you and your team. Referral candidates tend to be well-qualified, since they're pre-vetted by staff members you know and trust, and hiring referrals shows you value your employees' input. To help you build a great referral program, we asked the members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

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With so many remote working teams in the world today, productivity requires utilizing tools that can connect the team through voice, chat and video. Slack rules the roost as the team collaboration software, but it’s far from being the only reliable one. Dozens of team collaboration tools have gained growing popularity over the last two months. Some of them offer similar functionality to Slack and might even be better at some things. Others are sorely lacking in utilities to help a team get organized. To help those working remotely in a group, we asked 15 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:

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[long-form article emailed to Kelsey]

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Feeling like you're not good enough can leave you struggling with your job and halt your career growth.

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You need to make sure the company is in the right shape and that future buyers will respect your legacy.

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In all walks of life, there will be pitfalls that plague professionals. For an entrepreneur, especially, it may occasionally feel like nothing is working out, no matter what you do. There's a saying that success only comes to those who get back up each time they get knocked down. The problem is that the saying doesn't detail how you get back up from a fall. Some leaders can find themselves falling over and over, and each time the recovery takes more out of them.  Recovering from a fall doesn't have to be such a trying experience, however. Here, 15 professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council provide their most effective methods for bouncing back from life's setbacks.

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[LONG-FORM EMAILED TO KELSEY]

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Working remotely has become the new standard in the COVID-19 era. Companies that followed a traditional in-office model have had to adjust to how they presently work, and soon have to learn how to hire remotely. It's possible to find the right candidate via online screening and video interviews, but a fully virtual hiring and onboarding process can seem like a daunting proposition for companies that haven't done it before. To help, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council to share some insights from their personal experiences with bringing on remote hires. Follow their advice when you're ready to hire your first remote team member.

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In today's always-on, digital-first world, consumers increasingly expect companies to offer fast and convenient channels for customer support. To this end, many brands now offer live chat so customers can reach them faster than an email or phone call. While live customer chat may be an attractive option that sets you apart from competitors, it's important to understand the commitment involved and how to best serve the customers who reach out to you through this channel. We asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members what businesses should keep in mind when implementing live chat functionality. Follow their advice to ensure your customers are satisfied, no matter how they reach out to your company.

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As the up-and-coming generation of consumers, Gen Z has become a hot target demographic for many brands. This generation of true digital natives is even more entrenched in the world of technology than the millennials who came before them. Therefore, companies that want to reach them need to go all-in on social media, Gen Z's preferred place to "hang out" online. However, the way Gen Z uses social media is different than older generations, and reaching them can be a challenge. You need a targeted approach that speaks to their values, interests and lifestyles. Here's how 16 members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend connecting with Gen Z-ers on social media.

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19 entrepreneurs delve into where online freelance talent is most readily found Businesses have changed their approach to hiring in recent years. More and more companies are relying on freelance talent as opposed to in-house contracts. It's not surprising that the paradigm has shifted in this way, however. Freelancers can be less of a drain on company resources, but they can also be more efficient than in-house hires. Even so, businesses need to find freelance sites that offer talented individuals, accessible search functions, and escrow services in some cases. All of these factors contribute to developing a long-lasting relationship with a freelancer. The rise of freelancing has seen several different locations open up around the internet that offer businesses a chance to interact with professionals. Unfortunately, there are many freelance sites to sort through, and finding the right fit for your needs may take some trial and error. Businesses need to be careful about sourcing their freelancers to avoid hiring someone who is not good for the project or who may have a nonprofessional behavior. How does a company narrow down the best places to source a freelancer online? We consulted 19 entrepreneurs from YEC about the best places to source freelance talent online. Here's what they told us.

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18 leaders from YEC discuss what elements business leaders should keep in mind before selling their company. Selling a business is a significant step and one that entrepreneurs usually spend hours agonizing over. There are just too many uncertainties when it comes to a transaction. Is the estimation of value correct? Are you exiting the market at the right time? How do you ensure that you get the amount that you think the company's worth? Growing a business from humble beginnings to the point where it commands a decent value takes time, effort and a bit of your soul. For many small entrepreneurs, it's like selling a part of themselves. For an entrepreneur to be able to sell their company, they need to sever the emotional bonds they have with its growth and approach the sale without emotion. The best way to do this is to examine the elements that make up the sale critically before even putting the business on the market. But what features are the important ones to consider, in this case? Eighteen business owners from YEC delve into the elements they think entrepreneurs should consider before they decide to list their business for sale, and why those elements are so crucial to the decision.

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It takes a lot of mental fortitude for an employee to approach their employer for a raise. There's no playbook for managers and business owners to know how to gauge whether an employee deserves a raise or not. The factors as to whether an employee deserves to earn more can be approached in several different ways. From the addition of value to the support they provide, each plays an integral part in determining whether a raise is warranted. That’s why we asked 10 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:

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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted nearly every business and industry in some capacity. Some non-essential employees have taken to remote work, while many others have faced reduced hours or layoffs. With this widespread loss of income and minimal social outings, many consumers have also cut back their spending. That’s why retaining your current customers is more important than ever in today's world. Below, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some effective customer retention strategies they're leveraging during these uncertain times.

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Despite the overwhelming preference for digital media among modern marketers, traditional advertising methods are still being implemented today and driving great results. Newspaper, TV and radio spots can offer tons of potential for businesses looking to reach a local market -- if they're used the right way. To help with your next traditional media campaign, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

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Customer service is vital to any organization, and investing in it can make all the difference in attracting and retaining clients. But the true return on those customer service investments -- whether you're hiring and training staff or increasing your support channels -- can be hard to quantify with a single number. While data isn’t everything, you’ll need some figures to determine the success of your investment and the next steps to take. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share 10 ways you can make your customer service ROI figures measurable and impactful.

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One of the most common complaints that professionals have in the 21st century is how little time there is in a day. The truth of the matter is that the day hasn't changed, but how we manage our time has. Losing time on frivolous activities is nothing new. However, with the advent of attention-stealing applications, we lose more time than ever before without even realizing it. If you're someone who wants to reclaim those lost hours, there are practical methods of doing so. However, they require understanding what you want to get out of your revamped time-management strategy. Sixteen members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their insight into what any busy professional can do to reclaim those lost hours in a day and make each one more productive.

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The job of a project manager comes with a world of responsibility attached. As the point-person in an organization responsible for the completion of tasks on time and within budget, their information must be precise and accurate. While many project managers have been trained in the traditional methodology of project management, the field has evolved a lot. Even today, new project managers start the job and have to adapt their knowledge to the current working environment. Project management is a fluid field, with changes required for a constant reevaluation of how a company does things. We asked eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council what they would advise project managers to do to make sure projects stay on track and within budget. Here's what they said.

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Today’s consumers demand transparency and honesty in brands they buy from. They expect their voices to be heard, which means attracting and retaining customers is all about listening to your audience. It’s important to consider the interests of your consumers and, more importantly, implement their feedback into your products or business model. To help you do this, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members for their best advice on how to truly listen to your customers. Their best responses are below.

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Competition among companies can be fierce, especially those in the same field with similar messages. With so many other brands out there, it can be difficult to make your story stand out among the crowd. However, you need to identify that “something special” about your business that truly makes it shine. To help you, we asked 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members how to captivate customers through the art of storytelling. Here’s how they recommend crafting a brand story that captures attention and engages your target audience.

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Fundraising for a startup is an involved process. At any step of the way, the system may falter and lead to the company missing out on significant funding. There's no step-by-step methodology for developing a startup funding plan. Each startup is unique, both in the ideas they present and the promise that they make to customers. However, for fundraising, it's not the customers' input that matters. It's what the investors think of the company. A startup's fundraising efforts hinges on its ability to make itself attractive as a business idea. To help, 12 members of Young Entrepreneur Council reflect on the big mistakes that they made while fundraising, and offer advice on how today's startup entrepreneurs can avoid falling into the same trap.