David Henzel

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Giving back and serving the greater good should be considered a strategic investment in well-being, creativity, mindset and leadership acumen.

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Public speaking is an invaluable tool for personal and professional growth, but it often strikes fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned professionals. The task can be daunting, especially for those new to the experience. But despite the nerves and anticipation, there are ways that any public-speaking newbie can put their best foot forward, showcase their brand or company and get the word out while on stage. Below, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members share the best advice they have for nailing a first-time public speaking event.

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The way you start your day sets the stage for the kind of day you have ahead of you. Starting it stressed out or in a bad mood can put you in the wrong kind of headspace for the rest of the day, leading you to make poor decisions or lose focus on the tasks at hand. However, by making a few simple changes and taking charge of your morning, you can start your day off calm, rested and ready to tackle any challenges you may have ahead of you. Here, 10 business leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss their own routines and how they maximize their time in the morning to not only get in the right headspace for the workday ahead but also improve as a person and leader at the same time. Try implementing one of these habits into your daily routine and see how effective you can really be.

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As job hopping becomes more and more common among professionals—Gen Z in particular—many business leaders are looking for ways to increase employee loyalty and retention. While some employees look for higher pay and better benefits, others are just looking for somewhere they feel like they’re making a difference and where their hard work is appreciated and noticed. That being said, there are a number of ways employers can entice their team members to stay, improving not only their individual work lives but the company’s overall culture as well. Here, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the advice they would give leaders looking to build loyalty and reduce turnover in their business.

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Luckily, there are leaders who have faced the same challenges before us and have defined effective concepts to help us decide how to best spend our time. 

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Your company mission is the North Star of your business, guiding each and every decision you make. Writing one, therefore, isn’t just about creating a clever slogan or summarizing your goals; it’s about getting to the heart of your business and laying out the true driving force behind your company and all those who work within it. And while you may have an idea of the main “why” behind your business, writing a clear, well-thought-out mission statement may require some deeper reflection. To help, 11 members of Young Entrepreneur Council offer a few questions you can ask yourself to spark a more detailed, thorough or meaningful statement for your company mission that will stand the test of time.

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Conscious capitalism is an approach to business that seeks to align profit-making activities with a greater sense of purpose and social responsibility.

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The CEO mindset is about taking ownership of your choices, being proactive and continuously learning and adapting along the way.

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Create an environment where your company's shared vision thrives -- even as your team grows. As a company experiences rapid growth, it can be challenging to maintain a strong and unified culture. With new employees joining and priorities shifting, the essence that once defined the organization may become diluted or forgotten altogether. However, fostering a cohesive culture is vital for long-term success and talent retention. To help leaders maintain their company culture amid rapid growth, seven successful entrepreneurs share their expert insights and best advice.

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Whether you are delivering a keynote speech, presenting a sales pitch or just leading a team meeting, effective communication is key to getting your message across and inspiring action. As a business leader, your ability to communicate effectively can make or break your career, as being an engaging speaker is not only essential for motivating your employees but also for pitching your ideas to potential investors, clients or partners. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council recommend nine tips that can help you improve your public speaking skills and reap the benefits of becoming an engaging speaker.

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Making trouble-shooting a part of everyday operations is an easy and simple way to understand where there is room for improvement in your organization.

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From the first interview to months and years down the line, here are five ways to share your company’s message with those who want to be a part of it.

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When you’re a small-business owner, you’re likely doing all you can to manage your schedule, stay on top of your to-do list and handle other vital tasks. Especially if you have a small team or a limited budget, you may be trying to tackle all these different tasks at once, wearing as many hats as you can to ensure your business has what it needs to be successful.  But one person simply doesn’t have the time to do everything a thriving business requires, which is why leveraging technology in the right ways can greatly improve the day-to-day operations of your business as well as your own peace of mind. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss eight ways small-business owners can better leverage tech to manage their busy lives and schedules and get better control of their time.

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Many people don't realize that we have the power to choose how we approach everything in our professional lives.

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Though they are often set with the best of intentions, it’s not uncommon for New Year’s resolutions and the motivation to meet them to fall by the wayside after a few weeks or months into the new year. Busy personal lives and stressful workdays can end up getting in the way, with “just getting by” taking precedence over any push to accomplish more than the status quo. But according to the members of Young Entrepreneur Council, your year doesn’t have to go that way. Below, they each offer their top trick for making New Year's resolutions work, especially as they relate to business, and explain why it’s possible to achieve your goals with the right plan in place.

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Knowing how successful you are at keeping customers and employees happy is key to keeping your finger on the pulse and continually improving.

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Many professionals look up to entrepreneurs for their determination, perseverance and freedom to have more control over their day-to-day lives. But even entrepreneurs have role models they look up to. Whether they’re other highly successful entrepreneurs, billionaires or simply inspirational people, the world is full of those with amazing stories who serve as inspiration for today’s business leaders. Below, members of Young Entrepreneur Council each share someone they look up to in the business world, an important business lesson they learned from them and how that lesson has impacted the decisions they make as an entrepreneur.

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To truly be on your A game as a professional, it is important to maintain harmony in every aspect of your life.

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If you find yourself distracted, wasting precious time and unable to focus on your tasks, it’s likely you’re not being as productive at work as you’d like. Whether it’s common distractions found around the in-office or at-home workplaces, or even mental distractions and intrusive thoughts blocking you from doing your best work, it’s easy to lose sight of the task at hand when you’re always battling against one stimulus or another. When you’re feeling this way, it can be helpful to have a trick or two up your sleeve to help you get back on track. To share some of their favorite hacks, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council each chime in below with one hack or trick they’d recommend for finding and retaining your focus in the workplace.

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From holding meetings and online social events to offering support for staff members’ outside interests, it becomes easy and enjoyable to create a win-win situation for all from afar.

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Businesses are made up of a lot of moving parts, so running one can often be a complex endeavor. Without a plan or a strategy for keeping all these moving parts in line, it can be easy to fall into stress, overwhelm and a general sense of unhappiness during your workday. For the members of Young Entrepreneur Council, figuring out what methods work for them has been an ongoing process. Here, they each discuss one specific strategy they’ve found works well for simplifying their day and allowing them to tackle their duties without added stress and overwhelm.

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Let these steps serve as guidelines for what you can do when difficult situations arise.

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If you know there is a conference you will be attending in the near future, why not set yourself up for success early by taking the following steps to preempt new connections and start networking even before the event?

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Every professional needs time off to rest and recharge, but getting back into your work routine after a vacation or extended PTO can be tough—especially if you have lots of messages or tasks to sift through. All too quickly, that relaxed feeling you gained from your time away is replaced with stress and anxiety about all the tasks that urgently need your attention. But your first day back to work doesn’t have to feel so overwhelming. Below, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council share nine tips for getting back into the swing of things after your vacation gradually and coming back to work refreshed and ready to tackle your next challenge.

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This method is a great option to motivate your team to perform at their peak performance.

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When you're feeling anxious about a presentation, a looming deadline or even a decision you made, relaxation is likely the last thing on your mind. However, the business world is full of stressful situations, and if you want to navigate it successfully, you’ll need to pick up a positive habit or two that can help you cope when things get tough. Anxiety doesn’t have to overwhelm you, and with the following eight tips, you’ll be better equipped to deal with it when it happens. From acknowledging your anxiety to leveraging silence, here are a few tricks you can use to get back in a healthier mindset, as recommended by the members of Young Entrepreneur Council.

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Each of these habits can have positive effects that infiltrate every area of life and certainly give peace of mind.

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A business without goals can run the risk of becoming aimless and unsuccessful. As a leader, you can set yourself and your business up for success by setting high-quality goals that push you outside your comfort zone and challenge your skills. When it comes to taking action to achieve these goals, it’s crucial to set the right example for your employees. Modeling this positive behavior can help them improve as they work toward their goals and the goals of the company. To help you get started, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the actions leaders can take to achieve their objectives while modeling exemplary behavior for their employees.

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Having clearly defined values enables a business to solely focus on what matters most.

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We all have room to improve our focus, and the honest truth is if you devote time to honing those skills, you can end up achieving your goals in less time. 

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For some, the meaning of the adage “the customer is always right” has evolved from “businesses should listen to consumers because they drive the market” to “businesses should always focus on giving customers exactly what they want—no matter the ask or the cost.” However, sometimes the customer isn’t actually right, and giving in to their demands isn’t the wise move. When a customer is angry or frustrated, it’s important for a business to listen to and empathize with their concerns. But if that customer is ultimately wrong, you shouldn’t make unreasonable sacrifices or do something that’s not really in their best interests just to get back into their good graces. Here, 10 Young Entrepreneur Council members share their thoughts on how to strike a balance between ensuring a customer feels well-treated and doing what’s right for your business.

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One of the main ways to impart your company’s mission and vision, fortify teamwork and ensure continuous traction is to hold regular and highly effective staff meetings.

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One of the most important factors to heed when selecting the right outsourcing team is whether their core values are in line with the services you need to provide.

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There are steps every salesperson can use to optimize their chances of moving the conversation in a positive direction.

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As digital payments evolve and become more commonplace, an increasing number of businesses are accepting them, with some businesses rejecting cash payments entirely. While digital payments can certainly be convenient for customers and businesses alike, it’s important to understand the process and avoid any potential pitfalls. We asked the members of Young Entrepreneur Council for their takes on digital payments. They shared 10 things you should keep in mind as digital payment options evolve, and how those offerings will impact your business in the future.

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Office culture doesn't stagnate, and there will always be a constant change around how a business operates. Instituting new office procedures and policies as the company culture changes may mean taking some chances. Not all new plans are guaranteed to succeed, and some of them require considerable risk on behalf of the company. If a business isn't sure if a policy or proposal will turn out positively, then its implementation should be weighed carefully. Failure of the policy might mean severe drawbacks to the business as a whole. For entrepreneurs who are looking at instituting new policies, such as, for instance, allowing pets at the office, 13 members of Young Entrepreneur Council examine the core considerations companies should make when evaluating the viability of implementation.

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In the age of social media, a controversy -- and a potential public relations crisis -- is always lurking. It's impossible to completely avoid controversial issues and conversations if your business is on social media, but knowing how to handle them with grace and professionalism can save you from landing your brand in hot water. To help you, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

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When you're running on low, shake things up to get refreshed and reenergized.

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Online videos are one of the most successful marketing materials that a business has at its disposal. However, crafting an online video to draw people in takes a bit more skill than merely recording something and adding branding to it. A company should consider doing a short video ad like doing a mini movie. Just like a professional production, it should communicate a message and know who its target audience is. Aimless video production will only create something forgettable, the exact opposite of what a successful video should be. To help, we consulted 11 associates of Young Entrepreneur Council about what they consider to be the most vital aspects of successful online video creation.

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long form emailed to Kelsey

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It takes more than prompt email response times to get customers talking about your brand to friends and family.

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Far too many business owners find themselves asking, “How do I effectively lead my team when I’m not in the same room with them?”

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Leverage email marketing to provide your audience with personalized, valuable newsletter content.

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We can’t stop cybercrime, but we can take measures to slow it down and drastically reduce the success rate of hackers.

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Though you may have heard otherwise, cold calling is not dead.

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Through content delivery, proper social ad placement and influencer collaboration, you can significantly grow your e-commerce sales.

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Set yourself up for marketing success beyond the new year by planning for the long term.

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Just one conversation early on with a new manager will alleviate any hiccups down the road.

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Building and retaining a quality team takes effort, but it's well worth it as your startup scales.