Brittany Hodak

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Most of us can look back and remember several less-than-ideal experiences we had as customers. Even more memorable, however, are those times when a company's customer service exceeds our expectations—even delights us. In almost every instance, receiving outstanding service from a business creates a loyal customer for life. Therefore, taking note of and learning from excellent examples of customer service can be an invaluable tool for any entrepreneur or business leader looking for ways to "wow" their own customers.  Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council recall a positive customer experience they've had or have been part of and what it meant to them. Take note of these examples to learn effective ways to boost your customers' happiness with your business.

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When you’re young and inexperienced, stepping up to a leadership position can be more difficult than usual. Without a strong standing in their industry, a new entrepreneur may not be able to navigate the terrain as easily as others. However, these leaders can still bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the table. We asked nine Young Entrepreneur Council members how younger founders can demonstrate their thought leadership and novel viewpoints to others in their field. Here's how to step up and show your expertise, even if you haven't been in the industry for long.

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Trying to get people interested in your startup may seem like fighting a losing battle. The early stages of a startup have several challenges to getting customers involved in the business. Advertising to a large market can be expensive, and you have to figure out if your strategy will even work with your core audience. Standard marketing campaigns can be useful, but audience responses can be lackluster for something they've seen dozens of businesses try before. The solution is to think out of the box when developing your promotional campaigns. These 10 leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council walk us through how they created unique, out-of-the-box promotions that helped their business immeasurably in the early days of development and explain why they worked so well.

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Few things make an entrepreneur feel happier than accomplishing a significant goal. Many business owners approach their companies with concrete goals in mind for where they want it to be in a few years. However, when you're a new entrepreneur, it can be a challenge to plot your own course. Having an example of what others who have come before you have achieved as entrepreneurs can help you decide what you should be doing next. While it can prompt you to do something to help your business, you'll have to adapt the goal and make it relevant to your own company. Below, seven entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the most significant decisions they’ve made for their business and explain their effect on their enterprises.

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Public speaking is a great way to gain exposure for your brand and a reputation for expertise in your field. Events with an audience allow for transparency and vulnerability—two key pieces to success when you're working to build a brand that consumers are eager to engage with. Speaking events also help you show off the core solutions your business has to offer. The pandemic may have slowed in-person conferences and presentations, but it's likely a temporary effect—and there are plenty of virtual opportunities out there right now. We asked 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council their advice on finding great speaking engagements to build up your brand. Here are their recommendations for tracking down the best opportunities for you.

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There's no question that retail is a challenging industry to master. However, for investors or manufacturers, the challenges it presents are more than worth the rewards. Retail distribution allows a business to serve its offerings up to a much broader population than direct distribution, thus increasing an enterprise’s visibility and revenue. However, entering retail distribution is complicated and requires a carefully planned strategy. To help, eight business leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights into what steps a company can take to move its invention or product close to retail distribution and why those steps are likely to result in success.

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Growing a business seems like a simple prospect, and it can be deceptively simple on paper. However, once you start to delve into the heart of the matter, you realize that a service-based business requires some deep thought before you can scale it. In any business place (but especially in a service-centered organization), time is money. You can only be present so often at locations that need you to be there. As the business grows, these locations multiply, while just one of you remains. How does an entrepreneur deal with this? Eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss how they grew their own service-based companies, offering actionable advice for any entrepreneur who wants to follow the same tactics.

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Everyone wants to be successful, but not many people understand what success brings with it or what it means exactly. Success is a personal thing -- where one person may see achievement, another may see settling for what they can get. Success is a goal, and there are many roads to get there, but not everyone's version of success is the same. So, while typical entrepreneurial resources such as business books or self-development webinars might offer a textbook definition to success, there's a lot they leave unsaid when it comes to the personal aspects of succeeding. Below, 11 experts from Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the things they see in successful professionals that no guide bothers to explain when you're on the road to success.

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Some entrepreneurs who want to scale their companies and fast-track their growth hire a business coach to help them get there. These professionals often have years of business experience themselves and can help you take your business to new heights with their insights. If you’re on the fence about hiring a coach, take it from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council: It’s worth the investment. Below, 10 members shared one of the biggest benefits they’ve experienced from hiring a business coach and why they suggest others follow suit.

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17 leaders from YEC share the tools and processes they use and why they work. In the digital age, a company not tapping into automation is losing time and productivity. Relying on human contributors to produce content is still the best approach. However, in distributing this content, automated processes, tools, and strategies are always more efficient. In marketing, efficiency means a better return on investment because it speeds up turnover time and costs less than manual methodologies. Companies can ill-afford to waste time on manual methods when automated means of getting the message out to an audience exist. In the world of marketing, time is money. Automation utilities save time, and as a result, increase the company's ROI on their marketing budget. How does a business automate its marketing? Some entrepreneurs think automation is complicated, requiring a long process of learning how to use new tools. Others fear it requires adding a specialized IT department to their company, which might be a considerable upfront cost to the company. Neither of these things is true. In fact, some of the best automation tools that you need to use are both simple and cost-effective. Even those with an associated price tag usually pay for themselves in the savings the business makes through its automation. Automation doesn't have to be a scary, unknown landscape. To help, we consulted 17 entrepreneurs from YEC about the marketing automation tools, strategies, and processes they utilize to make life easier and increase their marketing ROI.

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Having the right clients can make all the difference in your business’s success. Of course, finding those ideal clients isn’t always easy. You don’t want to be too selective and turn down a good business opportunity, but you also don’t want to overextend yourself for a client who won’t stick around in the long run. We asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council how they’ve managed to attract -- and more importantly, keep -- the right clients in their roster. Here are their best strategies.

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Every professional knows that an eight-hour workday rarely means eight straight productive hours of “real” work. Sometimes there are distractions and emergency situations to attend to throughout the day; other times, your calendar is so booked with meetings that it’s hard to find time in between to concentrate on your to-do list. When you only get a few hours per day to tackle your most important tasks, it’s critical to find ways to keep your focus. To help you, we asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council for their advice. Below they shared nine strategies for stretching your productivity and why each is so effective.

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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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When you start a business, one of the first questions you ask yourself if you should be doing this alone, or if you need help. This decision determines whether your company is a solopreneurship or a partnership. Some entrepreneurs work better by themselves, but others realize the benefit of having a partner. In some operations, it's beneficial to have someone you can rely on to share the burden. In the most fortunate cases, you and your partners complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, ensuring a better success rate for your business. To help business leaders who are still on the fence, eight experts from Young Entrepreneur Council examine the significant factors to explore when deciding whether to take on a business partner.

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Despite the numerous digital communications channels available today, email is still one of the best ways to get and stay in touch with your customers. Email marketing is notorious for its high return on investment, and with nearly 4 billion active email users, there’s a huge potential audience waiting to receive your messages. However, email is only effective if you follow a well-planned strategy -- one that doesn’t involve bombarding your subscribers or sending sales pitch after sales pitch. If you want to improve your email marketing efforts, follow these 10 tried-and-true methods recommended by the members of Young Entrepreneur Council.

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“Thought leadership” is a big buzzword in the business world right now, and it’s easy to see why it’s become such an important focus for leaders. When others look to you for your expertise and insight, you can become a leading, recognized voice in your industry. But what does it take to become a thought leader, and what actionable steps can you take toward that goal? We asked members of Young Entrepreneur Council to share some specific factors that define an industry thought leader and what actions people can take to start stepping in the right direction. They shared their responses below.

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Running a business is not easy, especially as a young entrepreneur. It always feels like the industry is stacked against you, and that you're destined to fail. Keeping hold of your morals while navigating a field like this can be a challenge. Making hard decisions is part of the job. That doesn't mean that making them gets any easier with time. However, the perspective that these decisions need to happen for the good of the company and yourself can help you navigate them easier. To help, these eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss the hard decisions they had to make, including the circumstances that led up to them, to help other young entrepreneurs learn from their experiences.

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As a busy professional or entrepreneur, you’ve probably wished there were more than 24 hours in a day. While you might not be able to find huge chunks of free time, you can always find a few extra minutes a day, which adds up to a few extra hours in a week. Over the course of their careers, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council have found some great hacks to add some time to their busy schedules. If you’re looking to get back three to five hours of your time each week, try out their nine best tricks.

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A business coach can help entrepreneurs, especially high-growth startups, succeed. Can you afford not to have one?

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Starting a business with a partner can mean twice the excitement, creativity, enjoyment, and reward.