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Tag: Business Ideas

  • 5 Ways to Protect Your Business from Climate Change Disaster

    5 Ways to Protect Your Business from Climate Change Disaster

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Severe weather is the new normal. Recent floods in California, tornadoes in Alabama, and freezing temperatures in New York are just the tip of the ever-melting iceberg. In 2022 alone, the United States experienced 18 natural disasters, including wildfires, severe storms, tropical cyclones, flooding, freezing, and drought, costing $1 billion dollars.

    Research indicates that climate disasters will become more frequent and produce more damage. In 1980, the US experienced just $3 billion in climate events. But these events have steadily increased, hitting $22 billion in damages in 2020.

    Your business doesn’t have to suffer from a lack of preparedness. From picking the right property to weather-proofing your infrastructure, here are five ways to be resilient in the face of climate change.

    Related: 3 Apps to Prepare Your Startup for Severe Weather

    1. Understand your location

    Knowing the climate risks of your area will help avoid high costs down the road. But this could be harder than it sounds given that, in some cases, property owners may not share information, such as flood history, with a prospective buyer or may not have that information to start with.

    Thankfully, there are ways to find out about potential risks. For example, depending on which state you live in, there may be flood disclosure laws that make finding out about your property much easier.

    In Texas, sellers must tell you everything, including whether or not there was previous water damage due to flooding or if the property is located in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain or a reservoir. Other states, like Minnesota, require sellers to disclose anything that could “adversely and significantly impact a buyer’s use and enjoyment of the property.” Some states, such as Utah, have no requirements to disclose past information.

    If your state does not require any disclosures, you can do your research. Websites like FEMA National Risk Index, Risk Factor, and Climate Check let you search properties by address and calculate risk.

    Related: Do You Have the Right Insurance for Your Business? Here’s How to Understand Your Options

    2. Find the right insurance

    Once you understand your risks, you may need to find insurance. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. While insurance plays a crucial role in protecting property owners, insurance prices are rising as the industry is struggling to keep up with the demands of climate disasters. In 2021, the industry reached a 10-year high for covering losses from disasters at a whopping $42 billion, increasing premiums 12.1% between 2021 and 2022.

    To keep up with these threats, the insurance industry is creating new risk rating systems for climate insurance. These new rating systems have increased insurance prices for many property owners. However, there are ways to reduce your risk rating by disaster-proofing your property.

    As you look for policies, research the insurer’s risk rating and find ways to lower your risks.

    Related: This Company Turns Plastic Garbage Into Construction Materials

    3. Prevent damage before the storm

    Given the high price of insurance and the instability in the industry, preventing weather damage will help you avoid high costs. Flooding and high winds cause most of the damage. For intense winds, protecting windows, securing roofing, and securing loose items will do most of the job, but water damage may require more preparation.

    Whether designing a new building or retrofitting an old one, there are two ways to protect against flooding: “wet floodproofing” and “dry floodproofing.”

    For wet floodproofing, water-resistant building materials and a first story with minimal usage, reserved for light storage or parking, allow water to flow through the first level of the building without taking down the structure. For “dry floodproofing,” you can seal the building to flood waters and use removable barriers to keep water away from the structure.

    While these upgrades may be costly, you can qualify for funding to help reduce costs. For example, you can get financial assistance through a Hazard Mitigation Grant.

    If you experience damage from a flood, you may be able to get support from your local government to implement changes as you rebuild. In San Francisco, the city government launched a relief program offering up to $5,000 for businesses that experienced damage in the flood zone and $2,000 for companies outside the zone.

    Related: 3 Steps to Prepare Your Business for Wildfire Season

    4. Protect against fires

    Depending on where you live, you may be at greater risk from wildfires.

    Invest in fire-grade materials, including mesh screening and non-combustible gutters and fences, to help keep embers out of your home and prevent fire from entering. You can also purchase non-flammable plants to build a barrier between your home and fire.

    As with storm damage, if your local government has a Hazard Mitigation Grant, they may be able to help fund some upgrades to help you protect against fires.

    5. Participate in resilience hubs

    Most of these solutions have focused on long-term strategies, but disasters also have immediate consequences. Be sure to stock up on water and food and have an evacuation plan.

    Find out if your area has a “resilience hub,” which are designed to provide shelter, clean energy, and other resources to communities immediately following extreme weather events. Participating in developing these hubs can help ensure your business continues to thrive during disasters.

    Related: 3 Ways Tech Entrepreneurs Can Help, and Grow, During a Natural Disaster

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    John Boitnott

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  • Become A Pro At Setting Attainable Business Goals With These Tips

    Become A Pro At Setting Attainable Business Goals With These Tips

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Business leaders are constantly setting lofty, impressive-looking goals for themselves and their companies. But what good are those goals if they’ve been thrown out the window within a couple of weeks? It’s time for business leaders to take charge and set intentions that can actually be achieved — not just high-minded ambitions that will fade away soon after.

    Instead of settling for vague directions, they should strive to make their objectives actionable and attainable with the right activities. Now more than ever, it’s essential for businesses to have tangible outcomes rather than empty promises.

    Related: The 5 Golden Rules of Goal-Setting

    Let your managers manage

    Sitting in the C-suite brings its perks, but it also removes you from many of the day-to-day operations your company executes. Your team leaders, however, are in the trenches. While executives set the direction, they should require their team leaders to set the milestones. These critical front-line players have an intimate understanding of how their team performs and what attainable milestones are.

    Without practical goals, employees risk simply shutting down or meandering aimlessly through flavor-of-the-month objectives. With realistic milestones, teams are fueled by purpose. Encouraging your team leaders to set these milestones ensures they are realistic and translates to buy-in.

    It bears repeating that your team managers require some direction. A clear, unbiased look at the last year can help set them on the right path. Executives should look at what was successful in that past year, determine why it worked, and figure out how to carry those same successes into the next year. Provide your front-line managers clear guidance on company goals and next steps, then step away. If you become a micromanager, you will squeeze your company to death.

    Related: 8 Reasons You Should Give Your Employees More Control

    Hold regular Azimuth Checks

    Once you’ve established realistic milestones for the year, it’s time to hold your team accountable for meeting them. One way leaders can do this is with quarterly reviews. And look, I get it. These meetings seem like a time suck. In practice, if it’s not ten minutes or less, I’m trying not to zone out on you. But at the end of the day, these quick check-ins can ensure that you and your team are on the same page and that everyone is clear on their expectations. Quarterly reviews vastly improve transparency as well as give leadership a chance to reinforce a united front.

    Regular meetings provide a great opportunity for communication down to the lowest level and create a more personalized feel than the typical canned newsletter. Most people send those newsletters straight to their trash folder anyway. Your employees want to know what’s going on in the organization and where they’re headed, and they want to hear it straight from the top.

    However, C-suite leaders can’t be the only ones presenting these ideas and goals. During these presentations, the entire leadership team needs to bring their A-game; the rest of the company needs to feel their excitement. We don’t have time to be company cheerleaders at every given second. More importantly, most people who work for your company barely see the CEO, so the front-line managers need to take that vision and share it with the rest of the team.

    Regular company-wide check-ins assure employees that their jobs are secure, that they’re working for a company with an actual vision and supporting goals, and that their leadership is motivated to succeed. On the ground level, I tell my team leaders that I want every single presenter to come to that room with three things they’re going to do this year to improve themselves as a manager, which helps them set personal goals that hopefully align with the company goals.

    Related: The Real Secret to Entrepreneurial Success (That’s Not What You Think)

    Implement accountability to track progress

    Organizations move by the minute, so you must monitor progress and hold your people accountable. Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) is a must, and it can be good practice to make progress open knowledge throughout the organization. My company displays everyone’s KPIs on centralized screens in our offices. This may cause many leaders to recoil in horror, but this transparency provides several key benefits.

    First, it helps your team look out for teammates. I don’t believe you should automatically eliminate your bottom 10% — you should motivate them instead. Displaying everyone’s progress on KPIs lets your subordinate leaders notice if someone is suddenly underperforming so they can spring into action and figure out the issue.

    One of our employees started missing KPIs, and our open tracking allowed her managers to notice. After some investigating, we found that her mother had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and she had tried to leave it at home to avoid burdening the rest of her team. You can’t leave things like that at home, though, and instead of jumping to conclusions and terminating her, we were able to help her get through this trying time by letting her work remotely so she could care for her mom. With this accommodation in place, her KPIs skyrocketed back in no time.

    The other benefit of KPI tracking is that it fosters healthy competition in your team. One of my companies had a banner year last year, and the top performers were able to double their salaries through bonuses. Peer pressure isn’t necessarily a bad thing. By encouraging some competition among your team, you can help them reach milestones you wouldn’t have thought possible. Your team may very well be capable of reaching new heights, but if you’re not holding them accountable, they almost certainly won’t.

    Related: Fostering This Trait Is One of the Hardest Things for Leaders to Get Right

    Your team deserves success

    A key responsibility of a good CEO is to develop the next generation of CEOs. I want my employees to be CEOs someday, and I want them to be millionaires. But to do that, we need accountability measures. You will always have individuals trying to set the bar as low as possible; you have to hold them accountable.

    The most important thing to remember is that you need to be self-aware when setting these goals and milestones. As a CEO, I have a BHAG. But that doesn’t mean your employees have to have the same. Be fair, be realistic, but encourage them to push the envelope whenever possible. Treating your employees like future leaders can help them develop the maturity and sense to carry out your company’s vision. Your team deserves success, and you owe it to them. Crafting realistic and attainable goals is only one small way to do that.

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    Shannon Scott

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  • 5 Steps to Build Your Irresistible Offer and Attract High-Paying Clients

    5 Steps to Build Your Irresistible Offer and Attract High-Paying Clients

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    I know everyone says you should relax and enjoy the holidays but here’s one thing I’ve learned about myself; I don’t idle well.

    It’s challenging for me to sit still and relax when I have so many ideas bouncing around my head that can help people (including myself) grow their business.

    So, here’s the compromise I made with myself. Instead of working in my business over the holidays I worked on my business. This allowed me to maintain productivity while also being present for my family.

    Specifically, I read a book that instantly improved one of my core service offerings, $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi. And in the most recent episode of the Launch Your Business podcast I shared how I transformed my offer and – more importantly – how you can make your own irresistible offer.

    But, I’m aware of the fact “knowledge, univested in labor, is wasted” so I’m also sharing the sales sheet I developed (which describes my offer in depth) so you can save time by leveraging a similar approach and quickly create your offer.

    Prefer to listen instead? Tune into this week’s podcast episode Alex Hormozi’s Blueprint for Entrepreneurial Success: The Irresistible Offer.

    Craft Your Irresistible Offer with the Value Equation

    I’ve never worked in the finance industry but the movie Boiler Room is one of my favorites. I don’t want to ruin it for you but the plot revolves around stockbrokers selling shady stock, one of them finally has a conscience and Vin Diesel yells a lot.

    Ben Afflect has a surprisingly small role in it but he delivered one of my favorite lines when discussing how to get a yes out of a prospective buyer.

    “If you were drowning and I threw you a life jacket, would you take it?”

    That’s an example of an offer so good people would feel stupid saying no. And like I said, that’s what we’re going to talk about today and it’s all based on Alex Hormozi’s book, $100M Offers.

    Developing your irresistible offer is important for you because I’ve seen people exhaust themselves – and lose money – trying to sell offers that had small, fundamental flaws. With a good offer, you don’t have to try so hard to sell it and your marketing will be much more impactful.

    Ok, so how can you make your irresistible offer? We’re going to walk through that now by breaking down Alex’s Value equation which consists of four parts.

    You can see each part below and I’ll share my example to provide context.

    Image source: $100m Offers

    Got all that? Great.

    One of my offers is providing LinkedIn training to teams at professional service providers. For example, digital marketing agencies. We’ll continue using this as an example so you can better wrap your head around the entire process.

    Step 1: Maximize Dream Outcome

    So we’ll start with the dream outcome your audience is searching for. As per the book, “The dream outcome is the expression of the feelings and experiences the prospect has envisioned in their mind.”

    Your goal is to accurately depict that dream back to them so they feel understood and explain how you will help them get there.

    People and clients generally want the following dream outcomes:

    • To be perceived as beautiful
    • To be respected
    • To be perceived as powerful
    • To be loved
    • To increase their status

    So, back to my LinkedIn training offer. I wrote down several potential dream outcomes.

    • Inbound leads
    • Increased revenue
    • Perceived as thought leader
    • Attract top talent
    • Increase team knowledge
    • Attract qualified candidates
    • More press and public appearances
    • Build strategic partnerships
    • Lower marketing costs

    But, saying all that is a mouthful so I decided to focus on clear outcomes that I’m certain I can deliver on and reflect the overarching theme of their dream outcome.

    I help teams create LinkedIn content that attracts leads and positions their organization as an industry thought leader.

    Your turn.

    Jot down the dream outcome for your target audience.

    Related: How to Start a Consulting Business: Get Ready to Launch

    Step 2: Maximize Perceived Likelihood of Achievement

    People pay for certainty. In other words “How likely do I believe it is that I will achieve the result I’m looking for if I make this purchase?”

    You can increase this perceived likelihood of achievement in a number of ways including:

    • Your messaging
    • Guarantees
    • Testimonials

    Your messaging can be as simple as how you describe the offer. For example “so easy even a seven year old can do it.”

    Guarantees are helpful since they reduce risk and prove you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is. Testimonials are even better since it involves a past client sharing their experience and outcomes.

    Now you might be thinking. “Well all that stuff sounds great but I’m just getting started and don’t have any testimonials yet.” If that’s the case, here’s another way you can increase your prospect’s perceived likelihood of achievement; create content on social media that highlights your expertise and personality. This will allow them to know, like and trust you even if you don’t have an established track record just yet.

    So, here’s how I incorporated this part into my offer.

    I described how anyone can create content, even if they don’t think they’re creative. And, I also included templates and prompts to help with the content creation process.

    I shared testimonials from previous clients who have worked with me on more than one occasion.

    And I added a guarantee. If you don’t feel your team is creating content that attracts prospects within 30 days, I’ll continue working with you until you get three qualified leads.

    Your turn.

    Based on the example and guidelines we just discussed, jot down how you’ll increase this perceived likelihood of achievement for your customers.

    Step 3: Minimize Time to Success

    The next driver in the value equation we’ll discuss is the time delay. How quickly can you help your clients achieve their goal?

    Now in some cases it’s impossible to quickly reach a goal. For example, let’s say you’re setting up some new process at a company that will take months to complete. That’s just how it is, but you can still deliver a quick win. So maybe it’s an audit or a custom roadmap that shows exactly what needs to be addressed in order for the organization to reach their goals.

    Here’s what I did for my LinkedIn training offer.

    I pre-recorded all the training videos as well as the associated exercises. Any client who signs on with me gets instant access and they can start reviewing the content well ahead of our live training.

    As a result they’ll already see signs of real progress before I even meet with them.

    Your turn.

    How can you reduce the time delay involved with your audience achieving their outcome? Or, what’s one quick win you can deliver?

    Step 4: Minimize Effort & Sacrifice

    Now let’s discuss the fourth part of the value equation, decreasing the perceived effort and sacrifice involved.

    And, this reminds me of a favorite quote by Eric Thomas “Everybody wants to be a beast until it’s time to do what real beasts do.” That sign is hanging at my gym and it reminds us all that we have to put in work to see results.

    Unfortunately, many of your clients or customers may not want to put in that work, so you need to develop and describe the process for how you make it easier. One option is a done for your service. And while that may be time consuming, you can also charge much more for it. Another option is to provide customizable templates and tools that make it easier for your customers to make progress on their own.

    For my LinkedIn training I provide tools that make it easier for my clients to determine, develop and schedule their content.

    There are several options available and they’ll all be unique to your business but do not skip this step.

    Your turn.

    How can reduce the effort and sacrifice involved with using your service?

    Related: 6 Key Tips to Level Up Your Content Marketing Strategy

    Step 5: Tying it all together

    So now that we have the core elements of your offer in place we just need to complete one more step, aligning your audience’s problems with your solutions.

    Start by listing out all the problems your audience will have before, during and after implementing your services.

    For example, here’s one problem companies may run into with my offer.

    “Some people on my team aren’t creative. How are they going to create good content?”

    I can address that problem and offer a solution as part of my offer.

    Rapidly create engaging content that attracts leads and partnerships (even if you’re not creative)

    We’ll do one more problem and solution.

    “How do I know if this is even working?”

    And here’s my solution.

    Clearly measure the revenue impact of your content (without complicated tools)

    You get the point here. Explain how your offer directly addresses any doubts or hesitations your prospects may have.

    Your turn

    Write down all the problems your audience may have and describe how your product or service solves these issues.

    This should be four to five bullet points and you’ll display them prominently on your website and socials.

    Next steps

    Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This process is challenging. It took me about six hours and I was doing this while all four of my kids were home for winter recess.

    But, I enjoyed it, and it’s clearly paying off! I’ve already booked two deals with this new offer and they closed much faster than usual. The best part? I now charge more than before, my clients are happy and delivering the services requires less time and customization.

    And, speaking of less time and customization. I’m going to help you by sharing the assets I’ve developed to describe my offer. You can access the sales sheet I made for my program here. And, you can view the offer on my website here. Of course you’ll want to adjust to fit your specific offer but it will remove a lot of the guesswork. And if you need more help, contact me today.

    Was this helpful? Reach out to me on LinkedIn or Instagram with feedback or suggestions.

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    Terry Rice

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  • How to Make Money As a Virtual Assistant

    How to Make Money As a Virtual Assistant

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    In the new book How to Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business, author Jason R. Rich and the staff of Entrepreneur have outlined everything you need to know to launch a lucrative side hustle or full-time business. In the following excerpt, Rich breaks down the basics of why this is the ideal time to use your skills and experience to create a new revenue stream.

    Why be a virtual assistant now?

    While virtual assistants have been around as long as the internet, these positions are now more diverse in terms of their responsibilities and more widely accepted than ever. In 2021 and beyond, working as a virtual assistant (or VA) can be an incredibly prosperous career path.

    Every day, clients hire virtual assistants to complete a broad range of both common and highly specialized tasks. If you have specialized skills and/or experience in writing, bookkeeping/accounting, social media marketing, web design, travel planning/coordination, telemarketing, executive administration, data entry, booking appointments/scheduling, project management, database management, or research, for example, you can earn a higher-income than a VA who handles more general or administrative tasks for clients. As a virtual assistant, set yourself apart from your competition by developing a niche.

    Related: How to Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business on sale now

    Cindy Opong, the founder of Creative Assistants, explains her business, “In my opinion, the role of a virtual assistant is to support and, in some cases, run the back end of a client’s business, so they can focus their time and effort on what they’re really good at. I personally specialize in working with [former] top-level executives with corporations who are now starting or running their own consulting businesses. These people were used to having an executive assistant in the corporate space, and many don’t know how to handle core tasks that an executive assistant would typically handle. I come in and I take up that role remotely for them.”

    How much can you make as a virtual assistant?

    In 2020, the Association of Virtual Assistants conducted a survey of more than 500 working virtual assistants for its VA State of the Industry Report. In the survey, 93 percent of respondents said they “enjoy[ed] freedom and flexibility” working as VAs.

    The report also found that 38 percent of respondents worked 20 to 30 hours per week, while 26 percent said they worked more than 40 hours, 24 percent worked 10 to 20 hours, and 11 percent worked 1 to 10 hours.

    When it came to hourly rates, the report stated that 58 percent of virtual assistants earn $26 to $50 per hour, 23 percent earn $10 to $25 per hour, 18 percent earn $51 to $100 per hour, and just 1 percent earn more than $100 per hour.

    In terms of monthly income, 33 percent reported making between $2,001 and $5,000 per month, 26 percent made between $1,001 and $2,000, 16 percent made between $0 and $500, 14 percent made between $551 and $1,000, and 11 percent made more than $5,000.

    Related: Check out what the Entrepreneur Bookstore’s discount section

    What you’ll need

    One of the biggest benefits of being a virtual assistant is that your location rarely matters to your clients, as long as you’re accessible during their business hours and finish your work on time. However, some clients do prefer VAs who live and work in their time zone, even though they may never meet in person. Working as an independent contractor from your home office makes you your own boss. You set your rates, determine the number of hours you’re willing to work each week and create your daily schedule. As a business operator, you’re also in charge of:

    • Finding and managing your clients
    • Marketing and promoting your business (online and in the real world) P Handling the bookkeeping and accounting
    • Billing (and collecting on overdue invoices)
    • Keeping your skill set up-to-date
    • Meeting your deadlines

    How do you get started?

    Pick up How to Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business available now for a fully-detailed guide to setting up your business, finding customers, and turning your expertise into a new revenue stream.

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    Entrepreneur Staff

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  • How Every Company Can Enter the Billion-Dollar Space Economy

    How Every Company Can Enter the Billion-Dollar Space Economy

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We are living through a new era of space activity, and the evidence is all around us. From striking images of private sector rocket launches to new satellite and data capabilities to the innovative tools that will permit lunar exploration, the space industry is more vibrant and ripe with opportunity than ever before — and this is true not just for “space companies,” whose primary business is space activity, services and tools, but for every company.

    This may at first seem counterintuitive. The current space economy is valued at $469 billion, according to The Space Report, and is expected to top $639 billion by 2026. This growing economy is fueled by thousands of businesses large and small worldwide, and many of these companies are not space-specific. Instead, they are “space adjacent,” which means their products and services have applications in the space industry, as well as in other sectors, like high-precision manufacturing, data science and artificial intelligence, and life sciences and biology.

    In this era of dynamic growth in the space market, the challenge for entrepreneurs is to answer:

    1. Is their enterprise space adjacent or could it be changed to become space adjacent?
    2. What is the space market demanding and what could the company offer?
    3. How does the business leader or entrepreneur identify and access opportunities that require fundamentally innovative applications for space?

    There is not one route or strategy that will lead a space-adjacent company into the space economy. The approach that best fits the existing business model isn’t necessarily defined by the entrepreneur or business leader. Yet, there are best practices and signposts along the way that can facilitate entrance. With that in mind, here are four steps to consider when seeking opportunities in the global space economy.

    Related: Entrepreneurs in Space: Musk Shouldn’t Have Mars All to Himself

    1. Start local

    As with any business endeavor, opportunity requires connections and collaboration. Wherever the business is located geographically (potential in more than one location), survey the area for organizations or businesses that are already engaged in the space economy.

    This does not necessarily mean seeking out a rocket launch provider. Instead, consult with large manufacturers who may be selling technology components to civil or commercial space organizations. Engage with regional military installations, where there are sure to be space-engaged professionals who can help elucidate market opportunities and facilitate introductions. Look for local chamber of commerce events related to space and explore industry groups and academic institutions that may offer space-focused seminars and forums. Ultimately, only the entrepreneur or business leader will be able to precisely identify local space stakeholders. Step one is to find them and grow from there.

    2. Seek new applications for existing IP

    When we think of space products and activities, some might imagine breakthrough technologies invented in government-run labs whose applications begin and end in space. This is incorrect. In fact, while some space technologies are entirely novel (e.g. scientific instruments for biological experiments in microgravity), many are simply the reapplication of space tools and services devised for use on Earth.

    To wit, entrepreneurs and businesses may already have intellectual property that, with some adjustments, could be sold to companies engaged in space activities. If you are engaged in textiles, do you hold a patent on an innovative material whose properties may be useful in space operations? If your business is in the food and beverage industry, could you cater to the local space operations on Earth or even adapt your product for consumption in space? In industrial construction, artificial intelligence, raw materials sourcing, supply chain optimization, the list of industries where existing products could be used in space is unending. When seeking space economy access, entrepreneurs should look to existing IP and consult with their growing network of space industry contacts.

    Related: Space Stories: A Startup Made of Artists, Scientists, and Ex-Government Officials

    3. Convert data to opportunity

    The space-to-Earth market accounts for most of the space economy. Put another way, the enormous data flows pouring in from satellites and other space-based assets are the currently dominant area for financial return. Entrepreneurs and businesses in the data science fields can find eager customers seeking insights and services derived from this data. This can include markets for Earth observation, climate monitoring, logistics and transportation, agriculture, water management, public health and many other industries. In this, space adjacency is defined by the capacity to process and compute data streamed from space and sell the resulting insights to markets here on Earth.

    For example, an incisive understanding of water levels and drought in a geographic region could be highly valuable to water utilities, local governments and agricultural businesses. The task for entrepreneurs and businesses is to consider how to access space-derived datasets, consider their data science capabilities and look to the marketplace for the intersection between space adjacency, data insights and on-Earth demand.

    4. Check for patents in the public domain

    Space activity is valuable in part because the tools and technology needed to operate in space often have important applications on Earth. In the United States, NASA offers a Technology Transfer Program and a database of thousands of its expired patents that are available for unrestricted commercial use. The European Space Agency also offers a technology transfer process. These and other space agencies already did costly, innovative work to create something new. Dig through these databases, consider your capabilities and identify patents you can use to bring new products to market.

    We are still only at the beginning of a new era of space access and exploration, and analysts expect the global space economy will reach $1 trillion in the coming years. Entrepreneurs and business leaders who begin probing the space domain for opportunity today will not only open new revenue streams and invigorate innovation. They will also capitalize on first-mover advantages and position their organizations to lead as the space market grows.

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    Kelli Kedis Ogborn

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  • 5 Key Benefits of Posting Reels on Instagram

    5 Key Benefits of Posting Reels on Instagram

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As social media platforms continue to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of users, Instagram has introduced a feature called Reels. This feature, which allows users to create 15-second video clips set to music, has quickly gained popularity since its introduction in August 2020.

    The ability to edit videos in a new, innovative and extremely user-friendly way has gifted millions of Instagram users a new skill and creative outlet for producing content in ways they were unable to before. Though Instagram was not the first platform to introduce these fast-paced videos, its design has the unique ability to reward a majority of uploads with hundreds to thousands of views — it keeps users hooked! It is 2023, and Instagram Reels have become a significant part of the platform and offer several benefits for users.

    Related: 7 Instagram Reels Ideas to Better Connect With Your Audience

    1. Wider audience

    One of the most significant benefits of Instagram Reels is the ability to reach a wider audience. When a user creates a Reel, it appears in a dedicated section where users can discover and engage with new content. This means that even if a user has a small following, their Reels have the potential to be seen by a much larger audience. This can be especially useful for businesses and influencers looking to expand their reach on the platform.

    Related: Why Instagram Is Every Entrepreneur’s Most Powerful Tool

    2. Drive traffic

    In addition to providing a creative outlet, Instagram Reels can also be a great way to drive traffic to a user’s profile. When someone discovers a Reel they enjoy, they may be more likely to check out the rest of the user’s content. This can lead to an increase in followers and engagement on the user’s profile.

    3. Promote products

    Instagram Reels are also an excellent tool for businesses looking to promote their products or services. Since Reels are set to music, businesses can create catchy and memorable content that is easy for users to share. This can be especially effective for products or services that are visually appealing, as Reels allow businesses to showcase their products engagingly and interactively.

    4. Brand awareness

    Reels are great for content creators to show off their creativity and talents; and for viewers seeking fast entertainment, but they can be handy for businesses that want to increase their reach and brand awareness. There have already been countless brands that have become mainstream solely by promoting their business through platforms like Reels and Tiktok. With an audience this wide, it’s crucial for all businesses to have some sort of presence on these apps because they can lead to an easy reach to new audiences, and best of all, it’s free!

    Related: 6 Innovative Ways to Increase Brand Awareness

    5. Hashtags

    Instagram creates large communities with similar interests by using hashtags. Hashtags are a way to organize specific videos into niche categories that will be appreciated by an audience that actively searches for them.

    For instance, if you are a pastry chef, you might want to use #baking to have a higher chance for your video to be shown to people who already enjoy baking and pastries. This will lead to more likes, shares and views on your video. You are not limited to a certain number of hashtags, so your video could include hashtags: #cakes, #cooking, #bakery, #pastry. You can even get very specific, like #pastryphotography to target a particular audience.

    Related: #WhyweuseHashtag

    How can you use Reels to your advantage and promote your profile or business?

    First, you must understand how trends work and why specific videos get more views than others. While it’s true that Instagram Reels hand out views as if the world was about to end, if your video doesn’t align with the algorithm, it will never see the success you’re hoping for.

    Try using reels as a viewer; you might notice that most videos are not entirely original. You will probably realize that many clips have the same content and audio with only slight variations. This is because the algorithm encourages creators to copy and build off of one another’s content; this can be demonstrated with the “Duet” feature on TikTok, where a user copies another clip’s audio and context and creates a similar video in response or to parody to the first.

    So, to align with the algorithm, try adding trending music with a related design and context set-up but with your own content and creative touch.

    Try Instagram Reels for yourself, using these new insights about the platform! These quick and addicting videos have an audience as big as the sea. They bring together communities with matching interests and could grant you recognition and free business impressions. Don’t get frustrated if your videos don’t go viral starting out. After all, Instagram reels are meant to be fun, so just put out what you think is worth watching and let the algorithm find an audience for you!

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    Sean Boyle

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  • 8 Secrets to Business Success

    8 Secrets to Business Success

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Yearly small business growth takes a vision and a plan. You need to envision where you’re going and develop a step-by-step guide to get there. Most of the time, growing your business requires doing things a bit differently.

    Many entrepreneurs get so bogged down in day-to-day operations that their growth goals become a distant memory. You may look back in Q3 and realize that what would have been possible if you started in Q1 may not be feasible this year at all. Avoid this scenario by understanding your goals and setting a path toward growth.

    Here’s what you should do differently to catalyze small business growth.

    1. Set 3-5 goals for the year

    Always start with goals. Set three to five overarching goals for the year with detailed steps on how you will achieve each one. Break down the plan by quarter. Assign due dates and add them to your calendar. Make room in your schedule to prioritize each step.

    Building a digestible structure helps you achieve your goals systematically instead of having them all on your plate at once, which might end up overwhelming and demotivating. Allow your team to assist with bringing your goals to completion. Share due dates on when each step will be finalized each quarter.

    Related: 7 Steps to Achieving Any Goal in Life

    2. Be transparent with your team

    Bring your team into the process. Be transparent about what you aim to achieve this year and how you plan to get there. By sharing your vision, your team gains visibility into their roles in accomplishing each goal. This enables collaboration and helps your team feel involved in what the business achieves.

    Further involve them by asking for input and ideas. You might be surprised by how helpful their perspectives can be. Stay open to recommendations as long as they point to more efficient strategies or better solutions.

    Related: 5 Things Preventing You From Being Transparent

    3. Get to know your customers or clients

    Be creative in getting to know your customers or clients. Send surveys and check in personally. Share in their wins as often as you can. Go beyond merely following them on social media and reposting content. Surprise and delight them by sharing their goals, growth and other exciting news they may share.

    Offering special attention to your clients enables them to envision a strong, long-term partnership with you. That mindset leads to raving fans who sing your praises and help grow your brand.

    4. Challenge yourself

    Challenge yourself each week to be 1% better. Reaching for that small 1%, even broken down over the year, will enormously impact your success. Think about continuous, mindful and meaningful improvements. Address your weaknesses and fortify your strengths. Make your impact through small wins over time.

    Related: 12 Actions You Can Take to Become a Better Person and a Better Leader

    5. Do what you love

    Determine what you love and do more of it — in business and life. This keeps you motivated and combats burnout. For example, traveling will be at the top of my list this year. With careful planning, a workcation — or an extended stay vacation with a mix of fun and work — is one of my main priorities and a practice worth following.

    Find what you enjoy (i.e., a big city, ocean, etc.) and take a workcation as part of your upcoming plans for the year. You will return re-energized and ready to tackle the road ahead. Plus, you more than likely have new business ideas that you discovered while away from your business’s day-to-day activities and stresses.

    6. Practice listening

    You gain so much more from conversations if you simply learn how to listen. So often, leaders listen to respond as opposed to genuinely listening to what is being said. In doing so, they miss out on subtext and depth in the conversation, especially since much communication is nonverbal.

    When you focus on listening, you gain a more accurate sense of what is being said and why it matters. And truly, doesn’t it feel great when you know you are being heard?

    Related: How to Listen to Your Employees

    7. Find a mentor or coach

    Find a mentor or coach. More specifically, find someone in your industry that you admire because they perform better than you in your space. They will help you develop better strategies and overcome challenges.

    A mentor or coach will provide a learning experience, offer a bird’s eye view of your company and help you reach the next level. Working with someone who understands your challenges and has risen above them can be priceless.

    8. Set your goals high

    Knowing what is truly possible, set your goals high. As an accidental entrepreneur, if you had told me 11 years ago that my business would grow to a more than two million dollar business, it would have been hard to imagine — it would have felt crazy.

    With hard work, delegation, a dedicated co-founder and a team that supports us, it is now our reality. We continue to put goals and systems into place to sustain and multiply this growth.

    Follow these secrets to success to make 2023 a standout year for your business. Remember, success is achieved in your personal life as well as your professional life. Be sure to enjoy the entrepreneurial journey along the way.

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    Lauren Gall

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  • Are You a Winner? How to Truly Define Winning in Your Business

    Are You a Winner? How to Truly Define Winning in Your Business

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Businesses gauge their performance typically with dozens of goals and metrics. But you can’t do everything at once. The challenge is to get people focused on the one thing that’s most important right now. If it moved in the right direction, it would eliminate a weakness (or capitalize on an opportunity) and improve financial outcomes. You improve that, and you win.

    However, not every company clearly defines winning. A catalog of goals can pull the organization in multiple directions and stretch finite resources. Numerous goals can inherently be at odds, working against each other and for conflicting purposes. For example, a cost reduction goal might undermine an innovation goal requiring a significant investment.

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    Andrea Olson

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  • 3 Things To Automate In Your Airbnb To Achieve Passive Income

    3 Things To Automate In Your Airbnb To Achieve Passive Income

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Automating your Airbnb listing means being hands-free with the business. And this is the first step towards the location freedom you’ve always wanted. Location freedom is having the ability to go anywhere in the world and still earn money despite not being physically present. So when it comes to managing your Airbnb, how do you automate the process, and what strategies do you need to implement?

    Ask any Airbnb host about their goals in the business, and you’ll probably get a standard answer in return, “We all want passive income and location freedom.” And who wouldn’t want to continue earning money wherever they are, right?

    However, operating an Airbnb business is like any other full-time job — you’ll feel excitement and exhaustion during your run. But there’s a bunch of smart hosts who know how to manage their Airbnbs, remove the stress from the equation, and continue enjoying the fruits of their labor. You can be one of them. You can use their strategies and automate these three essential things in your Airbnb listing so you can work ON your business and not in it.

    Related: How To Create 7 Streams of Income for Passive Wealth

    1. Cleaning

    This is probably the most important aspect of running a short-term rental business. However, as vital as it is, you also shouldn’t try to save money by cleaning your property. If your goal is to be truly independent with your business, you need to automate it.

    For this, you can hire a professional cleaning company, or you can hire people you know. And there should be a system for your crew because for your business to be truly automated, it needs a process to follow. For example, your crew needs to be there right after the guests leave at a specific time window (for example, from 10 AM to 3 PM).

    When you put this on autopilot, your team will automatically pick up where the guests left off, clean during the window, and you don’t have to clean the place yourself.

    2. Maintenance

    The next thing you need to automate is maintenance. Hiring a maintenance person will ensure that anything broken will be fixed as soon as possible. This person ideally will work on call, and you should let them know that you have a window and that if there’s ever any handy work that needs to be done, they should do it during that window.

    As for the compensation, it is recommended you pay both your maintenance person and cleaners on a case-by-case or per-project basis.

    3. Communications

    And last but not least, the communications.

    This part of the operations is vital because it will make sure that you’re streamlining the tasks needed to be done and that you’re not doing all the work yourself. For this, you can use Slack, a communication platform that’s easier to manage.

    With proper communication, you must add the owner, the cleaners, the maintenance person and everyone involved in maintaining that property. For example, you can ask your cleaning crew to post pictures of the property after each cleaning. They can also visually inspect the property to see if anything’s missing or needs repairs.

    If there is, you can then tag your maintenance person so they can come over and handle it during the cleaning window. This will make everything easier for you.

    We recommend you do the communications for the first three properties you launch so you can experience it first-hand. Plus, it’s also difficult to delegate communication when you haven’t done it and don’t understand it yourself.

    The most important thing to remember during these operations is that you don’t do the cleaning or the maintenance yourself. Delegate those things or hire somebody else. This way, you’ll be able to start working on the business and not in the business.

    Related: 4 Powerful Tips To Create A Successful Airbnb Business

    Passive income through Airbnb short-term rentals

    As you know, Airbnb is a home-sharing platform where you can list your property so that guests worldwide can book your place for a brief time. But this is more than just a place made for visitors who like comfortable stays. It’s also a good business venture for people looking for passive income.

    So if you own a property, you can launch your listing and use the automation strategies we just shared with you. If you’re a newbie just looking around for tips for getting your Airbnb business started, then you tuck these tricks away for future use.

    Related: How to Start an Airbnb Business Without Owning Property

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    Jorge Contreras

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  • How To Raise Money For Your Startup

    How To Raise Money For Your Startup

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Raising money for a brand-new startup idea can be challenging, especially in a tough economy. However, with the right approach and preparation, you can find the funding required to realize your vision. Let’s explore some of the most effective methods and tools available to entrepreneurs who want to raise money to create their own new businesses.

    Have an “investors pitch”

    An investor pitch is usually a PDF with around ten slides. It tells a story about who the company is, the service or product they offer, the problem in that market and the solution your company presents. It also shows your company traction and includes more information about your team, your staffing projections, and the potential revenue an investor can get if they back up your idea.

    I recommend the book “The Lean Startup,” by Eric Ries to anyone starting a new company. It is a great starting point to understand some essential terms you’ll need to know, such as “minimum viable product.”

    Related: 13 Tips on How to Deliver a Pitch Investors Simply Can’t Turn Down

    A business plan

    A strong business plan must be in place. Your business plan should concisely describe your concept, target market, sources of income, and projected financial results. A thorough explanation of how you intend to use the money you raise to expand your company should also be included. Potential investors will have an easier time comprehending your vision and developing confidence in your capacity to carry it out if you have a well-written business plan.

    I commonly get a question: “how many years of projections should my business plan include?”

    My recommendation is to include at least five years. I usually pay close attention to the first three, and year number four and five can be a little more ambiguous or focus on the bigger picture. Why? Because so many things are expected to happen within the first three years, years four and five are likely to include changes, evolutions, or pivots.

    Grow your network

    The next crucial step is to network and develop connections with potential investors. A wide variety of investors, including venture capitalists, angel investors and crowdfunding platforms, are likely available in any city. Even if they’re not, recur to virtual platforms to connect with them (think LinkedIn or Zoom meetings.)

    Get to know your connections and nurture those relationships. By establishing connections with potential investors, you can learn more about their investment preferences and modify your pitch to better suit their needs. Additionally, you can get insightful criticism and guidance on enhancing your business plan and raise the likelihood that you’ll get funding.

    When considering investors, I often tell them I’m looking for “strategic partnerships,” which means I’m looking for an investor who will not only provide capital but also leverage their knowledge in the matter or their connections to push our plans further.

    Related: Five Ways To Raise Money To Launch Your Own Startup

    Attend startup events

    Startup events and pitch competitions are excellent places to meet and develop relationships with potential investors. Attend as many events as possible where interactions with investors may occur. Get to know like-minded individuals who are also doing the same, and exchange ideas and what has worked for you.

    Platforms for crowdsourcing are another method of raising money. Through websites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo or GoFundMe, crowdfunding enables business owners to raise money from many contributors. Crowdfunding can be a great way to attract investors for your startup and create a network of people who share your vision.

    Related: 6 Steps to Planning a Free Startup Event and Making a Splash

    Think outside the box

    You can also request loans and grants from governmental or nonprofit organizations for a more conventional strategy. Chances are the city where you live offers opportunities or services that may help push your business forward.

    For example, the New York City Economic Development Corporation provides a range of services and tools for business owners looking to establish or expand their operations in the city. Additionally, they offer Small Business Services (SBS), which facilitates access to funding and other resources for small businesses.

    Consider all options available

    Consider equity crowdfunding, for instance, which enables you to raise money in exchange for company equity. Alternatively, think about bootstrapping your company, which entails self-financing your start-up by reinvesting profits and reducing expenses.

    Preparing for different outcomes and being open to new opportunities is important because raising capital is a process. Not all startups will raise the same amount or in the same way. My biggest advice is to approach meetings fully knowing and understanding your business plan. But most importantly, approach all meetings with enthusiasm and positive energy. More often than not, investors vest in a team or a person before they invest in an idea.

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    Rodolfo Delgado

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  • What Comes First in Website Development — Design or Copy?

    What Comes First in Website Development — Design or Copy?

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The age-old question in the digital design world persists: What comes first in website development — design or copy? Many digital design agencies have their own workflow strategies that best satisfy this question, but ultimately, it comes down to project needs and considerations. Nevertheless, this query continues to ricochet between copy first, design after, and design preceding copy. When considering this stance, our own digital design agency’s perspective suggests a healthy balance between design and copy development. Design and copy should be curated and implemented in tandem to fill in any gaps that this duality informs. Without copy, a design is simply a visual layout, void of a clear user journey or of emotion. Yet without design, copy is merely information without placement.

    When designing or working with an agency for new website development or refresh, copy and design need to complement one another. To truly achieve a productively developed website, equilibrium needs to occur at the starting point. Let’s dissect how each strategy differs from the other and how to ultimately balance both for your next business’s web refresh.

    Related: Should You Have Content or Design First?

    Copy first, design later

    The conversation around “copy first, design later” stems from the idea that “content is king.” Although a popular phrase in the digital design industry, it often becomes utilized as a blanket statement to design when it does not always apply. Every digital product is different and requires different specifications. Sometimes, in web design, stakeholders have their own content prepared and ready; in this case — “content first, design later” can work seamlessly here.

    Designers then can utilize the provided content and design around it. This allows design teams to align the tone of the design with the voice of the content and curate a layout with the provided information. Ultimately, it provides design teams with a contextual frame of mind for navigating a website, user pathways and journeys. Content informs the pulse of a design because, with “lorem ipsum” placeholders, it can be hard to fully visualize how a design is conveying a brand story, mission and more.

    Yet, “copy first” has an Achilles’ heel — and that’s leaving room for wasted time. Many design agencies practice the approach of allowing content writers (whether from stakeholders, internal teams or freelance writers) to curate content first, then pass on that information to design around it. However, developing content takes time. Content must evoke the tone of a brand or organization, consider SEO purposes, ensure the user navigates the site without cognitive friction and more. Therefore, waiting on content writers to fully develop their messaging, slows the process down, because designers are waiting for the information on how to align the design with the content tonality. It’s not realistic to pause the design phase as content is being developed, particularly if there are deadlines from stakeholders.

    Moreover, without visually allowing writers to see the space in which their copy will go, it leaves room for error. If your content writer develops copy that is too long to fit into a design layout, there is more time wasted on content editing and back and forth.

    Design first, copy later

    To avoid the errors of “copy first,” many have adopted the “design first, content later” approach. This strategy is wildly used because it helps inform the tone of the content based on the design. If a design is rich with sharp geometric shapes, an electric color pallet and flashy animations, chances are the content will evoke a tonality of confidence, determination and perhaps even an edgy voice. This helps avoid the mistake of writers misaligning the tone with the design — because writers can see what emotions are evoked within the visual experience, and it streamlines their writing processes, too. Additionally, understanding the design layout also tells writers how much content to develop, saving time on content refinement later.

    However, this strategy has its flaws as well. Sometimes writing teams do not work directly with designers, particularly if they are an additional hire-on for the project, resulting in possible delayed communication or issues sharing the design. This affects your project pipeline because your content writer may have to scramble to curate copy if there is a lull in communication. Further, the design process is iterative and is always bound to shape and shift. Once presented to stakeholders, if your design is filled with lorem ipsum placeholder content, it can lead to confusion about what certain sections are meant to be. If posed with the question of what information will go where without contextual visualization, it muddles the overall experience.

    Related: Use These Web Design Tricks to Grow Your Business Exponentially

    Ultimately, balance is the answer

    When it comes to fusing design with copy, balance is ultimately the best approach to prevent the overlap of issues. It is highly important that when a website is coming to fruition, design and copy development begin in the same breath. Synchronizing both efforts early on helps the website start off on the right footing without mix-ups. Design and copy are both undeniably important to each other’s development. To convey the right tone and emotion, they need to work together as opposed to clashing.

    Further, to truly attain specific feedback from stakeholders, having both content and design together allows them to see both design and copy working together. This isn’t to say that your content copy is fully finalized — rather, much like design, it iteratively changes based on feedback. Sometimes in the early stages of a project, copy can even look like cues on what the purpose of the content will be in each section, and that can further allow stakeholders to provide feedback on the placement early on without having the full content finished. Early development of content and design is a great way to achieve productivity. Both strategies should commence at the same starting line, particularly at the wireframe stage if possible.

    How then, can this balance be implemented into your design strategies? First, it’s all about communication and information sharing. Whether in-house, from stakeholders or from freelance writing teams, communication is what will ensure both design and writing teams are working cohesively. Always be sure to fill in your content writers early on with any layout wireframes or schemes to give them a visual idea of how much content will be needed, how many headers or sub-headers will be curated and what the intention of call-to-actions will be/where it will lead. Communication will ultimately be an asset when balancing these two elements of design.

    Related: 8 Crucial Features Your Website Must Have

    Another best practice to remember when striking this balance is ensuring there is a clear understanding of the tonality of the website. If the copy tone and voice do not align with the experience of the visual story of a digital product, users’ cognitive response will be poor, causing friction and confusion. Along with communicating on layout, copy and design teams should be clear about the overall tone. This can be achieved through iterative calls with stakeholders to ensure both teams are on the right trajectory and even by scheduling calls on a daily or weekly cadence internally.

    Copy curation is all part of the design process, but without aligning these two practices, it can leave room for a mismatched experience. Therefore, commencing these two processes at the same, early starting point will make all the difference.

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    Goran Paun

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  • How Startups and Investors Can Thrive in the Current Economic Environment

    How Startups and Investors Can Thrive in the Current Economic Environment

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Today’s macro-economic environment has changed significantly and we see the signs everywhere. There’s an obvious economic slowdown, the stock market has declined, and recent reports of layoffs – especially in the tech sector – point to a looming recession. Despite the negative elements of such an economy, it also presents an opportunity for smart startup founders and savvy investors to thrive.

    The impact of venture capital

    It may be surprising how much venture capital (VC) investing impacts the global economy. Forbes reports that VC investing used to be very risky; even as it has grown, in the U.S., it accounts for only 0.8% of the gross domestic product, compared to about 5% for the private equity industry. The numbers are even smaller in the United Kingdom and Europe. Despite that, between 1980 and 2020, about 39% of all IPOs were venture-backed; VC-based companies have also been proven to grow more than two times as fast as their non-VC-backed peers over a ten-year horizon.

    Data also shows that VC investing drives innovation and employment. Public companies with VC funding account for 44% of U.S. public companies’ research and development spending. Over ten years, employment by VC-based startups increased by 475% compared to 230% for the control group.

    In my experience, startups are typically funded by the founder at first and later with the help of family, friends or angel investors. Beyond that, VCs often provide the additional capital needed for a startup to expand its market and scale to new geographies. VC firms are composed of experienced investors who provide not only funding but also valuable advice — helping startups avoid typical mistakes and connecting them with corporate partners to move their business forward.

    Many of the most valuable companies in the U.S. were funded by venture capital. These include Pegasus investments in Airbnb, SpaceX, Stripe, DoorDash, Instacart and Robinhood.

    Related: Why Some Startups Succeed (and Why Most Fail)

    Succeeding in this environment

    How should investors make decisions in this environment? I recommend they invest in stable, high-quality companies with limited debt, strong balance sheets and good cash flow. It’s ideal if the companies are in stable sectors that are expected to grow. Now is not the time for highly speculative investments, and it’s not the time to bet on highly leveraged startups. A reasonable debt-to-equity ratio — comparing liabilities to equity — indicates that companies are not taking on unnecessary risk in an attempt to grow.

    A recessionary economy changes the game for both startups and VC firms. Since funding may be less available, startups need to refine their business strategy and be disciplined in spending money, making the companies more sustainable in the long term. Entrepreneurs may see it as riskier to start a business. Still, startup hiring becomes easier at the same time, given the number of tech layoffs in the corporate section, such as those at Meta, Amazon and Twitter in recent months.

    This environment presents opportunities for investors to fund startups at better pricing than during the booming economy. Deals are typically less competitive, and lower valuations mean that investors get more for their investments. VCs also need to be extra careful to conduct due diligence to ensure their chosen investments are worthwhile.

    In my experience, I’ve seen up to 30% lower pricing in venture investments during a down economy, spanning from the seed-round stage to later rounds. This reinforces that a slow macro economy helps VCs get good deals, and the pricing of shares tends to stabilize in such an environment — giving investors more peace of mind than they would otherwise have.

    Related: Diverse Hiring and Inclusive Leadership Is How Startups Thrive

    Act now to benefit

    Despite the bad news in today’s economic environment, I recommend that startups refine their business strategy and that VCs take advantage of less competition to invest. Many successful companies were founded in recessionary times, so smart founders and investors can each benefit by actively participating despite the perceived risks.

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    Anis Uzzaman

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  • 5 Trends Redefining Business and Entrepreneurship

    5 Trends Redefining Business and Entrepreneurship

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Being an entrepreneur or business owner today has proven extremely challenging. As we enter the new year, we have many variables to consider. Fortunately, every new year presents an opportunity to position ourselves for success, provided we make ourselves aware of the forecasted trends.

    As we enter the new year, let’s look at five prevailing trends affecting entrepreneurs and business owners. We’ll discuss how to use this information to shield yourself from uncertainty while maximizing your efforts.

    1. Technology will continue to grow

    Technology and digitalization may be the only factors not influenced by geopolitics. Indeed, innovation has never occurred at a more blistering pace than it has through the early 2020s. In 2023, experts predict AI (artificial intelligence) and VR (virtual reality) will continue to grow and expand into new sectors and industries.

    Early adopters can enjoy new, time-saving, and money-saving benefits. In other cases, they will find they’ve put the cart before the horse and will need to wait for their customers to catch up. Whatever your industry, it’s critical that you stay on top tech news and watch for products that have the potential to benefit (or hurt) your bottom line.

    2. Sustainability will take a front seat

    It only took one summer of high gas prices to completely change how the world feels about electric cars. Now, green and sustainable technology is trending more than ever. In August, a new study revealed that 66% of U.S. consumers would be willing to pay more for sustainable products.

    And while many business owners feel this trend only applies to energy or high-polluting industries, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Modern consumers are interested in green and ethical sourcing at all levels of the supply chain. From how factories are powered to the treatment of labor to how the final products are packaged, every step in the process could be a potential marketing goldmine (or a PR nightmare).

    3. Employee/employer relationships will continue to change

    Few things in the post-pandemic world changed as dramatically as work. And while corporate leaders see this shift as a major threat to their productivity, smaller enterprises may be able to capitalize on new employment trends. For instance, by offering remote or hybrid work options, you can instantly make yourself more attractive to potential employees. Many of these might accept less pay in exchange for more freedom. Sometimes, you save thousands by doing away with your office space.

    Of course, only some businesses lend themselves to remote work. That’s where you should refer back to #1 on this list. Technology is moving so quickly that it could effectively replace many paid positions within the next 12 months. Couple this with the growing viability of third-party manufacturing, and you suddenly have many new avenues to expand or cut costs.

    4. Customers will demand better experiences

    Deloitte recently published a great article on the true value of the customer experience. It highlights how much has changed regarding what customers look for in a business, product, or service. Indeed, while price point and quality are still very important, modern consumers tend to identify with the brands they use in the same way they might identify with a friend or significant other. For this reason, they crave experiences that bring them and their brand “closer together.”

    This can be as simple as including personalized or exclusive items with your products or streamlining the buying experience. Whatever the case, the goal is to make your customers feel special, boosting loyalty and encouraging them to promote your brand to others. Of course, technology will also play a pivotal role in this process. From recommendation engines and automated after-sales support to 3D dressing room experiences, the more you can offer your customers, the better.

    5. Everything will be affected by economic factors

    The world entered 2023 with a war in Ukraine, an energy crisis in Europe, and record inflation nearly everywhere else. While these might seem like problems “for the big guys,” every single business will be affected by these factors in the coming year. Whether it comes from late supply shipments, increased fuel costs, or overpriced products, we’re all likely to feel some economic pinch.

    Without a crystal ball, the only real solution to this problem is for business owners to map out their entire supply chain and identify any parts that might be at risk. Where is your manufacturing done? Who handles your shipping? Are any of the materials in your products susceptible to supply chain problems? If your business is more service-oriented, will it be affected by inflation, energy prices, or demand decay? The more you know now, the better you can be prepared later.

    Every new year presents new challenges for entrepreneurs and business owners. But in the end, that’s all they are! With a little preparation and a commitment to staying on top of industry news, you can put yourself in a position to weather any storm. More importantly, you can take advantage of opportunities you might not have considered in the “old days” of 2022.

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    Larry Jones

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  • What Millennials Want In Their Products, As Told By A Millennial.

    What Millennials Want In Their Products, As Told By A Millennial.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    I’m a millennial. And we’re now an influential and rapidly expanding demographic, so understanding our views on product life cycles is essential for any business. Indeed, products that previous generations may have favored may be viewed differently by us, affecting the decisions of manufacturers, retailers and other stakeholders in the industry.

    Millennials’ preference for short-term products can be attributed to our aversion to the effort, cost and time needed to maintain and repair long-term items. Convenience and immediacy of use are also desirable qualities in a product, as we want something we can access quickly without investing in its upkeep.

    Our generation is used to having access to the newest gadgets without making large purchases. Therefore, when it comes to product life cycles, millennials tend to favor short-term options that don’t require too much commitment or financial burden. Short-term items are typically seen as disposable or single-use items that don’t need regular maintenance or repairs over time. This makes them ideal choices for people who want something readily available but don’t have the resources or capacity for a long-term investment.

    Related: How to Create a Hybrid Work Environment That Works for All Generations

    Planned obsolescence

    Businesses should consider the impact of planned obsolescence when creating products if they wish to maximize appeal among millennials. Planned obsolescence is the intentional design of products with limited lifespans for customers to frequently replace them with newer models so companies can stay competitive and profitable.

    This strategy has been widely employed by many tech companies recently, as it helps keep their brand current and allows them to target an increasingly fickle tech-savvy audience who always wants the latest version of whatever product they’re using at any given time.

    In contrast to short-term items, longer-term or high-quality products often require more maintenance and support from service providers or technicians to last for years with minimal maintenance cost. This can be costly and time-consuming in the long run, so millennials prefer brands that offer longevity without requiring too much upkeep.

    Related: Bad Business Tactics that Business Owners Should Avoid

    Eco-friendly options

    Many of these brands now offer eco-friendly designs and reusable components that minimize waste yet still provide better performance over a more extended period. This is attractive to millennials as it gives a more sustainable option that won’t soon become outdated due to changing technology trends or market demands.

    These features often come with extended warranties and repair services, which give customers peace of mind when investing in long-term products. Many of these brands partner with certified service centers with knowledgeable technicians who can provide regular maintenance and repair services for the product at an affordable cost. This ensures that users can keep their products running well even after the warranty period has expired, reassuring them of having access to a reliable product for many years.

    Companies should also consider offering different payment plans or leases on their products to suit different budgets. This would give millennials more options for purchasing quality items without worrying about committing to large upfront costs.

    Related: 5 Tips for Creatively Going Green With Your Business

    Availability

    On top of this, the availability of parts, repair services and even warranties must be considered when looking at a product life cycle. If a particular item requires repair, but parts needed for it aren’t readily available, customers may view investing in it as a poor decision, as repairs could become costly if parts can’t be sourced easily.

    Additionally, if warranties offered by brands only cover certain aspects, customers may opt-out from buying their offerings due to the lack of assurance regarding performance over its life cycle time frame. In such cases, brands must provide comprehensive support options such as replacement warranties and access to trained technicians who can assist with repairs should an issue arise.

    Connectivity

    Modern businesses need to consider connectivity in their product offerings to maximize appeal among millennials. Items like smartphones require regular updates, making them feel outmoded quickly if they aren’t updated. This means having access to compatible networks is central to guaranteeing that users can benefit from the latest features offered by these products throughout their lifespan.

    Businesses should ensure that their products are compatible with a wide range of services and applications for customers to get the most out of them over their lifetime. Many companies now provide cloud services and integrations that allow for more convenient usage and better performance when it comes to keeping devices updated and taking advantage of new features and capabilities.

    Related: The 3 Stakeholders That Make for Meaningful Connectivity

    Overall it’s clear that product life cycles are an important consideration when looking at purchase decisions made by millennials — from length and features to availability and connectivity — as all these factors influence what kind of value each item has in the eyes of buyers. With this knowledge, companies now understand what appeals most to their younger target demographic and can optimize their offering to maximize conversions while appealing to Millennial consumers’ sensibilities. Now get out there and sell me something.

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    Christopher Massimine

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  • 3 Recession-Proof Strategies for Small Business Owners

    3 Recession-Proof Strategies for Small Business Owners

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably read the dreary forecasts from JPMorgan, Citi and Goldman Sachs, which all agree that 2023 will be a rough year for the economy, perhaps even kicking off a “mild recession.”

    But try as they might with their recession talk on the heels of a global pandemic, supply chain chaos and market upheaval, we resilient entrepreneurs aren’t ready to throw in the towel quite yet.

    Small business owners’ most significant advantage is our ability to stay nimble and pivot toward opportunity. I say this as someone who built and exited a company after the last recession — when many founders rode a wave of “creative destruction” where smaller competitors thrived as big firms faltered. The little people, not the corporate behemoths, were best positioned to pick up the pieces and innovate.

    To see how others feel about this moment, Hello Alice surveyed 2,635 small business owners to gauge their sentiment heading into the new year. The findings, published in partnership with Mastercard, show that while nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs are worried about a potential recession, an astounding 73% predict their businesses will grow this year.

    If that sounds counterintuitive, I agree. But a closer look at the results illustrates how scrappy entrepreneurs can be in the face of adversity. Rather than wait and see what happens, owners are already crafting action plans and seeking solutions to prepare them for the challenges ahead.

    Based on our survey results, here are three strategies for small business owners hoping to beat the 2023 trendlines.

    Related: 7 Recession-Proof Industries to Protect Your Money

    1) Make sure you have access to working capital now

    In uncertain times, small business owners need additional funding, particularly those mainly relying on bootstrapping.

    Why? Here are a few findings to set the scene:

    • 66% of owners said their expenses increased in 2022
    • 70% said their revenue stalled or decreased in 2022
    • 70% plan to apply for funding in 2023

    So far, entrepreneurs have successfully combatted inflation with price increases and adjustments to product offerings. Nearly two-thirds of owners said their business ended 2022 in a financial position as good or better than the year before. But the convergence of expenses and revenue tells a story of shrinking margins squeezed by inflated costs. You can’t raise prices forever, and events like a recession are certain to upend sales forecasts.

    Consider the following options to ensure you have ample working capital to overcome any financial surprises:

    • Develop a relationship with your bank. Lay the groundwork now, and you’ll have a friendly face to help you navigate available resources and facilitate potential financing applications.
    • Seek out a business credit card. Credit cards help you cover unexpected expenses and pursue new opportunities, often while earning valuable rewards that you can reinvest in your business.
    • Visit the Small Business Funding Center. This free resource matches you with relevant grants, loans, and credit opportunities.

    Related: How to Know If You Need Funding (and How to Get It)

    2) Get scrappy with tech solutions

    In our outlook survey, businesses ranked marketing among their top concerns. Owners are worried that price increases will reduce their overall customers, and the end of budget-friendly digital marketing makes customer acquisition more difficult (and expensive) than ever.

    Thankfully, a growing range of tech solutions can help owners optimize their marketing efforts while fitting into any budget. Here are a few ideas to get started:

    • Adopt software tools. Platforms like Constant Contact, Hubspot Marketing Hub and Sprout Social help you target your audience and amplify your reach.
    • Explore freelance help. Resources like Fiverr, Upwork, and MarketerHire can match you with affordable digital marketing support to take the work off your plate.
    • Look for discounts. Take advantage of introductory offers and seasonal discounts to test-drive tools before making a long-term commitment. Not sure where to look? The Hello Alice Business Solutions Center is one free resource that curates deals on popular software solutions to help owners shop and save.

    3) Be ready to fail fast and fail often

    Finally, in a reassuring sign that owners feel confident, a majority of small businesses plan to hire this year. According to our survey, twice as many business owners plan to hire in 2023 (52%) as were actively hiring in 2022 (26%). Growing headcounts are a proxy for growing businesses, but there’s still an inherent danger to making big changes, especially during uncertain times.

    Instead, operate with a startup mentality that sets up low-stakes experiments to explore an idea’s potential. Rather than dump your marketing budget into TikTok, test the waters with different types of content. Before bringing someone on full-time, trial them on a part-time or project basis. Set goals, measure outcomes, and assess where to go from there.

    Some of your 2023 experiments are sure to fail, but this innovative mindset helps you conserve valuable resources to invest in long-term growth in the years to come. And remember, the economy may flounder for a bit, but as entrepreneurs, times of uncertainty are when we thrive.

    Related: By Failing to Prepare, You Are Indeed Preparing to Fail

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    Carolyn Rodz

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  • Laid Off? It Could Be Time to Pursue Entrepreneurship.

    Laid Off? It Could Be Time to Pursue Entrepreneurship.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Big layoffs have been happening in the tech industry, and if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve been impacted.

    You might even already have an entrepreneurial spirit. You probably already have an idea, you have a hybrid work balance, and you know how to get complex, technical ideas into concise and usable platforms.

    As you plan your next steps, imagine what could be. Start small and build from there. You are not alone, many are starting over — right now. This does not mean not applying for other positions. However, given the state of big tech in early 2023, new tech job openings are becoming scarce. Similar to other economic downturns, this may be the best time to explore your entrepreneurial options.

    Create a blueprint

    What is the core of the idea (or ideas) that you have? While working in tech, there has like been a business idea or two that have crossed your mind. What problem does it solve, what would be involved to implement it, and how could it be done with potentially little to no investment backing or slow ramp-up?

    Start by visualizing how the idea could be refined and improved and what will be next to help put your strategy together. Additionally, start researching if this idea already exists and if another business is already acting on it. If so, how will your service or offering stand out? While many startups will be in stealth mode, see what is already public and how that may impact your plans.

    2023 will be a year of more new ideas and innovation than ever before, partly due to the increasing number of former tech employees doing precisely the same thing that you are. While the space may be crowded, you may be the only one with your particular idea or a willingness to put effort into the concept.

    After such a massive change in your life, it is essential to take time for yourself and reflect on what you want and need moving forward. Consider what would bring you the most satisfaction in your next job — whether that’s money, meaning or something else entirely.

    Understand what strategy is needed

    Even if you have experience in the tech industry, you still need to have a strategy to pursue your idea. No, the strategy does not start with how to get venture capital or how to create a big exit.

    Start with a minimum viable product. Before determining a scaling strategy, first determine a sales strategy. How many people would pay to use the service or product you are developing? What is a realistic customer acquisition cost?

    Long-range planning (LRP) must begin with a detailed analysis of feasibility, structure and available resources, combined with realistic expectations based on current external conditions. The reality is that building a winning strategy will require more patience than in the past. Without access to capital investment to facilitate long-term projects into fruition, it necessitates a well-crafted roadmap making optimal use of the resources available.

    You must understand how each move affects the next and plan for contingencies. Creating a successful company in times like these requires intense focus and foresight to ensure every essential element is intact. Fortunately, by implementing an effective LRP process, the organization can maximize potential success while still riding out turbulent financial waters.

    Bringing in a trusted brand strategy expert to your team is not something to take lightly — it’s a critical step to ensure the success of your innovation. A strategic and well-thought-out approach to building, driving and scaling the brand can mean a ground-breaking triumph or complete disaster.

    A non-disclosure agreement is an important additional factor that helps protect both parties, as any interference or breach could jeopardize the current undertaking and future collaborations. In short, it pays to bring in an esteemed brand strategist and ensure all relevant details about your innovation remain confidential until it is ready for launch.

    After the initial strategy, evaluate. Viewing this venture as a side gig or growing incrementally is acceptable. The prevailing thinking in tech is that you should only work on the next unicorn or build something for the next big exit. But what if your idea can become cash-flow positive, growing at a pace you can handle as a solopreneur, and eventual revenue can pay for more extensive growth?

    Secure the name and structure

    Deciding how and when to begin your venture might be a looming question in your mind. However, there are practical steps you can take right now — even before settling on all the details — to get you closer to success.

    The first step is choosing a name and establishing a suitable structure around it, ensuring other companies or organizations will not take it. You also need to consider what framework and processes are required as you start.

    Moreover, one significant factor you should consider is a group of people who can come together to make this venture possible — from development teams to potential partners. If the project allows for it, look into hiring remote teams based on occasion instead of including full-time payroll that could bring up overhead fees sooner than expected.

    Build and validate

    Having a well-thought-out plan for an idea is one thing, but turning that idea into a reality is quite another. Before venturing too far down the path of investing and building out the product, it’s vital to ensure that the project will have some return. To this end, you need to validate the idea — find out whether or not people would be interested in your product or service. Most importantly, make sure that the messaging lines up with what potential investors will want to hear.

    Doing all this before contacting potential investors is essential, otherwise, you might exhaust all avenues without gaining traction.

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    Adam Horlock

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  • 3 PR Myths Hurting Your Business

    3 PR Myths Hurting Your Business

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    If you’re building a brand and trying to get recognized as a thought leader in your industry, chances are, you know what it’s like to feel as though you’re talking to a brick wall. There’s no denying that every brand, new or established, is looking to boost its exposure and reach a wider audience.

    While organic and paid media have their time and place, there’s definitely something about leveraging trusted media platforms through Public Relations (PR) that changes the game.

    Whether through published articles on traditional media outlets, or interviews on independent media such as podcasts, PR has built a reputation as a useful tool for brands to establish credibility and increase visibility. But I’ve been around the industry long enough to know that it also tends to get a bad rep

    So, to ensure you’re not misled, keep reading to discover a few misconceptions about PR that could be limiting your brand’s success — and the truth about how PR really works.

    Related: The 3 Wrong Perceptions That Every Business has About PR

    Misconception #1: “You need to be famous to get featured as an expert.”

    One common misconception about PR is that you need to be famous to get featured as an expert. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth? It’s not all about fame.

    In fact, journalists and editors are constantly in need of qualified experts to quote in their articles. A journalist cannot claim anything without proof or an expert opinion. For example, if they’re writing about a Vitamin B supplement for eye care, they would reference an expert, such as an Optometrist, and the professional body they’re associated with instead of claiming it is good for eyes.

    It doesn’t matter if you’re a well-known celebrity or a little-known industry insider — as long as you have the right qualifications and expertise on the topic at hand, you have a chance to be featured as an expert.

    There are also times when journalists and editors prefer to find one go-to expert for a specific topic, so there’s a possibility of becoming that go-to expert. I’ve seen it happen with some of my PR clients! That said, many experienced journalists and editors will demand a diverse range of experts, highlighting the ongoing need for fresh featured experts.

    The key to getting featured is to find a writer or editor in need of your expertise, build a relationship with them, and be there at the right time and place.

    Misconception #2: “PR requires a big investment”

    Another misconception about PR is that it costs a ton of money. While this can be true sometimes, it’s not a hard and fast rule. The cost of PR can be influenced by various factors, including the business model of the PR agency you’re working with and the media coverage you seek.

    For example, some PR agencies operate on a retainer model where you pay a set amount each month with no guarantees — which I believe to be outdated. This can be problematic, costing tens of thousands of dollars monthly without guaranteed results. In my opinion, this needs to be revolutionized in the industry.

    Pay-to-play is another model that’s rising in popularity. In contrast to earned media, where a PR agency secures publication placements for free by acting as your representative, this model is used by PR agencies who, instead, act as a reseller of the advertisement space. This can be more expensive, as you pay for each piece of media coverage you receive. The public also doesn’t know about the nature of this paid model, which presents undisclosed advertisements often delivered as editorial articles — and a little gray area if you ask me.

    A better alternative is the earned media model, which my agency mostly operates with. Instead of paying for the publication, the focus is on building relationships with journalists and other media professionals.

    The key to this is approaching publications still in the business of attracting visitors and readers, disclosing advertisements and not making money from their contributors. This model is the most affordable as you can either do it yourself at no cost or pay a PR agency for the sole service of making the connection.

    Related: 5 Inexpensive Ways to Do PR for Your Company

    Misconception #3: “You need to be well connected to get started”

    Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be well-connected to get started in PR. While it certainly helps to have connections in the industry, it’s not a requirement for success.

    Building relationships with journalists and other media professionals is a key part of the PR process. So, even if you don’t have existing connections, you can still succeed in PR by building relationships and finding the right match from scratch.

    And remember, journalists need media experts! With the trust of their audience on the line, they can’t miss a day. If you know the hustle of creating content, you can imagine the effort it takes to create several fact-checked articles consistently every day. Good news for you: they are searching for good content and people providing this. The same goes for podcast hosts that release regularly.

    Many online tools for connecting with them, including social media, email, and private channels. Many journalists and podcast hosts publicly share an email where they want to receive pitches. You don’t need to know people beforehand to make the right match. All the resources you need are at your fingertips.

    Related: Why Your Marketing Team Should Be Journalists

    Whether it’s traditional or independent media, local industry-specific or national media coverage, getting featured can be accessible and benefit every brand — no matter the budget, existing connections, or fame.

    Don’t let the myths about PR hold you back. Consider PR to help you exponentially grow your brand by boosting your exposure, establishing credibility, and expanding your audience reach.

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    Natasha Zo

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  • 60-Second Business Tip: Myths of Entrepreneurship

    60-Second Business Tip: Myths of Entrepreneurship

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    There is a lot of great information about entrepreneurship out there, but some ideas floating around are not completely accurate, says business development consultant and Entrepreneur magazine writer Terry Rice. In the above video, Rice breaks down three common myths about entrepreneurship.

    Myth 1: You have to follow your passion.

    Well, that sounds nice, but it’s not completely true. Instead of passion, focus on purpose. What is something that you’re good at that can help people and have a meaningful impact on your life?

    Myth 2: You should try to make as much money as possible.

    You could be happy making $60,000 a year as a solopreneur or completely miserable, making $600,000 managing a large staff. You get to decide what success means to you, not society.

    Myth 3: You need to have a unique idea.

    The truth is a lot of good ideas have already been. But your personality, experiences and character can allow you to put a unique spin on them and potentially find room for improvement.

    Related: 60-Second Tip on Getting More Productive

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    Entrepreneur Staff

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  • Top 5 Fastest Growing Industries for 2023

    Top 5 Fastest Growing Industries for 2023

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The world is changing rapidly, and with it, the industries that drive the global economy. In recent years, some industries have seen explosive growth while others have slowed or disappeared entirely. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top five fastest-growing industries and discuss what makes them so successful. From technology to health care, these sectors are driving the economy forward and paving the way for a brighter future.

    Related: These Are the 10 Fastest-Growing Jobs in the U.S.

    1. Shipping and delivery services

    The rising popularity of online purchases has led to an increased demand for shippers and is fast securing its place as the growth industry front-runner.

    The American Shipper reports that as much as 8% of all retail sales are made online, or $394 billion. With an increasing number of people purchasing items from websites like Amazon and eBay, there will be an increased demand for individuals who can transport these items from one location to another since the pandemic. It is predicted by many economists to be the fastest-growing industry world-over within the next year.

    As a result, shipping companies are hiring more people than ever, and your skills may allow you to join them. If you’re looking for a career that allows you flexibility in scheduling while still maintaining a stable income while working remotely (or at least part-time), this industry might be right up your alley.

    There are many benefits associated with being an independent contractor: flexible hours, no commute time, no dress code and a choice over how much work or money you want out of it (or how much time). These perks make it easy enough to fit into any lifestyle and succeed.

    2. The healthcare industry

    The healthcare industry is projected to expand by 19%, making it the second-fastest growing sector.

    The reason for this growth is the increasing demand for healthcare insurance and the need for more people to fill jobs in the healthcare industry. As our population grows, so do its medical needs — companies have to hire more doctors and nurses to meet those demands. More people are getting sick, which means that more people need treatment. This increase in demand has led to a rise in healthcare professionals’ salaries and an influx of new patients into the field.

    The influx of new patients who require medical attention due to new laws will also cause the demand for insurance policies to rise. For example, in 2019, many states mandated that employers cover their employees’ contraception costs under their health plans. This development has significantly increased the demand for healthcare insurance among young people seeking birth control coverage.

    Related: Telemedicine is the New Normal in the Health Care Industry

    3. Travel and food industries

    With the growing population and interest in traveling after years lost to the pandemic, dream jobs that combine travel with food and culture are set to land in third place.

    If you love to travel, consider a career as an agent or guide who helps others plan their trips. Ensure you’re certified by your local government to become a tour guide (usually required for historical sites).

    You could also be certified through organizations like the Professional Tour Guide Institute of San Francisco or the International Institute of Travel & Tourism Studies (IITTS). If you don’t want to work directly with tourists but still want to help with travel, become an agent for a company specializing in international flights and accommodations.

    Related: The Travel Sector Is Getting Upgraded

    4. Online retail

    As more consumers turn to online platforms for shopping, businesses are quickly adapting to meet this demand. Companies like Amazon, Walmart and Target invest heavily in online efforts to serve their customers better. With more people using the internet to shop and take advantage of discounts, the online retail sector is expected to grow significantly this year.

    The convenience of shopping online through the pandemic has significantly expanded — albeit less for wants and more for needs. However, e-consumerism is already showing a strong return, with 1 out of every five retail purchases occurring online and an estimated end-of-year worth of $1.1 trillion.

    5. The AI revolution

    The future of the global economy lies in Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is expected to be one of the fastest-growing industries of 2023, already valued at $328.34 billion. AI has begun to revolutionize many industries, such as healthcare, finance and transportation. Through automation, improved data analysis capabilities and predictive analytics, AI is helping businesses become faster and more efficient while cutting costs. With its potential for tremendous growth and its ability to revolutionize existing industries, AI is set to be one of the most important drivers of economic growth not just today but for coming years.

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    Christopher Massimine

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  • Entrepreneur Guide | Best Financial Tools and Business Ideas to Make More Money in 2023

    Entrepreneur Guide | Best Financial Tools and Business Ideas to Make More Money in 2023

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    Ask any entrepreneur what their most valuable asset is, and ten out of ten will answer the same: time.

    You can’t buy more of it and try as you might, you can’t squeeze more of it into a day. But you can save time, which is why we’re introducing Entrepreneur Guide, a one-stop shop for all of your business needs. We’ve pulled together this heavily-researched compendium to help you make the best decisions for your personal and business finances. No more hours wasted shopping around — Entrepreneur Guide has expert-vetted and time-tested resources to build and manage your wealth quickly and efficiently.

    Entrepreneur Guide resources

    Best banking products: Low-interest loans, money market, checking and savings accounts, bank bonuses, and more

    Best small business tools: Calculators and management systems

    Best side hustle ideas: Proven ways to make passive income or run a business during off hours

    Best mortgages: Most competitive rates to refinance or buy a new property

    Best investments: Expert guidance on navigating the markets

    Best loans: Personal loans for business and personal needs

    Best insurance products: Low-cost coverage for your home and business

    Related: Latest stock tips for beginner investors

    Daily updated trends and news

    Information equals power. Beyond tools and money-saving financial products, you will find helpful how-tos and articles in Entrepreneur Guide to put you on a path to success, including:

    7 Small Business Tax Deductions You Need To Know

    8 Best Passive Income Business Ideas of 2023

    8 Must-Have Social Media Marketing Tools for 2023

    You’ve got the passion to run a business, Entrepreneur Guide has the tools and resources to help you achieve breakthrough results. Check for daily updates as our team is constantly monitoring and updating to bring you the best money-saving and money-making resources out there.

    Check out Entrepreneur Guide now

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    Entrepreneur Staff

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