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Tag: Business models

  • 4 Reasons Your Business Needs Cash Flow Forecasting

    4 Reasons Your Business Needs Cash Flow Forecasting

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You might have heard that the biggest cause of business failures is cash flow issues, but to what extent is the severity of this widespread problem? To put things into perspective, more than 80% of business failures are due to a lack of cash, 20% of small businesses fail within a year, and half fail within five years.

    But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, many businesses can avoid cash flow problems with proper cash flow forecasting. Cashflow forecasting helps businesses predict when issues may arise and allows them to take action proactively to avoid cash flow gaps.

    That said, many businesses already operate at max bandwidth, and cash flow forecasting isn’t on business owners’ minds. It’s usually already too late when business owners are hit with a financial setback and realize they don’t have enough cash to cover it.

    Many business owners don’t realize that the scope of benefits that derives from good cash flow forecasting goes light years beyond helping the business plan its operation. If you are still thinking about why you should bother with it, here are a few reasons why you should do cash flow forecasting:

    Related: Often-Overlooked Ways Entrepreneurs Can Improve Cash Flow

    1. It helps businesses avoid cash flow gaps

    This is the most straightforward and important reason why cash flow forecasting is crucial.

    Here’s a scenario for you: John’s client promised the payment would be deposited by today, but there has been a mix-up, and the bank said John wouldn’t get the money until next week. John is expected to pay his vendors tomorrow, but without receiving the payment from his client, he doesn’t have enough money to pay. The cycle continues.

    This is the reason many businesses fail.

    A cash flow forecast helps businesses avoid this very situation. They can use a forecast to project best-case scenarios, worst-case scenarios and everything in between. They can then use that to make prudent decisions about how much money to spend, where to put it, and when to spend it.

    If they think there’s a chance cash may not come in the door, the business could decide to put off a big purchase. Or they could talk to vendors and get an extension on payables. Or they could offer customers a discount to pay their bills early. The forecast gives the business the knowledge they need to take action and avoid difficult cash flow situations.

    Related: 4 Tips for Managing Cash Flow in a Seasonal Business

    2. It helps secure loans

    Loans are an important part of running any business. Financing can help a business expand, improve its products and workflows, or cover operational costs in a crunch.

    However, obtaining financing is easier said than done, especially for businesses with little assets or no credit history. In this case, lenders look at profitability, expenses and cash flow.

    A strong cash flow forecast helps a business prove its creditworthiness to lenders. A business can use its cash flow forecast to show that it deserves a loan and is a good credit risk. Or, if your cash flow forecasting shows otherwise, maybe it’s a good time for you to assess internally and improve your cash flow position before going to a lender for a loan.

    3. It helps businesses make better decisions

    A cash flow forecast gives a business a glimpse into the future. It helps them view when cash is coming in and going out, so they can better plan for the future and make strategic decisions that align with their budgets.

    Let’s say a business is considering hiring additional staff or purchasing new equipment. A business might look into how much money they have right now, thinking they could cover the extra expense. But what if the business lost a major client a week from now? Or what if sales suddenly plummeted due to competition?

    These are the kind of things that your account balance can’t tell you and are the exact reasons businesses need cash flow forecasting. By understanding their future cash availability, businesses can make informed decisions about when and how to invest in their growth.

    Related: How to Inflation-Proof Your Small Business

    4. It helps businesses set measurable goals

    Leveraging cash flow forecasts can help businesses set measurable goals to improve cash flow tangibly and determine the path to better business outcomes.

    If a best-case scenario forecast says you can potentially grow your business revenue by 50% by improving your operation with a new equipment purchase, you now have a benchmark number.

    Or, if you plan on reducing expenses by 20% by cutting out parts of your business operation, cash flow forecasts can help you see the business and revenue impact of cutting out a project and if the financial cost reduction is in line with your decision. You can now set data-driven business goals, know what outcome to expect, and measure success.

    That’s two drastically different examples, but no matter what situation your business is in, cash flow forecasting can help a company set measurable goals.

    Forecasting for your business is easier than you think

    Here’s the thing about cash flow forecasting: It’s not new, but it used to be a challenging, labor-intensive, and time-consuming job that business owners would task their accountants with. The good news is that innovating technology makes cash flow forecasting easier than ever before. New tools now directly integrate with many cloud-accounting platforms that businesses use, making cash flow forecasting faster, more accurate, and sometimes even for free. Start looking for a solution that works with your accounting platform today, and see the wonders it can do for your business.

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    Nick Chandi

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  • What to Know Before Signing a Commercial Lease

    What to Know Before Signing a Commercial Lease

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When it is time to start looking for a commercial space to lease, there are many items to keep in mind. If this is the first time you have leased a commercial space, there are certain factors I recommend you know in advance before beginning your search.

    1. Zoning

    First and foremost, you must understand the concept of zoning. Zoning laws control what types of businesses may operate on any specific property — next, list cities where you are interested in opening your business.

    Once that list is created, you can either go online to the cities’ planning departments’ websites, call the planning departments or visit in person. I recommend you visit in person since it can expedite the process. When you speak to the person in planning, let them know the exact details of the business you will be opening.

    Remember that once you have an address of interest, you will need to check in again with the city. This time you will give the planning department the address and confirm that you can open your business at the address. Also, ask the planning department if your use is permitted by right or by permit. If it is by right then, you should be good to go regarding your use being allowed to operate. However, if the planning department mentions the use is allowed by permit, you will need to ask follow-up questions. The follow-up questions should include finding out what permits you will need, how long they will take to obtain and how much the permit cost.

    Related: 6 Overlooked Investment Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate

    2. Size

    Once you understand the zoning you are looking for, you need to know your ideal space size. If you need to know the square footage for your type of business, I recommend you research it before starting your search. You can quickly get an idea of the size space you need by using the internet and searching square footage and your use. I also recommend walking into similar businesses to get an understanding of space.

    Related: Criteria to Consider When Renting Commercial Space

    3. Customer demographics

    Next on the list is to know who your customers are through demographics. Age, average incomes and population are the key demographics you will want to keep in mind. For reference, in my markets of the Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley regions of Southern California, most retailers seek sites with a minimum of 100,000 people within a three-mile radius.

    Additionally, you will want to know when your business will be the busiest. If you expect lunch to be critical, you will also want to know the daytime population numbers near the potential space you will be leasing.

    Knowing who your customers are will assist with understanding if visibility is vital to your business. Are you a destination tenant or an impulse tenant? If you are an impulse tenant, you need high visibility. Without high visibility, potential customers will have more difficulty seeing you and will not be able to visit your store.

    An excellent example of an impulse tenant is dessert. People often decide to have ice cream because they see it in a shopping center. Since prime street front space leases at a premium, you will have more leverage with landlords if visibility is not a significant concern for your business.

    Related: What to Do When Your Ideal Customer Isn’t Who You Expected

    4. Traffic counts

    If you need prime visibility, you will also want to pay attention to traffic counts. In commercial real estate, cars per day are examined. As a point of reference, 25,000 vehicles per day on the main street where the site is located is a minimum number many retailers are looking for when high-traffic areas are needed.

    5. Access

    Next to consider is access. It does not matter if you are an impulse or destination tenant. Access is a critical component in deciding on a space to lease. When figuring out the access for a potential site, make sure to drive all streets in all directions. Please pay attention to the road’s lines and whether they are broken. Also, pay attention to street medians and no U-turn signs. You want to make sure your customers will be able to access your business conveniently.

    Related: How to Make Your Product More Accessible to Customers

    6. Signage

    Signage can also be critical. Most centers have monument signs. Often tenants think that if they are leasing a space that had a monument sign prior, they will be able to take over that sign. That is not the case. You only have the right to use a monument sign if it is in your lease.

    When considering a center, I recommend you fully drive the entire center and take pictures of all the monument signs. In your offer, you must include these images of the monument signs and the specific panels you request rights to utilize.

    Related: 5 Major Leasing Deal Points to Know Before Signing a Lease

    It is essential to realize that there are basics in site selection. If your company has done its homework in advance, your site selection process will be simplified when looking for commercial space to lease. If you have an understanding of what you are looking for but also keep an open mind, the process of finding a location will run smoother.

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    Roxanne Klein

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  • 5 Bear Market Lessons From a Crypto Entrepreneur

    5 Bear Market Lessons From a Crypto Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    2022 was an important year for the crypto space. We will all remember the bankruptcies of major global companies: Luna, Celsius Network, FTX, BlockFi and others that left investors with massive losses. The bear market has dramatically affected the crypto economy and investors’ portfolios.

    Just like in 2013 and 2017, the market moves in cycles. First, we had the crypto summer, where everybody was hyped about their profits and gains. Then came the crypto autumn, and investors started to see red in their portfolios. But investors’ portfolios started bleeding when the crypto winter got underway, and even some big reliable companies went underwater.

    In this article, I want to focus on some of the most important lessons I have taken for myself and my company after living through one more winter of the crypto market.

    Related: Will Crypto Make a Comeback in 2023?

    1. Money management strategies are everything

    2022 is the year of fallen legends. Companies believed to be reliable borrowers, like Alameda Research, borrowed funds without collateral and ultimately went bankrupt due to improper money management. On top of that, other standout names in the crypto space, such as Luna, Celsius Network, FTX, and BlockFi, also went bankrupt against all market expectations.

    2022 showed that different approaches need to be used to track company assets, oversee their liquidity and provide collateral for obligations. The mistake many made was blindly placing faith in a company because of its size and reputation instead of analyzing the fundamentals.

    Related: How to Manage Your Money With Confidence

    2. Stay away from toxic assets

    The future market leaders are the companies who survived unscratched problems related to Luna, Celsius Network, FTX or BlockFi and do not hold toxic assets. These are the companies with the potential to launch new products and ideas.

    From personal experience, I can say that 2022 was when my company delved into exploring new directions. It proved that the standard earning tools on the market just recently have no future. So we chose to focus on developing new products that can fix the ongoing problems of the crypto market. I believe that doing this — answering a pain point of the sector and providing a reliable service to alleviate it — is a crucial step in maintaining your company’s viability in tumultuous market conditions.

    3. Watch out for tokenomics

    When looking at a company, all performance indicators are important. What good is it to have great management and a business model if the tokenomics are not good? People are first and foremost investing in the token itself, making tokenomics an essential piece of providing a stable development.

    Bad tokenomics often gives valuable insight into whether the company’s business model is sustainable over the long term. Look for projects with tokenomics designed to serve the investors, not the developers. Watch out for high inflation rates and other red flags, which are often signs of an unsustainable business model designed to enrich the very few.

    Related: 8 Smart Ways to Analyze Crypto Token Before Investing in It

    4. Don’t follow the hype

    This year proves that the market is often wrong. During the crypto summer, many coins and companies grew on hype. Investors hopped on the train and followed the crowd ignoring the lack of solid fundamentals and prospects of future growth. However, when the bubble popped, their portfolio suffered.

    Luna, for example. The company had $50 million in assets but still promised 20% interest payments in its own stablecoin currency. That meant $10 billion in payouts to people holding funds in its protocols. The business plan was too good to be true, but tons of people fell for it and lost everything when the stablecoin proved not to be that stable after all.

    Related: Is Crypto and NFTs a Passing Fad?

    5. Teamwork is essential

    In times of market turmoil, teamwork is more important than ever. The keyword is flexibility; the market is unpredictable, so it’s the team’s job to adapt to any changes rapidly.

    The market has very short business phases meaning that companies need to be highly flexible and able to adapt to new realities. Bear markets often make it impossible to plan too far ahead. Focus on what’s in front of you, prioritize clients’ objectives, predict what products the next phase of the market will be interested in, and prepare them in advance.

    Furthermore, the bear market can also be a great time to generate revenue and offer products that alleviate investors’ fears. Additionally, with the right money management skills, companies can alleviate clients’ anxiety by investing their funds in discounted assets.

    Stay positive. The bear market will be over soon

    The bear market is not easy, but staying optimistic is essential. Take a step back and realize that earning on the crypto market is a long-term game; that’s the wealth-building secret.

    My opinion is based on analyzing past phases, where typically, the crypto winter lasts 4-6 months, then comes the spring. It will be essential for companies to enter with a big user base, good products and opportunities to scale up their own business.

    Companies need to pay attention to the costs and build teams out of people who believe in the market more than ever. Teams should have crypto enthusiasts that understand the market and products well. Having pros on the team is essential, so do not let them slip through your fingers.

    Related: The Bear Market is A Blessing For Web3’s Future. Here’s Why.

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    Vladimir Gorbunov

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  • Web3 in 2023: 6 Trends Towards The Path of Sanity

    Web3 in 2023: 6 Trends Towards The Path of Sanity

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We came off a euphoric bull run in 2021 to an epic bear market in 2022. A lot has changed in this period, with protocol collapses, regulatory bans, code sanctions, CeFi obliteration, heightened FUD and bad actors causing an industry-wide contagion through acts of fraud.

    There have been many positive developments in this period that lay the platform for blockchain adoption, like venture capitalist posture maturity and new technologies like Optimism and Arbitrum that address scaling issues with blockchain, the emergence of new categories like decentralized platforms and regulatory clarity in many countries. A few notable and likely trends for 2023 are shaping up.

    Related: Web3, Crypto, Cybersecurity, Rural Fintech: Trends To Look Out For

    Stand-alone value matters

    Liquid tokens on a project’s balance sheet cannot drive valuations anymore; companies and projects must show tangible value to create free cash flow and harness network effects. Lately, the focus has been on the standalone ability to generate value versus buying growth using tokens in the short term.

    Emphasis is shifting to user monetization from bought-out growth that has proven unsustainable as market cycles change. Investors view equity as claims to future cash flows and profits (minus liabilities) and tokens as value created from future utility or services delivered by the protocol.

    Given the relative maturity of the market, many protocols have not charted a clear path to sustain value through future delivery of utility, causing a shift in investor mindset. Investors are now emphasizing the quality of revenue, which can raise the value of their equity profile while eventually accruing token value.

    A “Tokuity” model evolves

    Investors like the liquidity associated with the token; its volatility and longevity have been concerning to many. There seems to be a shift from pure short-term and liquidity-driven posture to long-term, value-creating models.

    Investors would like long-term value creation incentivized by a combination of tokens (short-term liquidity) and equity (long-term incentives), reducing volatility and ensuring long-term thinking, i.e., a new model Tokuity (Tokens + Equity).

    Related: Why Your Business Assets Belong on the Blockchain

    ETH killers are unviable

    It was once possible that multiple new players would emerge to overcome Ethereum’s technical shortcomings, slow execution and market dominance. Many Layer 1 protocols squandered their windows of opportunity, failing to drive adoption at scale.

    It may be difficult for a new platform to unseat Ethereum as the dominant player anymore as it embarks on many improvements in the months ahead. Ethereum and Polygon dominate use cases, consumers, enterprises and ecosystems. Users and enterprises will trade off minor technical advantages of other blockchains for security, interoperability and network effects.

    Ethereum, the blockchain everyone loved to hate in the bull market, now has the last laugh for “ETH killers.” Most Ethereum-hating chains have completed or are racing to become EVM compliant (Hedera, Solana, Algorand, Near, etc.). Others like Phantom wallet (Solana’s wallet) and Trader Joe (Avalanche’s DEX) also extend support to the Ethereum ecosystem.

    The future is still multichain

    Even though ETH-killers will not likely deliver the advantages amassed by the Ethereum ecosystem (including Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, etc.), the future will still be multichain.

    The concept of a “multi-chain” system refers to using multiple independent blockchain networks that can interoperate with each other allowing flexibility in application deployment for different transactions or processes. For example, one blockchain might focus on high-speed, low-cost transactions, while another might focus on security and immutability. For Defi, users will want their collateral on one chain and borrow on another. The portability of gaming assets across metaverses is another use case. A multi-chain system could offer the best of both worlds by allowing different blockchains to work together.

    Related: The Future Role of Ethereum in Multi-Chain Technology

    Interoperability is a critical capability required for a true multichain world to manifest. However, the current bridge technology is fragile, leading to security risks and hacks. Blockchains using bridges to Ethereum create more risk and less value with enterprise use cases.

    While niche chains, e.g., Hedera (optimized for enterprise) or Flow (optimized for metaverse and gaming), may co-exist, the market simply cannot afford the number of Layer 1 protocols/blockchains in existence today. The L1 space is crowded, differentiation is limited, and the market is finite. A multichain future requires mature interoperability solutions.

    Layer 2 is the new frontier

    After the Ethereum ‘merge,’ the blockchain landscape is significantly altered by negating competitive differentiation for the ETH-killers. Ethereum is repositioned as the base layer for settlement under multiple Layer 2 protocols, forming a scalable ecosystem.

    Blockchain’s scaling problems are unfolding. As enterprise adoption of blockchains grows, we will enter a magnitude of multi-billion daily transactions, and even baked Layer 2 solutions may not be enough. We will see the rapid evolution of new categories like decentralized platforms and new forms of roll-ups. These will migrate action up the blockchain stack while letting the base protocol accrue its own value. The last few cycles were about Layer 1 and infrastructure; it will now be about scaling, interoperability, and ecosystem maturity. Layer 1 battlefield is now empty with a handful of survivors; layer 2 is the new frontier.

    Decentralized platforms will accelerate ecosystem adoption

    For adoption scale, technology must make it easy by reducing barriers for non-technical users, deploying faster Decentralized Applications (dapp) deployment and faster routes to value creation. The new category of decentralized platforms sits between Layer 2 chains (layer 1 chains) and the fractured landscape of dapps and use cases driving a vibrant ecosystem.

    A dPlat (decentralized platform) can simulate an iOS or Android-like effect, shielding the Layer 1 and Layer 2 chain complexities and abstracting blockchain features to enable ease of development for uses. Many users will not realize the complexities of the layer-one protocol underneath, and protocols will become easier to build on. The dPlat space is one to watch closely.

    Concluding thoughts

    Layer 2 technologies, robust network effects, regulatory considerations, decentralized platforms, and investment outlook changes will help the inherently raw protocols to scale adoption and transactions. The next 12 months bring a lot of positive changes to the ecosystem despite a bull or bear market; let us prepare for the new paradigms.

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    Nitin Kumar

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  • Why You Need A Ghostwriter For Your Next Book

    Why You Need A Ghostwriter For Your Next Book

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Would you believe me if I told you I just attended New York Fashion Week? If you are someone who celebrates fashion, you might know that Fashion Week is one of the biggest events in the industry. I was honored to be personally invited to participate in one of the shows.

    But you’re probably thinking, how did this happen to someone like me who is decidedly not in the fashion industry? It happened because of a book. My company wrote a book for one of the designers, and she was generous enough to let me see her collection launch during the infamous event.

    In the current age, more and more entrepreneurs are jumping into the literary space to gain authority in their field. I have heard it said that entrepreneurs having their own books is like having a really good business card. But is everyone good at making business cards?

    Not everyone is a writer. Some might not enjoy the act, don’t feel they have the skills or don’t have the time needed to create a book. Plus, writing is hard. But it can be much more manageable if you have someone who knows what they’re doing. They can guide you along the process, working with you to create your book while saving you time. Enter the “ghostwriter.”

    Related: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing a Book

    A common misconception

    People hear the word ‘ghostwriter’ and get weary that the book is untrue. But just because something is “ghostwritten” doesn’t mean the ideas aren’t from the author (in this case, the client or the person whose name is on the book).

    Authors play a huge role in writing the book! They’ll discuss their ideas with the writer, provide feedback on drafts and even edit the ideas in the book. With ghostwriting, someone else puts those ideas into coherent, eloquent words, but the author gets the credit because they brought the book to life. It becomes a helpful tool devised through an equitable partnership. This is why working with a trusted professional will give you the best results.

    Related: How One Man Made $200,000 Last Year Ghostwriting Tweets

    Save time

    As I mentioned, another benefit of hiring a ghostwriter is saving time in the writing process. Writing a book is nothing if not time-consuming and having a ghostwriter by your side makes life much easier. If you are an entrepreneur, you’re most likely busy balancing your personal and professional life while trying to earn the best results for your clients. This is no easy task, but the best leaders know that they cannot do everything themselves.

    Did somebody say delegation? Having someone who helps you out is okay, especially if that individual understands your goals. Reaching out to someone like a ghostwriter doesn’t make you fraudulent or a bad business person; it just makes you a person who is willing to ask for help, which is an admirable quality if you ask me.

    How do ghostwriting services work?

    While every ghostwriter may have a slightly different process, typically, it starts with a discovery interview where they ask what you want to write about. Here the writer will gauge if you have any topics that you want to be implemented. This is a great time to lay out those ideas that have been brewing inside your head. This way, the writer can already start piecing together what the actual text of your book might look like.

    Usually, ghostwriters will then take your input and put it into words that foster connection and empathy from your audience. Ghostwriting is an intimate process so expect the call to get personal at points, especially if it is a nonfiction book and even more so if it’s biographical. You must feel comfortable with your ghostwriter so that you and your work don’t suffer in creating your book.

    Related: The Entrepreneur’s Complete Guide to Ghostwriting

    After the preliminary call is done, the ghostwriters get to work. Once they have the first draft done, they will typically send it to you, encouraging you to make any edits you deem appropriate. Remember, this is your book! So this is an excellent time to clear up any misunderstandings or bumps in the manuscript.

    Even if you are not a linguist at heart, you can create your own book with a good ghostwriter by your side. When you start to promote your books (especially if it centers around you and your field of business), others will see you as an authority. Books are a great way to prove your knowledge in your field, allow your customers to get to know you better, and allow you to flex those creative muscles.

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    Morissa Schwartz

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  • 5 Surprising Ways to Increase the Conversion Rate of Your Emails

    5 Surprising Ways to Increase the Conversion Rate of Your Emails

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Did you know that 20% of a brand’s emails will never reach the customer at all? This, coupled with an email provider’s desire to provide the best user experience within the inbox, means that many more are going straight to spam or promotions.

    As email matures as a direct-to-consumer marketing channel, more and more businesses engage in the practice, meaning consumers are more overwhelmed with email marketing than ever before.

    As a natural result, consumers pay less attention to their emails.

    Related: Why Email Marketing Is Better for Your Business Than Social Media

    Marketers and brands work really hard and spend a lot of money to build their email lists, so it’s no big surprise they’re let down when they see open rates between 15% and 25%. Because owning a strong email list can be one of the most important assets for your business, we need to find ways to ensure that emails serve us well.

    Here are five surprising ways you can increase not only your open rates but the conversion rates of your marketing emails as well.

    1. Resend emails to unopens

    For an email to convert, it must first be opened, but most of the emails you send will never be opened.

    In the age of marketing automation, it’s really easy to set up your email sends and then simply let the software do its thing. However, one of the easiest ways to get more opens on your emails is to go in manually and resend them to anyone who didn’t open them at least 24 after the initial send.

    Think about why your email may have been overlooked. Was it sent at an inopportune time of day? Was the subject line less than appealing? Was the sender line too vague?

    The average consumer is inundated with emails spending roughly 5 hours a day in an inbox between work and personal accounts. With all that noise, a great subject line is the best way to capture their attention.

    Very simply, an effective subject line will be short, provide value, express urgency and steer clear of buzzwords. You may not be able to accomplish all this with just a few words, but keep these tips as your north star when crafting a subject line.

    This isn’t something you need to or should be doing for every email you send, but when used strategically, updating and resending your email campaigns will help you to reach more of your list.

    Related: Inbox Zero Is a Fantasy. I’m Trying for Calendar Zero Instead.

    2. Optimize for mobile

    Consumers spend more time on their phones than ever before, which means they’re doing many inbox check-ins on mobile devices. According to Hubspot, most email views (41%) come from mobile devices. Shockingly, 80% of emails being sent are not optimized for mobile.

    Most email providers have a quick and easy function that lets you see how your email will appear on mobile devices as you craft it. You can also send yourself a test email to be sure.

    Use these tools to ensure that your emails look good and load quickly on mobile before you send them.

    Related: 3 Steps to Maximize Your Mobile Email Marketing

    3. Clean your list

    There will come a point when your email list isn’t serving you anymore because a large portion of your audience is either fatigued by your emails or never getting them in the first place. You can expect your email list to depreciate by 22.5% per year.

    Two to four times a year, you should identify the people who never open your emails and remove them from your list to ensure that only those interested in hearing from you are receiving your communications.

    This will dramatically increase your deliverability, open rates and click-through rates. Bonus: It will decrease the cost of your email marketing software.

    4. Build your list

    Because the value of your list is decreasing over time, one of the best ways to increase your emails’ conversion rate is to actively bring in new, engaged leads.

    The most simple and effective way to do this is to create a strong offer, or lead magnet that you know is valuable to your target demographic. Start driving traffic to this offer through paid social ads, brand partnerships and even in-person events.

    Related: How To Start An Email List And Succeed From Day 1

    5. Ask your customers what they want

    As marketers and brand leaders, we often develop our content around what we think our customers should have instead of simply asking them what they want. One of the most simple and effective ways to get more opens and create conversions from your emails is to ask the right questions.

    In addition to asking what kinds of emails they’re most interested in, you can also ask what kind of new product they’d like to see, what their favorite social media platforms and podcasts are, or even what kind of sales they enjoy most.

    All these data points will help inform your product development and marketing strategy in a way that will make a huge difference in your business.

    You can make these customer surveys work for you even further by offering a coupon or discount to anyone who participates — and now you’ve got great data and incentivized your customer to make a new purchase.

    Email marketing has gotten more difficult over the years, but it’s far from ineffective. It’s 40x more effective than social media—and that’s a number no business today can afford to ignore.

    With the right strategies in place, you can use your emails to convert subscribers and generate more revenue for your business.

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    Shauna Armitage

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  • Saks Off 5th Says Luxury Retailers Are Coming for Discount Stores

    Saks Off 5th Says Luxury Retailers Are Coming for Discount Stores

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    Luxury retailers are coming for sale shoppers and their go-to discount stores.


    Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    According to Saks Off 5th’s CEO Paige Thomas, the brand saw more competition in the discount store space than in years past, calling the 2022 holiday season “the most promotional” she’s ever witnessed while speaking at NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show in New York City, per Fox Business.

    Lower prices were likely due to high inventory levels in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation woes, while holiday markdowns “created opportunity for traditional full-price players to play in our sandbox a little bit and so that became absolutely competitive,” Thomas said.

    Thomas said that excessive inventory creates an “unbelievable environment” for Saks Off 5th’s team of buyers to find the best goods for customers, but now luxury stores are using the same “winning agenda” to target sale shoppers.

    Still, despite complaining about luxury retailers (none were mentioned by name), Thomas said customer research conducted by the company shows they are gaining new fans — a high-earning customer that likes deals but doesn’t necessarily need them.

    In addition to targeting this new customer base of “high earners”, that are “very fashion-driven” and “shopped everywhere,” according to Thomas, the brand has invested in technology with the launch of its app in 2021 and its resale partnerships Rent the Runway to help give consumers more access to luxury goods.

    Entrepreneur has reached out the Saks Off 5th’s parent company HBC for comment.

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    Sam Silverman

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  • 5 Proven Tips for Better Defining Your Business’ Unique Value Proposition

    5 Proven Tips for Better Defining Your Business’ Unique Value Proposition

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The business world is incredibly competitive — which is undoubtedly why roughly 45% of businesses fail within five years of opening.

    While there are many reasons why a business could fail, one of the biggest roadblocks to success is not having a well-defined unique value proposition (UVP). If you can’t effectively communicate to your customers why your business and its products or services are unique from your competitors, you’re going to have a hard time standing out.

    On the other hand, when you are able to better define your unique value proposition, you can stake out a strong position in your niche and make a lasting impression on customers.

    Related: Your Value Proposition Is Crucial. Here Are 5 Steps to Ensure It Resonates.

    1. Focus on your ideal customer

    You won’t get far if you don’t understand your ideal customer. Many brands achieve this by creating buyer personas through market research and gathering insights from their current customers.

    The deeper you can dig into your ideal customer’s wants, needs, struggles and so on — the things that “make them tick” — the easier it will be to identify the types of messages that will be most impactful for them.

    2. Understand the core elements of your unique value proposition

    A successful UVP focuses on the benefits of your product or service, as well as how you are different from your competition. These elements are what ultimately communicate the value of your brand and why it would be worthwhile for your ideal consumer to do business with you.

    Start by listing the benefits offered by your product or service. How do you solve the specific problems your ideal customer faces on a regular basis? Then, identify the ways your offering is different from the competition. This will likely require extensive market research, but it could include anything from more affordable pricing to additional features not found in competitors’ products.

    With each of these lists, you should consider how the unique aspects of your product or service provide value to your customers. This then becomes the core focus of your messaging, and your next step is to communicate that message in a way that makes sense and appeals to your target audience.

    Related: How to Develop a Winning Value Proposition (Infographic)

    3. Frame your UVP with storytelling

    At my marketing agency, we use storytelling to pitch our clients because quite frankly, even though numbers can be convincing, they are also boring. After working on the previous two tips, you’re in a good position to tell a story that places the customer as the hero and then highlights what you’ve learned from your own challenges and how it can help them with the problem they’re trying to solve.

    Entrepreneurs should try to frame their UVP in a storytelling format to hone in on presenting it in a way that will truly appeal to the customer. Customers don’t want to hear about how your team went to work and accomplished what they set out to do. But they will connect with relatable stories of your own struggles and lessons learned and how they can be applied to their lives in the form of your product or service.

    4. Identify what you don’t do

    One way to better differentiate yourself from others in your niche is to take the time to define what you don’t do. This could include the things that you’re not good at or the things that others in your niche do that you actively dislike and avoid.

    Related: What is Your Value Proposition?

    5. Test and iterate

    When it comes to writing books, authors are sometimes advised to put their work through a whopping 10 drafts before their work can be considered complete. Think of the amount of time and effort that would go into continually revising a 300-page novel. Your UVP may not require as much revision time, but it certainly deserves its share of testing, revising and optimizing before it becomes your core marketing message.

    Ideally, you should enlist the help of your target audience when revising your UVP. Use their impressions and feedback to identify how you can improve your messaging and make it more clear. A/B testing of multiple versions of your UVP could also be helpful to see which message resonates best with customers.

    When developed properly, your unique value proposition can be so much more than a corporate statement. It can be the true core of your brand identity that drives your decision-making and how you market yourself to your target audience. By developing a compelling UVP, you will make a far more convincing sales pitch that puts your business on track for long-term success.

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    Andres Tovar

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  • Why It’s Time For You To Accept Crypto

    Why It’s Time For You To Accept Crypto

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Cryptocurrency is nothing new. While many people discuss the digital asset as an enigma, it is a medium of exchange worth significant value. True, digital coins do not have the same tangible backing as cash, but the security of design, and the blockchain setup, create (or should create) a level of confidence.

    If your business has yet to embrace crypto as a form of payment, it is falling behind and missing valuable opportunities to thrive. While not all companies yet embrace crypto, those that do experience unparalleled access to otherwise distant consumer pools.

    The number of companies embracing crypto is rising, including such names as Gucci, Paypal and Visa. Permitting crypto payment options can expand your market share and improve your position in the marketplace; it can also demystify this legitimate form of payment.

    The reasons crypto is right for your business model

    It is easy to look at the failings of FTX and lose confidence in the system, but investors and businesses need to review the market’s otherwise successful history. Bitcoin is only one asset out of thousands that continues to outperform investor expectations. The folly of one digital coin should not deter innovative businesses from embracing a payment option that proves time and time again its ability to persevere.

    If your company wants to look toward the future, it must embrace crypto because it isn’t going anywhere. The financial “new normal” demands that businesses adapt and embrace changing structures. Besides the need to adjust, there are many reasons businesses benefit from accepting crypto payments.

    Related: 5 Tips for Using Cryptocurrency in Your Small Business

    1. Decrease fraudulent chargebacks

    Many companies are victims of friendly fraud or mistaken consumers. In the digital subscription age, many consumers don’t remember all their purchases and may report an issue of credit card fraud where there is none. Unfortunately, whether friendly mistakes or criminal, chargebacks cost businesses billions yearly.

    Embracing bitcoin payments can reduce fraudulent chargeback risks. Crypto payments report to an immutable public ledger. The payment method does not allow for alteration, meaning once a transaction is complete, nothing can reverse it, eliminating the false claims of fraud on the purchase end.

    Related: The Benefits of Crypto Education for Your Business

    2. Increase security

    Cryptocurrencies exist within the blockchain — a decentralized, distributed digital ledger. All transactions are permanent, unmodifiable, and impossible to delete. The entire crypto concept is a vision for secure monetary assets.

    A business can improve the security and usability of crypto by partnering with blockchain monitoring services. Some payment processors will offer additional security measures; however, even bare-bones, cryptocurrency is more secure than credit cards and other payment methods.

    Accepting crypto shows your consumers that you care about their security and yours. The additional security and finality of digital coins also provide assurances for businesses providing subscriptions or other services in a techno-focused era.

    Related: Crypto vs. Banking: Which Is a Better Choice?

    3. Lower transaction fees

    Credit card fees present a significant thorn in the side of many merchants. Fees represent a profit loss on individual transactions. Besides the on-top percentage taken from the sale, many credit card processors also charge a nominal fee per incoming transaction.

    Cryptocurrency transactions eliminate any additional fee structures when handled on the business end. If you decide to use a payment processor (recommended), you will need to pay a service fee, typically less than traditional processors will charge.

    4. Improve transaction speed, regardless of country of origin

    Besides transaction fees, credit card transactions take time to process. As a business owner, you do not have time to waste. Most cryptocurrency transactions occur in real-time — one of the many perks of a decentralized system.

    Traditional credit card or debit card payments can take several days, depending on a consumer’s location. Crypto is borderless, so location does not affect or inhibit transaction speed. Also, because the digital asset does not involve cross-country settlements or obstacles, there are no costly currency conversions.

    Related: 10 Ways You Can Learn More About Crypto and Blockchain

    5. Improve growth potential

    The growth potential of crypto is twofold for business owners: financial and market share. Any crypto investor can tell you about the exponential growth of digital assets in recent years. For a business owner, the potential valuation increases for some cryptocurrencies are enough to embrace the payment method. Permitting crypto payments means you can potentially earn greater profits from the same volume of purchases.

    Besides the monetary gains, permitting crypto also opens your business to a wealthier consumer pool and buyers who may not have considered your company before. Crypto allows for a level of anonymity and privacy that other payment forms do not. Newer, more private consumers will appreciate your business’s steps to secure their privacy.

    6. Taking crypto means getting cash

    You get cash, not crypto, for your payment by dealing with a reputable payment platform. Trusted platforms will convert crypto payments into cash. And by taking crypto, you’re making it easy for crypto holders to buy products and services, all while receiving cash in your bank account. It’s a win-win and a great cost-effective opportunity to increase your revenue.

    Crypto is the future and the future is now

    Whether a high-end, established retailer or a small, young business, it is time to use cryptocurrency, permitting it as a payment option. Digital currency is more secure than other transaction methods and allows for growth opportunities while maintaining consumer privacy. Embrace crypto and embrace the future of your business.

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    Richard Iamunno

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  • How to Create a Leadership Development Framework in 3 Steps

    How to Create a Leadership Development Framework in 3 Steps

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Answering this straightforward question may change your business forever: What does it mean to be a leader in your organization?

    As a leadership coach and trainer, I am often asked, “What is the best leadership training for my organization?” My response is always, “What change do you want to make, and what makes that change important for your organization?” I ask those questions because most organizations use leadership training to react to an adverse behavioral or systemic trend in their operations. That simple question almost always leads to discovering a simple truth: Leaders in the organization don’t know what it means to lead effectively. Effective leaders lead in a way that encourages their people and promotes business sustainability.

    Rather than doing reactionary training, I encourage my clients to develop a leadership framework. Developing a framework for leadership includes training but also helps define your leadership culture. A clear picture of your leadership culture allows leaders to operate effectively as they lead your organization through change, significantly increasing overall resiliency. To begin building your framework, there are three broad categories in which you can start to add structure to the competencies you expect your leaders to exhibit.

    1. People leading themselves

    Let’s face it; micromanagement is dead. Leaders can’t always be everywhere looking over the shoulders of their employees, and why would you want that anyway? Instead of micromanagement, here are four things you can do:

    a. Ensure you and all your direct reports understand their role.

    b. Understand and respect the role of others.

    c. Know and understand the importance of organizational behavior norms, performance standards and expectations.

    d. Provide a safe employee input and feedback process that is understood by the employees and actioned by leaders.

    Related: Great Leaders Do More Than Manage Expectations, They Align Them

    2. People leading people

    a. Create opportunities to connect with people. Intentionality is important. People want to be heard and acknowledged and know that you care about what they say. When leaders connect with their employees, they should actively listen for opportunities to understand better what their employees are telling them and why.

    b. Create a culture where people feel safe when expressing their thoughts and opinions. There should never be a situation where a person using appropriate professional behaviors should feel their professional or social reputation is in jeopardy for offering input.

    c. Create opportunities to break the silos. It is common practice to include only direct stakeholders when we build project teams or discuss setbacks. Often it is the same experts time and time again. Use projects and change management opportunities to hear new and different thoughts. Not only will you generate fresh ideas, but you will also build trust between your teams and the individual employees themselves.

    Related: Is Employee Feedback Missing at Your Company? Here’s Why and How to Fix It.

    3. People are leading organizations

    These macro actions will take you toward your vision of the future.

    a. Build team capacity through individual and team knowledge growth. Create opportunities for people to pursue their learning journey and learn as teams. Today, team learning is one of the most significant opportunities for organizations. Discussing setbacks and lessons learned across an entire organization will lead to solutions. Employees each bring tacit knowledge learned through years of experience. Why not make this a strategic advantage?

    b. Develop knowledge networks. Knowledge is how we grow organizations in a meaningful and measured way. There are generically two types of knowledge networks. First is your internal network, where professionals inside your organization share and discuss lessons learned and emerging knowledge. The second and rarely used knowledge network is the external network. External knowledge networks accelerate your learning, save money by short-circuiting the iterative learning process and help you attract new talent.

    c. Build a mental model change process. We build businesses based on operating assumptions. Ideally, you gather as much information as possible and then make decisions that drive your business. We rarely test those assumptions once a decision has been made. Often, we develop key performance indicators that measure the outcomes of our findings and take corrective actions when things go in the wrong direction. Because we don’t challenge our original assumptions, we end up with adjustments that never entirely solve our problems and may even cause new issues. Developing single and double-loop mental models will give you a framework to work through challenges.

    Related: 3 Ways Change Leaders Prevent, Minimize and Manage (or Create) Resistance to Change

    Leadership training is essential to build a resilient and sustainable business. A leadership framework supported by targeted and intentional training is imperative. So, before signing up for that leadership training program, please ensure it supports your leadership development framework.

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    Chris Mayfield

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  • 5 Crucial Predictions For Retail in 2023

    5 Crucial Predictions For Retail in 2023

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With 2023 here, retailers geared up to make the most of the festive season with discount deals, slashed prices, free deliveries, bonus packages and more. That said, there’s an elephant in the room this season — and that’s the uncertainty about the consumer market. Recent headlines about inflation have changed most shoppers’ buying habits this year. Compared to 2021, one in four Americans (22%) is spending less on gifts this year. Conversations on social media around inflation relating to holiday shopping have increased by 35%.

    Further complicating the issue was the disruption of global supply chains caused by the pandemic. Increased demand for items led to skyrocketing prices. With customers now less willing to pay higher prices for goods, retailers face a potential decline in revenue, sales and profit margins. Retailers looking to minimize the impact of inflation, changing customer behaviors and an unstable market on their business must employ strategies to create an engaging and immersive shopping experience.

    Here are five predictions to help you meet your customers’ needs — and keep your business competitive.

    Related: How Compliance is Exposing the Fragility of the Global Supply Chain

    1. Increased adoption of an omnichannel approach

    A seamless shopping experience is quickly becoming the order of the day as customers want the flexibility of combining shopping on their phones with shopping at brick-and-mortar locations. The recent Shopify report proves this, with 54% of consumers saying they’re likely to look at a product online and buy it in-store — and vice-versa.

    Sephora is an excellent example of a company already adopting this approach. Customers can visit the brand’s website to add products to their carts and visit the store to try on their items before buying.

    To take advantage of the omnichannel experience, retailers should create a social presence that retains the brand identity across multiple channels. This includes messaging, services, pricing and overall customer service.

    Doing this well can make it easier to understand and predict customer behavior. You can tailor your consumers’ experiences to match your marketing and sales needs.

    Related: Future Of Retail Is Omnichannel

    2. Hyperpersonalization will skyrocket

    With shoppers now spending cautiously, typical personalization tactics are becoming ineffective in driving sales. Gone are the days of generic marketing emails with automated first-name snippets.

    Now, customers want purchases to fit their needs which requires brands to make customers feel more connected to the brand — which can increase loyalty and retention. According to a McKinsey survey, 71% of customers expect companies to personalize their experience, and 76% are frustrated when they don’t find it. Creating hyper-specific recommendations based on customers’ browsing history, past purchases, location, gender and age — increases the likelihood of making more sales and generating 40% more revenue.

    3. AI redefines the shopping experience

    The introduction of DALLE-2, LensAI and, most recently — ChatGPT — has sparked discussions around their use in retail. ChatGPT is an AI with nearly accurate responses to user queries—which can be used for conversational commerce. For example, in terms of personalized recommendations, AI can accurately recommend products using customer data. This helps the customer make an informed decision, driving sales.

    Regarding customer service across different channels, AI can easily give users the same experience by providing support and assistance at a far larger scale. While artificial intelligence is already in play in most parts of the retail industry, its adoption in 2023 will redefine the entire shopping experience.

    Related: Princeton Student Builds ChatGPT Detection App to Fight AI Plagiarism

    4. Data privacy laws will become stricter

    The debate on data privacy will likely become more heated in the next year, with the European Union proposing stricter regulations via GDPR. Under GDPR, user consent plays a big role in collecting sensitive and non-sensitive data. This means retailers and advertisers need to be transparent in using user’s personal data and offer consumers the option to delete or erase their data.

    The problem with the GDPR: Advertisers need user data to serve targeted ads. Retailers need advertisers to market their goods. Now, with laws becoming stricter in collecting this data, advertising prices are expected to increase.

    5. A switch to organic marketing

    The recent rise in advertising costs has pushed most retailers over the edge. Why? The current ad space price is double (with some triple) what it used to be. This means retailers are paying more to reach the same audience—with no estimated profitability, sales or even revenue guarantee.

    As a result, many brands are now moving toward organic marketing and capitalizing on its benefits. SEO, social media, content marketing and influencer partnerships are all tactics to ramp up in 2023. Using organic marketing in retail is a strategic approach that can help you build trust and maintain long-term customer relationships.

    Looking ahead, retailers are facing ups and downs in the market. Finding ways to appeal to customers’ needs is vital to staying afloat — and profitable. The strategies we’ve highlighted here will help you along the way while preparing you for what’s to come.

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    Jacob Loveless

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  • 7 Tips to Start a Small Business as a Fresh College Graduate

    7 Tips to Start a Small Business as a Fresh College Graduate

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As a recent college graduate, you have your degree and possibly some experience from an initial job or internship. But now, you’re interested in acting on your entrepreneurial ambitions and starting your own business.

    Starting a small business is an increasingly popular option for young people — 17% of college graduates run their own businesses while they’re still in college, and another 43% plan to do so shortly after graduating.

    Of course, starting your own business is a lot of work and comes with a huge learning curve. Let’s look at seven tips for starting your own small business as a college graduate.

    Related: 11 Steps to Starting a Successful Business in Your 20s

    1. Decide what kind of business you want to start

    Your first step should be to determine what kind of business you want to start and run. For instance, do you want to start a restaurant, offer a service-based business or do something else entirely?

    To determine the kind of business you want to start, think about business ideas you’ve had in the past, and consider the kind of work you like to do. You should also look for current opportunities in the market you can take advantage of. Above all else, consider what skills you have that might provide value to other people.

    2. Register your business

    Your next major step is to register your business. There’s a lot involved with this step, including:

    • Deciding on a business name: Your business name must be 100% unique to your state. For the best results, try to come up with a business name that sounds good, is easy to spell and won’t blend in with the crowd.

    • Apply for an EIN: An employer identification number (EIN) is a unique number assigned by the IRS to businesses operating in the U.S. You’ll need an EIN to open a business bank account and register your business.

    • Choose your business structure: Next, you’ll need to choose your business structure, like an LLC, corporation or sole proprietorship. The business structure you choose can affect what tax breaks you benefit from and how many employees you can hire.

    • Register your business: Finally, register with your state’s Secretary of State office. You’ll need to provide all the above information and pay some minor fees.

    3. Come up with a business plan

    Think of your business plan as the guiding document that outlines what your business is about, how it will achieve its goals and who it serves. A business plan helps guide your business, and it’s necessary if you want to receive financing from investors.

    Write a detailed business plan, including cash flow projections, target audience research and your expected marketing strategy. If you’re unsure where to start, you can use a free business plan template to get started.

    Related: The 3 Things College Taught Me About Being An Entrepreneur

    4. Identify your target audience

    At this stage, you need to determine your target audience. This is the group of people most likely to buy from your brand or subscribe to your services. You can do this by researching keywords, performing marketing research and doing competitor analysis.

    In any case, you need to know who your target audience is in terms of attributes like gender, age and buying habits. The better you know your target audience, the more effectively you can market directly to those prospective customers.

    5. Decide how you’ll finance the business

    No business can get off the ground without financing of some kind. Unless you have a nest egg you’ve saved up for this purpose, odds are you’ll need to seek out financing from other sources.

    You can do this in a few different ways:

    • Try applying for a business loan, either from a bank, credit union, the U.S. Small Business Administration or non-bank lender.

    • Appeal to venture capital firms and other investors by presenting them with a business plan and details about your company.

    • Ask friends and family members to pool money together, then promise to pay them back once you start turning a profit.

    Consider your finances and how you’ll acquire money before committing to any business idea.

    6. Keep your expenses low

    Even after acquiring funds, your business is unlikely to turn a profit for the first few years of operations. Therefore, it’s wise to keep your expenses low as you start your business. To cut down on costs, you can do things like:

    • Living with your parents, so you don’t have to pay rent.

    • Working a side job while diverting most of your effort toward your entrepreneurial endeavor.

    • Doing a lot of the hard work in your business yourself rather than hiring employees. This isn’t a great long-term strategy, but it may be necessary in the beginning.

    Related: Should Entrepreneurial College Students Go Big or Go Small After Graduation?

    7. Be ready to pivot

    Your initial business idea might not work out as you expect or hope, so you should always be ready to pivot or change your business plan. While it might be difficult or uncomfortable, navigating through hurdles and challenges will allow you to learn valuable lessons on how to run a business and identify mistakes to avoid in the future.

    For instance, let’s say you have an initial idea to provide one product to your target audience, but you discover that you can produce a better product for cheaper. It may make sense to switch your business plan and pivot toward the other product. Being flexible and adaptable are key attributes for all small business owners.

    There’s a lot that goes into starting a business, and almost half (47%) of all small businesses won’t last longer than five years. But by coming up with a plan and being strategic and flexible, you’ll increase your likelihood of success, and you can continue your entrepreneurial journey with the confidence to grow to greatness.

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    Joseph Camberato

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  • 3 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From The Rise and Fall of History’s Biggest Companies

    3 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From The Rise and Fall of History’s Biggest Companies

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Only recently, just before the pandemic, it seemed big companies were on a roll. A few “superstar” companies were dominating software industries and reaching their tentacles into multiple sectors. Market share was concentrated in much of the economy, the performance gap between large and small companies was widening and people were forming fewer new businesses. An article in Harvard Business Review reported concerns that “a lack of competition was strangling the U.S. economy.”

    Many of those worries have begun to fade. We’re seeing a historic surge in new business creation and a shrinking performance gap between big and small businesses. The pandemic, with its “Great Resignation” and “Quiet Quitting,” was only a catalyst, accelerating an inevitable change — inevitable because that’s the nature of large organizations. They can’t sustain dominance for long, and indeed the profitability and longevity of big companies have been shrinking for decades. The superstar companies, now suffering from depressed stock prices, are laying off thousands of talented employees, giving way to smaller firms that are still hiring.

    While this is a striking change of events, it follows a cycle that has existed since the beginnings of capitalism. By looking back at previous cycles of creative destruction, in which large firms have risen only to fall to scrappy smaller competitors, entrepreneurs can find many lessons that are applicable today.

    Related: How Looking Back at History Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur and Leader

    Lesson 1: Take advantage of complacency

    The first lesson is that large companies tend to grow complacent the more successful they become. This provides an opening to smaller companies that are hungrier and more ambitious.

    For example, the East India Company, chartered in 1600 and arguably the world’s first big business, once operated not only ships and warehouses but armies of soldiers to enforce colonial exploitation. Enjoying a monopoly on imports of tea and other staples, its power was so great that Adam Smith devoted a large section of The Wealth of Nations to criticizing its heft. Yet the company became a victim of its own success, eventually declining as its leaders enriched themselves, got caught up in politics, and stopped innovating.

    The same lesson applies today. As soon as large companies think they’re in a solid situation, they relax and start enjoying their position. That’s the perfect time to enter the market with an innovation or a fresh way of thinking.

    Lesson 2: Powerful connections aren’t everything

    The second lesson is that entrepreneurs can still beat out larger companies even if they lack the same connections to power. History shows that “right” can often beat “might.”

    Consider the example of wealthy Robert Livingston, who funded Robert Fulton’s successful invention of the steamboat in 1807. Livingston used his connections and wealth to gain a monopoly of the ferry business between New York City and New Jersey. But scrappy Cornelius Vanderbilt, with no social standing or education, dared to challenge Livingston’s privilege and won a landmark Supreme Court case, Gibbons v. Ogden, striking down interstate monopoly charters. Thanks to Vanderbilt’s relentless push for efficiency and lower costs – and the new country’s distaste for government-backed privileges, he gained the capital to improve not only ferries but ocean-going ships and then railroads.

    Vanderbilt proved that companies that rely on personal connections often become over-confident, believing themselves protected from competition. This makes them vulnerable to smaller competitors who are willing to call out their unfair practices.

    Lesson 3: Big companies prefer stability to innovation

    By the end of the 19th century, steel had become fundamental to the economy, and Andrew Carnegie had the biggest and best factories. Like Vanderbilt, he had rapidly expanded by keeping costs low and reinvesting profits. The remaining steelmakers were so concerned about his moves into their markets that they pressed J.P. Morgan to buy him out for the then incredible price of $480 million.

    After Morgan did so, creating U.S. Steel, he failed to maintain Carnegie’s aggressiveness, allowing tiny rivals to expand. Fearing antitrust and preferring stability and dividends to risky growth, U.S. Steel failed to innovate and eventually fell apart with foreign competition and the rise of steel mini-mills in the 1960s.

    U.S. Steel’s preoccupation with stability is common among large firms, and it’s an opportunity for smaller competitors to rise up. Consider the many brick-and-mortar retailers that failed to invest in e-commerce until it was too late. They assumed they were safe because of their size, but their failure to innovate ultimately caused their downfall.

    Innovation is critical to building and maintaining a competitive advantage — and it gets harder to do as companies succeed and grow. Entrepreneurs, as guerillas, can often find openings of attack against even the mightiest of gorilla companies.

    Related: 6 Ways Small Businesses Can Win With Big Corporations

    We need big and little

    The history of creative destruction shows us that the current travails of Big Tech companies like Meta are nothing new. Large companies tend to fall prey to a combination of hubris and complacency, while ambitious entrepreneurs continue to find openings to take advantage of emerging technologies and market trends.

    Energetic commitment and talent will beat resource-rich rivals, as long as entrepreneurs pick their fights wisely. There are two reliable ways of spotting opportunities to do so.

    First, as companies get bigger, even well-managed ones must leave opportunities on the table — market segments or product opportunities too small or too different for them to do well in or focus on. These often provide windows of opportunity for small players. Today’s small markets can become tomorrow’s large markets.

    Second, new technologies and platform shifts inevitably create openings for nimbler firms, whether in specialized areas such as digital marketing or in transformative areas such as blockchain. Big companies almost never move fast enough.

    Finally, in assessing today’s large companies, it’s important to remember that their success usually came from a basic entrepreneurial achievement combined with an organizational mindset. As entrepreneurs grow their businesses, they should be mindful of the competencies they have developed and remain intent on building new ones over time. New competencies — fueled by innovation — will likely increase their trajectory in growth and value.

    A modern economy still needs big companies, which are essential to producing goods and services at scale at an affordable price. That’s where they excel. But we also need entrepreneurs to challenge them wherever they fall short — and eventually, replace them as new giants to move the economy forward.

    For pundits and other desk-bound observers, bigness might seem inevitable. But bigness also inevitably corrupts. The vitality is not in supposedly “professional” management but in scrappy entrepreneurs.

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    John Landry

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  • 6 Tips for Creating Magnetic Headlines that Bring High Conversions

    6 Tips for Creating Magnetic Headlines that Bring High Conversions

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You work hard on creating content. This content deserves to get seen. But that’s only possible when you invest some of your efforts into creating the content’s headline.

    The headline is the one part of your content that gets the most exposure since 80% of the readers only read the headline. The quality of the headline determines whether a reader will stop scrolling, look at your content and click on it.

    If the headline seems unappealing, your content may not get the attention it deserves, no matter how valuable, informative and engaging it may be. This is perhaps why traffic can vary by as much as 500% just because of the headline.

    Therefore, compromising on the quality of the headline is the last thing you want to do.

    Related: This Is How You Write Headlines That Hook ’em!

    How to write great headlines

    Fortunately, writing powerful headlines involves no rocket science. You can quickly start churning out impactful headlines with a bit of practice. Writing great headlines is a combination of art and science. The internet is filled with formulas for headline writing. And they work too. But only so much.

    You must blend your creativity, audience understanding and a bit of data with these formulas to create resounding headlines.

    Here are a few tips on how you can go about doing that:

    1. Think about your readers

    It’s a customer-first world we are living in. In this case, reader-first.

    You have to identify your audience’s problems and deliver effective solutions in an appealing manner to solidify your reputation and build loyalty.

    Since the headline gets the most exposure, reflect your audience’s understanding and concentrate on the value your content adds to their life within it. This is the best way to show your audience you understand their struggles and get them to read your content to further hone in on the emotional bond you intend to create.

    Be clear about what the article has for the reader. Will it entertain, educate, inform or inspire them? Will it answer a question or solve a problem?

    For example, if you sell office chairs and know your prospects struggle with back pain, you can create a headline focusing on the pain point. Something like “7 Exclusive Office Chairs to Help Alleviate Your Back Pain” may help generate good results.

    2. Use power words

    Notice the word “exclusive” in the example headline above? That’s a power word.

    Certain words trigger a psychological response, an emotion within humans. These words are called power words. Power words are divided into multiple categories based on the emotions they invoke. These categories may include greed, curiosity, trust, anger, fear, etc.

    Including one of these words within the headline maximizes its impact. Your headline now triggers an emotional response within the readers and is more likely to get a click from them.

    Let’s revisit the example headline above.

    “7 Exclusive Office Chairs to Alleviate Your Back Pain”

    Let’s take the power word out.

    “7 Office Chairs to Alleviate Your Back Pain.”

    Did the impact visibly reduce? It sure did.

    That’s the power of power words. You can find a comprehensive list of power words here.

    3. Don’t forsake authenticity

    It is easy to go overboard with power words. But that would bring you closer to creating click-baity headlines. And savvy modern readers can spot click-baity headlines from miles away and dismiss the content and the brand that pushes such headlines.

    Therefore, strike a balance when using power words.

    Make sure the headline promises what the content delivers. Nothing is more annoying than clicking on an article to learn about one thing and finding something completely different, incomplete, or irrelevant instead.

    Mold your headline to fit the article. For this, create the content and then write the headline to ensure it reflects the article’s content.

    4. Stay on brand

    Consistent branding is essential across all customer touchpoints since it can increase revenue by 33%.

    The headlines may get the most eyeballs from your online content. Therefore, they must align with your brand’s personality. Think of the headlines here on Entrepreneur and compare them with those on Buzzfeed. You will be able to identify how brands stick to their brand personality through headlines.

    5. Use numbers

    The age-old headline tip. Use numbers.

    Using numbers in headlines is an approach that is often overused. But it still works.

    Numbers are more appealing to the human brain than words. They are easier to process and understand. More importantly, numbers help readers determine how long the content is and what they should expect more easily.

    This is why 36% of readers prefer headlines with numbers.

    Which of the following headlines do you think will be better:

    “7 Exclusive Office Chairs to Alleviate Your Back Pain” or

    “Office Chairs to Alleviate Your Back Pain.”?

    The former. That’s because it tells the readers they have seven options inside and promises them that the article will be easier to skim through.

    So, try and write numbered headlines. But again, don’t go overboard. Mix it up with other headlines to ensure your brand appears authentic.

    6. Take care of the headline length

    It is easy to get carried away when creating headlines. You want to write the most straightforward and impactful headline, after all. However, you have to stick to a character limit. 60-100 characters, to be exact.

    Readers are almost always short on time. You have a few seconds to grab attention and deliver value. Therefore, stick to the character limit and consolidate all its value.

    Related: Copywriters Use These 4 Psychological Tactics to Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines

    Do justice to your content

    Creating content can be challenging. And once you are done writing your blog, you need it to be seen to serve the purpose it was designed for. Therefore, make sure to write headlines that generate clicks and do justice to your content.

    You can do this by aligning the headline content with the user’s pain points, clarifying the value, including numbers and maintaining optimal headline length.

    Also, test your headlines to see what resonates best with your audience. See which posts have garnered the most clicks and analyze their headlines. You might be able to pick critical headline-writing insights this way. Implement these insights to improve your headline writing game.

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    Atul Jindal

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  • 5 Ways to Make Money With a Mobile App for Your Business

    5 Ways to Make Money With a Mobile App for Your Business

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Mobile apps continue to grow in popularity, which offers little surprise when considering the ubiquitous nature of the smartphone. This scenario leads many companies to consider crafting their own app, likely targeting both Apple iOS and Android platforms. Sometimes their goal for the app involves generating publicity for their business or even driving engagement from their customer base.

    However, in many cases, businesses craft a mobile app simply as a source of revenue. In this situation, it becomes critical to fully understand the potential revenue models available to any app. This understanding then informs the process of evaluating which model makes the most sense for the business.

    So let’s take a high-level overview of the different revenue models available to entrepreneurs building a mobile app and how to evaluate these models to help you decide on which one provides the best opportunity. Remember, this analysis needs to happen before you design any interface wireframes or write one line of code. In the end, a successful app launch likely depends on making this initial effort.

    Related: How Can App Makers Improve Revenue and Keep Users Engaged?

    In-app advertising

    Embedded ads within a mobile app offer one obvious approach to generating revenue. However, this revenue stream really only applies to free apps, as displaying ads in a paid app likely hampers the growth of the app’s user base. In fact, a common practice in mobile games or other apps involves using an in-app purchase to remove ads.

    Notably, the market for in-app advertising continues to generate significant growth across the planet. According to Absolute Market Insights, the in-app ad market reached $66.78 billion in 2018 and is forecast to hit $472.64 billion by 2027. This growth shows a compound annual growth rate of 24.4% over that 10-year period. Again, any app needs a large user base to generate significant ad revenue, so consider making your app free to attract users.

    The “freemium” app approach

    Somewhat related to in-app advertising, a freemium app also serves to attract a large user base to a compelling app experience. Additional content or features then become unlocked after buying an in-app purchase. In fact, we just highlighted the fact that users take advantage of this approach to turn off in-app advertising.

    This revenue stream strategy is common in gaming apps as well as music production and instrument apps, with the latter niche more common on the iOS platform. A user might own a free beat-making app, and get access to new synthesizers or drum machines after buying an IAP. Some music app developers also use this revenue model to provide new sounds and synth patches to their user community.

    Related: How to Create an App for Your Business With Zero Coding Experience

    Offering subscriptions to generate revenue

    Additionally, other developers are using subscriptions to provide a repeatable revenue source for their mobile apps typically offered on a freemium basis. Not surprisingly, magazines and comic books sometimes leverage this revenue stream strategy. However, note that Apple and Google Play take a cut of any revenue generated using subscriptions; this also applies to any in-app purchase.

    The subscription model can also be very valuable for B2B apps. Creating a mobile app that integrates with a SaaS solution is a great way to expand the platform to a larger audience and deliver more value — which justifies monthly subscription fees.

    Monetize your mobile app data

    Depending on the nature of your mobile app, its data potential potentially serves as a valuable revenue stream. Of course, this valuation ultimately depends on the size of the app’s user base and the nature of the data. When leveraging data monetization as a revenue strategy, you need clearly note this in the app’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

    This is one of the best examples of why you need to determine your revenue model before developing your product. GasBuddy is an example of an app that generated a strong user base with a very sticky venture and zero plans for how to monetize their mobile app. They ended up secretly (i.e. illegally) selling user data and getting into trouble when users started noticing the extra drain on resources and battery from GasBuddy collecting location information.

    While monetizing data isn’t the most popular monetization strategy, it can work if it is done legally and you are completely transparent about it from the beginning.

    Related: Building an App? Follow These 4 Steps to See Things Through

    The traditional paid app revenue model

    Of course, actually charging for an app provides an easy way to generate revenue. Paid apps need to provide users with a top-shelf experience and compelling functionality. As such, these apps tend to be mobile games, music creation apps (including synthesizers) and productivity apps, like video editing or graphic design software. Leveraging the freemium model with certain features unlocked through an IAP also works, but paid apps also provide IAPs. Once again, this approach depends on the overall quality of the app and the functionality it provides.

    Make sure you fully understand the rules of the Apple Store and Play Store and how they will affect your revenue model. Last month, Apple updated their App Store rules to take 30% of sales on “boosts” for social media posts. This is the first time Apple has directly taxed advertising in iOS apps and is just one example of a recent change that could significantly impact your revenue.

    What revenue model makes sense for your mobile app?

    As noted earlier, before one line of code gets written, you need to determine which revenue model works best for your company’s mobile app. This analysis includes figuring out the potential size of the user community and the amount of revenue you’ll need to break even. Those factors directly influence the potential of using in-app advertising and data monetization as revenue streams.

    If your app requires millions of users to become profitable, you need to set realistic goals for reaching those milestones. Personally, we’ve found more success with subscription-based app revenue models that require a lower number of users to reach profitability. But, charging high subscription fees doesn’t work for every app.

    In the end, entrepreneurs need to take this analytical approach to ensure their mobile app truly makes an impact. Anything less simply won’t generate enough interest — or revenue.

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    Andrew Amann

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  • 10 Crucial Tips and Benefits for In-House Marketing

    10 Crucial Tips and Benefits for In-House Marketing

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Have you considered an in-house marketing strategy for your brand? If so, you’re not alone. Marketing is one of the biggest challenges for many businesses, and outsourcing often leads to disappointment and headaches.

    Finding the right marketing firm to work with can be a time-consuming, expensive process. Not to mention the time and effort it takes to bring a new marketing firm up to speed regarding your company.

    Other challenges may be pushing you toward the in-house direction too. After all, bringing your marketing in-house gives you complete control over your message and the process of getting that message out to the world.

    Related: The 6 Online Marketing Strategies Every Entrepreneur Needs

    Benefits of using in-house marketing for your brand

    One of the best benefits of in-housing is that it gives you complete corporate control of the marketing process from A to Z, but that’s not the only reason you might want to consider taking this approach. Some of the other advantages associated with internally managing your marketing efforts include the following:

    • Brand compliance. When outsourcing marketing, you trust other teams with your brand’s message. Typically, these teams work with several brands and must manage brand compliance in marketing campaigns for each. Members of these teams may periodically mix up your message, which could lead to client trust issues. In-housing gives you complete control over your brand’s voice, message and marketing.
    • Effectiveness. As mentioned above, marketing firms typically work with several companies. So, you don’t have the full-time attention of the team working on your marketing campaigns. Bringing your brands in-house gives your marketing efforts the full-time attention they need to thrive and become more effective.
    • Easier onboarding and better expectation management. If your marketing efforts are accurate, new clients know what to expect. That means your onboarding process is smoother and your client’s expectations manageable.

    All of the above ultimately leads to improved brand, product or franchisee adoption, resulting in better revenue for your company.

    Related: 5 Reasons Your Business May Not Be Ready for a Marketing Agency

    Tips to make in-house marketing successful

    Bringing your marketing efforts in-house and ensuring effective results may be two completely different topics, but they don’t have to be. Here are a few tips to make sure your in-house marketing efforts succeed:

    • Hire the right team. It’s crucial to put together the best in-house marketing team you can. Conduct several interviews and consider each candidate before adding them to your team.
    • Focus on opt-in strategies. There are several ways to go about marketing, but opt-in strategies tend to be the most effective. These strategies focus on having users opt-in to your sales funnel, typically via email subscription. Once the customer opts in, you send regular messages to bring them deeper into your brand.
    • Make it personal. Don’t you hate emails that start with, “Dear valued customer…?” Well, your customers do too. Use names, send out happy birthday wishes and make an extra effort to let your customers know you put them first. Personalization goes a long way.
    • Analyze your effectiveness. Check on the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns regularly. The more you do, the more you’ll learn what works, what doesn’t and what strategies you can employ to improve your marketing outcomes.
    • Take advantage of technology. This topic wouldn’t even be a topic if it weren’t for technological innovation. Technology has made several aspects of life more accessible, and marketing is no exception. Take advantage of the various technologies available to you to improve your marketing effectiveness.
    • Ask for referrals. Word-of-mouth is still as effective today as it has always been. There’s no shame in asking for referrals to tap into this reliable stream of leads.
    • Ask for reviews. Customers look at reviews online before making purchases more today than ever before. Ask for reviews to ensure that when someone searches for hints about client experiences with you, they find positive results.

    Related: Thinking of Taking Your Marketing In-House? Think Again.

    Take advantage of technology

    The right technology can expand the effectiveness of your online advertising campaigns, especially if marketing has become part of your company-handled operations. You can even automate much of the marketing process to lighten the load on your team.

    You’re not alone if you’re tired of working through the headaches of outsourced marketing. More and more companies are shifting to in-house marketing strategies because of all the advantages the concept brings to the table.

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    Adam Chandler

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  • 6 Ways to Foster Teamwork in Your Business

    6 Ways to Foster Teamwork in Your Business

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Teamwork is essential to any successful business, as it allows employees to pool their skills and knowledge to complete tasks more efficiently and effectively. But, just having a team of employees is not enough to guarantee success. To get the most out of your team, you must encourage successful teamwork within your organization.

    Let’s discuss six ways to do just that. With these tips, you can foster an environment of collaboration, trust and understanding that will help your team reach their potential and drive success for your business.

    Related: The Importance of Teamwork and Collaboration

    1. Define roles and responsibilities

    When it comes to successful teamwork in your business, one of the most important elements is having clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Each team member must understand their role and how they fit into the bigger picture. Having well-defined roles will allow each team member to take ownership of their own tasks and understand how their work fits into the collective success of the entire team.

    Before any work can begin, it’s essential to identify each team member’s skills and experience and assign specific roles accordingly. Make sure each team member is aware of their duties and responsibilities, and don’t be afraid to give them room to explore their talents and use them to benefit the team. This will help ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal and promote collaboration and camaraderie amongst team members.

    When defining roles and responsibilities, it’s important to consider how individual skills can complement those of other members. This can mean assigning more complex tasks to those with more experience or expertise while giving simpler tasks to those needing more time or guidance. By doing this, you are ensuring that everyone can contribute to the team’s success in their own way.

    Finally, ensure that you create a system for tracking progress and providing feedback. By setting deadlines for tasks and providing regular feedback to each team member, you are ensuring that everyone is held accountable for their work and helping them improve their skills. By defining roles and responsibilities, you are laying the foundation for a successful team that will help your business thrive.

    Related: How To Increase Employee Responsibility — Regardless of Where You’re Working

    2. Set clear goals and objectives

    Teamwork is essential for any business to succeed, but fostering collaboration and cooperation among your employees can be difficult. Set clear goals and objectives that the team can work towards together. Doing so helps give everyone a sense of purpose and direction while also helping them stay on track and avoid getting sidetracked by other tasks. When everyone understands what they are working towards, they will be more likely to collaborate and come up with creative solutions to any problems that may arise. Establishing clear goals and objectives can also help to motivate the team, giving them something to strive for and measuring their progress against.

    3. Encourage creativity

    Teamwork is essential to any successful business. To foster an atmosphere of collaboration and success, it is important to encourage creativity in your team. Here are a few ways to get your team thinking outside the box:

    • Brainstorming sessions — Use brainstorming sessions to develop new ideas or solutions to existing problems.
    • Promote healthy competition — Creating friendly competitions between teams or departments can help stimulate creativity and drive employees to think of creative solutions.
    • Support risk-taking — Encourage employees to take risks and suggest creative solutions without fear of failure.
    • Set a good example — Lead by example and show your team that you are open to new ideas and willing to take risks.
    • Celebrate successes — Celebrating successes will motivate team members to continue striving for success and take more risks.
    • Provide resources — Give employees access to the tools, resources, and training they need to create innovative solutions.
    • Create an inspiring workspace — A clean, organized, and inspiring workspace can help increase creativity.
    • Reward creative efforts — Rewarding creative efforts will show your team that you value their creative input and encourage them to keep coming up with new ideas.
    • Invest in technology — Invest in the latest technology to give your team access to the best tools for creative work.
    • Involve everyone — Involving everyone in the creative process will ensure everyone can contribute their ideas and benefit from the team’s success.

    4. Celebrate successes

    Teamwork is essential to the success of any business. Encouraging successful teamwork starts with celebrating successes and recognizing individuals and teams for their contributions. Celebrating achievements, big or small, helps to create a positive and productive atmosphere in the workplace and will help to motivate and engage employees.

    • Share success stories with the team — Take time to recognize individual and team successes by highlighting them in meetings or emails.
    • Give out rewards — Reward employees for their hard work and accomplishments by providing bonuses, gift cards, or other incentives.
    • Showcase success on social media — Let your audience know about the great things your team has achieved by posting about them on social media.
    • Have team celebrations — Celebrate team successes by throwing an office party or team-building activity.
    • Say thank you — Make sure to take the time to thank each individual for their contributions, no matter how small.
    • Share recognition — Encourage team members to recognize each other’s successes and praise each other publicly.
    • Hold competitions — Give awards or prizes to teams or individuals who have achieved a particular goal or milestone.
    • Use public acknowledgment — Acknowledge successes in a public setting like a company newsletter or blog post.
    • Celebrate the little things — Don’t just focus on the big wins, but also take time to appreciate smaller successes along the way.
    • Set achievable goals — Create achievable goals that everyone can strive towards together as a team. This will encourage collaboration and support amongst team members and foster a spirit of success.

    Related: How to Set Goals and Celebrate the Successes

    5. Encourage healthy conflict

    When building a successful team, encouraging healthy conflict is essential. Healthy conflict encourages team members to think critically and view issues from multiple perspectives, which can lead to innovative problem-solving. To promote healthy conflict in your team, provide an environment where everyone can express their ideas without fear of being judged or attacked. Encourage active listening to ensure everyone feels heard, and consider setting ground rules for respectful communication. Inviting an outside facilitator to lead the discussion can also be beneficial in ensuring that dialogue remains constructive.

    6. Learn from failures

    Regarding teamwork, it is crucial to recognize that failure is essential to learning and growth. If a team works together to complete a task but fails, it can be a valuable opportunity to learn from mistakes and to try something different. Leaders should encourage the team to discuss what went wrong and brainstorm ways to do better the next time. This dialogue will help build a culture of open communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.

    Additionally, when a team experiences failure, leaders should provide recognition for any hard work and contributions made by individual team members. Doing so will help ensure that even when projects don’t end up as expected, everyone can still feel a sense of accomplishment for their effort.

    Finally, take the time to reflect on what was learned from the failure and use this knowledge to inform future tasks. With this approach, teams can move forward with greater confidence, knowing they have the tools and strategies necessary for success.

    The key to successful teamwork is open communication and collaboration. By leveraging these tips, you can encourage effective teamwork in your business and promote a culture of trust and respect. With the right tools and strategies, you can help create a positive environment for teams to achieve success.

    Let Hana Retail be your POS system and experience the power of teamwork! Our innovative technology allows multiple users to access the system simultaneously and collaborate on tasks, streamlining customer service and increasing efficiency. With us, you’ll have a POS system that works with your team, not against it.

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    Murali Nethi

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  • Why High-Performance Culture Is Critical to Business Success in 2023

    Why High-Performance Culture Is Critical to Business Success in 2023

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With 2023 business planning underway, business leaders are setting priorities for the next year and beyond. For some, the focus may emphasize productivity or roll back certain benefits like flexible working schedules.

    A high-performance culture improves productivity, bringing higher profits and happier employees, improving talent retention and continuing a growth cycle. A cornerstone of 2023 growth should be building or maintaining a high-performance culture for all businesses. Refraining or forgetting about culture in 2023 is a mistake, as it plays a critical role in company performance.

    Related: How to Create a Work Culture That Can Survive Anything

    Understanding the importance of high-performance culture

    A high-performance culture allows an organization to succeed and grow. This type of structure is good for business and for each employee. Not every high-performance culture will look the same, yet every organization with a high-performance culture values workers and holds their trust in return.

    Employees may come to work partly for a paycheck, yet evidence suggests they crave meaning from work and are more productive when they get it. Like everyone, workers want to feel a sense of purpose and mission in their daily lives and enjoying the same at work is only natural.

    The best cultures embed their mission throughout the employee experience, honoring and furthering these values daily. These cultures also offer their employees interesting and engaging projects which drive their sense of belonging to the organization. A recent survey by McKinsey showed workers across all levels of income believed having an interesting job was as important as earning a solid income.

    Related: How to Develop a Company Vision and Values That Employees Buy Into

    Workers feel fulfilled by purpose-driven work. Unfortunately, many employers ignore culture in favor of focusing on profits. Workers need clarification and connection in these types of work environments. In a survey from Gallup, only four in 10 employees strongly agreed they knew what their company stands for and what differentiates their company from competitors. Even for organizations that articulate their values often, management could be viewed poorly if employees do not see the connection between the values and the organization’s actions.

    When leaders grow nervous about their businesses’ future, it can feel tempting to ignore culture at the expense of profit. In fact, culture becomes even more important in times of economic uncertainties. In these moments, employees will look to management to set the tone. Without a culture fostering engagement and collaboration, workers could lose productivity to stress and conflict.

    Related: Why Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurs Focus on the Bigger Picture

    How to build a high-performance culture

    To build a high-performance culture, first, understand how your culture functions. Employees usually understand culture best simply by judging their own level of satisfaction. Their daily experiences are typically defined by coworkers and frontline managers more than company management. Leaders who do not work with frontline managers daily will likely need to speak with employees to understand their experiences.

    Signs of an underperforming culture could include low employee retention, low productivity and frequent workplace conflicts. Not every employee will be satisfied, even in the highest-performing cultures, but consistently unhappy employees reflect serious problems. Direct, private conversations between employees and HR can offer insight. If employees seem reluctant to speak candidly, much-needed feedback via surveys can provide ways to track improvement.

    After gathering information about employee experiences, HR may wish to prepare a report assessing culture as it stands. Strong cultures should clearly understand which policies contribute to the culture and how to continue them. Doing so will help preserve civilization in the face of future business difficulties or leadership changes.

    On the other hand, struggling cultures need to identify the most negative factors of their culture to begin changing. High-performance cultures feature strong leaders, actively engaged employees, ongoing workforce development, strong communication and adaptability. If employees are disengaged, find out whether imbalanced workloads, micromanaging, lack of flexibility or absence of trust could contribute.

    During this process, employees also feel their input is genuinely welcomed, which it should be. Psychologically, employees accustomed to a toxic culture may fear expressing their true thoughts, mainly if their frontline managers previously engaged in verbal abuse or insults. Build this trust by taking accountability to admit that culture has not met the mark and protect employees who voice their concerns from retaliation.

    Each leadership level, from the C-suite to frontline managers, plays an integral role in rebuilding a company’s culture. The positive vision set forth at the top needs to be actionable. Once the vision has more tangible attributes, through structure and processes, each level of leadership can provide the necessary training and easily communicate these goals on how they translate into the fabric of the company.

    A high-performance culture is often viewed as optional. That cannot be further from the truth. A high-performance culture is the backbone of an organization, providing a strong framework for business growth. Moving into 2023, culture should be central to every successful business strategy.

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    Steve Arizpe

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  • How This Entrepreneur Went From Broke to $2.3 Million in Sales

    How This Entrepreneur Went From Broke to $2.3 Million in Sales

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Three things must fall into place to retrain your brain for wealth and change the trajectory of your life. This entrepreneur used the “3 E Method” to turn around a failing business in a few short months.

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    Ben Angel

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  • 78% of Employers Are Using Remote Work Tools to Spy on You

    78% of Employers Are Using Remote Work Tools to Spy on You

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    78% of employers use software to spy on employees. But the research — and common sense — shows that this tempting practice does far more harm than good. And 83% of employers acknowledge that it’s ethically questionable. When you spy on your people, you trade trust, culture and morale for sketchy data and productivity theater.

    Work-from-home and hybrid models are here to stay. Companies everywhere are investing millions in digital employee experience (DEX), which reduces IT friction and makes employees happier and more productive. Separately, the same remote and hybrid shift has encouraged companies to deploy so-called productivity surveillance technologies. These have the opposite effect and even punish those who allegedly waste company time.

    DEX and productivity surveillance are very different. DEX helps employees and their companies, while surveillance harms both. What’s more, data from productivity surveillance is, ironically, a terrible measure of productivity. Many companies have good justifications for specific, security and compliance monitoring practices. But we shouldn’t let productivity surveillance hide in the shadow of necessary measures that prevent disasters like data breaches.

    What’s productivity surveillance, and what does it measure?

    Leaders are worried about productivity. 85% blame hybrid work for obscuring whether employees are being productive, even though 87% of employees report they’re more productive working from home.

    Productivity surveillance includes things like taking screenshots throughout the day, logging keystrokes and clicks, analyzing message frequency and length and tracking website usage. All in order to measure, safeguard and (managers hope) increase worker productivity.

    Companies implement productivity surveillance to police how employees are spending their time. But, the proxy measures they use are extremely problematic. Screenshots, keyloggers, mouse trackers and message frequency logs don’t capture the important work that takes place away from company devices. Social workers, for example, have been penalized for visiting clients. Companies have docked pay for routine bathroom breaks. And none of these intrusions measure true productivity, like outcomes, work quality or goal attainment.

    This technology is doing real harm to people who don’t deserve it. And for what?

    Related: Can Employee Monitoring Be Done Ethically?

    The not-so-hidden harm and unbearable cost of surveillance

    Productivity surveillance damages the relationship between workers and companies and makes employees more likely to lie, cheat, steal, pretend to work and quit.

    43% of remote workers feel employee surveillance violates their trust; 59% feel anxiety; 26% feel resentment, and 28% feel underappreciated when subjected to such technologies. Tracked employees are nearly two times more likely to fake work and they spend over an hour extra online every day on average just to be seen by colleagues and managers.

    The authors of two 2021 studies discovered many paradoxical effects of employee surveillance. Monitored workers are “substantially more likely” to engage in myriad negative behaviors, including damaging and stealing workplace property, taking unapproved breaks, disregarding instructions and cheating, working at a purposefully slow pace and blaming others for their actions.

    During the pandemic, people took stock of their priorities. Millions have quit jobs because of poor working conditions and bad work-life balance and productivity surveillance decays both. Nearly 60% of tech workers said they would reject a job offer if they were surveilled by audio or video to enforce productivity. Roughly half would leave a job if their employers used audio and/or video surveillance, facial recognition, keystroke tracking or screenshots.

    Related: Your Boss is Watching You. Here’s Why Monitoring Workers Can Be …

    DEX vs. productivity surveillance

    DEX, on the other hand, is a category of technology and strategies to empower — not punish — workers. DEX tools find and fix IT issues before they cause delays and frustration, and track employee sentiment about IT experiences to continuously improve them behind the scenes.

    DEX is distinct from productivity surveillance because it scrutinizes things, not people: device performance, network speed, application crashes and the like. Companies use this data to enhance the technology experience for workers, not to evaluate productivity or punish them. This is precisely what employees want: 90% say their company’s digital experience has room for improvement, 82% say the delayed resolution of IT issues slows employees down and 68% say DEX has a high or critical level of influence on revenue.

    Related: How to Effectively Measure and Track Employee Productivity

    The contrast couldn’t be clearer. DEX makes workers more productive, makes the workday more enjoyable and makes companies more money. Policing productivity with surveillance makes your employees feel demoralized, untrusted and eager to find a better job. For leaders, it’s time to take a hard look at your so-called productivity surveillance technologies, practices and data. It’s also a moment for introspection. Let’s end this misguided trend before it goes any further.

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    Mark Banfield

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