ReportWire

Tag: Growth Strategies

  • Free Whitepaper: Canada Market Opportunities & Sales Strategies

    Free Whitepaper: Canada Market Opportunities & Sales Strategies

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    With $364.5 billion in sales, Canada was a top market for American businesses in 2021. Has your company considered selling your goods or services there?

    EXIM and the U.S. Commercial Service have partnered to create market guides to support American entrepreneurs. Download your copy for a country profile, sector opportunities, sales strategies, and more.

    Data Includes:

    • Sector Research: The most important question for every seller is, will my product or service succeed internationally? In this guide, you’ll see projections for several key industries, including sales performance, applicable legislation, public project opportunities, and more.
    • Sales Strategies: Every culture is different, and what works in one location may be received differently in another country. To lessen the burden of sales in a new market, learn about pricing, product differentiators, distribution, marketing tips, business networks, and more.
    • Bureaucratic Differences: Don’t be surprised by differences in the legal and regulatory systems in other countries. This guide will point you towards subjects to be aware of, like trade agreements, tariffs or taxes, intellectual property protection, doing business with the local government, and more.

    Complete the form below to access our free whitepaper.

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  • Free Whitepaper: Mexico Market Opportunities & Export Strategies

    Free Whitepaper: Mexico Market Opportunities & Export Strategies

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    With $324.3 billion export sales, Mexico was a top market for American exporters in 2022. Has your company considered selling your goods or services there?

    EXIM and the U.S. Commercial Service have partnered to create market guides to support American exporters. Download your copy for a country profile, sector opportunities, sales strategies, and more.

    Data Includes:

    • Sector Research: The most important question for every exporter is, will my product or service succeed internationally? In this guide, you’ll see projections for several key industries, including sales performance, applicable legislation, public project opportunities, and more.
    • Sales Strategies: Every culture is different, and what works in one location may be received differently in another country. To lessen the burden of selling in a new market, learn about pricing, product differentiators, distribution, marketing tips, business networks, and more.
    • Bureaucratic Differences: Don’t be surprised by differences in the legal and regulatory systems in other countries. This guide will point you towards subjects to be aware of, like trade agreements, tariffs or taxes, intellectual property protection, doing business with the local government, and more.

    Complete the form below to access our free whitepaper.

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  • The Pros and Cons of Hiring Family Members in a Small Business | Entrepreneur

    The Pros and Cons of Hiring Family Members in a Small Business | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Even though we already had four children, when my husband Phil and I started CorpNet, our goal was not to create a dynastic family firm. Yet here we are, 14 years later, with two kids on the payroll.

    That’s not unusual; there are over 5.5 million family-owned businesses in America. Like most small businesses, family-owned companies struggle to find skilled employees. To meet this challenge, small business owners should ignore conventional wisdom and explore all avenues of finding good workers. One way to find the employees you need is to do what we did — hire family members, whether your own or relatives of your current staff.

    While this may be perceived as nepotism, hiring family members has several strategic advantages.

    Related: 5 Tips to Successfully Manage ‘Friends and Family’ Hires

    The pros

    1. Shared vision and values

    Family members often share similar values, work ethics and long-term goals. In PwC’s 2023 U.S. Family Business Survey, 90% of respondents of all generations say, “Growth is important because it enables them to invest in their company’s future.”

    Your kids likely share your values and goals. But look beyond that. Let’s say you have a high-performing employee that fits your company’s culture — they may have a sibling or a spouse with the same traits. Hiring them (of course, you should vet them as you would any new hire) can save you the time and money of searching for a new employee and the concern that your new hire won’t fit your company culture.

    When employees (related or not) share values, it’s often easier to work toward achieving common goals since they’re invested in each other’s success.

    2. Trust

    For small businesses to succeed, your team must trust one another. Family members have a pre-existing foundation of trust, and that attitude can spread to other employees, creating a strong team bond.

    Trust among your staff enhances communication, collaboration, goal-setting and decision-making. And 91% of business executives surveyed in PwC’s 2023 Trust Survey say maintaining trust improves the bottom line.

    3. Loyalty

    Employees want to work for companies where they know their opinions are respected. When your hire a relative of a current employee, they feel valued that you trusted their recommendation, deepening their loyalty.

    Family members likely enjoy working together, which further cements their loyalty to your business.

    4. Efficient communication

    Family members typically communicate more easily and effectively due to their familiarity and shared experiences. This streamlined communication minimizes miscommunications and misunderstandings.

    5. Lower recruitment costs

    Recruitment can be costly and time-consuming — especially today when many businesses compete for the same employees. Small business owners can reduce recruitment expenses, such as paying for job listings, recruiters or employment agencies, by hiring their kids or employees’ relatives.

    Also, since your children and the relatives of current employees are already familiar with your business, the onboarding process is shorter, reducing training time and costs.

    Related: The No. 1 Reason You Should Hire a Family Member

    The cons

    Of course, hiring family members can have some potential drawbacks. Here’s what to look out for:

    1. Appearance of nepotism

    Whether you’re hiring members of employees’ families or yours, other employees may resent these new hires, assuming they’re not qualified for the job. Transparency is essential. Tell your staff about the familial relationship and why you think the new worker will make a great team member.

    2. Preferential treatment

    It is critical that the new hire does not get preferential treatment. Family members should avoid inside jokes, telling secrets and any other behavior that would cause resentment.

    Job responsibilities, wages and paid time off for similar positions should be the same. Even a hint of special treatment will increase resentment in the rest of the staff.

    3. Emotional baggage

    Family members may bring emotional baggage and existing conflicts into the workplace, creating tension and making it difficult to work together. Those tensions can permeate throughout your company, negatively impacting growth.

    Regular communication is key to resolving family conflicts. The 2023 North America Family Business Report from Brightstar Capital Partners and Campden Wealth reveals that 49% of respondents experienced family conflict on the job, which for 41% resulted in a communications breakdown, impacting the entire company.

    Before family members join your company, you or your HR manager should set boundaries between the related employees (including you and your family). Explain what behaviors are not acceptable in the office. Consider adding a section about this to your employee handbooks.

    Related: The Do’s and Don’ts of Involving Family in Your Business

    Tips for hiring family members

    When hiring relatives, you need to:

    • Be clear about your expectations. Set clear expectations for the new hires so they understand their roles and responsibilities. When hiring family, it’s key to temper your expectations. Don’t expect them to be perfect or to think exactly as you do, and be patient. Give them time to adjust to their new roles. Also, if applicable, explain your expectations to the employee who suggested you hire their relative. If things don’t work out, you don’t want to lose your other employee as well.
    • Be fair and impartial. All employees should be treated equally. Favoritism is never acceptable.
    • Hire the best person for the job. Never feel obligated to hire relatives (your own or an employee’s) simply because they’re family. Make sure they’re qualified for the job.

    Before making a final decision, weighing the benefits of hiring family members against the potential drawbacks is critical.

    At my company, we have hired relatives of our employees and found that they work hard, quickly fit into our company culture and help us focus on growth and success. And while my kids work at CorpNet now, I don’t have unrealistic expectations. We’re not grooming them to take over. My children have aspirations and want to start their own businesses.

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    Nellie Akalp

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  • 5 Ways to Create Content That’s Actually Helpful | Entrepreneur

    5 Ways to Create Content That’s Actually Helpful | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Whether you’re creating content for social media or PR pitches, savvy marketers will give you the same advice: Make it useful and actionable. However, what’s talked about much less often is how actually to do that.

    In the media world, those little bits of helpful information are called “service,” — and journalists are pros at adding it to an article. Editors will often tell their reporters to add a bit of service to a column to make it higher value for the reader. Your company can employ this same strategy in your own content.

    When content is serviceable, your audience is more likely to remember it, share it and return to you for more high-value information. It’s a strategy for building long-term trust and loyalty with your audience (and ultimately revenue as they turn to you, the industry thought leader, for their needs).

    Nearly 70 percent of businesses plan to increase their content marketing budgets this year, per Semrush. If you’re spending a budget on content marketing, here are five things that will make your content more serviceable — and more likely to produce a high ROI.

    1. Tips are realistic and simple to follow

    You may be tempted to give lofty suggestions like “repaint your living room to make it feel more spacious” or “install a home gym to work out more.” But these are quick ways to dissuade your busy audience from engaging further.

    Instead, research to provide tips your readers can follow easily and realistically.

    More practical tips might include “arrange your short furniture against the wall so you can see more of the floor, which makes a living room seem bigger” or “join no-equipment workouts like tai chi or yoga with a group to help you stay accountable with your fitness goals.”

    If a tip takes more than 5 minutes for your audience to complete, you’re probably asking too much.

    Related: How to Showcase Your Expertise and Become a Thought Leader

    2. Following the advice is low-cost or free

    Similarly, your audience shouldn’t have to dig far into their wallets to follow your advice. You want to provide them with something of value for free before you ask them for their business with your company. It somewhat defeats the purpose if your content requires them to spend.

    Both of the examples listed in the previous tip — moving furniture around your living room or joining a free outdoor fitness class — can be done at no out-of-pocket cost.

    The best pieces of service are those that are free, but keep it under $20 if cash is required.

    Related: Why Content Marketing Is Crucial to Your Business

    3. The advice is highly specific

    Provide your audience with specific steps to get started and provide as many examples as possible.

    For instance, if you’re a cookie company suggesting ice cream sandwiches for the summer, provide actual step-by-step recipes your audience can follow. Or if you’re a barista training school, don’t just tell your students that beautiful latte art requires patience and practice — give them a detailed guide on pouring slowly, getting close to the cup and choosing the right milk for a perfectly frothy result.

    4. Your recommendations are vetted by an expert

    Although your brand is speaking as the expert here, it’s even better if you can quote an individual within your company (or a trusted expert outside of it) to incorporate that human element.

    For instance, a skincare company could ask the dermatologist it developed the line with to share tips on a trending topic, like the skin barrier. Whether you’re the expert or quoting an outsider source, note any credentials to establish authority from the get-go.

    Having an expert vet your company’s recommendations is also a great way to get press around your serviceable content since journalists are always looking for high-value sources.

    Related: 5 Things Journalists Wish You Knew About Getting Press Coverage for Your Company

    5. The content is original to your company

    It’s surprising to see how many companies simply repurpose other information found online. You don’t need to do that! You’re the expert in your field, so consult your own experiences to create content that hasn’t been published elsewhere.

    One great way to do this is by referring to the common questions customers come to you with and the answers you provide them with. The more specific you can get, the better.

    Let’s go back to that barista training school example. If a student asks you questions about the specific ratio needed for different types of pour-over techniques, that’s a great piece of content to create — especially if you have a perspective different from the industry norm.

    The bottom line: If you identify pain points in your target audience and provide realistic solutions, you will be able to create quality content for your audience. Keep their best interests in mind, connect with them on a human level and don’t forget to showcase your credentials along the way.

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    Kelsey Kloss

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  • 3 Investments That Will Transform Your Small Business | Entrepreneur

    3 Investments That Will Transform Your Small Business | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    I’ve been fortunate to spend more than a decade of my career serving the small business industry. One thing that I’ve seen consistently over the years — whether it’s a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Missouri, an ecommerce business based in Virginia or a hair salon in Texas — is that in order for a small business to grow and thrive, owners must invest strategically in tools and technologies to help them succeed.

    This extends beyond simply going online to order a laptop for all your business dealings or setting up a company website — although those are good places to start! The right tools can help power a business, taking it to the next level of growth while making the owner’s life easier and more manageable.

    Here are three areas business owners should consider investing in that can help transform their operations and catapult their growth.

    Related: A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Managing Funds and Investments

    1. Unlocking the power of AI and automation

    Artificial intelligence is the hot, new buzzword — the technology trend that’s generating the most excitement around its potential use cases, particularly as more and more people experiment with generative AI like ChatGPT.

    For business owners who are strapped for time, the opportunity to automate tedious and time-consuming tasks is extremely appealing. In fact, according to a recent survey we did, almost all small business owners are eager to automate operational tasks with the help of AI: from expense management (69%), to invoicing (68%) and completing payroll (51%). They look forward to offloading some of these monotonous but important tasks to technology solutions.

    I recommend evaluating key areas of your business operations that are critical to your cash flow, for example, monthly invoicing. Finding ways to improve efficiency by automating repetitive tasks will help save time and money every month, compounding the overall benefit.

    The impact of the potential time savings from AI is huge, with 43% of business owners saying they’d use the time to develop customer relationships and 36% would develop more products and services with the extra time. The true power of AI is it creates the capacity to focus on building relationships, creating new offerings and innovating — areas where the human touch is still essential to success.

    2. Managing the employee experience

    Another area where technology can make a huge difference is the complicated process of onboarding, managing and paying employees. Personal relationships between a business owner and employees are of course crucial, but by investing in a human capital management (HCM) software solution upfront, business owners can greatly simplify some routine tasks.

    Calculating payroll for hourly workers, managing schedules and deducting appropriate taxes are all things HCM solutions can effectively take off a business owner’s plate. This results in significant time savings (similar to the monthly invoicing example above, these are tasks that repeat consistently, compounding the overall benefit). It also ensures greater peace of mind as tax compliance is an area that many business owners struggle to navigate with confidence. Finally, it helps employees, as it provides greater transparency and accessibility to paystubs and other important financial documents.

    Related: Three Reasons Why It’s Never Too Early to Invest in HR

    3. Reach new and existing customers with breakthrough marketing

    According to our recent survey, half of small business owners agree that customer retention is among the most important business metrics for judging the success of a business. Businesses need customers to buy their products and services, but 20% of businesses said acquiring customers is the biggest obstacle inhibiting their growth, second only to the rising cost of inflation.

    Automation tools can help with both of these challenges by making it faster and more efficient to manage your company email and social media marketing. Whether it’s leveraging an email marketing solution to reach new and existing customers or experimenting with paid ads on social media platforms, more and more companies are taking the guesswork out of marketing for business owners so they can better target, reach and communicate with their intended audiences. Now businesses can leverage the templates, insights and best practices that are available to them via these platforms rather than reinventing the wheel with every ad or email blast. Additionally, the metrics and insights provided on the backend can help businesses to test and learn, seeing what resonates with their audiences and truly moves the needle.

    Our survey found that four in five small business owners plan to invest in digital tools this year. That’s great news for all of us who love and support small businesses, as it will undoubtedly help many companies continue to grow and reach new goals. For any entrepreneurs ready to invest in their brand’s future but unsure where to start, I recommend exploring the capabilities of AI and automation and how tools can help streamline the employee management experience, customer communication and marketing. With the help of technology and tools, the sky is truly the limit for small businesses everywhere.

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    Rich Rao

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  • 10 AI Tools That You Should Be Using In Your Business This Year | Entrepreneur

    10 AI Tools That You Should Be Using In Your Business This Year | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We hear a lot about AI, and there’s no question that this technology will have a great impact on our businesses in the next few years. But what about now? Here are 10 AI tools that you can use today to help increase productivity and hopefully profits.

    This is the conversational chatbot created by OpenAI that started the hype late last year and it really does have a lot of things a business owner can be hyped about. Use it to write blogs, suggest better ways to create emails, analyze your website to improve search results, do advanced math, create HR policies and a number of other functions. You should also play with OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 app which can create images using text commands (i.e. “a horse standing by a river.”) that can be used on company communications or your website.

    Microsoft owns 49% of OpenAI (and ChatGPT is hosted by Microsoft servers) so a lot of ChatGPT’s functionality will soon be part of the Copilot app which can already be used with Bing searches but will also be a major part of Office in the next year. You’ll use Copilot to analyze spreadsheets, create templates, update presentations and even have it attend Teams meetings on your behalf.

    Related: The Future Founder’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence

    Bard is Google’s answer to ChatGPT and Duet is the application that will use Bard’s underlying Large Language Model to power Google’s business apps in a very similar fashion to Microsoft Copilot. The release of these features is expected within the next six months, but already Gmail is using Bard’s AI to help write emails and check grammar.

    Very similar to Dall-E, Crayon is an advanced image generator that uses AI to generate art, photos, drawings and other graphics directly from your text descriptions. The quality is excellent and the variety of choices is seemingly endless. Use this for images on your website or other promotional content.

    If your business is heavily into content, Heywire is a powerful content generator that uses AI to glean information from the Internet and automatically turn it into stories, articles and other blog forms. The application uses real-time, journalistically validated data that you can publish. The tool can help further establish you and your company as a thought leader in your industry. It can also establish multiple “personalities” for whoever you want to be seen writing and creating social posts based on the content it generates.

    Ever bump into a really interesting video and then see how long it is and then say to yourself “I don’t have the time.” Eightify solves that problem. This AI app will watch the video for you and then summarize it into specific points of interest. As a business owner, we often have to wear all the hats. Which means we have to be knowledgeable about a bunch of different subjects. There’s so much great content on video that can help us run our business and with this app, we can absorb much more information than ever before.

    I’ve been using Temi for years and, as a writer, swear by it! It’s a powerful AI-driven transcription service. I upload audio and video recordings I’ve made and within minutes, Temi transcribes it into words — and it’s close to flawless. Transcribing a 10-minute recording costs just a few bucks too.

    Need a good, professional form for your business? Maybe a job application? A quotation template? A request form for people visiting your website? Feathery uses AI to create professional-looking forms in just minutes. You can save and edit forms as you create them and customize them for your business. All of this is done through a natural language interface.

    Related: Previous Tech Revolutions Rewarded the Builders — This AI Revolution Will Reward the Users. Here’s Why.

    Want to prepare your prospective employees for a job interview? Or perhaps you’re a freelancer or remote independent contractor that’s scheduled to speak with a prospective client. Interview.ai uses AI to walk you through the conversation in advance. Its mock interviews will help you hone your speaking skills and its algorithms generate interview questions that are tailored to the job and to the industry. The platform promises to deliver customized questions that are both technical and situational, all based on the information you provide beforehand.

    So many of us are using video in our businesses for campaigns, case studies, testimonials or just to generate some buzz. The videos go on our website but of course, we want to do more with them. That’s where Opus Clip comes in. Using their AI-generated platform you can upload a long video and it will break it down into shorter, more digestible clips that can then be posted on social media or included in your email campaigns.

    Pretty cool, right? And I’m just scratching the surface. All of this reminds me of the early days of the iPhone and its smartphone competitors where apps began appearing — and then proliferating. I expect the same to happen during this AI revolution. So there are lots more to come. But in the meantime, play with these tools and I promise good results — and better productivity.

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    Gene Marks

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  • The 4 Most Important Skills I Prioritized When Scaling My Business to Seven Figures | Entrepreneur

    The 4 Most Important Skills I Prioritized When Scaling My Business to Seven Figures | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In today’s fiercely competitive corporate landscape, sales teams are an integral part of a business’s growth and market position. These teams are the frontline warriors who build relationships, close deals and connect with customers. Yet, many leaders mistakenly forget that behind every strong sales team is an effective leader who understands the critical role of clearly communicating and harnessing their team’s full potential.

    At the age of 20, I joined a small wireless dealer that was less than a year old, and within three years, aggressively scaled the company to 28 different locations across four states with a sales force of over 100 people, driving gross commissions of up to $1.6 million a month.

    Reflecting on our rise to dominance, I’ve identified four essential skills that were instrumental in sustaining our high performance. These skills are not only important but an absolute necessity when building a thriving sales team that shatters the results of the average.

    Related: How to Grow Your Sales Team into an Efficient, Revenue-Generating Machine

    Steer the ship, don’t mop the deck

    To build a thriving sales team, you must identify and cultivate great leaders. It’s not merely about replacing yourself but replicating your abilities, your vision and your drive in others. As you scale, your responsibility is not to micromanage, but to empower and delegate. And to do this, you need leaders.

    For example, when a location faced staffing issues, my first instinct wasn’t to rush in and personally recruit sales reps, regardless of how dire the situation was. Instead, my focus was on finding a leader. Why? Because the leader is the one who can turn the tide, who can take the reins, and steer the location out of trouble.

    In sales, every role has its battlefield. As a district manager or regional role and above, your battlefield is not to mop the deck; it’s the broader strategic actions. Steer the ship. If you find yourself too deep into the weeds, getting caught up in recruiting and managing sales reps, you’re not fulfilling your role as a leader; you’re slipping into the role of a manager. This shift can detract from your capacity to tackle larger responsibilities and restrict your ability to influence the broader organizational landscape.

    Related: In the World of Recruiting, 3 Leadership Qualities to Look for

    Communicate directly and more than you think is necessary

    At the heart of strong leadership is clear, consistent and honest communication. Clear communication helps in aligning the team with the organization’s goals and vision. Consistent communication ensures that everyone is on the same page, avoiding misunderstandings and strengthening a unified approach to achieving targets. Honesty, meanwhile, builds trust and loyalty, creating a supportive environment that boosts morale and productivity.

    In the end, the effectiveness of a sales team is a reflection of leadership, and leadership, in turn, is a reflection of communication. The clarity, consistency and honesty of your communication will define your leadership, influence your team’s performance and ultimately determine your success.

    Let’s consider a real-world scenario. Suppose payroll is going to be late — which can cause distress for any team. A leader might be tempted to avoid communicating, fearing the team’s reaction. But stepping up and transparently communicating the issue is far wiser.

    As soon as the issue is identified, call your leaders directly, explain what happened, the steps you’ve taken to resolve it, and when they can expect a resolution. This approach not only shows your team that you respect and value them, but it also demonstrates your ability to handle crises and your commitment to transparency. Even though the news is unfavorable, the strength of your leadership softens the blow, proving that clear and honest communication is an absolute necessity.

    To put it simply, if you want to build a strong sales team, start by taking a good look at how you communicate.

    Related: How Successful Leaders Communicate With Their Teams

    Create a consistent culture of accountability

    Accountability often gets a bad rap, typically associated with blame and penalties. However, in a thriving sales environment, accountability is impartial. It’s about setting expectations, following up on them, and recognizing that good, bad, or no results are all valuable feedback.

    In a sales team, consistency in accountability conversations creates a space for proud report-ups, creating an environment ripe for praise and recognition. So when the occasion calls for difficult conversations, they become much easier to have. The accountability culture is not about being faultless; it’s about creating an environment where everyone is learning, growing, and driving toward collective success.

    Related: 7 Ways to Promote a Company Culture of Accountability

    Be an unstoppable sales force yourself

    Within an aggressively expanding sales organization, the velocity of the operations, the intensity of the competition, and the high stakes of success put a considerable amount of pressure on leadership. As such, the person leading charge needs to embody more than just strategic vision and managerial prowess. They also need to have a deep understanding of sales and a solid track record of success in this field.

    Such a leader, equipped with a proven record of success, not only gains credibility and respect but also brings firsthand insight into effective strategy development. Their expertise becomes a cornerstone for training, helping team members enhance their skills and navigate challenges. When able to lead by example, they can embody the attitudes and behaviors that spur success, setting high standards and inspiring excellence within the team.

    As your sales team grows, you will need to expand your leadership team and delegate responsibilities. At this stage, your ability to attract and retain leaders will depend on your personal growth as a leader, all of which revolve around these four skills. A leader must be equal to or exceed the level of those they lead. Anything less and they risk losing their team’s respect and confidence, which can negatively impact the team’s performance and success.

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    Kash Hasworth

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  • How to Harness Workplace Culture to Ensure a Profitable Exit | Entrepreneur

    How to Harness Workplace Culture to Ensure a Profitable Exit | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Many founders looking to sell their businesses consider offers from private equity firms, which typically buy out most of an owner’s stake while giving them a piece of the restructured organization, incentivizing them to fully participate in its transition and scale. These founders are in a unique position to help maximize the future value of their companies by supporting a critical aspect of their evolutions that most private equity firms don’t sufficiently prioritize.

    Private equity firms are highly focused on the financial and operational aspects of businesses’ potential, yet only a select few dedicate real, expert attention to the cultures of newly acquired portfolio companies. This can add risk to the strategies designed to grow organizations, as workplace cultures can serve to drive or impede companies’ success, depending on their nuances, and will take form regardless of what actions leaders take. They either develop organically without intention or alignment to strategy or are purposely shaped for organizations’ ultimate benefit.

    This offers founders the opportunity to step into the role of culture advocate and champion, helping retain core aspects of their original cultures while sunsetting those that need to evolve. Founders who truly engage fully and openly in this process can help shape a culture 2.0 that honors the history and legacy of their organizations, maintaining the best of what they built, while serving strategic needs as the businesses grow.

    Related: What to Expect When Selling Your Business to a Private Equity Group

    A unique and singular role in cultural transitions

    Founders across industries — from healthcare services to tech — are known for pouring their hearts and souls into their businesses, all but ensuring the cultures that develop are intertwined with their values, workstyles and preferences. As such, they can have an incredibly strong influence on the design of a refreshed culture that encourages the ideal combination of behaviors that will drive future value creation — from how decisions are made to openness toward new ways of working to how leaders share information.

    Of course, founders can also struggle with the idea that the companies they built tirelessly will undergo cultural changes — reflecting the years and often decades they’ve invested in creating positive and productive workplaces. Feelings of defensiveness and distrust are incredibly common, especially for those in service-minded, mission-driven sectors, like healthcare, who rely on a professional vocabulary distant and apart from the world of private equity.

    Founders should seek to identify these feelings and recognize what’s driving them, ultimately getting to a place of understanding that the culture that got them “here” won’t take them “there.” Getting “there” will necessitate an intentionally designed culture 2.0. Their participation in the development of such cultures, and openness to new leadership adding their fingerprints to what they’ve created, will best ensure that organizations maintain their “secret sauce” while embarking on their next chapters.

    Related: 3 Steps to Selling Your Business Without Sacrificing Its Soul

    Refreshing culture alongside private equity partners

    A growing number of top-performing private equity firms are achieving success by supporting the development of strong, healthy workplaces, especially in mission-driven organizations. Increasingly, the savviest of these investors recognize the value of cultural evolution within their portfolio as a driver of growth, although most will admit it’s not their particular area of expertise.

    This leaves an opening for founders to advocate for the intentional development of refreshed cultures that accelerate organizations’ journeys to growth and greater profitability while keeping their missions intact. Those who choose to be proactive in this area will overwhelmingly find willing and collaborative partners, as most private equity firms understand the importance of including founders in future-looking conversations. If anything, private equity firms are now so aware of the dangers of imposing their own top-down ethos that they often downplay the risk of inaction with regard to culture.

    Of course, founders can only advance these efforts to a point, as their enduring success and bottom-line impacts require more than just an individual proponent. They’ll need buy-in at the board level to greenlight the in-depth, expert work required to maximize results, including analyzing and mapping out the existing and desired future culture, designing and implementing work streams that facilitate a transition from one culture to another and “pulling” new cultural elements through every facet of the company until they become wholly engrained.

    Related: How to Retain Your Company Culture After Getting Acquired (And Why That’s So Important)

    Pre-close due diligence can further harness value

    The savviest founders are taking an even more proactive and novel approach toward maximizing their workplace cultures. Before putting their businesses up for sale, they’re utilizing third-party experts to independently assess and quantify the value of the people-centric elements of their businesses, including both the cultural strengths they’ve cultivated and also their existing leadership. Not only do these investments significantly reduce the efforts required to intentionally transition cultures after a transaction, but they also increase the value of the companies and boost what buyers are willing to pay for them, shedding light on what has traditionally been an unknown.

    These methods and tools are new but catching on, especially as more and more private equity firms, and founders alike, recognize how culture can serve as a barrier or a springboard toward a smooth and profitable exit.

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    David Eaton

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  • The Secret to Heftier Profits and Happier Employees Lies In This Industry | Entrepreneur

    The Secret to Heftier Profits and Happier Employees Lies In This Industry | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Labor shortages across the U.S. are impacting businesses of every size across all industries, with a whopping 9.9 million job openings and only 5.8 million unemployed workers available to fill the roles, according to the latest data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. While many factors are contributing to the labor shortage, at the heart, the problem is structural, with declining U.S. birth rates and the drop in net immigration resulting in a lack of available workers.

    Warehouse operations have been hit particularly hard by the labor shortage, complicated further by the extremely high turnover rate in the industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 216,000 people in the transportation and warehouse industry quit their job in April 2023. With 351,000 hires in the month, this exodus translates to a 3% quit rate, second only to the retail (3.5%) and leisure and hospitality (4.6%) sectors. Figures like these shine a spotlight on the retention and hiring challenges that business leaders across industries are facing.

    Related: The Labor Shortage Is Only Getting Worse. What’s Causing It and How Can I Avoid Losing Staff?

    Focus on happy teams

    In light of the labor supply/demand imbalance and the potentially crippling impact of peak season volumes on warehouse teams already stretched to the limit, meeting the demands of fulfillment operations is dependent on retaining quality workers. But employee retention is a significant hurdle, with an abundance of warehouse vacancies available across multiple industries and low barriers of entry for dissatisfied workers looking to change jobs. How can business leaders cope with this revolving door?

    Keeping existing warehouse staff happy with less stress and friction in their workday is fundamental to retailers’ retention efforts. While labor shortages are forcing organizations to do more with less in the warehouse, streamlining fulfillment workflows to increase efficiency and productivity, savvy business leaders are also looking at ways to optimize warehouse operations with the employee experience in mind.

    By leveraging warehouse management technology to simplify and expedite fulfillment tasks, companies can prevent workload overwhelm, reduce stress and improve job satisfaction for their warehouse teams which, in turn, helps to build loyalty and reduce employee churn.

    Related: 4 Ways to Boost Your Employee Retention in an Uncertain Economy

    Simplifying with tech

    While shipping the right items in the right quantities to the right customer may seem like a no-brainer from the outside looking in, warehouse teams relying on manual, paper-based practices are up against a wall. Given that one of the most common complaints of warehouse workers is unmanageable workloads, it’s a smart strategy to leverage technology that helps employees alleviate workplace stress by completing tasks faster yet with less effort.

    In addition to enabling more efficient workflows to boost fulfillment capacity, the aim of warehouse management systems (WMS) is to simplify and accelerate employees’ day-to-day tasks. When it comes to receiving, merchants without a WMS typically rely on specific staff to determine where to put inventory, which means that, oftentimes, the broader warehouse team does not always know where exactly to go (e.g. floor/area/aisle/shelf/bin) to find what they need for an order.

    With WMS technology that supports barcode scanning, inventory can be registered quickly into locations by scanning the location and the item. Barcoded items can be easily moved to new locations by scanning the item or selecting all items in the location. Armed with a barcode scanner and mobile app — instead of a clipboard — warehouse workers receive a digital pick list and follow guided optimized walking paths throughout the warehouse. Given they can walk several miles every day, reducing “mileage” makes the job easier and less physically taxing.

    In addition, tech-enabled pick methods (e.g. single item batch picking, pick and sort to trolley, multiple orders by item) enable workers to easily handle more volume, faster; for example, multi-order picking can decrease walk time by 85% compared to single order picking.

    Related: Using Tech to Build Supply Chain Resilience in a Changing World

    Job satisfaction linked to better operational metrics

    For businesses in diverse industries, adding a WMS to the tech stack is not just a boon for employee satisfaction, it produces substantial gains on the operational front as well. Organizations can manage their warehouse operations in real time, ensure inventory counts are accurate and synced with online storefronts and marketplaces to reduce the risk of overselling and increase fulfillment capacity with more efficient order picking and shipping. The ability to process more orders accurately and efficiently without hiring more people is particularly valuable in light of ongoing staffing challenges, helping to increase profit margins and drive growth.

    How business leaders are the gatekeepers to warehouse innovation

    For an organization to successfully leverage technology like WMS in the warehouse, top management must realize that supply chain and logistics agility is critical to company performance and take steps to enable innovation.

    Indeed, there’s a clear correlation between the strategies and decisions of top financial performers and those companies whose senior management hold the belief that supply chain and logistics innovation is crucial to success versus those whose senior management feels differently. Ultimately, business leaders across industries are the gatekeepers to technology innovation, and supply chain innovation in particular can make or break a company’s bottom line.

    This is underscored in the research study Supply Chain and Logistics Innovation Accelerates, but Has a Long Way to Go, which surveyed 1,000 global execs in the supply chain arena: “Respondents who said they were better financial performers were 20% more likely to have senior management who believes innovation is important and 16% more likely to have lower employee turnover.”

    In fact, when it comes to warehouse management in particular, 23% of respondents said that WMS technology will be one of the top focus areas for innovation for the next two years.

    In light of warehouse worker shortages, leaders need to prioritize the employee experience in the warehouse to ensure workers are happy, healthy and not looking for the door. They can accomplish this goal — and boost the bottom line at the same time — by opening the doors to innovation in their organization and leveraging warehouse management technology in order to streamline, accelerate and simplify order fulfillment operations. Everyone wins!

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    Johannes Panzer

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  • Collaboration Is the Key to Super-fast Growth | Entrepreneur

    Collaboration Is the Key to Super-fast Growth | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    British scientist Sir Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Newton knew his success was accelerated by the knowledge, support, and collaboration of others, and he was thoughtful enough to appreciate and communicate this.

    Often entrepreneurs, as natural-born leaders, are control freaks — much like I am. We feel like we have to take charge of every element of our business in order to ensure its chances of success.

    I personally find it incredibly helpful to know each area of my business well, as it’s difficult to provide good C-level management without experience (and hard graft) in the areas you are overseeing. But Sir Isaac Newton knew that working with others would provide him with much faster exponential growth. And so although it’s important to be in control of your business, it’s also fundamental to take advantage of changing market conditions and to jump up steps or growth hack whenever feasible.

    Related: The War Against Digital Currencies Is Being Lost: What You Need to Know to Take Advantage

    My businesses often find me innovating in areas of uncharted waters, and therefore the number of experienced players in the market is usually non-existent. This situation may leave you thinking that there aren’t any collaborators to join forces with, but there are always others who can get involved to help to boost your momentum and increase your exposure and connectivity.

    Collaboration truly is the key to success

    The legendary Abraham Accords was signed in 2020 with multiple middle eastern countries making peace treaties over collaboration in business and innovation. It was a momentous chapter in history — never has the region, or the world, frankly, seen such an alliance. According to The Abraham Accords Institute, the countries participating have already seen more than $3 billion in trade and revenue since its execution, and the setup of 17 new flight paths in the region.

    As stated by the institute, “The Abraham Accords paves the way for limitless economic opportunity and represents a significant opportunity for increased economic prosperity for the participating countries.”

    According to the Rand Foundation, the Abraham Accords, when fully realized, could create as many as 4 million new jobs and $1 trillion in new economic activity in its first decade, as well as aiding the regional recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Why fight with your competitor or neighbor when you can create a strategic alliance and both succeed together?

    According to a recent report “Israel-United Arab Emirates trade grew by nearly 42% in the first five months of 2023 compared to the same period last year, and trade between Israel and Bahrain grew about 24%.”

    I discussed this immense foreign relations feat with one of the pioneers of The Abraham Accords, Jared Kushner, earlier this year, who initially met much doubt in the initiative’s success before the joint partnerships were executed. We talked about how change can be scary, and believing in success with another party — who you may have once considered your enemy — can be hard to envisage and roll out. History has proved so differently, and now the desire for international collaboration is highly contagious internationally.

    Related: How Robots and AI Are Transforming the Surgery Room

    Earlier this month, I was invited to speak as the Keynote Speaker at the Abrahamic Business Circle at The Royal Automobile Private Members Club in Pall Mall, in London, where government ministers and titans of business from across the world, meet and explore collaboration and strategic partnership, opportunities in innovation and business to advance their region commercially.

    My keynote was entitled “Creating World Impact Through Collaboration, Unity & Opportunity” which much to my surprise, received a standing ovation. The impactful television productions created by our company Tech Talk Media spur immense connectivity and collaboration across the globe, earning us 25+ awards and stimulating more than a half billion dollars in deal flow for emerging technologies.

    Positivity begets positivity

    After some initial research on the Abraham Accords, I was shocked to find out the sheer level of business that is taking place in such a short time. Many international nations had been sitting next to each other regionally for decades but had not taken advantage of partnering up. Instead, they had been polarised politically mainly by negative media, political agenda, or propaganda.

    By breaking that chain of negativity, they found far more benefit in working with each other in a positive way, which further reinforces the power and spirit of collaboration.

    Collaboration is key. Competition takes strength, energy, and focus away from your business, but strategic partnerships bring resources, experience, and enhanced connectivity.

    The team-up should always be synergistic and provide strengths where there are weaknesses. But make sure there’s value on both sides before you jump in. It’s important to consider the terms and benefits of any partnership before entering a commercial relationship. Much like a marriage, it’s a long-term commitment. Have agreed upon written terms in advance so there are no disagreements later.

    Collaboration with autonomous devices

    Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence and powerful machine learning applications, these partnerships and collaborations can take place with automated processes and machines.

    Collaboration with humans is always preferred, but can often be exhausting, with much paperwork, meetings, discussions, and opinions. Software generally doesn’t delay when you set it on a task, so it’s an interesting and efficient way to propel forwards.

    Take the entertainment industry for instance; in order to produce, deliver and broadcast a movie or TV series, you would require many different skill sets, teams, and resources. Many of these can be automated today, which is one of the issues and fears felt by the writers and actors, who you may have heard are currently striking with the American Actors SAG AFTRA union.

    To create some of our recent award-winning TV shows during the Covid pandemic, we had to adapt to using A.I.-powered machines and applications as we had no choice at times. Unable to access NASA’s teams during a production about their emerging innovation, we utilized autonomous robots, called Temi, which came equipped with tablets for faces, and Lidar sensors to explore the locations and stay safe. I logged into Temi and remotely directed ‘Inside NASA’s Innovations’ from thousands of miles away, connecting to Temi and driving it around the locations to manage the production team.

    Related: It’s Impossible to Succeed Without Encouragement. Here’s Why.

    It was great fun and became so effective that we rolled out the use of our Temi Robot to multiple titles. We use both A.I. powered hardware and software to accelerate and optimize production.

    Fireflies AI notetaker is another example. It is my trusted sidekick for video meetings. I don’t do Zoom meetings without my reliable note taker to transcribe the call, provide me a summary and key points and even add color guides for each guest on the call.

    We also use Runway’s AI, which helps us to easily cut our films in many verticals. We would have had to green-screen locations in a dozen countries and multiple takes to achieve this. Now it’s ready in a few clicks.

    Both these artificial intelligent software applications provide immense assistance, speed, and accuracy, not replacing humans, but supercharging the collaborative ability of a human, enabling faster growth in the mundane areas of our productivity. According to Search Logistics, “54% of company executives have said that implementing AI in their business has increased productivity significantly.”

    A.I. Can be a powerful collaborative partner if used correctly, but in my humble opinion will never fully replace the creativity, understanding, adaptability and ingenuity of a human being. Partnering with A.I. to level up, however, can be that factor that helps you stay in stride with the speed of evolution in the workplace today.

    Trial and error

    Collaboration is always a trial-and-error process, whether with human or bionic beings.

    A.I. is a new area, and many of the supercharged technologies are still learning and refining their systems. A.I. can also be limited by the biases of those who developed it, so remember it’s all new and an experiential process.

    Evolution in business is always trial-and-error. If it’s been done many times before, it’s hardly competitive, so if you are looking to stay on the cutting edge, most likely you will need to be comfortable in taking small risks and learning from your experiences.

    If you are interested in stepping up your rate of development and growth, start looking for ways to collaborate in the areas that you are the weakest, or perhaps that are slowing you down. A.I. can propel our ability to collaborate, to get things done. In fact, it will actually synthesize collaboration, but in essence, it’s helping you along just as any strategic partner may.

    I wouldn’t be anywhere today if it wasn’t for the collaboration of my incredible friends, my family, my team, colleagues, and talented partners across the world.

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    Jonny Caplan

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  • 34 Years of Success: How Sandra’s Next Generation Continues to Impress | Entrepreneur

    34 Years of Success: How Sandra’s Next Generation Continues to Impress | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Sandra’s Next Generation, a soul food restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut, is #56 on Yelp’s 2023 Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. It’s been a local staple for 34 years, with owner Sandra Pittman cooking in the same kitchen since 1989.

    Sandra and her husband Miguel have perfected their working dynamic, playing to their own strengths and supporting one another to keep the restaurant running after all these years.

    “The reason why we are where we are today is because we really divide and conquer. He has his role. I have my role. And we respect each other’s role,” Sandra said.

    “When you speak about the restaurant business, the reason why it’s so challenging and it’s forever changing is because it has so many moving parts. And all the parts have to work together as a unit. And I guess that’s part of our success of being in business for 34 years,” Miguel added.

    While solidarity seems to be the secret sauce at Sandra’s, the owners are well aware that their customers expect exceptional food, atmosphere, and service when they visit.

    “You are only as good as your last meal because the people, they’re gonna remember the last meal. So as a business owner, you have to be on the top of your game,” Miguel said.

    According to Yelp reviewer and community manager Alex T., the Pittmans are hitting the nail on the head: “It’s pretty amazing. The second you walk in, you can just feel the vibe and the energy of Sandra’s Next Generation. You are gonna smell so many delicious scents and flavors.”

    Those welcoming aromas are all thanks to Sandra’s 84-year-old mother, who passed down her recipes. However, like many family recipes, there was a history and meaning behind them that Sandra had to discover before she could fully appreciate the legacy she was preserving.

    “As a little girl, I used to always hear my mom’s stories about how hard she worked on a farm growing up, working from sunup to sundown, and how she would raise her own sweet potatoes. She talked about all these stories, but they didn’t really connect to me because I never had an opportunity to really see it until I actually went to the South when I was 16 years old and saw the cotton fields and saw how they grew their vegetables. It connected with me then—just to be able to share her recipes and keep her inspiration going and just keep her fight going. Let her know that everything that she did wasn’t in vain.”

    That fight and inspiration from her mother’s history translates into everything Sandra wants to provide for her customers.

    “When people come, I want them to feel the vibes. I want them to be inspired. I want them to know that any dreams that you have, it doesn’t matter how big it is, you have to believe that you could do it. You have to fight. You have to get up every single day with a mindset. The mindset is everything, no matter what, because there’s gonna be many failures in your life. Where we are today is because of our failures. You can’t quit. You gotta get up. You just gotta keep on going.”

    Restaurants and businesses in any industry can learn more from Sandra’s story, including:

    • Being authentic while also mixing it up. Providing a traditional experience or genuine recipes doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Explore the trends in your industry that you can incorporate to wow current customers and attract new ones.
    • Becoming a force for good in your community. “Be the change you want to see” can apply to a nation or a neighborhood. Your local business serves a community, so uplifting that community and being a positive influence can be a boon to revenue and everyone around you.
    • Intentionally hiring and supporting your staff. Motivating your team and leading with honesty and empathy highlights the humanity of your business. Everyone has bad days, but if they work in an understanding environment, they’ll be more likely to show up for you and give you their best.

    Listen to the episode below to hear directly from Sandra, Miguel, and Alex, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday.

    Available on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Soundcloud.

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    Emily Washcovick

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  • How to Grow an Email List You Can Monetize | Entrepreneur

    How to Grow an Email List You Can Monetize | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    So, you want to make money with your email list. Who could blame you? Email marketing is hard work, but it also yields results. At its most productive, email has an ROI of $45 to the dollar, which makes it one of the top marketing channels out there.

    But monetizing your email list takes time, so if you’re not there yet, it doesn’t mean that your email marketing isn’t working. You may just need to get a bit more creative and test some new tactics.

    Here are a few ideas you can implement easily, with results guaranteed.

    Focus on the health of your email list instead of its size

    The more subscribers I have, the more sales I’ll make, right? Many business owners think this way and, to an extent, it’s true. A larger audience allows for higher conversion rates, but this principle is null if your audience isn’t genuine.

    On average, 23% of an email list churns annually. While you’re making efforts to gain new subscribers, your existing contacts are degrading. Data decay is natural, but that doesn’t mean you can’t counteract it. Once a quarter, run your list through an email checker to ensure you’re weeding out obsolete addresses. Also, to avoid poor-quality and invalid sign-ups, consider checking all your contacts before adding them to your list. You can do that by using a real-time email verifier and avoid bounces.

    Bounces taint your sender reputation and bring down your email deliverability. So, if you want to monetize your email list, make it a rule to check its validity periodically and remove bounces and subpar data. That allows you to get your emails into the inbox and form a real connection with your audience.

    Related: Almost 25% of Your Email List Has Gone Bad in the Past Year. Here’s How to Fix It.

    Help your content stand out in the inbox

    Your prospects and customers are probably getting more emails than they can read. What will make them click and open yours?

    To answer this question, look in your own inbox and ask yourself what stands out — and why. Chances are the emails that get your attention are tailored specifically to you. Your favorite grocery store may be sharing its weekly deals, featuring the products you purchase most often. Or perhaps you’ve just subscribed to Entrepreneur and you got an email highlighting content you care about.

    Segmenting your email list and personalizing every message should be a priority when trying to engage and monetize your audience. To better understand what your subscribers want from you, consider gathering more data via your sign-up forms. An astounding 77% of consumers are willing to share personal information with brands so they can get a personalized experience.

    Build familiarity so you can stay top of mind

    Launching an email marketing program is exciting. You have a million ideas and can’t wait to see them come to life. But for many business owners, this initial enthusiasm starts to dwindle if results don’t happen immediately.

    However, email marketing takes time and consistency to work. You must send emails regularly and nurture your subscribers with helpful content before you can expect anything in return. With every email you send, your brand awareness increases, so even if you don’t make a sale, you’re warming up your prospects.

    Sending emails on a schedule also supports your ability to reach the inbox. Your consistency tells inbox providers that you have a legitimate business, so your emails are more likely to stay out of the spam folder.

    Consider partnerships and cross-promotions

    It’s a tactic many companies employ to expose their brands to new audiences and increase subscriptions. Initiating partnerships with other businesses doesn’t have to involve much effort. Start by making a list of companies in your industry that could promote your products, and vice versa.

    For instance, as a software provider, my company, ZeroBounce, partners with more than 15 other businesses with inspiring results. These collaborations can take many forms: blog articles, newsletters, webinars and social media cross-promos. Such win-win projects have allowed both us and our partners to boost visibility and email sign-ups.

    Don’t wait — send a few emails today to at least five companies you could partner with. Outline the benefits and emphasize what you’re willing to offer. My own experience has taught me this is one of the most impactful tactics you can use to boost your exposure.

    Related: How to build your email list the right way

    Bonus tips to boost engagement

    To build an email list you can monetize, you must work on boosting engagement first. Here are a few simple ways to entice more people to interact with your emails:

    • Avoid sending out an email if you’re not confident in the quality of your content. People tend to engage with your emails more if they know that every time they click to open, they get something worthwhile.
    • Include your audience in the topics you write about. Be curious, ask questions and spark conversations. Not only do replies help your email deliverability, but you’re also building stronger relationships with your subscribers.
    • Keep a natural balance between educational and self-promotional content. Every email can’t be a sales pitch. The core of your content should strive to inform, educate and entertain.

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    Liviu Tanase

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  • The Surprising Entrepreneurial Lesson I Learned After My 5 Year Old Cut My Hair Against My Will | Entrepreneur

    The Surprising Entrepreneurial Lesson I Learned After My 5 Year Old Cut My Hair Against My Will | Entrepreneur

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    When my 5-year-old daughter and I got hit with a virus, I moved my clients and we kept her home from camp. With canceled appointments and a mini-me to entertain, I decided to turn our now-free afternoon into a “pretend” trip to the beach. I packed the essentials — towels, books, snacks and drinks for our excursion, which was really a trip to our backyard. My daughter packed books, markers, paper, detangler, brushes, hair clips, ponytail holders and whatever else she could fit into her backpack. Our “pretend” beach day quickly transitioned into a full-blown salon extravaganza.

    Now, before I go any further, I have to say this kiddo has an uncanny knack for hair styling. Her colorful and innovative creations with accessories would make any fashionista proud. One time, she managed to arrange her hair clips in such a way that it looked like she was wearing a headband. Only upon closer inspection, could you see her clever assortment of tiny clips. Over the past year, doing her hair, and my own, has become one of her most cherished creative outlets.

    Related: How Employers Can Help Working Parents Navigate Back-to-School Season

    So there we were, enjoying the fresh air, reading books and eating ice pops, when she wanted to play salon and style my hair. She used several hair ties to complete my look and took a picture of her masterpiece on my phone. I was in the middle of telling her how hard I could see she worked on my ponytail, and complimenting her photography skills, when out of nowhere, I heard snip.

    My heart skipped a beat, and I slowly turned around to face the aftermath.

    “Love, did you just cut mommy’s hair?

    I saw my hair in her hand and watched it fall off the scissors as she said, “yes.”

    I could have interrogated her, demanding an explanation for this unexpected haircut, but I thought about the prompts I’ve learned to use from the child psychologists I follow on Instagram. Instead of asking why she did what she did, I simply asked “What were you thinking when you cut mommy’s hair?” in a genuinely curious tone.

    Without missing a beat she said, “I was thinking your hair would look better one inch shorter!” Talk about a phenomenal answer.

    I had to hold back my laughter because while I appreciated her artistic flair and her opinions about my hair length, we needed to have a meaningful conversation about the incident and why we couldn’t repeat it. One day when she’s older, I’ll gladly share my own bang-cutting escapades from when I was her age, but I left out those details, so she doesn’t go after her baby sister’s curls anytime soon.

    We packed up our things and went back into the house. As I reflected on the incident, this unexpected curveball got me thinking about the way we handle mistakes in our professional lives.

    How often do we find ourselves exclaiming, “Why did you do that?” after someone has made a mistake? What if he swapped that with, “What were you thinking?”

    No, this isn’t an invitation to engage in a berating monologue. It’s an invitation to reflect. Just as I’ve learned from the child psychologists I follow on Instagram (I’m looking at you Dr. Becky), the reflective sense of the question, “What were you thinking?” can provide valuable insights into someone’s intentions and decision-making processes.

    In my role as a media trainer, I coach from this place often. When I review my clients’ media clips before our first session, I don’t focus on the “why” behind their choices and shame them when we meet. Instead, I urge them to share what they were thinking at the time of their interview, which allows me to understand what they were trying to achieve. This information helps me provide guidance and support, enabling them to make better choices in the future. It’s that simple shift from harsh interrogation to inquisitive that opens up a world of possibilities.

    So, the next time someone in your world makes a mistake, resist the temptation to blurt out a frustrated “Why did you do that?” Instead, approach the situation with genuine curiosity and see what revelations unfold.

    Every mishap holds the potential for growth and improvement. The “snips” and the unexpected turns are often invitations for us to grow. So the next time you’re in this situation, keep in mind that curiosity can pave the way to our next big breakthrough — and always remember, every “haircut” has a story to tell.

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    Jessica Abo

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  • 5 Proven Marketing Strategies to Increase Your Amazon Sales | Entrepreneur

    5 Proven Marketing Strategies to Increase Your Amazon Sales | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With Amazon marketing being more competitive than ever, it can be difficult to cut through the noise. There’s lots of information out there, and it’s hard to know what works without making Amazon beginner mistakes.

    Luckily, as an Amazon Consultant with over 10 years of experience working with brands of all sizes, I’ve seen a lot. This allows me to share what Amazon marketing strategies really work to increase your Amazon sales, even on a small budget.

    Related: Want to Quickly Increase Your Amazon Sales? Here Are 3 Key Tips from an Amazon Consultant.

    1. Amazon Influencers

    Not only do Amazon Influencers drive sales and boost organic SEO, but they are suitable for brands of all shapes, sizes and budgets. This isn’t just because of the #tiktokmademebuyit explosion that likely prompted Amazon to get into the social commerce game either.

    Consumers are inherently skeptics and not interested in putting in significant product research effort, which means they don’t want to take your word for it or put in a lot of time researching.

    It’s because of this, you’ll find Amazon Influencer content taking up significant real estate both on and off Amazon resulting in sales. Regardless of your budget, you can take advantage of this Amazon marketing strategy because there are Amazon Influencers for every budget.

    Here’s how:

    1. Build relationships and partner with Amazon Influencers.

    2. Ask for Shoppable Videos and inclusion on their Amazon Influencer Storefronts and Amazon Livestreams.

    3. Request they promote your products to their audience on social media.

    That said, there’s another time-tested marketing strategy for Amazon sellers that allows you to capitalize on consumer skepticism and research habits.

    2. PR

    Using PR as an Amazon marketing strategy goes back all the way to 1996 when Amazon launched the Amazon Associates Program. Savvy Amazon sellers figured out that publications and platforms were going to recommend products on Amazon in exchange for affiliate commission anyway, so the products they recommend may as well be theirs.

    What’s more, I mentioned earlier that consumers are skeptics and don’t like doing time-consuming product research — that’s why articles like “The Best French Roast K Cups” and “Top 10 Inflatable Paddle Boards” do well not only on Google and social media but on content aggregators like Apple News, Google News and Flipboard as well.

    Your marketing strategy as an Amazon seller is clear: Get featured in product recommendation articles.

    Here’s how:

    1. Search Google for “best (insert what you sell here),” and compile a list of all the content that shows up prominently.
      EXAMPLE: “best tasting recyclable coffee pods”

    2. Build relationships and reach out to the journalists and editors responsible for the content.

    3. Get included in the existing content or on the next list they compile.
      NOTE: Updating content regularly is great for SEO, so updating the content will be to their benefit.

    Speaking of platforms — having your own platform, such as an email list, is an extremely powerful and time-tested Amazon marketing strategy.

    3. Email marketing

    To rank high in Amazon SEO, you need to be able to send external traffic to your product listings on Amazon. This Amazon marketing strategy accomplishes that and much more.

    Having an effective email marketing strategy with a sizable email list ensures that you have buyer intent traffic ready to send to your Amazon product listing on demand. The best part? Email marketing doesn’t cost you every time someone clicks, and the audience data is yours, not Amazon’s.

    What’s more, Amazon will pay you up to 10% commission for sending external traffic from your email list from the Brand Referral Bonus program with the Amazon Attribution platform.

    Here’s how:

    1. Collect potential customer emails on your brand’s website through lead magnets, giveaways partnerships with Amazon Influencers and more.

    2. Create reasons to email your customers such as promotions, sales, deals, coupons, holidays and more.

    3. Send well-designed, targeted emails to your potential customers with strong calls to action and a sense of urgency using your Amazon Attribution link.

    Sending traffic from external sources outside Amazon onto Amazon isn’t the only proven marketing strategy for Amazon sellers. There are strategies on Amazon, too.

    Related: How to Increase Your Product Sales on Amazon Today

    4. Amazon advertising

    Amazon advertising is considered a minimum viable effort for Amazon sellers for a reason. It’s because it’s a necessity to get visibility on the marketplace, and it even fuels Amazon SEO. The thing is, most Amazon sellers get this wrong.

    To avoid those mistakes, you want to focus on customers searching with buyer intent keywords.

    Here’s an example:

    Since Amazon’s algorithm prioritizes click-through rate and conversion rates, you want to get in front of customers with buyer intent.

    Here’s how:

    1. Use your favorite Amazon keyword research tool, and compile a list of buyer intent keywords.

    2. Segment these keywords into themes.

    3. Create one campaign per keyword theme as Exact Match and another campaign as Phrase Match.

    Educating Amazon that you can get a high click-through rate and conversion rate on your keywords will also help boost your Amazon SEO.

    5. Amazon SEO

    Amazon SEO is the quintessential marketing strategy for Amazon. The truth is, Amazon SEO can go very wrong if you’re not careful.

    The good news is, each of the previous Amazon marketing strategies contributes to effective Amazon SEO. You can rank high by focusing on those and on the basics.

    Here’s how:

    1. Complete the keyword research mentioned in the Amazon PPC strategy, and add all of those keywords to your product title, bullet points, search terms and alt text for your A+ Content and Premium A+ Content.

    2. Get as many product reviews as you can as quickly as you can, and sustain it.

    3. Focus on creating the most effective customer experience on your listing from gallery images and video to A+ Content.

    You can avoid the dreaded “trial and error” by sticking to the Amazon marketing strategies that stand the test of time.

    Related: 3 Essentials for Taking Your Amazon Sales to the Next Level

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    Tanner Rankin

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  • Elevate Your Marketing Content with Exclusive Premium Features for $29.99 | Entrepreneur

    Elevate Your Marketing Content with Exclusive Premium Features for $29.99 | Entrepreneur

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    Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

    By recent metrics reported on Marketing Evolution, an average return on investment for marketing materials is $5 per $1 spent. If you want to reduce the cost of your buy-in without compromising content quality, try using more intuitive design software like Picsart Plus.

    This easy-to-learn design app gives you access to filters, stickers, fonts, retouch tools, and stock assets available for commercial use, and a one-year membership is only $29.99.

    Level up your advertising with intuitive design software.

    Picsart is an all-in-one design app that lets users create, customize, and share professional-quality images and videos. This app features easy-to-use editing and art tools powered by AI, a massive collection of open-source content, customizable templates, and a user-friendly interface. Even without professional design experience, a new user may be able to produce quality content, so it could be a viable marketing entry point for startups and new businesses.

    With a Picsart Plus subscription, users gain unlimited access to premium features like filters, stickers, fonts, retouch tools, and templates. Additionally, you can explore millions of high-resolution stock images available for commercial use. You can even add simple movement to some photos using the animation marker. If you want to create content similar to what your audience might find on TikTok, access the music gallery and other video editing tools.

    All content on Picsart is ad-free and does not contain watermarks. Save your designs in a variety of common file formats and get ready to post to your site or social media.

    Create engaging marketing materials in moments.

    Enhance the marketing potential of your business.

    Get a 1-year Picsart Plus Membership for just $29.99 (reg. $60).

    Prices subject to change.

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    Entrepreneur Store

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  • The Power of Continuous Innovation and 3 Easy Ways to Implement It | Entrepreneur

    The Power of Continuous Innovation and 3 Easy Ways to Implement It | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It is no secret that brands and companies are always on the hunt to elevate their presence in a competitive realm. Even the most recognizable brands are finding new ways to adapt to the sway of their consumers’ expectations to grow. However, some become too comfortable in a state of stagnation once they’ve reached the highest step on the winning podium.

    Innovation is the lifeline of many companies, and to remain in stasis could eventually make your brand outdated. Thus, innovation is the key to growth that shouldn’t be overlooked. It doesn’t, however, have to be a drastic change that reinvents the wheel. Innovation can be subtle but significant, and there are many ways to achieve just that. Let’s explore the importance of easy ways to achieve innovation and how you can implement it into your internal strategy.

    Related: 4 Ways to Drive Growth-Unlocking Internal Innovation in Your Organization

    Keep your company competitive

    When your business achieves significant success with its product or service, it becomes crucial to uphold the principle of continuous evolution at its core. While this may appear self-evident, it is a common occurrence for prosperous brands to fall into complacency, stagnating their innovation process. Periods of inertia often provide an opportunity for competitors to outperform them with superior versions of those very same products or services. To maintain a sustainable competitive edge, companies must keep innovation perpetually in motion. The next out-of-the-box idea is easier said than done — however, keeping your brand relevant and modern is a more subtle, but noticeable way to keep your brand in a constant state of renewal. The best way to achieve this is through a brand refresh.

    In our digital design agency, we have witnessed first-hand that when we assist industries with brand rejuvenation, it often leads to a surge in conversions and audience growth. Whether it’s a minor tweak or a comprehensive transformation, modernizing your brand’s design language, website or marketing materials can be a potent form of innovation. This involves making forward-looking visual UI decisions that harmonize with your existing brand style, thereby ensuring your design is future-proof. Even something as simple as a logo refresh can be a powerful statement to your audience, signaling that your brand is keeping pace with the times. Every upgrade contributes to the ongoing evolution of your brand’s identity.

    Updating your brand website with tweaks to usability and accessibility is also a great way to innovate. When your company considers all users of all abilities, it not only makes it a great experience for everyone, but it also demonstrates to your consumer base that their experience with your brand is also prioritized just as anyone else’s. Incorporating ADA-compliant standards into your website, color schemes, typography sizes, alt text incorporation and more are just a few ways to boost users’ experience.

    Related: 3 Startups Making a Big Difference with Small Innovations

    Make a difference with demographics

    To truly ignite innovative thinking, fostering a culture of shared ideas and collaborative brainstorming is often the crucial catalyst to the next breakthrough concept. Consequently, it is vital for industry leaders to not only welcome but actively encourage input from their in-house teams.

    This strategy may involve ensuring a diverse workforce, inclusive of both younger and older generations, to infuse a breadth of fresh perspectives and experiences that create a productive ground for ideas to thrive. Engaging team members from a younger demographic can be particularly beneficial, as they are typically current with the latest trends, user expectations and potentially outdated practices that the company might unwittingly still be employing. This collective knowledge and shared perspective can be the driving force behind meaningful and relevant innovation. According to UNICEF, hiring younger team members can help tap into the millennial and younger audiences since they are more attuned and familiar.

    Further, innovation means growth and scalability. When you innovate for people of all demographics, you are expanding your audience base as well as growing your company’s conversions. Another best practice to achieve collaboration for fresh ideas is holding weekly idea sessions to share ideas internally on how to improve certain products or services based on client feedback and surveys. The crux here is to create an inclusive environment where every idea is heard and valued. Any dismissive attitude can rapidly quell team morale and stifle their enthusiasm for sharing their insights. Therefore, nurturing an open and receptive atmosphere is pivotal to driving successful and continuous innovation.

    Related: Great Minds Think Unalike — 3 Ways to Drive True Innovation Through Diversity

    Adopt a design-thinking mindset

    Often utilized in the digital design industry, including our agency, design thinking can help the structure of the way ideas flow. Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that emphasizes human-centered design. Design thinking incorporates empathizing with user needs, defining problems, ideating ways to improve a problem/idea, prototyping, testing, then circling back in iterative increments. Design thinking fosters a collaborative environment where multidisciplinary teams work together to find solutions. This diversity of perspectives can lead to more innovative ideas and solutions for your brand.

    Additionally, it emphasizes an iterative process. Ideas are tested and refined based on user feedback, leading to continuous improvement. This ensures your brand stays updated and resonates with evolving customer expectations. Concepts and ideas can become more defined and not simply live on as ideas but can be put into an actionable space to eventually flourish. By incorporating a design-thinking approach into your company, your team can view growth with a fresh perspective.

    In the relentless pursuit of brand supremacy, companies must continuously innovate to keep pace with ever-evolving customer expectations and outdo the competition. However, the idea of innovation often connotes seismic shifts and grandiose changes. Instead, the reality is that innovation can, and often does, happen incrementally — through brand refreshes, website updates and diversity in demographic insights — in a subtle, but powerful approach.

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    Goran Paun

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  • All the Tools You Need to Master Digital Marketing in 2023 | Entrepreneur

    All the Tools You Need to Master Digital Marketing in 2023 | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Digital marketing in 2023 is like navigating through uncharted waters. With global digital ad spending projected to reach $626 billion by year’s end, cutting through the noise and making an impact is more crucial than ever.

    The catch? It’s not about what you spend but how well you blend the art and science in your marketing strategy. So, if you’re all set to master the art of creativity and the science of data in digital marketing, let’s delve into this exhilarating journey of marketing success.

    The creative heart of digital marketing

    Creativity is the cornerstone of any exceptional digital marketing campaign. Remember the viral success of Spotify’s “Wrapped” campaign? Users eagerly awaited their personalized, end-of-year music stats, transforming Spotify from just another streaming service into a music curator that understood their unique taste.

    The takeaway here? The campaign was successful because it touched the heart. It connected with users emotionally, striking a chord with their identity. This brings us to the art of audience understanding, the soul of any successful digital marketing strategy.

    Related: Avoid These 5 Pitfalls In Your Digital Marketing

    Understanding the audience

    A profound understanding of your audience is at the heart of successful digital marketing. Building customer personas isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’ — it’s an absolute ‘must-have.’ A customer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.

    They help you understand your customers better, making it easier for you to tailor your content, messaging, product development and services to meet their specific needs. Developing a deep understanding of your customer personas, interests, behaviors and pain points helps refine your content to resonate better. It’s about offering value that speaks directly to them, in a language they understand, through a medium they prefer.

    This personalization is the key to unlocking engagement and conversion. A study by Accenture revealed that a staggering 91% of consumers prefer brands that offer personalized recommendations and offers.

    That makes sense, right?

    People crave recognition, understanding and brands that tailor their experience to their unique needs and wants. So, remember, digital marketing isn’t just about flashy ads and catchy slogans. It’s about understanding your audience, engaging them personally, and, ultimately, converting that engagement into action. Personalization isn’t just a trend—it’s the backbone of effective digital marketing in 2023.

    Related: How ChatGPT Is Changing Digital Marketing (for Better or Worse)

    The analytical brain of digital marketing

    For all the creative flair we can muster, the undeniable reality is that digital marketing has a formidable analytical core. It thrives on data — numbers and metrics that drive crucial decisions. But why is data so critical?

    In 2023, data-driven marketing has taken the spotlight, acting as a GPS for marketers to navigate the complex digital landscape. By leveraging data analytics, companies can understand consumer behavior, predict trends, and make informed decisions.

    For instance, Netflix, known for its intelligent use of data, customizes its content based on users’ viewing habits, significantly increasing user engagement.

    Underlying this data-driven approach is the dynamic trio of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Big Data. These aren’t just buzzwords; they’re game-changers. AI and ML help analyze copious amounts of data in real-time, helping businesses personalize experiences at scale.

    An excellent example is Amazon. Using AI to understand customer behavior, Amazon offers personalized product recommendations, improving customer experience and increasing sales. Big Data is the fuel that powers these intelligent machines. By analyzing vast datasets, companies can glean insights about customer preferences, habits, and behaviors, in turn guiding marketing strategies.

    But all this tech talk is meaningless without the right tools.

    In 2023, tools like SEO and competitive analysis, HubSpot for CRM and content management and Hootsuite for social media management are vital assets in any digital marketer’s arsenal. There’s also Google Analytics, a fan-favorite for website analytics, and MailChimp for email marketing. In summary, understanding this fusion of technology and data is key to mastering digital marketing in 2023.

    Related: Why data is the world’s most valuable resource today

    Mastering the 2023 digital marketing landscape

    Mobile marketing — If there’s one thing digital marketers can’t afford to ignore in 2023, it’s mobile marketing. With over 5 billion people using mobile devices worldwide, a mobile-first approach isn’t just smart; it’s essential. Statista reports that 73% of all retail e-commerce is expected to be generated via mobile commerce by the end of 2021.

    Successful mobile strategies are aplenty, but Starbucks stands out. Their mobile app, incorporating a loyalty program, mobile payments, and personalized offers, is a masterclass leading to a 12% rise in revenue.

    Influencer and social media marketing — In a world where influencers influence 49% of consumers they follow on social media, influencers have undeniably changed the marketing game.

    Today, social media platforms are the new marketplace; each platform offers unique ways to reach audiences. With its visual appeal, Instagram is perfect for lifestyle and fashion brands. LinkedIn, with its professional network, is ideal for B2B marketing.

    Understanding the changing digital marketing landscape in 2023, marketers can strategically use mobile, influencers and social media platforms to reach their audience in more personal, authentic, and effective ways.

    Conclusion

    In the 2023 digital marketing landscape, the interplay of art and science is more significant than ever. It’s not just about crafting creative campaigns but understanding your audience deeply and making data-driven decisions catering to their needs. Starbucks’ mobile strategy and Glossier’s influencer campaign are examples of this blend at work.

    So, as we navigate this exciting terrain, I’ll leave you with this: Are you leveraging the right data to fuel your creative efforts? How can you better combine the science of data with the art of understanding your audience to drive success in digital marketing?

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    Mohamed Elhawary

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  • How ChatGPT Can Help Marketers in Creating Effective Digital PR Strategies | Entrepreneur

    How ChatGPT Can Help Marketers in Creating Effective Digital PR Strategies | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    ChatGPT is a game-changer for marketers, particularly those working in digital PR. This innovative language model, created by OpenAI, has completely transformed the way I approach my work. As someone with years of experience in the industry, I can confidently say that ChatGPT is one of the most exciting developments I’ve seen. In this article, I’ll share my personal experience with the tool and explain how it has revolutionized my PR strategies.

    1. Identifying target media outlets

    We’ve all heard the phrase “know your audience.” However, in the domain of digital PR, it’s even more imperative to know where to interact with them. This is where the first boon of ChatGPT comes into play. It has a unique capability to identify the most apt media outlets for my campaigns. Let me explain how it does this:

    ChatGPT with certain plugins uses a multitude of data points such as:

    • Audience demographics
    • Industry focus
    • Geographic reach

    These factors inform its suggestions on the best publications, websites, influencers, and even bloggers to target. I’ve identified this approach to be remarkably efficient in making sure my messages are received by the intended audience at the ideal time.

    So, what’s the result? Higher engagement.

    How much? A cool 30% boost on average, based on my own findings. All thanks to ChatGPT. It’s a game-changer, really. Suddenly, it’s not just about spraying and praying. It’s about precision. It’s about putting your message on a silver platter, serving it right where your audience dines.

    Remember the days of manual audience targeting? I do. It was guesswork, mostly. With ChatGPT, it’s not a shot in the dark. It’s science. It’s data-driven.

    Now, here’s the part I find most delightful. It’s not merely about identifying the correct platforms. ChatGPT helps craft the message too. It’s like a seasoned copywriter, knowing what resonates with your audience. That’s gold for any marketer.

    Related: Here’s How CEOs and Millionaires Use ChatGPT for a Productivity Boost

    2. Competitive analysis and social media strategy

    In the world of marketing, it’s important to keep a close eye on your competitors. ChatGPT is a tool that can help with this by providing a detailed analysis of their PR strategies. By examining their press releases, media coverage, and social media presence, ChatGPT can extract valuable insights into their tactics, messaging and positioning. This information can be used to devise winning strategies and stay ahead of the competition.

    ChatGPT is a valuable tool for enhancing your social media strategy and complementing your PR campaigns. With ChatGPT, you can determine the most effective content for your audience and identify the platforms where they are most active. It also provides a playbook of engagement tactics that can help you win the social media game. By leveraging ChatGPT’s insights, you can supercharge your social media presence and see a healthy spike in engagement.

    3. Crisis communication guidance

    No matter how carefully we plan, crises happen. In such situations, swift and effective communication is key. ChatGPT provides much-needed assistance in navigating these tricky waters. When a crisis or negative PR event arises, it helps me craft suitable responses and strategies.

    ChatGPT helps shape the narrative in a way that is both honest and constructive. It aids in developing statements that address the issue head-on while conveying an organization’s commitment to resolving the problem.

    ChatGPT can analyze vast amounts of data, including customer feedback, to identify the most pressing concerns that need to be addressed. This ensures that the organization’s communication is relevant and resonates with its audience. Trust is critical for any organization, and it is often the most impacted during a crisis. ChatGPT helps restore this trust by crafting messages that communicate transparency, accountability, and a plan for moving forward.

    Related: 5 Ways ChatGPT Will Impact Digital Marketing

    4. Monitoring and analyzing PR campaigns

    Similar to any marketing endeavor, PR drives need to be tracked and assessed to determine their impact. Here, again, ChatGPT steps up to the plate.

    It provides insights into key performance indicators (KPIs), suggests tracking tools, and outlines methods to evaluate the impact of PR efforts. With its help, I’ve been able to hone my strategies based on data-driven insights, leading to a 20% improvement in overall campaign effectiveness.

    ChatGPT can provide insights into the sentiment, trends and public opinion surrounding a PR campaign by gathering and processing this data in real-time. It can identify positive or negative sentiments, detect emerging issues or crises and monitor campaign messaging’s reach and engagement. This data enables PR teams to evaluate the efficacy of their efforts and optimize future strategies based on empirical evidence.

    Yet, as magical as ChatGPT may seem, we must remember it’s still a tool, albeit a powerful one. It is essential that we, as marketers, review and validate the suggestions provided by ChatGPT and adapt them to our specific needs and industry context.

    ChatGPT can be a powerful tool in the world of digital PR, but it’s important to use it wisely. As the saying goes, the effectiveness of a tool depends on the skill of the person using it. With the right approach, ChatGPT can be a valuable asset for businesses looking to improve their online presence and engage with their audience.

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    Pritom Das

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  • Our Brains Will Never Be The Same Again After Remote Work — Here’s Why. | Entrepreneur

    Our Brains Will Never Be The Same Again After Remote Work — Here’s Why. | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The shift to remote work during the pandemic has not only changed our daily routines but also had profound effects on our brains. The quiet, controlled environment of home offices has conditioned us to work in silence, free from the constant hum of office chatter, ringing phones and clattering keyboards. This shift has made us more susceptible to distractions when we return to the traditional office environment.

    The impact of working from home on our brains

    The brain is a highly adaptable organ, constantly changing in response to our environment and behavior, a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. When we work from home, our brains adapt to the quieter, less distracting environment. We become more attuned to the subtle sounds of our home surroundings — the hum of the refrigerator, the ticking of a clock, the chirping of birds outside the window. These sounds become the backdrop of our workday, and our brains learn to tune them out, allowing us to focus on our tasks.

    However, this adaptation comes with a trade-off. As we become more accustomed to the quiet of home, our ability to filter out the louder, more varied noises of the office environment weakens. Our brains, conditioned for the quiet of home, struggle to adjust.

    Over the last five quarters, we’ve witnessed a concerning trend: a steady decrease in productivity. While there are undoubtedly multiple factors at play, one major culprit stands out — the cacophony of the office environment that accompanies the return to office.

    As employees come in after months of working from home, they’re confronted with a barrage of sounds they had almost forgotten — the incessant ringing of phones, the constant hum of office chatter, the clattering of keyboards. These sounds, once a normal part of office life, have become significant distractions, disrupting focus and hampering productivity.

    This phenomenon is not just anecdotal, as we can see from research on the negative impact of the noise distractions of the open office — and that’s from before the pandemic sensitized employees to noise. A review of over 300 papers from 67 journals found that open office layouts significantly worsen occupant productivity, with sound and acoustic strategies being crucial for office design. Similarly, another review of more than 100 studies on open offices found that the layout consistently led to lower rates of concentration and focus.

    Research from the University of California at Irvine found that employees in cubicles receive 29% more interruptions than those in private offices, leading to higher rates of exhaustion. Edward Brown, co-founder of the Cohen Brown Management Group, found that office workers lose three to five hours of productive time every day due to unwanted, unneeded and unproductive interruptions, with 93% of workers reporting being often interrupted at work.

    When companies switch from a private office to an open one, employees’ perception of health, work environment and performance decreases. Researchers from Karlstad University found that the more workers were gathered into a single office space, the less satisfied they became, resulting in lower wellbeing. This was in part because these workers felt it was harder to have a good dialogue with their colleagues due to concerns about being overheard.

    These findings underscore the challenge many of us face as we transition back to the office. Our brains, conditioned for the quiet of home, are now struggling to adjust to the noise of the office. The question is, how do we address this challenge in a way that maximizes productivity and employee satisfaction?

    Related: We’re Now Finding Out The Damaging Results of The Mandated Return to Office — And It’s Worse Than We Thought.

    The office noise dilemma

    The traditional office environment, once the epitome of productivity, has become a battleground of distractions for many employees returning from remote work. The constant hum of office chatter, the incessant ringing of phones, the clattering of keyboards — these once-familiar sounds now pose a significant challenge to focus and productivity.

    A recent Wall Street Journal article, whose subhead is “Working from home altered our brains. We need more office time to fix them” suggests that the solution to this problem is more office time to “exercise” our brains and regain the ability to focus amidst distractions. The article quotes S. Thomas Carmichael, professor and chair of the neurology department at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, who likens our brains to “flabby biceps” that need to be strengthened, and suggests the solution of “Make yourself work from the office more often.”

    This perspective raises several questions. First, is it reasonable to expect employees to “exercise” their brains in an environment that is inherently distracting? Second, is it fair to place the burden of adaptation solely on the employees, without considering changes to the office environment itself? And third, what are the potential costs of this approach in terms of employee satisfaction, stress levels, and overall productivity? After all, the forced return to office – combined with the office noise – appears to have seriously harmed productivity for the last five quarters.

    Forcing employees back into the office full-time, without addressing the issue of noise and other distractions, is akin to forcing a marathon runner to train in a swimming pool. Sure, they might eventually adapt, but at what cost to their performance? And what about the psychological stress of constantly struggling to focus amidst the noise?

    Moreover, this approach overlooks the fact that not all work is the same. Some tasks require deep concentration and are best performed in a quiet environment, while others benefit from the energy and spontaneity of a bustling office. By forcing all work into the same noisy environment, we risk hampering productivity rather than enhancing it.

    The solution to the office noise dilemma is not simply more office time, but a more nuanced approach that takes into account the nature of the work, the needs of the employees, and the benefits of both quiet and collaborative environments.

    The flexible hybrid work solution: Embracing the silence and the noise

    Given the challenges posed by office noise, it’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to the workplace is no longer viable. Instead, we need to embrace a more flexible, adaptable model that takes into account the diverse needs and preferences of employees. This is where the flexible hybrid work model comes into play, as I tell my clients when helping them figure out work arrangements for their staff.

    The flexible hybrid work model is a blend of remote and in-office work driven by evidence on what people do best in the office and what’s most effective to focus on at home. It allows employees to do their focused, individual work at home, where they can control their environment and minimize distractions. The office, then, becomes a hub for collaboration, nuanced conversations, mentoring and on-the-job training and socializing — activities that benefit from the energy and spontaneity of in-person interactions.

    This approach has several advantages. First, it respects the neuroplasticity of our brains and the adaptations we’ve made while working from home. Instead of forcing employees to “unlearn” these adaptations, it leverages them to enhance productivity. Employees can do their focused work in the quiet of their home office, where they’re less likely to be distracted and more likely to be productive.

    Second, the hybrid model acknowledges the value of in-person interactions. While remote work has many benefits, there’s no substitute for the energy, creativity and camaraderie that come from working together in person. By designating the office as a space for collaboration, we can harness these benefits without subjecting employees to the constant distractions of a traditional office environment.

    Related: How to Transform Your Office Into a Collaboration Destination

    Third, the hybrid model offers flexibility. Employees can adjust their work location based on the tasks they need to accomplish. If they need to focus on a complex project, they can work from home. If they need to brainstorm ideas with their team, they can go to the office. This flexibility can lead to higher job satisfaction and better work-life balance.

    Finally, the hybrid model is future-proof. It’s adaptable to changing circumstances, whether it’s a global pandemic, a personal health issue or a family commitment. By offering employees the option to work from home or the office, companies can ensure continuity and productivity no matter what the future holds.

    In short, the hybrid work model is not just a response to the pandemic, but a forward-thinking approach to work that acknowledges the realities of our changing world. By embracing the silence of remote work and the sound of office collaboration, we can create a work environment that is productive, satisfying, and resilient.

    The future of work: A symphony of silence and sound

    The future of work is not about forcing employees into one environment or another, but about finding the right balance. It’s about creating a symphony of silence and sound, where focused work and collaboration each have their place. By embracing this approach, employers can maximize productivity, enhance employee satisfaction and create a work culture that is adaptable, resilient, and future-proof.

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    Gleb Tsipursky

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  • Stand Out in the Market With Clean Vector Imagery Made With This $20 App | Entrepreneur

    Stand Out in the Market With Clean Vector Imagery Made With This $20 App | Entrepreneur

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    Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

    Zippia reports that 60% to 80% of business revenue is derived from advertising. With such a high return on investment, it’s worth it to elevate your company’s advertising and streamline processes with tools that help your team perform at the volume and quality you need.

    Whether you need eye-catching imagery for a landing page, a memorable graphic for a social media post, or any other kind of design work, vector images are an essential part of the process. With Super Vectorizer Pro, you can convert an existing image into customizable vector linework. Normally, a lifetime license for this app would cost $60, but you can get it for $19.99.

    Create scalable vector images from pictures.

    Super Vectorizer Pro for Mac is an image vectorization app that can convert images into clean, scalable vector graphics. Whether you’re a small startup or head of a major company, this app could help you expedite some of your design work and expand the imagery you can pull into social media, landing pages, and more. Rather than create a whole new design, users can upload an image and have the app trace over the linework.

    With Super Vectorizer Pro, professionals can easily convert images into various vector formats that you can use in a variety of design programs. File types include Ai, SVG, DXF, and PDF. This versatility allows for smooth integration of the vectorized images into other design projects. The one-click vectorization feature streamlines the process. If your creative team needs to quickly produce content, this app could help simplify the early stages of creating a new design.

    When you create a vector image, you can choose from different options to help control the end result. Customize the edge, color, skeletonization, and line type with intuitive controls. Additionally, Super Vectorizer Pro can be used as a simple SVG editor on Mac, providing basic editing capabilities for vector graphics.

    This lifetime license allows you to install Super Vectorizer Pro on one device for life. Updates are included.

    Save time creating assets for your social media, website, and more.

    Get a Lifetime License to Super Vectorizer Pro for $19.99.

    Prices subject to change.

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    Entrepreneur Store

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