ReportWire

Tag: Health & Wellness

  • U.S. Parents Charge Kids Interest on Loans. Here’s How Much. | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    As young Americans struggle with high costs of living and salaries that haven’t kept pace with inflation, some of them rely on loans to make ends meet.

    Nearly half (46%) of Gen Z between the ages of 18 and 27 depend on financial assistance from their family, according to a 2024 report from Bank of America.

    What’s more, even though some parents are willing to help their kids out with cash, those loans don’t always come without strings attached — sometimes in the form of interest.

    Related: Gen Z Is Turning to Side Hustles to Purchase ‘the Normal Stuff’ in ‘Suburban Middle-Class America’

    Financial media company MarketBeat.com‘s new report, which surveyed more than 3,000 parents, found that an increasing number are charging their adult children interest on family loans.

    “The Bank of Mom and Dad has always been generous, but even generosity comes with boundaries,” says Matt Paulson, founder of MarketBeat.com. “What’s striking is that while most parents don’t expect repayment — and certainly not at commercial interest rates — inflation and rising costs are starting to reshape how families think about money.”

    The average interest rate charged by parents was 5.1%, according to the data. That’s still well below the costs their children might incur elsewhere: The average personal loan rate is 12.49% for customers with a 700 FICO score, $5,000 loan amount and three-year repayment term, per Bankrate.

    Related: This Stat About Gen Alpha’s Side Hustles Might Be Hard to Believe — But It Means Major Purchasing Power. Here’s What the Kids Want to Buy.

    Only 15% of parents would be comfortable with lending their kids $5,000 or more at one time, according to MarketBeat’s research.

    Family loan repayment terms can also vary significantly by location. The top five toughest state lenders based on the interest rates parents charge were Nebraska (6.8%), Oregon (6.8%), Mississippi (6.5%), Georgia (6.4%) and Arkansas (6.3%), the report found.

    Parents in Delaware and Maine tended to be the most lenient when it came to charging their children interest on loans, with 2% and 4% rates, respectively, according to the findings.

    Related: Baby Boomers Over 75 Are Getting Richer, Causing a ‘Massive’ Wealth Divide, According to a New Report

    Many parents who expect repayment also have a fast-tracked timeline in mind. Twenty-one percent anticipated seeing their loan repaid in one month, 15% within one year and just 8% more than a year later, per the survey.

    Although 59% of parents reported being happy to help their kids with money, 27% said they would only do it if necessary, and 4% admitted to feeling resentful.

    In many cases, family loans don’t just provide financial support — they’re also “emotional transactions that test trust, responsibility and family dynamics,” Paulson notes.

    As young Americans struggle with high costs of living and salaries that haven’t kept pace with inflation, some of them rely on loans to make ends meet.

    Nearly half (46%) of Gen Z between the ages of 18 and 27 depend on financial assistance from their family, according to a 2024 report from Bank of America.

    What’s more, even though some parents are willing to help their kids out with cash, those loans don’t always come without strings attached — sometimes in the form of interest.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • How to Master Resilience and Protect Your Mental Health | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It’s an almost daily occurrence: It’s 2:37 a.m., and while staring at your laptop, you’re wondering to yourself if your current coffee consumption has changed course and has gone from a habit to a full-blown personality trait. The investor call tomorrow looms heavily, and your inbox has become a minefield while your “to-do” list has begun to grow to the point it’s developing its own gravitational pull.

    Have you guessed it yet? Yep, welcome to being an entrepreneur, where the highs are exhilarating but infrequent, and the lows are humbling and an almost daily occurrence, now to where the pressure is relentless.

    Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. Building a business is hard, but it’s a privilege and an adventure with great rewards that requires a strong, sustainable mental fortitude to last the emotional marathons — because there’s no sprinting a marathon. Those founders who “make it” aren’t just labeled as talented or lucky; rather, they’re resilient. These founders have found the secret sauce; they’ve learned through the ups and downs that protecting their mental health, adapting under extreme pressures and keeping going is absurdly tough.

    Related: 5 Practical Strategies Founders Can Use to Improve Their Mental Health

    Pressure, resilience and the entrepreneur’s mind

    Entrepreneurship inherently comes with its own stress profile. Financial uncertainty is consistently identified as one of the most stressful burdens an entrepreneur deals with, especially early on. Couple that with the ongoing leadership isolation effect and the reality that your decisions could potentially make-or-break the company, piles on. Add in one more layer called “hustle culture,” and you’ve now somehow turned isolation and exhaustion into a competitive sport, complete with its own LinkedIn medals to showcase, “Sleeps Less Than You.”

    Resilience in this aspect isn’t just a word; it’s the definition of not ignoring stress or toughing it out until you absolutely break. It’s feeling like Mike Tyson going 13 rounds, taking the punch, adapting and continuing to push forward without losing sight of the ultimate goal and bigger picture. The American Psychological Association continually correlates resilience to making better decisions, higher performance and more effective leadership — all of which are non-negotiables for an entrepreneur trying to stabilize and survive turbulence.

    Related: 7 Ways Successful Entrepreneurs Deal With Stress and Pressure

    Building resilience through mental health practices

    Here’s the good thing, though: Resilience is learned. It’s a skill that can be picked up and trained for in the same way some professional runners train for a big 10K — only the running mainly takes place mentally in your head (and occasionally between back-to-back meetings).

    1. Mindset shifts:

    Remember that setbacks as an entrepreneur aren’t career-ending; they’re really just expensive learning opportunities, sort of like paying tuition for a real-life MBA you didn’t realize you’ve signed up for. The challenges you take on and reframing them into data points versus failures can be all you need for a momentum builder that keeps the panic at bay.

    2. Mind-body maintenance:

    Remembering that your brain is an essential part of your body is crucial; treating it accordingly goes a long way. Be sure to build in exercise, even if just a simple walk, mindfulness and rhythmic breathing techniques can help regulate stress and improve cognitive ability. Numerous neuroscience studies showcase how regular mindfulness practice has the ability to reshape the brain, shaping it to handle curveballs more effectively, practice it, live it and turn it into a routine.

    3. Support networks:

    This should be as clear as day. Find the Alfred to your Batman. Having a person there you trust to help support your path. Whether it’s a mentor, peer group or personal coach, it can make the difference in putting things into perspective, solving problems faster and just reminding you that you’re not alone in the trenches.

    4. Boundaries and recovery:

    Thinking downtime is laziness is a waste of your energy; it’s preventive maintenance that you should embrace. Would you run your car engine 24/7, low on oil? Of course not, unless you like paying for repair bills. Your brain is no different. Ensuring you schedule whitespace, dedicated time to reflect on your current state, use it to create something non-business related or just zone out staring at a wall without guilt — it’s what you need it to be.

    Related: Resilience Is One of the Most Essential Entrepreneurial Traits. Practicing This Can Help You Build It.

    Resilience as a competitive edge

    As an entrepreneur, the pressure is inevitable from various angles. The way you accept it, face it and come through with a response when it arrives doesn’t have to add to your stress, especially on a Monday right before a critical investor pitch. Those entrepreneurs who endure and thrive are not the ones who are tallying the most hours in the day; they’re the ones who have understood that mental health isn’t just “self-care” and have built systems to protect their mental health and solidify their resilience.

    So take it by the horns, treat your mental health like your financials, monitoring them, investing in them and pivoting before a small problem becomes a major crisis. Because with this game, being resilient isn’t just about being able to survive the storm; it’s the ability to dance in the rain, and preferably with a cup of coffee that now isn’t doubling as your personality.

    It’s an almost daily occurrence: It’s 2:37 a.m., and while staring at your laptop, you’re wondering to yourself if your current coffee consumption has changed course and has gone from a habit to a full-blown personality trait. The investor call tomorrow looms heavily, and your inbox has become a minefield while your “to-do” list has begun to grow to the point it’s developing its own gravitational pull.

    Have you guessed it yet? Yep, welcome to being an entrepreneur, where the highs are exhilarating but infrequent, and the lows are humbling and an almost daily occurrence, now to where the pressure is relentless.

    Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. Building a business is hard, but it’s a privilege and an adventure with great rewards that requires a strong, sustainable mental fortitude to last the emotional marathons — because there’s no sprinting a marathon. Those founders who “make it” aren’t just labeled as talented or lucky; rather, they’re resilient. These founders have found the secret sauce; they’ve learned through the ups and downs that protecting their mental health, adapting under extreme pressures and keeping going is absurdly tough.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Greg Cucino

    Source link

  • After Studying 233 Millionaires, I Found 6 Habits That Fast-Track Wealth | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Entrepreneurship is the quickest path to wealth, offering the potential to bypass the slow grind of traditional saving and investing. I am a CPA, Certified Financial Planner and author of Rich Habits: The Routines Millionaires Use Daily That Will Help You Build Wealth.

    Over a five-year period, I studied the daily habits of 233 wealthy individuals, of which 177 were self-made millionaires, and 128 people living in poverty. My Rich Habits research, along with insights from other independent third-party experts/studies corroborating my research, reveals that entrepreneurship accelerates wealth-building when paired with specific habits.

    This article explores why entrepreneurship is the fast track to wealth and how my findings can guide aspiring entrepreneurs to success.

    Related: 10 Habits That Separate Rich and Successful Founders From Wannabe Entrepreneurs

    The entrepreneurial advantage

    My research shows that self-made millionaires who pursued entrepreneurship built wealth faster than those who relied on saving and investing as employees. In my five-year Rich Habits Study, “Saver-Investors” took an average of 32 years to accumulate $3.3 million, while entrepreneurs reached $7.4 million in just 12 years. This gap highlights entrepreneurship’s potential to compress the wealth-building timeline.

    Entrepreneurs can create multiple income streams, scale businesses and directly influence financial outcomes, unlike employees tied to fixed salaries. However, I must emphasize that success depends on adopting certain ‘Rich Habits’ — daily routines that set successful entrepreneurs apart.

    Below are the key habits from my research, tailored for aspiring entrepreneurs.

    1. Set clear, actionable goals

    In my Rich Habits study, 80% of self-made millionaires set specific, long-term goals and focused on them daily. For entrepreneurs, this means defining a clear vision — whether launching a product or hitting revenue targets — and breaking it into daily tasks.

    I found that successful entrepreneurs have a do it now mindset/daily mantra that encourages immediate action to maintain momentum.

    Actionable Tip: Write one major business goal for the next year and break it into monthly and daily tasks. Review progress daily to stay on track.

    Related: The Path to Becoming a Wealthy Entrepreneur Starts With Identifying Scarcity and Saying ‘No’ More Often

    2. Commit to continuous learning

    Successful entrepreneurs are lifelong learners. My Rich Habits study shows that 88% of millionaires dedicate at least 30 minutes daily to self-education, reading books on personal development or industry trends. In contrast, 77% of poor individuals in my study spent over an hour a day either watching TV, streaming, reading books of fiction, social media engagement and other online time-wasters. Knowledge keeps entrepreneurs competitive.

    Actionable Tip: Replace 30 minutes of social media with reading a business book or listening to an industry podcast. or reading industry journals

    3. Live frugally to re-invest

    Financial discipline is critical. Saver-Investor millionaires build their wealth by being frugal with their spending in order to save 20% or more of their net income, which they prudently invest themselves or through financial advisors. Entrepreneurs are different.

    While they do share the frugality habit with Saver-Investors, they don’t save like Saver-Investors. Instead, they live frugally in order to maximize the amount of profits, which they then reinvest back into their businesses — marketing, product development or hiring. In order to be able to live frugally, budget no more than 25% of net income on housing, 15% on food, 10% on entertainment and 5% on vacations.

    Actionable Tip: Automate investing 20% of your company’s profits into a business savings account to help you fund growth or provide a buffer.

    Related: Frugality Among the Wealthy: A Closer Look

    4. Build power relationships

    Networking is a cornerstone of success. In my study, I found that 93% of millionaires with mentors credited them, almost entirely, for their success in life. Mentors offer guidance, share processes that work, teach habits that automate success, teach what works and what does not work and open doors to influencers who are part of their inner circle.

    Wealthy entrepreneurs also invest significant time in cultivating “Power Relationships” with optimistic, success-minded peers and mentor others to strengthen their networks.

    Actionable Tip: Seek a mentor in your industry and ask for specific advice. Mentor someone else to build your network and refine your strategies.

    5. Take calculated risks

    Entrepreneurship involves risk, but successful entrepreneurs do their homework and make informed decisions prior to taking any risk. In my study, 27% of millionaires failed at least once in business but learned from their setbacks. They avoid reckless, speculative moves, relying on research, mentorship and market analysis to seize opportunities others miss.

    Actionable Tip: Before launching a venture, conduct market research and test ideas with a small-scale pilot program in order to minimize risk.

    6. Prioritize positivity and health

    A positive mindset and good physical health sustain entrepreneurial stamina and energy levels. My Rich Habits millionaires practiced “rich thinking,” controlling negative emotions and staying optimistic. Additionally, 76% exercised regularly to maintain energy and focus, enhancing decision-making and resilience.

    Actionable Tip: Spend 30 minutes daily on exercise like walking, yoga, weights or resistance exercises and practice gratitude to maintain positivity.

    Related: How to Build a Healthy, Wealthy and Wise Life

    The power of passion and persistence

    I learned from my Rich Habits research that passion fuels entrepreneurial success. Passion makes work fun. Passion gives you the energy, persistence and focus needed to overcome failures, mistakes and rejection.

    Passionate entrepreneurs endure long hours and challenges, while disciplined habits create a compounding effect. However, even the entrepreneurial fast track requires time — 12 years on average to reach multimillion-dollar wealth.

    Addressing challenges

    Critics of my work argue that systemic factors or demographic biases may influence wealth beyond habits. While barriers exist, my blind study focused on controllable behaviors. Entrepreneurs can’t eliminate external challenges, but can control daily actions, relationships and decisions to navigate them effectively.

    Entrepreneurship offers the fastest path to wealth for those who adopt the Rich Habits my research highlights. By setting goals, prioritizing learning, living frugally, building networks, taking calculated risks and maintaining positivity and health, aspiring entrepreneurs can emulate self-made millionaires. Wealth-building is a two-step process — creating and sustaining it — and entrepreneurship, with disciplined habits, is the engine that drives both steps faster than any other path.

    Start small, stay consistent and entrepreneurship will eventually lead you to financial success.

    [ad_2]

    Tom Corley

    Source link

  • Why the Biohacking Revolution is an Entrepreneurial Opportunity | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    I’ve been in the entrepreneurship game long enough to spot when something big is coming. And I’m telling you right now: I believe biohacking isn’t just another wellness fad. It’s a legitimate business strategy that’s giving smart entrepreneurs a massive competitive edge.

    The numbers don’t lie: why entrepreneurs need this now

    Eighty-seven percent of entrepreneurs deal with mental health issues versus just 48% of regular people. But here’s the real kicker — it’s not just stress. I think it’s about trying to maintain peak performance while your body systematically breaks down under the demands of building something meaningful.

    Meanwhile, research shows each extra hour of sleep per week bumps your earnings by 3.4%. You’re literally leaving money on the table by not getting enough sleep. Think about that for a second. Your competitors who prioritize recovery aren’t just feeling better — they’re earning more.

    The market agrees with this shift. According to a recent Research and Markets Report, the Global Biohacking Market was valued at $24.5 billion in 2024 and is estimated to reach $111.3 billion by 2034. When you see numbers like that, you’re not looking at a trend. You’re looking at a complete shift in how high performers approach optimization.

    Related: Tricks to Prevent Jet Lag, According to Science

    What biohacking actually means for business

    Biohacking isn’t some mystical wellness nonsense. It’s what happens when entrepreneurs apply the same obsessive optimization mindset they use in business to their own bodies. These are people who track every metric that matters.

    Now they’re tracking HRV scores (heart rate variability) like conversion rates, experimenting with intermittent fasting like it’s a marketing campaign, and optimizing their sleep with the same intensity they bring to growth hacking. Makes perfect sense when you think about it. If you’re going to measure everything else, why not measure what actually powers your brain?

    Dave Asprey figured this out when he was running a longevity nonprofit and realized he was “the only guy under 60 in the room.” All the knowledge about human optimization was stuck with older folks, while young entrepreneurs were burning themselves out. That’s when he created something entirely different.

    At his 11th annual in-person Biohacking Conference (13th, including virtual events during COVID), Asprey’s approach became crystal clear. This isn’t strategic rebranding of longevity science — it’s an entirely new framework that has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry.

    His definition of biohacking is laser-focused: “To change the environment outside of you and inside of you so you have full control of your biology, to allow you to upgrade your body, mind, and your life.”

    Related: Is There a Superior Diet for the Entrepreneur? The ‘Father of Biohacking’ Shares What He Eats for High Energy, Low Body Fat and Optimal Output

    AI is revolutionizing the biohacking game

    Here’s where Asprey really got my attention. His company, 40 Years of Zen, utilizes AI to analyze brainwaves from top entrepreneurs and train your brain to match their patterns in five days, rather than spending 20 years meditating. For entrepreneurs who barely have time to eat lunch, this is a revolutionary concept.

    But the real breakthrough is Upgrade Labs, his franchise that’s collecting 187 million data points from every client. They’re using AI to analyze your bloodwork, performance metrics, goals, and current state, then generating a personalized optimization plan. No more guessing about supplements, fasting schedules or treatments.

    Asprey dropped $2.5 million figuring this out the expensive way. With AI, you don’t have to.

    This is biohacking evolving from experimental to systematic. The data exists and the results are measurable. (Fair warning: accessible technology can still come with a price tag — the 40 Years of Zen retreat costs $16,000 for a five-day immersive neurofeedback experience. But compare that to the cost of burnout.)

    An industry cross-pollination that signals massive growth

    What blew me away at Asprey’s conference wasn’t just the technology — it was the crowd. I watched entertainment personalities like Ragga Ragnar (Queen Gilhund from Vikings) discussing their craft with medical professionals like Dr. Vince Padre, who is developing gut-healthy coffee. Tech veterans were swapping notes with food innovators, such as Oren Epstein from BioRaw, Canada’s leading vegan food distributor, about running sustainable businesses.

    Even teenage entrepreneurs like George Zhou and Becket Kitaen from Buffs were there, soaking it all up. Their product is a “cheeto puff made of beef.”

    When cultural influencers like Food Babe, who shares her most helpful resources here, and thought leaders like Martin Luther King III show up — connecting biohacking to mission-driven initiatives like Realize The Dream — you know something has staying power. When wellness meets social change, and both get backed by real money, that’s when markets explode.

    The entrepreneurial trifecta is in full effect: users proving demand, investors bringing serious capital and cultural influencers amplifying the message. Game over.

    Where the smart money is moving

    The investment patterns tell the story. Money is flowing toward scalable, results-driven models — from recurring subscriptions to high-retention product ecosystems. In the U.S., we’re seeing a surge in biotech investments, fueled by consumers who are increasingly dissatisfied with one-size-fits-all solutions and demand personalized, data-driven health alternatives.

    Companies like Denmark-based Puori are investing heavily in the US to set a new standard for product authenticity and transparency in the supplement space. Every batch is third-party tested for over 200 contaminants, with full results available via a QR code on the packaging, enabling consumers to make informed decisions in a crowded market. PureWave’s VEMI Biosynchronizing beds are being used to assist in veteran recovery. BioLight’s cutting-edge oral healthcare technology is redefining dental health.

    As Dr. Mike Belkowski, founder of Biolight, explained at their booth: “Red Light Therapy is no longer a fringe modality— it’s becoming a cornerstone in the future of health optimization. As we unlock the science behind light, mitochondria, and cellular resilience, we’re entering a new era where healing and performance can be non-invasive, natural, and profoundly effective.”

    The biggest wins? Brands are building recurring revenue around absolute trust and utility. Position yourself where performance, personalization, and prevention intersect, and you won’t just ride the biohacking wave — you’ll own it.

    Building biohacking into your business culture

    Asprey dropped some practical wisdom about integrating biohacking into your company culture, no matter what stage you’re in:

    • Lead by Example: “You cannot tell your employees what to do unless you’re doing it.” Don’t mandate wellness programs. Show the value through your own transformation first.
    • Invest in Real Health Data: “You have all the lab tests, or at least your employees do, and they get actionable information to improve them. The amount of money you will make from having employees who are emotionally regulated because they’re biologically healthy, holy crap, your whole culture changes overnight. It’s so big.”
    • Go Dry: This might surprise you, but Asprey’s logic is bulletproof. “You should not be spending your hard-earned profits on feeding your employees alcohol. He says, give them high-quality coffee instead. Give them things that make them grounded and focused and happy and performant and healthier.”

    These aren’t feel-good wellness initiatives. These are business strategies disguised as employee benefits.

    The bottom line

    Biohacking is no longer just about personal optimization. It’s about building better businesses and creating sustainable competitive advantages. While your competitors burn out on the old grind-it-out mentality, you’re optimizing your biology for sustained peak performance.

    The only question is whether you’ll get ahead of this curve or spend the next five years playing catch-up while your competition evolves past you.

    In my experience, winning entrepreneurs spot trends early and move fast. Biohacking isn’t the future of wellness — it’s the future of high-performance entrepreneurship.

    [ad_2]

    John Rampton

    Source link

  • Co-founders of Stakt on Starting a Side Hustle Earning $10M in 2025 | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based friends and co-founders Millie Blumka, 31, and Taylor Borenstein, 31. The pair started a side hustle in 2021 called Stakt, an adaptable workout accessories brand.

    Blumka was a director of brand partnerships at Showfields and Borenstein was a product implementation manager at Bloomberg when they invested about $50,000 of their personal savings into the business. The co-founders have since grown it from a two-person operation to a lucrative business on track for $10 million in revenue in 2025 as it scales across Amazon, DTC and B2B.

    Read exactly how they did it, here.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt. Taylor Borenstein, left, and Millie Blumka, right.

    Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    Blumka and Borenstein: We had the idea for Stakt back in 2020 when home workouts became the norm and our old yoga mats just weren’t cutting it. We needed more support and versatility for the variety of workouts we were doing like sculpt and pilates, and we couldn’t find a mat that could keep up. We found inspiration through our own personal need and noticing many trainers we looked up to were rolling their mat in half to get extra support…we knew there had to be a better way.

    Related: This Couple’s ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Sold Out in 1 Weekend — It Hit $1 Million in 3 Years and Now Makes Millions Annually: ‘Lean But Powerful’

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    Blumka and Borenstein:     Neither of us had started a business before, let alone created a product, so the first step was a lot of networking. We spoke with friends of friends to try to understand how you even go about creating a product. We also did a lot of surveying to understand if this was an “us” problem or if other people were struggling with this, too. We each invested $25,000 of our own savings to get the business off the ground and have invested profits ever since.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    Blumka:     If I could go back, I’d probably establish our lanes much earlier. In the beginning, we both tried to touch everything and be hands on for every aspect of the business. Once we defined who owned what, things became so much smoother. Having those roles in place earlier would have saved us a lot of time.

    Borenstein: I probably would have hired customer service support sooner, as we spent a lot of our time on customer experience when we could have spent it building the business.

    Related: These Friends Started a Side Hustle in Their Kitchens. Sales Spiked to $130,000 in 3 Days — Then 7 Figures: ‘Revenue Has Grown Consistently.’

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    Borenstein:     Before starting a consumer brand, I had always thought, How hard could it be if you have a good product? It turns out the product is just the first step: Growing a business takes a ton of discipline, hard work, networking and efforts across all verticals to really make it successful.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong — how did you fix it?
    Blumka:     We once had an entire container of inventory arrive damaged, and we didn’t feel comfortable selling it. Instead, we donated the mats to local organizations and used them for community events. It left us out of stock for a while, so we leaned on pre-orders and reframed the challenge as a marketing opportunity.

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
    Blumka:     We didn’t pay ourselves until we decided it was time to make Stakt our full-time jobs instead of just a side hustle.

    Borenstein: It took about a year before things leveled out and we saw consistent monthly revenue. For the first year, there were good months, great months and bad months — eventually it became more consistent and easier to predict.

    Related: At 24, She Immigrated to the U.S. and Worked at Walmart. Then She Turned Savings Into a ‘Magic’ Side Hustle Surpassing $1 Million This Year.

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    Blumka and Borenstein:     We are on track to do $10 million in revenue this year — doubling what we did in 2024.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    What do you enjoy most about running your business?
    Blumka:     The combination of creativity and community. I love taking an idea and turning it into something people genuinely connect with. That said, the real reward is seeing our products out in the wild, with people actually using and loving them. Building community around movement and wellness has been the most fulfilling part. Plus, doing it alongside my best friend is the biggest bonus.

    Borenstein: At some point, this truly stopped feeling like work. Stakt is an extension of me and my family, and every day I get to work with my best friend and my husband (whom we hired last year). I love that I can make my own schedule, my hard work is rewarded with the growth of my own business, I meet awesome people, and I get the opportunity to design new products and see them come to life.

    “Chaos is part of the journey.”

    Based on your journey so far, what’s your best advice for aspiring founders?
    Blumka:     There will never be a perfect time, perfect product or perfect plan, but you have to start somewhere. There will always be a reason to wait, but the real progress starts once you launch. This is when you can adapt, learn and grow.

    Borenstein: Everyone will have advice, but trust your gut — there’s no single playbook. And remember, no one has it all figured out; the chaos is part of the journey.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based friends and co-founders Millie Blumka, 31, and Taylor Borenstein, 31. The pair started a side hustle in 2021 called Stakt, an adaptable workout accessories brand.

    Blumka was a director of brand partnerships at Showfields and Borenstein was a product implementation manager at Bloomberg when they invested about $50,000 of their personal savings into the business. The co-founders have since grown it from a two-person operation to a lucrative business on track for $10 million in revenue in 2025 as it scales across Amazon, DTC and B2B.

    Read exactly how they did it, here.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • This Trillion-Dollar Industry Is Where You Need to Look For Your Next Investment — Here’s Why | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most founders are still chasing yesterday’s markets. They’re building tools for productivity, or consumer apps that feel safe and familiar. Meanwhile, a new generation of companies is tackling the most universal customer need on earth — more years of energy, clarity and performance.

    This isn’t wellness 2.0. This is the redefinition of healthcare, insurance, consumer products and even food. By 2030, the longevity economy will be worth an estimated $27 trillion globally. For business leaders, this represents a once-in-a-generation category: It touches everyone, enables recurring revenues and rewards those who build early.

    The real question is simple: Will you profit from it — or watch from the sidelines?

    Related: Why Personal Health and Wellness Are Key to Business Longevity

    Why longevity is the next Gold Rush

    For decades, healthcare has focused on treating disease. Wellness became a $5 trillion global industry filled with supplements, wearables and green juices. But now, the shift is toward healthspan — the years we spend in peak physical and mental condition.

    The customer demand is obvious:

    • Aging populations: By 2034, the U.S. will have more people over 65 than 18. Globally, one in six people will be over 60 by 2030. That’s not just demographics — that’s a new consumer majority.
    • Rising costs: Chronic diseases and mental health conditions already account for 90% of U.S. healthcare spending. Businesses and insurers are desperate for solutions that prevent rather than patch.
    • Spending power: The 50+ population already controls more than half of global consumer spending, yet most innovation still chases Gen Z. That’s a blind spot waiting to be exploited.
    • Cultural momentum: From CEOs like Bryan Johnson spending millions on “biological age reversal” to mainstream adoption of WHOOP and Oura, longevity has gone from fringe to aspirational.

    Here’s the point: Longevity is no longer about lab coats and science journals. It’s becoming a consumer status symbol, a corporate necessity and a national policy issue all at once. That convergence creates rocket fuel for entrepreneurs bold enough to enter.

    Who’s leading the charge

    Look at where the smartest money is already flowing:

    • Altos Labs, backed by Jeff Bezos, is pursuing cellular reprogramming to reverse ageing itself.
    • Thorne HealthTech is scaling biological age testing and personalized supplementation.
    • Deep-tech startups are building senolytics (compounds that clear damaged cells), NAD+ boosters and precision nutrition platforms.
    • Consumer brands are reframing skincare, fitness and even food around “cellular longevity.”

    And it’s not just startups. Apple and Amazon are both quietly moving into health monitoring and prevention — because they know the next trillion-dollar market won’t be social feeds, it will be life itself.

    These aren’t small plays. In 2024, longevity startups attracted $8.5 billion in funding — a 220% year-over-year increase. And yet, compared to fintech or AI, this category is still underfunded. That means the window is wide open.

    Related: How Entrepreneurs Can Achieve Longevity

    Where entrepreneurs can enter

    You don’t need to be a biotech scientist to build here. In fact, some of the biggest near-term opportunities are business-model plays, not lab breakthroughs:

    • Data + AI platforms: Democratize access to advanced diagnostics, biomarket testing or personalized health programs. Think of it as “Mint.com for your biology.”
    • Longevity as a service: Subscription models for supplements, recovery protocols or wearables that create sticky, recurring revenue.
    • Talent and corporate healthspan: Companies will pay for healthier, sharper employees. Expect corporate packages for executive resilience, employee energy optimisation and “longevity perks.”
    • Consumer rebrands: Skincare, nutrition and fitness companies are already pivoting around the language of healthspan to differentiate. I’ve already invested in this space myself: Under my brand Rejna, I’m launching a skincare collection called Rejuvenate, built around the concept of “skinspan” — positioning skin health as a core pillar of longevity, not just cosmetics. It’s a live example of how consumer brands can reframe their value proposition to align with the longevity revolution.
    • Longevity communities: Hybrid digital + physical hubs offering programs, recovery lounges and memberships designed for the new aspirational class: the longevity customer.

    Translation for business leaders: You don’t need a lab. You need vision, distribution and the courage to build for where the market is going, not where it’s been.

    How business leaders can act now

    1. Educate yourself and your team. Follow longevity leaders (David Sinclair, Peter Diamandis and Laura Deming to name a few). Subscribe to longevity reports. Send your team to a longevity summit.
    2. Identity synergies with your business. Whether you’re in food, beauty, insurance, HR or data, there’s a longevity angle. If you’re not thinking about it, your competitors will.
    3. Start small, scale fast. Launch a pilot offering: corporate wellness with a longevity spin, a subscription recovery service or a data product built on wearable integration. Test, learn and scale.
    4. Position for partnerships. Big pharma, insurers and consumer brands will need agile partners. If you’re early, you’ll be the acquisition target, not the disrupted.
    5. Signal the story. Investors and employees back vision. Frame your longevity play as part of a bigger comeback or market-defining narrative. The story matters as much as the science.

    Related: Why Top Entrepreneurs Are Swapping Beach Vacations for Longevity Retreats

    The bigger picture

    Longevity isn’t about living forever. It’s about compressing the years of illness, fatigue and decline — and extending the years of vitality, clarity and purpose.

    The smartest entrepreneurs understand this isn’t just science, it’s strategy. It’s the chance to build the companies that will define the next decade of human health — and make fortunes doing it.

    The next trillion-dollar industry won’t just help us live longer. It will help us live better. The only question is: Are you building for it now, or waiting until it’s too late?

    Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most founders are still chasing yesterday’s markets. They’re building tools for productivity, or consumer apps that feel safe and familiar. Meanwhile, a new generation of companies is tackling the most universal customer need on earth — more years of energy, clarity and performance.

    This isn’t wellness 2.0. This is the redefinition of healthcare, insurance, consumer products and even food. By 2030, the longevity economy will be worth an estimated $27 trillion globally. For business leaders, this represents a once-in-a-generation category: It touches everyone, enables recurring revenues and rewards those who build early.

    The real question is simple: Will you profit from it — or watch from the sidelines?

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Rejna Alaaldin

    Source link

  • Study reveals how fat cells can fuel breast cancer tumors

    [ad_1]

    Being overweight or obese has long been linked to a greater risk of developing or dying from breast cancer. New research suggests a reason: Certain breast cancer tumors may feed on neighboring fat cells.

    The findings may help scientists find ways to treat triple-negative breast cancer, which is notoriously aggressive and has lower survival rates. Moreover, the results may apply to any cancer that uses fat as an energy source, according to the report, published Wednesday in Nature Communications.

    Triple-negative accounts for about 15% of all breast cancers. It tends to be more common in Black women and women under 40 and is more likely to recur than other cancers.

    The breast tumor cells appear to gain access to the fat cells’ content by poking a straw-like structure into the fat cells and then dislodging the lipids stored there.

    If researchers can find a way to block tumors from tunneling into neighboring fat cells without harming patients, they might have a way to cure the often deadly cancers, said the study’s lead author, Jeremy Williams, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco.

    “Aggressive cancer cells can co-opt different nutrient sources to help them grow, including by stimulating fat cells in the breast to release their lipids,” Williams said. “In the future, new treatments might starve the tumor cells by preventing their access to lipids from neighboring cells.” Lipids are fatty compounds, such as cholesterol, that are used largely for energy storage in the body.

    Williams and his colleagues ran multiple experiments, some using tissue from breast cancer patients and others using a mouse model of a breast cancer patient.

    In the experiments exclusively using human tissue, the researchers examined fat cells at varying distances from tumor cells. They found that the closer the fat cells were to tumor cells, the more depleted in lipids they were.

    When the researchers blocked the tumor cells’ ability to build the straw-like structures, officially known as gap junctions, the tumors stopped growing.

    They found a similar result in a mouse model, in which tumor cells from breast cancer patients were tweaked genetically so they lost some of their ability to make gap junctions. When the tissue was implanted in mice, the mice were protected.

    “Knocking out a single gene impaired the formation and progression of the tumor,” Williams said.

    Williams and his colleagues started looking at mechanisms to explain an earlier finding from the lab he worked at.

    “These tumors were burning fatty acids as a source of energy,” he said. “It seemed an urgent question to answer where the fatty acids were coming from.”

    As it turns out, several medications that inhibit gap junction formation are being studied in early-phase clinical trials for other purposes, Williams said.

    How cancer ‘grows and feeds itself’

    Dr. Julia McGuinness, a breast cancer specialist and an associate professor of medicine at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said it’s the first evidence of a mechanism showing the association between fat and cancer.

    It’s also “suggesting one pathway to treat aggressive cancers for which we don’t have any good therapies,” McGuinness said. “We already know that obese women who have these kinds of cancer have worse outcomes.”

    The new research may also suggest that lifestyle modifications that would help women achieve healthy weights might also protect against such cancers, McGuinness said. “Slimming down could be protective,” she said, adding that obesity has been shown to be a risk factor for all breast cancers.

    The authors of the study found ways to look at the mechanism linking fat to breast cancer growth in ways that couldn’t be tested in human beings, said Justin Balko, the Ingram professor of cancer research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

    “They found a new way cancer grows and feeds itself,” Balko said. “If some of the same effects are observed in humans, it might be fodder for differences in the way we treat patients.”

    But there are caveats, Balko said. “For example, we don’t know if this is a major mechanism by which breast cancer grows in humans,” he said. “But it makes a lot of sense.”

    October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are some tips on reducing the risk for both men and women, along with recommendations from experts on how often to get tested for the disease.

    [ad_2]

    Linda Carroll | NBC News

    Source link

  • Average Ages to Make 6 Figures, Buy a House, Save for Retirement | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    There’s no age limit when it comes to achieving significant financial milestones, but many people envision checking them off their list by a certain point in their lives.

    Unfortunately, these days, amid high costs of living and economic uncertainty, most U.S. adults fall short of wealth-building goals: 77% say they aren’t completely financially secure, according to Bankrate’s Financial Freedom survey.

    How old should you really be to land that dream job, start saving for retirement, earn six figures or buy your first home?

    Related: Rewire Your Brain to Reach Money Goals With This Simple Exercise From a Former J.P. Morgan Retirement Executive

    New research from Empower set out to answer those questions and explore how Americans navigate money milestones today.

    Although just 17% believe people should hit financial milestones by a specific age, 44% are glad they achieved them when they did, per the report.

    On average, Americans think you should start saving for retirement at 27, land your dream job at 29, buy your first home at 30 and earn six figures by 35, according to the research. Respondents also reported hoping to be debt-free at 41 and to retire at 58.

    About half of Americans (45%) wish they’d saved money earlier and with more consistency in order to prepare for life’s big changes, the study found.

    Related: Make Your Money Manage Itself — How to Automate Your Personal Finances and Keep Your Goals on Track

    After planning for retirement and becoming a homeowner, Americans see several life events as significant wealth-building opportunities: investing in stocks (34%), investing in education (26%), changing career paths (21%), getting married (19%) and starting a business (19%).

    Nearly one-third of respondents said they realized the value of having a financial plan or working with a financial planner after meeting a life milestone.

    “For all ages, it’s important to talk to an advisor who can help create a tailored path specific to your financial goals and set you up for a realistic retirement lifestyle,” Stacey Black, lead financial educator at Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU), told Entrepreneur last year.

    Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.

    There’s no age limit when it comes to achieving significant financial milestones, but many people envision checking them off their list by a certain point in their lives.

    Unfortunately, these days, amid high costs of living and economic uncertainty, most U.S. adults fall short of wealth-building goals: 77% say they aren’t completely financially secure, according to Bankrate’s Financial Freedom survey.

    How old should you really be to land that dream job, start saving for retirement, earn six figures or buy your first home?

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • New Survey Reveals Americans’ Biggest Life Regrets | Entrepreneur

    New Survey Reveals Americans’ Biggest Life Regrets | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Americans are more likely to regret the things they didn’t do than the things they have done.

    That’s according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults split evenly by generation, which found that only 11% of Americans don’t have regrets.

    Between not speaking up (40%), not visiting family or friends enough (36%) and not pursuing their dreams (35%), those missed opportunities add up.

    Related: Always Waiting for the Best Option Is Holding You Back. Here’s Why.

    In their lifetime, Americans average three missed chances to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip, four lost opportunities to ask their crush out and six instances of not having the perfect comeback in an argument.

    On the flip side, the top actions Americans regret include spending money or purchasing something (49%), fighting with friends or family (43%) and making an unnecessary comment (36%).

    Over the years, Americans also regret an average of five angry text messages and two break-ups.

    In fact, nearly one-third (32%) of baby boomers have a regret that spans three decades and still crosses their minds an average of three times per month.

    While millennials’ oldest regret is only about 11 years old, they average fretting about it almost once per week, more than any other generation.

    Related: The Top 5 Regrets of Mid-Career Professionals

    Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Mucinex, results revealed that Americans are almost twice as likely to make bad decisions at night (41%) than in the morning (22%).

    Moreover, Americans also tend to regret something more at night (43%). Nighttime decisions such as not going to bed at a decent time (47%), eating too many snacks or too much food (36%) and arguing with a loved one (35%) are the most likely to negatively impact Americans the next morning.

    For Gen Zers, failing to do their nighttime routine (29%) or forgetting to turn on their alarm (22%) will almost always ensure morning distress.

    These poor choices not only cause regret but also put Americans in a bad mood (39%), leave them unable to tackle the day (29%) or even inhibit them from fulfilling the day’s responsibilities (20%).

    Related: 10 Horrible Habits You’re Doing Right Now That Are Draining Your Energy

    But what factors are contributing to these bad decisions? According to the results, being tired (40%), sick and desperate for relief (20%) or after a long night out (15%) are the most likely culprits.

    “We don’t make the best decisions when we’re sick or tired, especially at night,” says Albert So, marketing director of upper respiratory at Reckitt. “And while no one is going to get it right every single time, it’s important to have products you can rely on to help you make better decisions so you don’t wake up with regrets.”

    For all the bad decisions made and opportunities missed, 48% of Americans still agree with the common saying, “Never regret anything because, at one moment, it was exactly what you wanted.”

    This may be because almost two-thirds (64%) believe that their decision-making has gotten better as they’ve gotten older.

    Results also revealed that some “bad” decisions don’t always result in feelings of regret. Staying up late with friends (24%), quitting a job (23%), taking a chance on a new food (20%), moving somewhere new (17%) and going to a concert on a weeknight (10%) are all choices Americans consider to have been “worth it.”

    “Few things are worse than starting your day regretting a choice you made the night before, especially when you’re suffering from cold and flu symptoms and have a busy day ahead,” So says. “Feeling better starts with getting a good night’s sleep and making smart decisions before bed so you wake up feeling ready to go with no regrets.”

    Related: 10 Regrets Most Entrepreneurs Eventually Face

    [ad_2]

    David James

    Source link

  • Introvert Warren Buffett Reveals Secret to Public Speaking | Entrepreneur

    Introvert Warren Buffett Reveals Secret to Public Speaking | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Most people (56.8%) around the world identify as introverts, according to a 2020 study from The Myers-Briggs Company. Those with an introverted personality are often reflective and self-aware, prefer to write rather than speak and feel tired after being in a crowd.

    Naturally, many introverts aren’t big fans of public speaking. Addressing an audience might be an inevitable part of professional life, but the average introvert probably isn’t clamoring to get in front of a group.

    Related: I Work With Warren Buffett. He’s Probably the Smartest Person in the World — Here’s the Best Advice He’s Given Me.

    Even the most successful business leaders in the world aren’t immune to stage fright.

    Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old billionaire chairman and CEO of conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway, considers himself an introvert. In his biography The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder, he admits that speaking in front of a crowd used to make him physically ill.

    Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images. Warren Buffett.

    “I was terrified of public speaking,” Buffett says. “You can’t believe what I was like if I had to give a talk. I was so terrified that I just couldn’t do it. I would throw up. In fact, I arranged my life so that I never had to get up in front of anybody.”

    Related: In Leadership, Introversion Is Underrated — and Warren Buffett and Bill Gates Share How They Use It to Their Advantage.

    After Buffett graduated from Columbia Business School, where he studied under investor Benjamin Graham, he returned to Omaha, Nebraska. There, he saw an advertisement for a public speaking course using the Dale Carnegie method.

    Buffett was familiar with Carnegie’s 1936 self-help book How to Win Friends & Influence People, and he’d even signed up for a Carnegie public speaking class in New York — before he backed out and stopped payment on the $100 check.

    Buffett decided to give the course another chance in Omaha.

    “I took a hundred bucks in cash and gave it to Wally Keenan, the instructor, and said, ‘Take it before I change my mind,’” he recalls in The Snowball.

    Related: 5 Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs Who Are Introverts

    In Keenan’s class at Omaha’s Rome Hotel, Buffett discovered the key to conquering his public speaking fears.

    “The way it works is that you learn to get out of yourself,” Buffett explains. “I mean, why should you be able to talk alone with somebody five minutes before and then freeze in front of a group? So they teach you the psychological tricks to overcome this. Some of it is just practice — just doing it and practicing.”

    Practicing under the same conditions in which you’ll speak or otherwise perform can help promote success in high-pressure situations, Sian Beilock, cognitive scientist and current president of Dartmouth College, told Entrepreneur in 2022.

    Related: Steve Jobs’ Public Speaking Power Moves Remain Just as Relevant Today, 13 Years After His Final Keynote at the Apple Developers Conference

    Additionally, it can help to take a step back as the event draws near, according to Beilock. Then, during the high-stakes moment, she suggests interpreting physiological responses positively; for example, consider sweaty palms or a racing heart signs of excitement rather than anxiety.

    “And it worked,” Buffett says of the psychological techniques he learned in his public speaking class many decades ago. “That’s the most important degree that I have.”

    Buffett‘s certification of completion for the Carnegie course, dated January 1952, hangs above the sofa in his office, according to Schroeder’s account.

    Related: I Spent a Day Living Like Billionaire Warren Buffett. Here’s What Happened.

    Now, Buffett stands in front of an audience of 40,000 at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting, where attendees line up hours before the event to listen to the Oracle of Omaha speak.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • What to know about flu, COVID shots as the season approaches

    What to know about flu, COVID shots as the season approaches

    [ad_1]

    The flu’s arrival is still about a month away, but health professionals say the latest shots are now available to protect yourself from whatever the annual season of misery might bring.

    “We don’t have any indication that a bad flu season is coming based on currently available data,” said Dr. Shira Doron, of Tufts Medical Center

    The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of six months get a flu shot. The length of the season varies, but it starts in the fall, runs through winter and peaks in February.

    Right now, the southern hemisphere is finishing up an average flu season, but there’s no guarantee that’ll happen here.

    One rule of thumb from health professionals: get your shot by Halloween.

    “I got my vaccine, my COVID booster last week. But yeah, not getting the flu vaccine is just nutty,” one man said.

    The first flu vaccine that people can give to themselves at home will be a nasal spray called FluMist. It will still require a prescription, but it can be ordered directly from an online pharmacy.

    COVID boosters are getting a lot of attention, too. Like flu shots, they’re suggested for people over the age of six months, and, more importantly, pregnant women, people with underlying health problems as well as men and women over the age of 65.

    “I’m probably not as protected against the latest strains of COVID as I need to be. I think I will probably get (a COVID booster) at the same time as I get the flu shot,” another man said.

    Despite rigorous testing over years and years, vaccinations of all kinds remain a source of controversy for some — not everyone’s convinced they do what they supposed to do.

    “We are seeing evidence that people are less likely today to be vaccinated than they were before the pandemic and that’s really unfortunate,” Doron said.

    RSV is another seasonal concern, and the CDC is recommending new treatments for those who are most at risk, including infants.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • How to Teach Kids About Money and Set Them Up for Success | Entrepreneur

    How to Teach Kids About Money and Set Them Up for Success | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Although 83% of U.S. adults said parents are the most responsible for teaching their children about money, 31% of American parents never speak to their kids about the topic, according to a survey from CNBC and Acorns.

    Last week, the subject came up on Northwestern Mutual’s A Better Way to Money podcast, which featured social media star and owner of Stur Drinks Kat Stickler and Northwestern Mutual vice president and chief portfolio manager Matt Stucky.

    “I love and respect my parents, but we didn’t really talk about money ever — I never saw them talk about money,” Stickler told Stucky during the conversation. “It was taboo. It wasn’t brought up once.”

    Related: Members of Every Generation Have Side Hustles — But They Don’t Spend Their Earnings the Same Way. Here’s the Breakdown.

    According to Stucky, parents can instill strong money management skills like any other good habit.

    “It just takes a lot of repetition — things like saving, investing,” Stucky said. “I’m not going to teach my 4-year-old about investing, but just the idea of if I save a dollar, that means I can spend it down the road on something that I really want. That takes a while to sink in.”

    Money might not have been a regular topic of discussion while Stickler was growing up, but the entrepreneur says her mother did show her the value of a dollar in other ways: repurposing old jeans into shorts or empty butter tubs into containers for school lunch.

    In addition to talking to their kids about money, parents can lead by example when it comes to smart financial decisions.

    “There are new risks that are now in the equation of being a parent,” Stucky said. “Things like, What if something happens to me; what if I can’t work anymore? How does that impact my child’s financial life?“

    Navigating those uncertainties means planning for big-ticket items, according to Stucky. Stickler, who has a young daughter, said she’s already taken some key steps to secure her future: setting up a will complete with a month-by-month timeline and establishing funds for healthcare and school — and even one for clothes and toys.

    Related: What Your Parents Never Taught You About Money

    According to Stucky, parents should leverage today’s circumstances for tomorrow’s success.

    Stucky recommends setting up a 529, to which you can contribute funds for education, and a Roth IRA for your child.

    “[With a Roth IRA], you are able to contribute on their behalf up to the child’s earned income amount or the current contribution limits of $7,000, and the dollars come out tax-free after age 59 ½ or if they need to use it for a qualifying life event,” Stucky explains. “It’s a way to set up your children for their retirement, as well as support generational wealth.”

    Parents might also consider a Uniform Transfer to Minors Account (UTMA), which has no limit on the amount that goes in and allows them to retain control until their kids reach 18-21, depending on where they live, Stucky says.

    Related: Shark Tank’s ‘Mr. Wonderful’ on Teaching Kids About Money: ‘Put Their Noses In It, Like You’re Training a Puppy’

    Finally, Stucky recommends the “often overlooked option” of permanent life insurance for your child.

    “The policy will pay a death benefit someday so long as the required premiums are paid,” he explains. “In addition, policies accumulate cash value, which your child could access during their lifetime.”

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • Dick Van Dyke says this is the ‘secret weapon’ for his health at 98 years old

    Dick Van Dyke says this is the ‘secret weapon’ for his health at 98 years old

    [ad_1]

    Dick Van Dyke is letting fans in on the secrets to his good health at 98 years old.

    The Emmy Award winner, known for his roles on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Mary Poppins,” is still holding his own in the gym. But he didn’t always live this way. “If I’d known I would have lived this long, I would have taken better care of myself,” he told CBS News in 2023.

    Now that he’s lived nearly 10 decades, including a legendary career that’s earned him the respect of multiple generations, here’s what the actor has shared about how he manages his health.

    He regularly works up a sweat

    At 98, Van Dyke has got an impressive gym routine. “My wife, god bless her, makes sure I go to the gym three days a week and do a full workout,” the actor told CBS News, referring to wife Arlene Silver.

    He called the gym his “secret weapon,” in an exclusive with Entertainment Tonight.

    But looking after his physique isn’t something he took up recently. On top of a career chock-full of dance, in 1974, Van Dyke revealed he also did yoga on The Dick Cavett Show. “I do it in the morning when I get up,” he said at the time. He called it both relaxing and strenuous — particularly the sit-ups. “It’s a great exercise, but it’s tiring. It’s hard.”

    He previously struggled with alcohol use

    Van Dyke publicly revealed he was dealing with alcoholism and checked into a hospital for three weeks to address his addiction in 1972. After that, he worked to change the stigma about the disease.

    “It’s a physical disease,” Van Dyke said on The Dick Cavett Show in 1974. “It has nothing to do with the person not being mature enough not to drink too much. It’s a true addiction, like a heroin addiction.”

    While he barely drank in his 20s, as invitations to parties mounted in his 30s, he found himself drinking more and eventually realized he had problem, he added.

    In 2016, he told Oprah Winfrey that alcohol was his crutch in social settings. “I was very shy — with strangers — I couldn’t talk to people,” the then-90-year-old said. “And I found if I had a drink, it would loosen me up. The barriers went down, and I became very social. That’s what got me started.”

    A friend once warned him about his drinking habits, but Van Dyke shrugged him off, he told Dick Cavett. Van Dyke estimates that he drank heavily for about seven years. So, by the time he realized he needed help, he was in too deep and had to work at his recovery for many years.

    Dick Van Dyke is putting the phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” to bed.

    Van Dyke said he’s long tried to pinpoint the exact moment his drinking habits shifted but can’t. “When did I go from the point when I drank with my friends at a party or something to the point where I’d began to drink way ahead of them?” he wondered.

    Now that he’s sober, he doesn’t miss it. “I like life too much without it. Now that I’m completely free of it, I don’t have any desire to ever drink again.”

    He quit smoking

    Once Van Dyke sought help for alcoholism, he also addressed his smoking habits. “Trying to quit smoking, that was twice as hard,” Van Dyke said on the Really No Really podcast in 2023.

    “It was much worse than the alcohol,” he added, saying it took him “forever” to quit. “I’m still chewing the nicotine gum. It’s been 15 years, I think.”

    He suffered from mysterious headaches

    In 2013, Van Dyke was forced to cancel public appearances for health reasons.

    That April, the entertainer was set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Bettering Humanity through Comedy from New York’s 92Y, but he had to pull out. His reps said he was dealing with “fatigue and lack of sleep resulting from symptoms of a yet-to-be diagnosed neurological disorder,” according to Entertainment Tonight.

    That same month, the star took to X to share additional details and ask for advice: “My head bangs every time I lay down. I’ve had every test come back that I’m perfectly healthy. Anybody got any ideas?”

    The following month, he shared an update revealing he suspects his dental work was to blame, TODAY.com previously reported. “It seems that my titanium dental implants are the cause of my head pounding,” he wrote on X. “Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for all your replies.”

    He does work he still looks forward to

    In addition to looking after his health and making necessary life changes, it seems the final key to Van Dyke’s longevity is contentment. “If I’m not enjoying myself, I’m really bad. I am,” Van Dyke quipped to CBS News.

    “It’s such a blessing to find a way of making a living that you love, that you’d do for nothing. I feel so sorry for people who hate their jobs. I look forward to going to work every morning,” he said.

    Van Dyke’s legendary career is still bringing him joy, as it did when he first broke out on the scene. He says that’s because he’s never wasted a moment doing something he didn’t love. “Get your living done first and have the nerve to try something,” he advised.

    This article first appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY here:

    [ad_2]

    Aryelle Siclait | TODAY

    Source link

  • Her T-Shirt Side Hustle Led to a DM From Levi’s and $400M | Entrepreneur

    Her T-Shirt Side Hustle Led to a DM From Levi’s and $400M | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Michelle Wahler, co-founder and former CEO of activewear brand Beyond Yoga. Wahler launched Beyond Yoga with Jodi Guber Brufsky in 2006. Years later, Levi’s reached out to Wahler via LinkedIn direct message, ultimately acquiring the company for $400 million in 2021. Under Wahler’s leadership, Beyond Yoga achieved 19% year-over-year growth and surpassed $115 million in revenue in 2023. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Greyson Tarantino. Michelle Wahler.

    What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
    After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in graphic design, I moved to New York to work in publishing, originally at People magazine and later Harper’s Bazaar. It was during that time that I started drawing illustrations of my friends, which I would put on T-shirts to give as birthday presents.

    Related: The Side Hustle She Worked on in a Local Starbucks ‘Went From Nothing to $1 Million.’ Now It Will Make Over $30 Million This Year.

    This hobby of mine ultimately turned into a company I called Unsweetened, with clothing and accessories featuring illustrations of women — in what I viewed as an “un-sugar-coated” version of them.

    Where did you find the inspiration for your side hustle?
    [At my magazine jobs], I got a firsthand look at the photoshopping that goes on in the industry. Both jobs were incredible experiences, but they shed light on the unrealistic expectations the media was putting into the market and minds of their consumers. My entire life, I have watched incredible, smart, beautiful women not see themselves as they are and try to conform to a singular idea of beauty. While this frustration was brewing, I struggled to make ends meet, working long hours for little pay but gaining loads of invaluable experience! At the time, my best friend and roommate’s birthday was coming up, and since I didn’t have the means to buy her something great, I decided to make her a birthday present — I sketched her and put the illustration on a T-shirt.

    All my friends loved it, so for the next year, everyone got one of these unique drawings of themselves on a T-shirt. These illustrations celebrated them for who they were — curves, careers and fun! I called it the “unsweetened” version of themselves, and before I knew it, I started selling them. It felt so fulfilling to be doing something that I loved while simultaneously promoting body positivity and self-confidence from within.

    Related: They Started a Home-Based Side Hustle Earning Up to $20,000 a Month — and It’s Still Growing: ‘Will Never Get Old’

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
    At People, I had a cubicle right in front of the publisher — a high-traffic cube! — and I put all my sketches on the wall. People started asking me to make them for them for their friends, and the next thing I knew, I was buying a T-shirt press, getting a wholesale license, purchasing T-shirts and printing and packing them in my shared apartment after my roommate went to bed.

    The T-shirts were a hit, and I started spending all my free time working on Unsweetened. I sold the shirts at holiday bazaars and craft shows and eventually got a booth at the New York City Gift Show and the Los Angeles Gift Show. Ultimately, I left New York City with the intention of making a full run of Unsweetened on the West Coast; however, things quickly changed upon my arrival.

    What led you to decide to transform the side hustle into full-time business Beyond Yoga?
    I moved to California and was very quickly introduced to Jodi [Guber Brufsky], who would become my future business partner. I instantly fell in love with the mission of Beyond Yoga, put Unsweetened on hold and went full steam ahead building Beyond Yoga — a brand that would eventually permanently change industry standards and expectations. These days, size inclusivity is a given for a new brand starting out, but this was just not the case 20 years ago when we started building Beyond Yoga. It’s really something that we pioneered, and I’m proud to be a big part of that movement.

    Related: This 26-Year-Old Dental Student Spent $25 to Start a Side Hustle That Can Earn $500 for Just a Few Hours of Work: ‘There Is Nothing More Satisfying’

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Beyond Yoga

    The idea of creating a line of clothing that celebrates women of all shapes and sizes was very exciting to me. After meeting Jodi, I shared some of my ideas for the business and the product. From that point on, I spent the next 18.5 years building Beyond Yoga from an idea to a global brand, employing hundreds of people (directly and indirectly), driving over half a billion in revenue, and running a profitable business without taking on any additional funding.

    What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building Beyond Yoga, and how did you navigate them?
    Early on while building Beyond Yoga, everything was a challenge! Getting into stores and securing trusted wholesale partners, learning the ins and outs of the business, teaching myself everything on the fly and building the team from the ground up. It was a lot of work, but it was so rewarding and a time in my career where I learned many valuable lessons and skills.

    Some of the biggest challenges I faced included understanding fabric shrinkage and how to apply it to a pattern, figuring out the ERP, teaching myself merchandising and forecasting, hiring and firing, learning how to delegate — the list goes on and on.

    Related: This Couple’s Weekend Side Hustle Began With a $50 Facebook Marketplace Purchase — Now It Earns Millions of Dollars a Year: ‘You Don’t Need Money to Start’

    It was a long journey, and in the early days, we were a very lean and green team. We did absolutely everything ourselves, and there was a lot of learning to be done. Things started shifting about five years into the business, which is also around the time of one of my most impactful hires: our COO/CFO. Having him on board helped give me more comfort around investing in our team and leveling up by bringing on more experienced professionals.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Beyond Yoga

    What was the experience of growing the company like over the years? What were some highlights?
    Growing Beyond Yoga into the company it is today was no small feat, but it’s something I’m so incredibly proud of. Even though we began investing more aggressively over the years, we always ran the business for growth, investing every penny back into the business. Once we reached around $20 million, we thought it might be time to take on investors. After learning a few valuable lessons, we took ourselves off the market and decided to focus on profits and controlling our destiny.

    A noteworthy milestone was when I discovered Space Dye, which became the backbone fabric of the company. It was a game changer — so soft, yet durable with the perfect stretch and recovery. It quickly became a fan favorite and is still a huge part of the Beyond Yoga collections today. I love that an exploratory fabric meeting in 2013 led to so much growth and became a pillar for the brand. My love of fabrics gave way to a style revolution that transformed the activewear landscape that still continues to be emulated today.

    Another highlight during my career was becoming a mom, when I learned to balance work, love, family and friends. It was also where Beyond the Bump was born. Becoming a mom and seeing my friends and peers go through this transition helped inspire the creation of our Beyond the Bump line. After being so disappointed in the lack of comfortable clothes for women during and after pregnancy, the only way I was going to find options I liked was if I designed them myself, so I did. This ended up becoming one of our most successful brand extensions and a great way to introduce new customers to Beyond Yoga.

    Related: She Started a ‘Fun’ Side Hustle — Then It Earned $100,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Business: ‘Beyond What I Could Ever Have Expected’

    When and how did the Levi’s acquisition come about? Why was that a “full circle moment”?
    When Levi’s reached out, we were not looking to sell at that point, and honestly, I don’t think we would have sold to anyone else. I was flattered! Levi’s is an iconic brand, and after learning about its values and principles over profits mentality, I was excited to explore this opportunity.

    The more we looked into this, the more it felt like the right fit to ensure our company had a legacy that lasted beyond myself and the team. Negotiating a deal of this caliber and scale was something I’d never done before, so naturally, it was exciting. It was easily one of the biggest challenges of my career but also one of my greatest accomplishments. It was a unique experience, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn this side of the business.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Beyond Yoga

    Throughout the entire process, from starting my own business to negotiating the terms of one of the industry’s biggest female-led athleisure sales to date, I stayed true to myself, our shareholders and the company I poured my heart into over the years, which I wouldn’t trade for anything.

    Related: This Former Model Used Her Personal Savings to Start a Thrifty Side Hustle — Then Taylor Swift Became a Repeat Patron: ‘People Really Responded’

    What’s your advice for others hoping to start successful side hustles or full-time businesses of their own?
    My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Do it because you’re passionate, do it because you want to create and give it your all, do it because you think you’ve solved a problem that will benefit people, or because you’ve created a better version of something that already exists.

    Once you’ve figured out what you’re going to do, get started. Don’t wait for the perfect moment — it won’t come! Sometimes, you just need to jump right in.

    This Women Entrepreneur® article is part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

    [ad_2]

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • 3 Simple Tips to Unlearn Bad Self-Care Habits and Escape Burnout For Good | Entrepreneur

    3 Simple Tips to Unlearn Bad Self-Care Habits and Escape Burnout For Good | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We all love the idea of self-care, but seriously — who has the time? A younger, hungrier, success-at-any-cost version of me would be nodding my head reading that statement. The more established, experienced, post-pandemic version of me who sits here today knows that’s just an excuse.

    Stress and busyness

    We’re culturally indoctrinated to accept chronic stress as a part of our life cycle. During that pivotal phase of life from 20-50 years of age, we juggle college exams, the pressure to land a good-paying job, moving up the ladder, balancing career ambitions against the biological clock, starting a business, being a good leader, parent, partner and friend.

    All of these pressure triggers are a natural part of life, right? Well, I can agree that they are a natural part of life, but these events don’t have to feel so stressful. They only feel that way because the foundation holding it all up isn’t as solid as it could — and should — be. Constructing and reinforcing that foundation can happen at any time, but the best time is right now.

    Our business-first culture glorifies the external face of success while often disregarding the sacrifices it took to get there. The body that carries us, and the constantly revolving mind that fuels our great ideas, they require respite. The problem is that we don’t believe we can afford to pause with purpose and still be successful. That’s because we don’t know where to look for good examples.

    Related: How Learning to Take Care of Myself Helps Me Take Care of My Business

    The hunt for a self-care role model

    In my work, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing several women who are doing self-care right. Recently I spoke with Erica Diamond, a practiced professional who has helped countless women, including Arianna Huffington, prioritize their own well-being, first. Diamond practices yoga and meditation to calm her central nervous system. I spoke to Karena Dawn, an entrepreneur who built a fitness empire by encouraging women to work through generational trauma through movement. These are just a few of the women who are showing us a better way to function in a world where overwhelm is normalized.

    Unlearning bad habits

    Before adopting the self-care practices we see others emulating around us, there’s a deeper job to do. We have to unlearn the bad habits we’ve collected over a lifetime. This can especially be true for women, having learned from our mothers that taking care of others comes first.

    If you could time travel and ask a housewife in the 1950s what her self-care routine was, she’d likely tell you, “It’s called Mother’s Day.” Incidentally, Anna Jarvis’ campaign to recognize Mother’s Day in the U.S. was funded by a department store owner. The business sector co-opted the holiday, and Jarvis spent the rest of her life railing against its commercialization.

    The moral of the story is that when a holiday that was created to show appreciation for the most selfless people in our lives gets exploited as a business opportunity, then our cultural priorities deserve a second look. It’s time to take back taking care of ourselves.

    Related: Self-Care Isn’t Selfish — It’s Essential for Sustaining High Performance. Here’s How to Avoid Burning Out.

    3 self-care tips to avoid overwhelm

    Overwhelm is typically the entry point into a self-care journey. It’s the chronic fatigue, the inability to shut down, snapping at people for no reason. If you run a business then you know what it feels like. The good news is that you can incorporate practices that will bolster your ability to move through potential stressors with more grace, and with practice, avoid overwhelm altogether.

    • Stop making excuses: If you’re experiencing overwhelm, don’t wait to address it. This can lead to more serious problems down the road. Face it now and take one small action to address it.
    • Practice mindfulness: This is a fancy way of saying “be present.” Meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce stress levels, and it’s a common practice among burnout recoverees. Journaling is another great way to center yourself, and it’s helped me tremendously over the years.
    • Move more: Yoga, stretching, swimming, jogging and walking in nature are all effective ways of releasing pent-up overwhelm healthily. Studies show that once you get into a routine with movement, you’ll be better able to manage stressful events without succumbing to overwhelm.

    From self-care shame to shameless self-care

    The voices promoting our need for self-care have never been louder, and that’s a good thing. However, it also means that self-care has become a double-edged sword. We’re almost being shamed into it.

    If you’re an entrepreneur and you’ve been interviewed, no doubt the “What’s your self-care routine?” question has been raised. Knowing what it takes to run a business, balance relationships and do and be all the things, it wouldn’t surprise me if half of us weren’t lying through our teeth about our self-care habits.

    We have to really step back and look at how we plan our day. Time is currency, and being busy doesn’t mean we’re important or even doing important things. When we see the signs of burnout, start a conversation. We need to do a better job of supporting balanced lifestyles among our professional peers.

    Related: 5 Self-Care Habits of Every Successful Entrepreneur

    Find what works for you

    There are a billion methods, books, podcasts and workshops designed to help you adopt a self-care practice. The problem is that we’re all individuals, so there’s no perfect formula for the masses. Finding what works for you starts with unlearning the behaviors that don’t consider your well-being and reversing the cycle. Then, you just have to try on different self-care hats and see what fits.

    If something works for a while, know that it might not work the same way in three years. Pivot, but don’t give up. Self-care isn’t a cookie-cutter thing. One size does not fit all. It’s personal, and it’s an ever-evolving, ever-integrative process. Start with what’s doable for you now. A solid self-care foundation that will help you live and work more sustainably starts with one achievable step at a time.

    [ad_2]

    Ginni Saraswati

    Source link

  • 4 DEI Lessons from the Paris Olympics That Can Help Entrepreneurs Succeed | Entrepreneur

    4 DEI Lessons from the Paris Olympics That Can Help Entrepreneurs Succeed | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    For the very first time, the world witnessed the first all-black podium in women’s gymnastics Olympic history. Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade joined Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles from Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they were captured in an iconic photo showing the power of women of color in sports. This Olympics hit a groundbreaking milestone, with 50% of competing athletes being women and more than half of all medal events open to female athletes.

    This year, many moments of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) were demonstrated. So, what DEI lessons can we learn from the 2024 Olympics that entrepreneurs can apply to their businesses today? The short answer is quite a few.

    1. Take care of your mental health

    In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the world was stunned when Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time, dropped out because of the “twisties,” a dangerous break in the brain-body connection causing the gymnast to lose sense of where they are in the air. She took a step back and let her teammate, Suni Lee, perform and subsequently take home the all-around gold in women’s gymnastics — an achievement Biles was perfectly poised and expected to win. Biles taught us that no matter what the stakes are, your mental health should come first. How can you perform at the highest levels of business and entrepreneurship if your mental health isn’t in a good place? The answer is that you can, but it’s not even what the G.O.A.T. would do. If no one’s told you today, here’s your friendly reminder that self-care is not selfish; it’s productive.

    Related: Radical Self-Care Isn’t Nice — It’s Necessary. Redefine Boundaries Between Your Life and Career to Perform Your Best.

    2. Don’t be afraid to be the first

    While some entrepreneurs dream of being the “first” to invent or discover something, others feel intimidated when finding their niche or area of genius in their industry. When faced with the daunting opportunity to be the first person to start or lead in a certain area, the fear of failure or high visibility might make some entrepreneurs squirm. Despite the nerves and fear that come with innovation, it’s okay to be “the first” in something and confidently walk into that arena with a bright idea. That’s what fencer Lauren Scruggs did at the Paris Olympics this year. She became the first Black American woman to win a gold medal in fencing, and I’m sure she was nervous. But she came ready to win and kept her eye on the prize. Entrepreneurs who are nervous about stepping into the space of being the “first” should take a deep breath and know why they’re there, then bravely step into their arena with confidence and focus.

    Related: The Burden of Breaking Barriers is Pushing Black Leaders to Breaking Point. This DEI Expert Reveals Where We Are Going Wrong

    3. Lift others up with you

    As entrepreneurs, we wear numerous hats and fight for our business success. However much success we gained, we didn’t do it alone. We must always remember to give people their flowers and lift them up as we grow. For example, while running the preliminary heat 100-meter race, South Sudanese runner Lucia Moris collapsed to the ground in the heat of the day and was unable to get up and finish the race. As soon as fellow competitor Silina Pha Aphay from Laos finished her race and realized Moris was on the ground in pain, she stopped and ran back to make sure Moris was okay and offered comfort and support while waiting for the medical teams to arrive. The business world can often feel cutthroat and like every person is out for themselves, but the heroic and noble athletes at the Olympics remind us that as we grow, we must lift others up with us. We’re not winning if others suffer as a consequence.

    4. Create value and set yourself apart

    Like most athletes that go to the Olympics, the goal is to win, and they know winning requires them to stand out. Most athletes don’t get an opportunity to stand out when the other competitors are neck and neck with them. But Simone Biles certainly has. After having several gymnastic moves named after her, she reminds us all to be aware of what we contribute to our areas and how we can set ourselves apart by doing what others aren’t doing. Creativity and innovation are the name of the game, and exceptional athletes like Biles show how our creativity can inspire others in business and entrepreneurship to imagine more.

    Final thoughts

    When it comes to business, we all want to be number one and become entrepreneur of the year. But the best of the best in the world of sports can teach us a thing or two about how to get there. Lifting others up when they’re down doesn’t give your competitor the upper hand; it gives your competitor a compassionate hand. Creating value and being the first to do something sets a standard for others in your sphere to strive for more and reach higher, too. Finally, taking care of your mental health isn’t selfish; it’s one of the most productive things you can do for yourself and others. While the Paris Olympics have come and gone, the lessons live on. Let these lessons seep into your mind and business, and see where you go. Who knows, you might just get the gold.

    [ad_2]

    Nika White

    Source link

  • Health experts raise concerns for pregnant women amid rise of parvovirus cases

    Health experts raise concerns for pregnant women amid rise of parvovirus cases

    [ad_1]

    The CDC has issued an alert to doctors to watch for signs of the highly contagious parvovirus. Cases are rising in the U.S. including in the Bay Area.

    Parvovirus is not new as it’s been around for a long time. Most adults have already had this infection as Children but there is an uptick in cases going on right now.

    Currently, the concern is around pregnant women because it could cause their babies to become anemic.

    The proportion of people with antibodies jumped from less than 3% in the last two years to 10 percent in June. Doctors in the Bay Area are noticing it too.

    UCSF Infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong said parvovirus is not new. But it dipped to record lows early in the pandemic.

    “Right now, it’s catching up, we’ve seen a lot of rapid increases in people,” he said.

    Some people will show no symptoms while others may get a fever, headache, cough, sore throat and joint pain.

    Rashes on the face are more common in children.

    Chin-Hong said among those most at risk are pregnant women and their unborn children because the virus could cause the baby to be anemic.

    “Anemia or lower blood cell count in a fetus can have much more severe consequences,” she said.

    At 30 weeks pregnant, Abby Parks is in the hospital.

    Parks, who is a schoolteacher, is dealing with the impact of the parvovirus she got this spring. She said initially, the virus made her unborn son anemic and her doctor performed a fetal blood transfusion.

    “I’m at the hospital tonight because our placenta has been closely monitored throughout the pregnancy,” she said. “Since the parvovirus and we had been having abnormal blood flow, meaning the placenta was working but it was working really, really hard. Today, unfortunately, the placenta is essentially taking breaks so there’s absent blood flow going to my son.”

    While parvovirus could have severe consequences, Chin-Hong said it’s not common.

    “Of the pregnant people who get parvovirus, only about 5-10% people would have any consequence,” he said.

    There’s no vaccine against parvovirus. To help prevent the spread, Chin-Hong said people need to wash their hands and to wear a mask in crowded areas.

    [ad_2]

    Jocelyn Moran

    Source link

  • Unlock the Key to a More Fulfilled Life in 3 Simple Steps | Entrepreneur

    Unlock the Key to a More Fulfilled Life in 3 Simple Steps | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    For more than twenty years, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with dozens of CEOs and high-net-worth individuals to help them meet business and personal/lifestyle goals — in part by creating legacy projects that deliver lasting impact.

    One of the most important things I’ve learned through this work is that there are pronounced distinctions between happiness and fulfillment and that knowing the difference is critical for personal and business success.

    Because while happiness is important, it’s often fleeting — whether felt in the wake of an important sale, solid third-quarter results or upon receiving a promotion. It makes you feel good, as it should, but in the long run, tends not to change anything significant in how we live our lives day to day. It’s like a boost of dopamine—tends to leave as quickly as it arrived.

    Conversely, fulfillment is the result of extended dedication to a task, project, objective or dream. It is most often the result of a commitment to something greater than yourself, like family, a cause or community. Fulfillment is essentially, sustained and deep happiness.

    Innately, we recognize that happiness is fleeting and that fulfillment should be our long-term objective. However, for most of us, the goal continues to be the former. As a result of having the wrong focus, untold millions wind up stressed, unhealthy and suffering from debilitating mental illnesses like depression and addiction.

    So how do we break the cycle of chasing short-term satisfaction as opposed to long-term fulfillment?

    Related: The Biggest Trap Of Entrepreneurship: Happiness ≠ Achievement

    Step 1. Work on yourself

    It may sound simplistic, but the basic truth is that fulfillment is impossible if you don’t first take care of your body and mind. Focusing on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing is the foundation for any other achievement.

    A good place to start is with diet and exercise. This doesn’t mean you have to live like an athlete training for the Olympics: small adjustments can go a long way toward creating big changes, both physically and psychologically.

    When it comes to diet, I love a simple phrase in Michael Pollen’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, “Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants.” In other words, take it easy on heavily processed or fast food, as well as meat, and instead go for lots of vegetables and fruit. Just following that uncluttered guidance will work wonders.

    In terms of exercise, every bit helps, and the mantra “Use it or lose it” is great to keep in mind. A 2013 study found that, without regular exercise, we lose 1% to 2% per year in lean body mass and 1.5% to 5% per year of overall strength after turning 40.

    If you don’t exercise at the moment, start slowly. Even simple strolls have significant benefits. A 2023 Harvard report found that walking just 20 minutes a day, five days a week, yields significant health benefits, including cutting obesity incidence in half, reducing joint pain, lowering the risks of cancer and boosting immune health. Workers who were active in this basic way took 43% fewer sick days than those who were sedentary.

    No matter how busy we are, everyone should be able to find 100 minutes a week to walk.

    Related: 7 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Must Workout

    Step 2. Look outward

    To me, a striking similarity among the myriad of theories, seminars and self-improvement coaching available today is that they tend to be focused on looking inward. But finding a purpose greater than ourselves is even more vital. Personal change is part of the process, certainly, but the ultimate goal — the true purpose in life —should be something greater. This kind of looking outward will also help with Step 1 because science tells us that interacting with and connecting to others is critical on many levels.

    The Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, details in part that we have a fundamental human need to meaningfully connect with others. It emphasizes the importance of social connection in regulating nervous system responses and promoting emotional wellbeing.

    Similarly, the U.S. Surgeon General stated in 2023 that loneliness — a phenomenon made much more widespread by both the pandemic and the isolation that comes from living in a digital world—poses health risks as deadly as smoking, its effects equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

    Related: What’s the Burnt Toast Theory? A Psychologist Explains the Mindset Hack That Can Make You Happier and More Successful.

    But what constitutes a wellness-producing connection? In practice, it can be as simple as going for a coffee with an elderly neighbor and extend to coaching a youth sports team, joining a book club or volunteering at a community center. These are simple, tangible actions that place you in the company of real people — much more spiritually fulfilling than social media or Zoom calls.

    Step 3. Redefine what success means

    A commonplace Western construct is that happiness comes from success. The hitch is that, in my opinion, our definition of success is flawed. We generally equate it with wealth, fame and power. Further, we are conditioned to think that more is better: more money, more possessions and more attention, but I have seen first-hand that some of the wealthiest and most “successful” people are among the least fulfilled. They’ve checked all the boxes of conventional notions of achievement but remain wanting.

    A 2018 study found that a stunning 49% of CEOs report struggling with a mental health condition (compared to just under 23% of the U.S. adult population as a whole) and that the majority of them report feeling overworked and combat both fatigue and continual stress.

    Related: How to Reframe Your Internal Dialogue for Greater Fulfillment in Both Work and Life

    Chasing short-term happiness in the form of money, possessions and social media status creates a vicious cycle of never having enough, which leads to more stress and more unhappiness. Instead, look inward to better yourself physically and emotionally so that you have the capacity to look outward. You will then become a better leader, friend, coach and parent — and create a self-perpetuating cycle of betterment.

    [ad_2]

    Marc Kielburger

    Source link

  • How Focus Sparked the Growth of this Fitness Racing Brand | Entrepreneur

    How Focus Sparked the Growth of this Fitness Racing Brand | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In business, everyone has an opinion. It can be easy for founders to get swayed by the latest trends, customer chatter, or investor pressure. However, for Christian Toetzke, founder and CEO of the global fitness racing craze HYROX, staying true to his original vision has been key to the company’s explosive growth.

    “You have to be very convinced about your product and the DNA of a product. And you have to stick to the game plan,” he says.

    Toetzke appears this week on an episode of One Day with Jon Bier to talk about the power of persistence, the importance of retaining company equity, and other lessons he’s learned since launching his brand in 2017.

    Staying the course

    By any metrics, HYROX is a success. Competitors run 1 km during the races, followed by one functional workout station, repeated eight times. In 2024, 260,000 people are expected to participate in 60 global events in 65 countries. Sponsors include Red Bull, Puma and Centr.

    Still, Toetzke says he’s frequently asked to tinker with the formula.

    “In the last five years, I don’t know how many people told me what we have to do.”

    The number one request he gets is to change the workouts, which are always the same and include the farmer’s carry, rowing, SkiErg, wall balls, burpee broad jumps, sandbag lunges, and sled push and pull. But Toetzke says he’s studied the most successful sports in the world—marathons, triathlons, golf, tennis, Olympic sports—and notes they never change the fundamental rules of the competition.

    Sports are “built around principles and rules and history and heritage,” he says.

    Moreover, constantly changing the competition makes it impossible to compare the results of past competitors.

    “In traditional sports, you have world records, and that’s one of the strongest marking tools in the world of sports,” he says. “If someone breaks a world record in a hundred-meter run, he’s immediately a global superstar.”

    Related: How One Company Transformed a Medical Device into a Mass Market Phenomenon

    Being reliable

    By maintaining consistency, Toetzke has built a strong brand identity for HYROX. He wants to make it the “marathon of fitness” — a gold standard event that remains consistent across locations.

    He admits they still have work to do on this front. As HYROX expands globally, he personally attends events worldwide to ensure they meet brand standards. “I see one million things they did differently in Melbourne and Mexico City. And that’s what we have to change.”

    He wants HYROX to be a consistent, reliable experience for participants worldwide.

    “To control the brand that is exploding globally, everyone has to follow the same game plan. Everyone has to follow the brand DNA. That’s a difficult task and not easy to do because with more and more people involved, everyone has own ideas how to do it.”

    Related: 40 Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets to Staying Focused

    Innovating with constraints

    This is not to say that HYROX isn’t in favor of innovation. Toetzke says that HYROX continually tries to evolve and improve without changing the fundamentals of the sport.

    He uses the iPhone as an example. Since its inception, there have been 42 different models with different features, but the basic look has remained the same.

    In that regard, Hyrox has made significant innovations in its technology, as well as practical innovations with its equipment. Recently, they introduced sensors so that counting during the wall ball competition is done digitally, taking the onus off the judges. Through their partnership with Centr, the Official Equipment Partner of HYROX, the competition kettlebells are now designed with a unique ‘octo’ shape to allow for better weight distribution and handling during the farmer’s carry.

    Taking financial risk

    In an era where many startups rush to secure venture capital, often at the cost of significant ownership dilution, Toetzke calls for a more measured approach.

    “My biggest advice is if you really believe in your product, try to keep as many shares as possible as long as you can,” he says. “Don’t take the quick money; take the risk.”

    He warns against being the “guy who drives the whole business, who’s running all the operations, while the investors are making all the money but do nothing for the business.”

    Related: How to Fund Your Business With Venture Capital

    Fostering community

    Another factor in HYROX’s success has been its ability to build a strong, engaged community around the brand. Toetzke says that 60 to 80 percent of the HYROX community view fitness as integral to their social life.

    “You’re not just going to a gym. It’s your group of people. It’s your community, and that is now happening in every gym around the world.”

    Toetzke envisions gyms becoming modern-day clubhouses, similar to golf clubs, where members form strong social bonds.

    You go together to a HYROX event where you compete together, and you represent your gym,” he says. “Suddenly it’s emotional, suddenly it’s become a community.”

    [ad_2]

    Jon Bier

    Source link

  • 4 Habits I Cultivated to Enhance My Leadership Skills and Well-Being | Entrepreneur

    4 Habits I Cultivated to Enhance My Leadership Skills and Well-Being | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Coping with the intensity of running a business — whether you’re a solopreneur, creator or leading a large company — can be physically and mentally taxing. Not only can heavy stress diminish your business success, but studies show it can take as much as three years off your life. As a creator and founder of a tech startup, this hit home for me a few years ago.

    Between scaling a business and becoming a dad, I developed behaviors that were negatively impacting my sleep, concentration and overall wellness. One of my motivations for staying healthy includes being fit and able to do all the fun stuff as my kids grow up — dancing at their weddings, playing with grandkids (if they have them) or just keeping up with them at their own sports. It’s a goal I don’t want to put in jeopardy.

    I’ve been reading more about healthspan — not just how long we live, but how long we live healthily — and I knew I had to make some changes. Like many, I looked to the usual suspects: exercise and diet. But it has also meant reexamining my relationship to other factors, including alcohol and screen time.

    I’ve slowly been working on creating healthier habits in all of these areas. If I’ve learned anything, it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works and how to make good habits stick. So for any leader, creator or entrepreneur looking to make positive health changes for the long haul, here’s what worked for me (and what didn’t):

    Related: 101 Good Habits for a Productive, Prosperous, Happy Life.

    Embrace flexibility

    For some people, going cold turkey on bad habits is the only way. For me, not so much. I figured out pretty quickly that I am not an all-or-nothing guy. As it turns out, when it comes to building new habits, top performers aim for consistency over perfection.

    A flexible approach is how I’ve managed to almost entirely cut out alcohol, which was wreaking havoc on my sleep. How? By adopting a mantra: “Not tonight.” I told myself I was simply passing on drinking for now, not forever — and kept that going for months. If a good wine came my way, I allowed myself a few sips (which I don’t recommend if addiction is an issue). I was able to enjoy the satisfaction of a taste without staying awake all night.

    I’m not alone in this approach. Focusing on personal exploration and incremental change versus strict rules is a hallmark of a growing sober curious movement. It’s exciting to see the benefits of elective sobriety being discussed more, as well as other leaders sharing their experiences on this path.

    Gamify your goals

    The healthcare gamification market is expected to hit $15.9 billion by 2030. Why? It’s an approach that works. Studies show that using a leaderboard to track your progress or receiving virtual gold stars for every milestone achieved can radically boost your motivation to keep going.

    I’ll be the first to admit it: Drumming up motivation to work out before or after a long day of work can be tough. So using my Apple Watch was a great way to gamify exercise and challenge myself. I started small with just five minutes a day, then built up to 30 minutes five days a week. Seeing the success streak tracked on my watch kept me going (embracing flexibility also came in handy when my battery died and I had to start over).

    I also found an app that helped gamify calorie tracking. Now, I’m not the type to live on greens and almonds, but gamifying my goal did prompt me to add more nutrient-dense foods to my diet (hello sardines for breakfast!). And that made all the difference in getting quick results.

    Related: James Clear’s Atoms App Promises to Help Break Bad Habits and Create Better Ones — Here’s How It Works

    Look to peer influence, research and communities

    As the founder of a business that helps creators share their expertise with the world, it’s no surprise I’m a huge proponent of seeking out expert content, resources and learning communities to master new skills and supercharge accountability.

    Following people who were doing what I wanted to be doing was a no-brainer. And research backs this up: Peers and social relationships can be powerful allies in building healthy habits.

    For me, that meant adding health experts and authors to my media mix and digging deeper into the science behind habit changes. Leaders like Ray Dalio helped me see how the results could make me better in my role as a CEO, too.

    Accept that not all strategies work (but only some have to)

    I’m not going to pretend my journey has been entirely smooth. For every strategy I tried, there was at least one that didn’t work. It’s important to acknowledge that failure is as much a part of this process as success.

    It’s also a reality that some behaviors are simply much harder to give up. This brings me to my current focus and what I’ve struggled with the most: reducing screen time. The evidence is clear that excess time on digital devices is as bad for adults as it is for kids, leading to sleep disruption, decreased physical activity and a higher risk of depression and anxiety.

    Of course, like many, I work in a business that requires me to be online. That means going completely dark isn’t an option (or desirable, truthfully). Instead, I’m working to optimize my screen time by getting more intentional about the content I consume and when I consume it. I deleted the apps off my phone and strive to put it away in the evenings (at least until the kids are in bed), but I’ve also accepted that exceptions will be the norm in this case — and I think that’s okay, too.

    Related: 8 Ways to Minimize Screen Time and Maximize Family Time

    It’s been 10 years since I first started down the path of building healthier habits. My biggest takeaway for anyone looking to do the same is that this is a marathon, not a sprint — when habits are for life, you have to keep tweaking them as you go.

    But there’s also been a silver lining that I didn’t see coming: equanimity. It’s that deep sense of calm in the face of stress and the quiet confidence that comes from being able to be the kind of leader (and person) I’ve always admired: centered, present and better able to handle whatever life — and business — throws my way.

    [ad_2]

    Greg Smith

    Source link