What is one way to organize business processes in a developing startup?

To help business leaders structure their operations, we asked CEOs and company executives this question for their best advice. From developing an organizational structure to considering automation solutions, there are several strategies that may help you plan business processes for your startup now and as you scale. 

Here are eight tactics to organizing business processes in a growing startup: 

• Make Room for Revision
• Plan for Scalable Resources
• Develop an Organizational Structure
• Create an Audit of Your Supplies
• Consider Automation Solutions
• Define Business Goals
• Review Workspace Needs
• Keep Your Team Motivated

Make Room for Revision 

Organizing your business processes in a developing startup requires, in some part, a place to reflect and revise processes. Create a place in the workflow that is all about feedback or allows for pivoting. Processes may evolve as your startup grows, so be prepared to revise. Successful entrepreneurs do not shy away from introspection and reflection on their business goals and direction. Being afraid of that may limit you and create stagnation. 

Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional

Plan for Scalable Resources 

When you’re organizing your business during the developing stages, make sure that your business plan also includes the types of insurances you’ll need. You may not think it’s important now, but it’s going to be largely important to the human resources department. And even with only a few employees, knowing what your plans look like now, from business to health and dental insurance, can help you in case things expand and your company grows. You want to make sure you have all the appropriate resources already built into your plan from the start. 

Brandon K. Berglund, Berglund Insurance

Develop an Organizational Structure 

When it comes to organizing your business processes in a developing startup, knowing your organizational structure is going to be key. Depending on the type of company you’re building, cross-departmental activity may be more necessary than others. Knowing the goals of each department can help you map out a better business strategy when it comes to learning how best to create a fully aligned business and creating proper channels to ensure the success of your business. 

David Wachs, Handwrytten

Create an Audit of Your Supplies

Take an assessment of the material resources that you’ll need to do your job. A lot of technology is changing the way we handle customers and our own back-end process management. But the truth of it all, in some regards, is you might need something technology can’t quite fix. For us, as a rental RV service, we know that we might need certain supplies for our rental kits. Things like towels and brooms are necessary. By having an assessment of what things you’ll need, you can help to find a way to leverage technology to best fit your needs — whether it’s automation check-in and checkout or something simple like a to-do list that helps you remember when to stock up on your essentials.  

Randall Smalley II, Cruise America

Consider Automation Solutions 

As startups mature, streamlining business processes is an essential task. Hone in on your ideal tech stack that will improve common pain points such as productivity and communication. Consider a digital transformation of some work processes using solutions that leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence. For example, a startup could incorporate email automation to save time or implement an AI-powered text predictive service to increase productivity.

Guy Katabi, Lightkey

Define Business Goals 

When initiating your business venture, establishing unique contribution goals at those early onset stages is key. This consists of clearly defining what products and services you aim to provide for your consumers and how you plan to give that positive experience in a way that sets you apart from competitors in the industry. At AVANA, we promote growth within our business by defining how our desire to help the community relates to who we can best support. The entrepreneurial process can be a challenging business opportunity, but stating the relationship between your actionable goals and customers from the beginning will ultimately serve as an advantage for your business.

Allan J. Switalski, AVANA Capital

Review Workspace Needs 

When you’re organizing your business startup, don’t forget about workspace needs. Even if your plan, for now, is to stay relatively small, realize that there are a plethora of options available to you when it comes to the location of your business and what space needs you require. Shared workspace is a field that’s only going to continue to grow as more businesses crop up. So, looking into one now can save you a lot of time and headache in the future. This can also be a budget-friendly option to your financial plan, as being able to get out of leases and contracts can be trickier if you’re renting solo and you need more space or less space than you initially thought. There’s flexibility in these kinds of options that can’t be beaten. 

Kyle McIntosh, MAC6

Keep Your Team Motivated

When a business is growing, it’s critical that your employees are motivated so that processes and plans keep progressing. We help our employees reach their full potential by helping them create and follow through on quarterly goals that align not only with our agency’s goals but with their personal growth, as well. When planning for the quarter, we use SMART criteria to guide the preparation and conversation. We find motivation comes from the team’s desire for personal growth along with a fun bonus for the successful achievement of their SMART goals. 

Jenn Christie, Markitors

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What is one tip you have for HR professionals to reduce bias in the hiring process?

To help HR professionals decrease bias when seeking new talent, we asked business consultants and HR experts this question for their best advice. From focusing on qualifications to conducting skills tests, there are several considerations that may help you minimize bias as you recruit new candidates. 

Here are 10 ways to help lessen bias in the recruiting process:

• Focus on Candidate’s Qualifications
• Implement Blind Hiring Practices
• Stretch Outside of Your Network
• Diversify Hiring Staff and Panels
• Integrate AI Into Recruiting Programs
• Reevaluate Your Job Descriptions 
• Use Standardized Interview Questions
• Define Your Expectations Clearly 
• Conduct a Phone Interview 
• Give a Practice Skills Tests 

Focus on Candidate’s Qualifications

When you’re working through the resume review process, you can decrease biased decisions by keeping your attention on professional experience and skills instead of demographic information. Standardizing interview questions is also a great way to prioritize qualifications and ensure all candidates have an equal interview experience. Choose the right candidate for the job based on who you genuinely think has the professional skills and experience needed to help the company reach its goals. 

Josh Secrest, Paradox

Implement Blind Hiring Practices 

The hiring process already feels a bit mysterious and daunting for both sides of the equation. But when it comes to HR and hiring, falling into biases happens easier than one might think. One way to reduce any unconscious biases from creeping into the hiring process is to implement blind hiring. Any information that might give way to a bias, such as a name, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, is all removed by blind hiring software. This leaves you with the qualifications of each candidate and an identifying number in the system. Anyone can use these kinds of software, from small businesses to an executive search firm, to aid in diversity efforts and create more equitable hiring practices.

Ryan Nouis, TruPath

Stretch Outside of Your Network 

Don’t simply rely on your immediate network for hiring. For organizations that already struggle with a lack of diversity, relying on your immediate network for prospective candidates will only help to exacerbate the problem. Also, consider recruiting for cultural additions and how to stretch your company instead of solely relying on cultural fit. These two things can make all the difference in reducing bias in the hiring process for any organization, big or small.  

Rronniba Pemberton, Markitors

Diversify Hiring Staff and Panels

Affinity bias makes the interviewee favor certain candidates they feel a connection with or share similarities. To prevent it, gather multiple people from varied backgrounds to interview potential candidates during the interview stage. Our company uses diversity panels to reduce unconscious bias. Our hiring panel must have two women and individuals from the BIPOC community. We have managed to improve the diversity of our workforce by 15% in just two years.

Katherine Brown, Spyic

Integrate AI Into Recruiting Processes 

Reduce hiring bias by using AI for recruiting. AI can run a pre-screen where it asks objective qualifying questions related to the specific role. It is great because it cuts out biases based on names, ages, genders, sexuality, first appearance, and more. It is simply an AI system that directly questions candidates about their ability to successfully perform the job in question.

Alex Czarnecki, Cottage

Reevaluate Your Job Descriptions 

Reduce biases during the hiring process by reworking your job descriptions. A job listing is super important to the hiring process as it provides the first impression of a company’s culture. Every word choice has an impact on the application pool. Using masculine language can deter women from applying and vice versa. It is best to go through the job description and take out any gendered language. Replace the gendered words with more neutral terms.

Tri Nguyen, Network Capital

Use Standardized Interview Questions

It’s hard to completely avoid bias when hiring a new employee, but using a structured interview style can help. With a structured interview, pre-decided questions are used so that it’s easier to compare candidates’ responses. This can reduce the risk of choosing to hire someone only based on your initial impression of them.

Camille Brouard, Myhrtoolkit

Define Your Expectations Clearly

If the preliminary work is done properly, HR and the hiring manager will have clearly identified what the role is and defined what they want in metrics: education, experience, soft skills, temperament, etc. Metrics take the emotion and bias out of the equation and allow searches to find the right candidate regardless of age, sex, race, or any other factor.

Lorraine Bossé-Smith, Concept One LLC

Conduct a Phone Interview 

For the first round of interviews, I recommend holding phone interviews. You are unable to see what the other person looks like, and it lessens a bias. Also, you are able to ask a lot more questions about the position than in person since it is more difficult to have a flowing conversation.

Kiran Gollakota, Waltham Clinic

Give a Practice Skills Tests 

While there are a lot of ways a resume and cover letter can make us subconsciously start liking or disliking a candidate, blind skills tests remain one of our favorite ways to minimize hiring bias. By administering knowledge tests, we’re truly able to compare apples to apples. This gives us a two-fold advantage by ensuring that the candidate is indeed capable of handling their day-to-day duties. Secondly, we’re taking the most objective and data-driven approach when selecting them for the interview stage. This strategy has been an excellent time-saver for all parties involved, and I can highly recommend it to all hiring managers and recruiters out there.

Anna Berkolec, ResumeLab

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What is one overlooked thing about VoIP that you wish more people knew about?

To help small business owners understand VoIP, we asked CEOs and business professionals this question for their best insights. From getting voicemails transcribed to texting from anywhere, there are several things to note about VoIP as you consider your options. 

Here are nine things that small business owners should know about VoIP: 

• Increase Your Productivity
• Enable Do Not Disturb
• Opt for Cloud Faxing
• Scale Communication With Ease
• Get Voicemails Transcribed
• Save Money Over Time
• Create a Local Number
• Text Message From Anywhere
• Plug Directly Into a Modem

Increase Your Productivity

The pandemic required business owners to use technology to streamline and automate business operations. One strategy that gained traction was the use of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Dropping landline services for a VoIP solution for your business phone line can result in cost savings and a more flexible way to communicate, especially with so many companies who are still working from home or have chosen to transition to remote work permanently. Like our company, VoIP is a powerful tool that increases productivity and profitability. 

Anastasia Avgerinou, Comidor

Enable Do Not Disturb 

I think something about VoIP that people may overlook is the Do Not Disturb (DND) function. I know. Why would you want to mute phone calls when VoIP is set up to help you assist with calls? But if you’re using a VoIP for your business phone, having a DND function can be really helpful if you’re going to be out of the office for extended periods of time. You’ll be able to set up a voicemail message that you’re out of the office with your return date, and if you get a call, it will redirect the call to the voicemail. This can give you peace of mind if you need to leave the office but don’t want to bother people with your phone incessantly ringing. 

Guy Katabi, Lightkey

Opt for Cloud Faxing 

One thing that is often overlooked about VoIP that more people should be aware of is the difficulty of faxing over an IP network or VoIP service. VolPs take all of the pieces in your communication and convert them into a series of data packets that are sent across your network and are reassembled to recreate the original. This has to happen extremely fast, and VoIP packets are very time-sensitive. Fax machines have very little tolerance for when any of these packets are delayed, which often means the fax arrives out of sequence. One option you have to solve this issue is to move to a cloud fax model. A cloud faxing solution, such as iFax, is an ideal platform for delivering faxes because users can send and receive faxes directly from the app with a trail of what was sent and received. 

Eli Patashnik, iFax

Scale Communication With Ease

Because VoIP systems don’t require the installation of hardware that landlines do, scaling the number of lines your business needs is simple. This feature can be especially beneficial for businesses that are heavily impacted by seasonality. Adding lines in high periods and scaling back in less busy periods is simple with a VoIP system. Lines can also be reassigned from one employee to another. Convenience is a key advantage of VoIP.

Claire Routh, Markitors  

Get Voicemails Transcribed 

I feel that VoIP phone services, especially those offered via the cloud, offer too many benefits to ignore. Many of the tools your employees use every day, such as voicemail to Email or Text. Many commercial VoIP providers offer voicemail transcription as part of their service is something I wish more people knew about. This program converts all of your voicemails to text or email and sends them directly to your inbox. You can save time and still get the information you need by not listening to voicemails. The entire message may always be listened to later, but transcription is a great way to get important information quickly and easily.

Eric Rohrback, Hill & Ponton

Save Money Over Time

One thing about VoIP that I wish more people knew about is just how much cheaper it is in the long run than a traditional phone system. Sure, the upfront costs are expensive, but when you amortize this amount over the course of a few years, the cost is much cheaper. With that being said, you are also getting a superior solution that will make it much easier for your employees to connect with customers. It’s a win-win.

Darren Litt, MarketerHire

Create a Local Number 

With VoIP, you can create a local phone number for any international destination. This allows you to communicate quickly and cost-effectively with clients anywhere on the planet. For example, if you live in the U.S. but have customers in Germany, you can create a German phone number to chat with your customers. 

Randi Shinder, SBLA

Text Message From Anywhere 

The company I use for VoIP is a game-changer. One thing that might be overlooked with VoIP providers is that it allows you to easily text message anyone from your computer. This is a much more efficient way of texting someone than typing a text message via phone. I use it to provide updates to my clients and clients seem to love it.

Tate Meagher, Meagher Law Office, PLLC

Plug Directly Into a Modem 

I’ve heard people complain about the quality of VoIP calls when the issue is actually their WiFi. If you don’t have a good internet connection, then it doesn’t matter how good the VoIP service is because you are still going to struggle with lag and dropped calls. Instead, try plugging your computer or VoIP device directly into your modem via a wired connection. The result should be a much more reliable and stable voice connection!

Melissa Kelly, Virtual Team Building

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What is one reason why small businesses need insurance?

To help small businesses understand all the important factors in obtaining insurance, we asked small business owners and business professionals this question for their best insights. From having the flexibility to fit your business needs to allowing you to build trust, there are several reasons why insurance is important for small businesses that may help you better gain a better perspective and ensure the longevity of your business for years to come. 

Here are nine reasons why insurance is important for small business:

• Creates a Safeguard on Financial Risks
• Gets Contracts Completed
• Flexible to Fit Your Business Needs
• Retains and Attracts Employees
• Required by Law
• Provides Protect for Your Employees
• Helps in Case of Lawsuits
• Allows You to Build Trust
• Makes Your Business Credible

Creates a Safeguard on Financial Risks 

Insurance is an important risk management tool. It is one of the best ways to safeguard your business from financial risks such as loss of plant, property and equipment, inventory and other valuable assets. Most businesses also have to provide insurance for their employees. Offering a good health insurance package to your full-time staff can help to make your business more competitive in terms of attracting the best candidates over time.

Brandon K. Berglund, Berglund Insurance

Gets Contracts Completed 

The first time I took out a large insurance policy was to satisfy the terms of a prospective client contract. Not only did the insurance policy help us land the client, but it helped us land other clients that mirrored the persona of the first. Getting sales and closing deals probably shouldn’t be the primary motivation to take out an insurance policy at a small business. But, it can certainly provide some financing to secure coverages that benefit business in more ways than one. 

Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

Flexible to Fit Your Business Needs 

When your business relies on something like sustainable crops, damage to raw materials or disruptions to the supply chain can bring  business to a halt. So, it is critical to your financial plan to consider environmental risks like drought, freeze, and disease. And crop insurance can protect your business against revenue losses that occur during that crop year. In addition, having crop insurance can help your sustainable farm in its recovery from volatile market fluctuations.

Jared Pobre, Caldera + Lab

Retains and Attracts Employees 

Having insurance isn’t only about protecting your business in unfavorable situations, but also about attracting and retaining qualified employees. If your business does not offer these perks, it is likely candidates will look for a job elsewhere and you may lose an exceptional employee.

Maegan Griffin, Skin Pharm

Required by Law 

First and foremost, most states require business insurance by law. It’s not an option—it’s a legal necessity. Still, even if you’re not legally required to purchase insurance, why would you want to risk being sued by an injured customer, paying out of pocket for fire damage, or being liable for stolen client information? These things are all out of your control, and that’s precisely why they’re covered by business insurance.

Vincent Bradley, Proper Wild

Provides Protection for Your Employees

Having a business insurance policy protects not only your company but also your employees. Workers compensation insurance ensures that in the event of an on-the-job accident the employee will receive benefits such as medical care, missed wages, and funeral benefits.

John Levisay, The Pro’s Closet

Helps in Case of Lawsuits

While it’s not a well known fact, business insurance can help with lawsuits. Every company small or big can face a lawsuit at some point in time. Business insurance can actually help cover the costs. Lawsuits can come from customers, injured employees, and other avenues. Your insurance will help to cover the costs of legal fees and save you from financial ruin.

Ajay Mehta, Birthdate Co.

Allows You to Build Trust 

Having insurance enhances your credibility. The benefits of business insurance go further than protecting your business from risk. Having insurance shows your prospective clients and contractors that you are a safe bet. It builds trust that if anything happens to the work you’re completing; you have a way to compensate. 

Nina Jensen, 8×8

Makes Your Business Credible 

As a small business owner, your company requires insurance mainly as a show of credibility. Also, it makes your company appear credible and trustworthy in the eyes of the government. Business liability insurance is one of the foremost policies expected of small businesses when bidding on government contracts. This insurance policy provides coverage for business owners that may likely face formal lawsuits and any direct financial liability. 

Adam Garcia, The Stock Dork

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What is one tip to developing long-lasting relationships in the business world?

To help business owners develop lasting relationships, we asked CEOs and business professionals this question for their best tips. From finding mentors for yourself to being authentic and genuine in interactions, there are several ways that may help you develop and maintain long lasting relationships for years to come. 

Here are 11 tips to develop long lasting relationships:

• Consistently Keep Up With People
• Actively Listen for Other Person’s Needs
• Give to Others as You Can
• Forefronting Professionalism 
• Build the Trust for Lasting Relationships
• Offer Something Before Asking for Anything
• Find Mentors for Yourself
• Be Authentic and Genuine in Interactions
• Continue with Innovation and Creativity
• Set Transparency as an Expectation
• Maintain Mutual Respect for Each Other

Consistently Keep Up With People

A long-lasting relationship requires time and effort. Keep up with people and make sure you are consistently reaching out to the people in your network to check-in. If you don’t talk to someone for months on end, you’ll fall off their radar, or they may not immediately jump at the chance to help you when you finally reach out to them. Keep some kind of schedule of when you check-in with people and stick to it. Don’t let too much time go by without asking people how they are and reminding them that you want to continue the business relationship. 

Jon Schneider, Recruiterie

Actively Listen for Other Person’s Needs 

Relationships are important in business no matter what industry you are in. One of the most valuable relationships is your relationship with your clients. The best way to develop a long-lasting client relationship is through customer service. The best way to harness this relationship is by listening to your client’s needs. By listening you can more effectively address their issues and concerns while also providing the best possible service.

Brandon K. Berglund, Berglund Insurance

Give to Others as You Can

Give, don’t take. It’s simple, but true. If you focus your energy on adding value to the people you serve, you build trust — and those people often return the favor. It sounds obvious, but I see the vast majority of people try to build relationships with a take-first mentality. They ask for help before they’ve developed any credibility or taken the time to truly understand the people they’re building the relationship with. Start with smart questions. Exhibit genuine curiosity. And help before you ask for help. 

Josh Zywien, Paradox

Forefronting Professionalism

A cornerstone of building lasting relationships is the professionalism you consistently display to your peers. We take this to heart at Lightkey and deliver AI-powered text prediction and real-time grammar correction software so business leaders can quickly craft professional communication and worry less about typos. Lightkey’s multi-word prediction technology also enables business professionals a greater ability to build their companies by improving productivity on repetitive tasks such as email.

Guy Katabi, Lightkey

Build the Trust for Lasting Relationships

We have worked with large and very large multinational corporations. As a company, we dedicate ourselves to providing solutions to our clients’ pain points with our Low-Code automation platform. Lasting relationships with our clients start with developing trust. We do this by delivering on the promise of automating core business processes that impact their customer experience and bottom line. We believe that every business can make a difference through disrupting automation technologies that support sustainable development and build trust.  

Spiros Skolarikis, Comidor

Offer Something Before Asking for Anything 

To establish a business relationship that endures the test of time, you have to be willing to put in the work. Serving and helping someone with their business before you ever ask for something for yourself is imperative to creating authentic and lasting business relationships. So many times people connect on LinkedIn, ask for something that serves them, and then never reach out again! This kind of behavior will never help you build a network that trusts and cares about you. When we use our expertise and experience to build the foundation for business relationships, they will flourish and grow stronger and stronger for years to come. 

Bailey Mills, Markitors

Find Mentors for Yourself

Networking in today’s world often means being connected on a site like LinkedIn and pressing “like” on a new job update. But in order to develop a long-lasting relationship, it’s important to take it a step further and connect with others in person as well! It’s always a great idea to find a mentor or someone with a higher position at a comparable company to yours so you can seek guidance on career growth or advancements in your field of choice! It’s important to not solely reach out when you need something, advice, a reference, etc. but also check in throughout the year to continue building a true lasting relationship.

Jonathan Finegold, Medcline

Be Authentic and Genuine in Interactions

Any relationship, business or not, depends on honesty, authenticity, and good vibes. To build long lasting, meaningful, solid relationships in the business world it’s important to deliver those qualities to anyone we come in contact with, whether it’s customers, business partners, or even competitors. Being heard makes people feel good so listen and do it well. Getting needs met is important as that is the foundation of good business. So know your audience and its needs and build your practice on that. And, most importantly, be real. Be you. Be authentic. Don’t fake it. Be real, so you can have it now.

Natalya Bucuy, LiveHelpNow

Continue with Innovation and Creativity 

In order to keep your business relationships going long-term you need to ensure that both you and your business are dynamic. Be an engaging person and maintain an engaging business. Create innovation within your business. Even if things are going well, you can still try new marketing methods or you could even add additional products to your selection. People admire creativity and innovation, and these qualities will make your business connections want to stay in touch with you because they’ll be able to sense your energy and intelligence.

Chris Caouette, Gorilla Bow

Set Transparency as an Expectation 

Transparency gains trust. Don’t be vague. Honest, sincere conversations save time. Be clear about the compelling need to grow their support from the very start, but make sure it is focused on how they can achieve their goals through your business. Approach your business constituents on their terms, in their language, and put their motivations at the core of the message. The level of their support will be a reflection of your ability to listen to their wants, needs, and suggestions.

Michele Rebeor, Michele M Rebeor Consulting, LLC

Maintain Mutual Respect for Each Other

It certainly takes a dedicated amount of time and energy to build solid and long-lasting relationships in the business world. One tip to developing business relationships is having mutual respect. Demonstrating mutual respect is key to letting others know that you not only care about yourself, but that you care about them as well. Beyond that, maintaining mutual respect allows you and the other party to value each other’s significant contributions.

Maegan Griffin, Skin Pharm

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How have uncertainties helped bring more opportunities for your business?

To help business owners view a crisis as an opportunity for new possibilities, we asked CEOs and business professionals this question for their insights. From increasing productivity to uncovering hidden skills, there are several ways uncertainty can welcome new possibilities for your business and its continued growth for years to come. 

Here are ten ways uncertainty creates new business possibilities: 

• Increase Productivity 
• Widen Your Perspective
• Allow for More Creative Avenues
• Access New Talent
• Turn to Digital Tools and Trends
• Expand Into eCommerce
• Uncover Hidden Skills
• Pivot Into a New Market
• Reassess Company Values
• Create Customized Solutions

Increase Productivity 

Uncertainty has brought new opportunities to our company because it made everyone step up to the plate! During the height of the pandemic, all of our employees gave 110% every day and helped us reach new levels of productivity and efficiency, which was so appreciated. It goes to show that people will always be the greatest asset of every company! 

Eli Patashnik, iFax

Widen Your Perspective 

We have all gone through times of uncertainty, but I have come to appreciate difficult life experiences. Struggles in times of crisis have given me perspective on the big picture. They provided me with the perspective I needed to move forward and create my eyelash extension supply company’s mission statement, which has carried us to success. Perspective helped me realize the strong community of women I had in my corner, who I call my eyelash sisterhood. In the past year, we have grown our community through our eyelash extension training courses. Taking a class with us adds you to our Brand Ambassador program automatically because we believe in our students’ success.

Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional

Allow for More Creative Avenues

Sometimes having too much of a plan can create tunnel vision. You’ll end up shutting down opportunities that could’ve really helped you or taken you in an even bigger direction than you originally had planned because it simply wasn’t the plan. Being a little uncertain allows you to explore all options thoroughly and also forces you to get creative in your solutions. Conventional means of doing things are good because they’re proven results-wise. But with a little bit of uncertainty, you can definitely find yourself finding new and creative avenues to achieve your goals. You never know what’s behind a door until you open it. 

Randall Smalley, Cruise America

Access New Talent

Crisis helps make top talent more readily available. During the pandemic, we all saw many companies experience layoffs, furloughs, and rescind internship offers from students. These employment shake-ups created tremendous hiring opportunities for companies (ours included). We were able to bring on several talented people we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to attract to our company. As a result, we’ve been able to build and launch software to better support our business. 

Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

Turn to Digital Tools and Trends 

Over the past year, dealing with business has been difficult as the coronavirus has put many lives on pause. In order for us to combat this, our team had to think outside of the box and figure out how to reach more customers during the pandemic era. Learning more digital tools & communication online with the team has helped a lot and has taught us more than we could have if we were in the office.

Nina Jensen, 8×8

Expand Into eCommerce 

Our company operates as a brick-and-mortar dispensary and delivery service. In California, we were lucky enough to be deemed an essential business, and we remained open throughout the pandemic. As a cannabis delivery service in addition to a dispensary, I’ve seen sales both in-store and online skyrocket during the pandemic. Because many of our usual customers are California locals and regular cannabis shoppers, we benefited from our local customer base. We additionally saw an increase of first-time shoppers, likely looking for a way to spice up their lockdown. We’ve implemented new health and safety procedures for both our drivers and customers to ensure contactless sales.

Chris Vaughn, Emjay

Uncover Hidden Skills 

During uncertain times you can learn new things about yourself and discover strengths you may not have been aware of. For example, in the early phase of our company, we had to figure out marketing strategies and learn how to run social media campaigns from the ground up with no previous marketing experience. As a new business and with all our funds on the line, we had our share of doubts. Nevertheless, through patience, perseverance, and tons of trial and error, we soon discovered how crafty we could be with our ads and how much growth we made on our own. We are 100% fully bootstrapped, and with that comes a huge amount of uncertainty and risk. However, it has propelled us to be more resourceful and discover hidden abilities that we may have never known existed had we not gone through the slow period early on.

Katie Lyon, Allegiance Flag Supply

Pivot Into a New Market 

Our company was initially hit during the initial phases of lockdown, and we needed to adjust by embracing work-from-home and offering several products that became needs of the hour, such as hand sanitizer, diet consultations, and tips for at-home skincare. Our reaction to these uncertainties led to some great remote hires and a new hybrid work model for our company. Throughout the pandemic, people learned to put more trust in online solutions. By persevering and adapting to customer needs, we were able to return to the growth track.

Guna Kakulapati, CureSkin

Reassess Company Values

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that you never know what the next day, month, or year will bring and how to embrace that uncertainty. My personal experience was that the high level of volatility that existed around business activities in 2020 spurred me to try a bunch of things that I would have considered too risky or costly otherwise. To my surprise, those tests allowed me to redefine my business in a way that better supports my customers and aligns with my personal values. For example, I started doing a lot of free introductory advising calls in 2020 that gave me an incredible understanding of the key pain points entrepreneurs encounter when they are starting out and how I could best serve that audience. Additionally, I got a better sense of my core value as a marketing leader and how I could both build my consulting practice and give back to the community at the same time.

Amy Zwagerman, The Launch Box

Create Customized Solutions

Our business products and services are all about uncertainty. The very nature of insurance is to give our clients peace of mind in case of uncertain events such as bodily injuries and property damage. As an independent insurance brokerage we are able to create customized insurance solutions to protect our clients against uncertainties every day. Keep in mind open enrollment for these products, like health insurance, is only open for a short window, like 6 weeks or so.

Brandon K. Berglund, Berglund Insurance

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What is one advantage of a family business?

To help potential entrepreneurs on deciding if they want to run a family business, we asked CEOs and business owners of family-run businesses this question for their best insights. From demonstrating commitment and carrying on a legacy, there are several benefits to having a family business that may help you with your decision and the growth of your business. 

Here are nine advantages of a family business:

• Nurture Family Pride
• Build Generational Wealth
• Carry on a Legacy
• Demonstrate Deep Commitment
• Leverage Family Bonds
• Learn to Keep Work and Life Separate
• Benefit From Hands-On Experience
• Sustain Long-Term Leadership
• Enjoy Help and Connection

Nurture Family Pride 

The main advantage of working in a family business is the passion each person brings to the company. For us, this is so much more than a job. This is an amazing company that our father built and that we feel a strong sense of pride and duty for. I believe our clients feel that as well which is what makes our jobs that much more special.

Carey Wilbur, Charter Capital

Build Generational Wealth 

A family business can be a great way to build generational wealth. To protect your family business and your family’s financial security, business owners are often some of the best candidates for insurance. Whether that is disability insurance or life insurance, among others, these are especially important to better manage the risk of lost income during difficult times.

Chris Abrams, Abrams Insurance Solutions

Carry on a Legacy

For me working in the family business is very personal. My father Dr. Irwin Smigel and my mom created the business. My father’s impact on dentistry can’t be overstated. He literally created the field of cosmetic dentistry. So for me, being able to keep my father’s legacy alive is important not only to me but to the field of dentistry. 

Bellanca Smigel Rutter, Supersmile

Demonstrate Commitment

Family-owned businesses have proven to be crucial for each member’s growth. Unlike other businesses, members of a family-owned enterprise tend to have a stronger commitment. For instance, there is every chance of you putting in more effort and extra hours toward the success of your family business. Also, the family business manager is more likely to understand your need for more flexibility in your working hours.

Adam Garcia, The Stock Dork

Leverage Family Bonds

Working in a family business has so many advantages. One advantage is that it’s a natural team. You already know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so it is easy to be able to divide responsibilities. This way each person shines doing what they do best. It is also easy to be a team player because of the bond you share as family members. There is nothing more rewarding than working together with family to accomplish a shared goal. I treasure being in business with my father.

Ben Cook, Jr., Printed Kicks

Learn to Keep Work and Life Separate 

There are many advantages of having a family business if you adhere to a few rules. If you keep work and personal matters separate, there is much joy that can be derived from the successes at work. Sharing these moments with the one you love can strengthen your personal relationship and create a stronger trust in each other at work as well. Working with my husband has been a great experience as we keep our personal and business matters apart from each other and don’t discuss work without our other business partner with us if we can. There is an inherent trust that comes with working with a family member. You share the same values and understand the motives behind decisions, all of which make the future trajectory easier to predict and navigate.

Katie Lyon, Allegiance Flag Supply

Benefit From Hands-On Experience 

One advantage of a family business is that it provides members within the family chances to get hands-on business experiences. If you are from a family running its own business, you are likely to be exposed to the business environment very early or even earlier than others from normal families. You will have a chance to read business books and listen to daily conversations about business. You can also learn from experienced entrepreneurs who are your family members. 

Moreover, you can get access to actual business documents such as contracts, financial statements or annual reports. Reading them and evaluating the data could widen your business knowledge a lot. A straightforward career path will be there for you as well because the company run by your family welcomes you abroad at any time. Even if you are just a university student, you can still go to the company to observe how it is run and how people work. It is such a privilege that everyone would like to have.

Jill Sandy, Constant Delights

Sustain Long-Term Leadership 

One advantage of a family business is that there is greater stability in terms of leadership. The leadership of the business is usually determined by the position one holds in the family. The respect for a position within the family means fewer leadership wrangles within the business, and longevity in leadership. This then provides stable leadership for many years until life changes such as illness, or death force a change in leadership.

Joe Flanagan, VelvetJobs

Enjoy Help and Connection

I run a family business. Having your family members work with you is the frosting on an already delicious cake. I enjoyed running my online business before, but having my husband help brings more joy. Having the business to discuss also gives us more in common than we had before. Finally, I don’t feel guilty spending time on the business. Since he’s involved as well, that means more time together instead of guilt over time apart. You get more family time and more help, I recommend using family members in your business.

Janice Wald, Mostly Blogging Academy

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What is one tip for maintaining a successful business partnership with your spouse?

To help business leaders create an effective business partnership with their spouses, we asked couples in business and business professionals for their best tips. From keeping family matters at home to designating business roles, there are several strategies that may help you and your spouse create a prosperous business relationship. 

Here are 11 strategies to create a successful business partnership with your spouse: 

• Define Work and Family Time
• Secure Your Family’s Future
• Plan Ahead With Tech Tools
• Divide Duties by Strengths
• Communicate With Each Other
• Keep Family Matters at Home
• Designate Business Roles
• Share Your Company Vision
• Invest in Financial Security
• Give Credit Where It’s Due
• Respect Comes First

Define Work and Family Time 

My wife and I run our own criminal defense and personal injury law firm in Seattle, and I could not ask for a better, more passionate business partner. With that said, it is very easy to blur the lines between work and home life — especially in a pandemic while we are working from home! I think the key to a successful relationship on all fronts is creating protected time. Having certain hours to tackle business and certain hours for our family is the key to making it work!

Court Will, Will & Will

Secure Your Family’s Future

While it is difficult to think about one’s own mortality, it is important to think about your family and what might happen in the event of death. If you work with your spouse, getting life insurance for both of you is an important risk management tool that provides some financial security for your loved ones or beneficiary in the event of death. Depending on your needs, life insurance can not only cover death expenses but can also replace your lost income so that your family can maintain their quality of life even in your absence.

Brian Greenberg, True Blue Life Insurance

Plan Ahead With Tech Tools

I run and manage two businesses with my partner, and we’ve found that a great way to feel like we’re both pulling our own weight and working towards our strengths is to spend an hour or two at the end of each month planning out tasks that we’ll do for the following month. We organize these tasks in ClickUp, but you could use Asana or similar variations. This has really helped us to feel like we’re both putting in the same effort and helps to avoid any strain in our work relationship.

Kristine Thorndyke, Test Prep Nerds

Divide Duties by Strengths 

To have a successful business partnership with your spouse takes patience, respect, and desire to make it work. One way to foster this environment is to know each other’s zone of genius, or natural strengths. If one spouse is better at running a specific function of the business, let them own it. This creates accountability and division of labor in the best way possible. When each partner carries the weight based on skill and passion, a successful partnership is more easily formed. 

Jenn Christie, Markitors

Communicate With Each Other

As the co-founder of Allegiance Flag Supply, I have two business partners — my husband Wes and our good friend Max Berry. From the very beginning, we made finding our balance a priority. If we can help it, my husband and I don’t discuss the business without Max. When Wes and I are together, we are a married couple, but we also know how and when to switch gears. This took some practice, but I believe we have since become masters at it. We make sure that the three of us always stay in the loop through communication, whether in person, zoom calls, text messages, or email. However, we don’t believe in “over-communication.” That’s something I would advise. Trusting in your counterpart is essential. “Up-to-date knowledge” helps each of us work as a unit while contributing our unique personal strengths.

Katie Lyon, Allegiance Flag Supply

Keep Family Matters at Home

When working with your spouse, the most important thing you can do is run your business like a corporate entity, not a family business. And don’t bring your bedroom into the boardroom. Never bring your personal issues into work — and always manage two very separate lines of the business, so you avoid stepping on each other’s toes. Your employees should never see you argue about anything that does not affect the business or is rooting in something personal.

Danielle Lindner, Children’s Author and Parenting Coach

Designate Business Roles

Formally establishing the areas of accountability allows my wife and me to work in a more structured way. Knowing other couples that work together, we find it crucial. This is because it is a popular approach among family members to keep things informal and perform tasks based on personal initiative rather than predefined rules. And that’s not a practice suitable for business operations.

Michael Sena, Senacea

Share Your Company Vision

Being in business with your spouse can lead not only to divorce but a business divorce, too. The desire to grow your company can take over your life at home as well as work with pillow talk, dinner table discussions, and even when you are relaxing. The key is to start with a shared vision for the company and your life together. Then when one of you feels overwhelmed with the intensity of work, you can take some strategic time to review and reflect on that vision. Once you’ve had some time to reflect, you’ll have insights about how to help you and your spouse refocus on this shared vision. The key to getting your spouse to recommit and re-focus on the shared vision is to ask questions. So sit quietly and reflect on three to six questions you might ask at the right time.

Katharine Halpin, The Halpin Companies Inc.

Invest in Financial Security

After putting in countless hours at your business with your significant other and providing your family a certain lifestyle, make a plan to provide your loved ones financial security in the event that either of you can no longer work due to health complications. This is why it is important to consider your life insurance options. For example, most people choose between whole vs. term life insurance policies. Depending on your situation, a term life insurance policy is typically less expensive and easier to maintain over time. However, if your situation changes, then you might find that the whole life insurance policy is more valuable to you and your family. 

Chris Abrams, Marcan Insurance

Give Credit Where It’s Due 

When I first started my law firm, it was a one-man show run with the help of my lovely wife. Between running to the courthouse and trying to meet with clients, my wife was the person who truly drove business in. I always tell everyone she’s the brains behind all of this success. If you want to maintain a successful partnership with your wife, make sure you give credit when it’s due. When you’re successful, most of the time, you tend to forget where you started and the people who helped you succeed. Don’t forget to give your spouse the praise they deserve, because after all, they’re more than just a business partner. They’re your life partner. 

Seth Price, Price Benowitz LLP

Respect Comes First 

My husband and I started our AC repair and installation company together a couple of years ago. We both came from different educational backgrounds. He understood the mechanics of fixing wires in AC units and systems while I understood the marketing and business-running side of things. If I’m honest, we had so many arguments in those first few months because we were on different pages of what we envisioned the company to be. It took a while for us to come to the understanding that our differences were what made our company succeed. We learned that the best way to maintain our relationship as spouses and as business partners was to agree to disagree on things, to respect each other’s strengths, and to leave work at work.

Natalie Sullivan, Cooler Air Today

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What is one innovative idea or tactic that an entrepreneur can use to grow their business?

To help small business owners brainstorm fresh business concepts, we asked CEOs and business leaders this question for their best innovative ideas for small businesses. From incorporating new technologies to conducting A/B experiments, there are several suggestions that may help you lead your industry in innovation for years to come.

Here are 10 innovative ideas from business leaders:

• Grow Your Online Presence
• Lead With Innovative Technology
• Turn to Agile Project Management
• Optimize Your Efforts
• Invest in SEO
• Incorporate Automation
• Double Check Site Loading Times
• Try Flexible Coworking Spaces
• Find Efficient Processes
• Conduct A/B Experiments

Grow Your Online Presence

Innovative growth tactics should allow you to expand your market share. Some small businesses might invest in new products and services, but other companies might seek to invest in new exciting offers and experiences. We provide small business loans to help companies grow and transform their businesses. So why not invest in your online presence. One of your most valuable assets is your online platforms since everything, and everyone is now online. You can use your online platforms to differentiate your brand by creating unique online experiences on your website or on social media.

Brianna Vaughan, LendThrive

Lead With Innovative Technology

Innovation is key to scaling your business. At iFax, we have revolutionized the way businesses and people send and receive fax messages. This simple, yet innovative app technology, enables better, more convenient ways to exchange information from business to business or person to person. You no longer have to spend money on expensive, outdated fax machines that take up so much space. Instead, you can work from the comfort of your own home to quickly and easily send a fax message from your phone within an app.

Eli Patashnik, iFax

Turn to Agile Project Management

Agile is a great innovative way of doing business. As a business grows, having agile teams make the adjustment much easier when serving an increased amount of clients or producing more products and services. By focusing on making constant improvements, your team can better collaborate with new changes and developments.

Debra Hildebrand, Hildebrand Solutions, LLC

Optimize Your Efforts

With things constantly changing and growing, we find it important to be able to withstand the growth. When you are ready to grow your business or when you think it’s time to take the next steps, keep in mind automating can be a good step forward. Find ways that can help you streamline your processes. Look into integrating Business Process Management software. These tools can help you optimize your efforts and give you time back to do more complex tasks and responsibilities.

Spiros Skolarikis, Comidor

Invest in SEO

There are so many logistics for entrepreneurs to worry about when starting a business. Coming up with some kind of digital marketing strategy is always top of mind as one of the many question marks that come when trying to get a new business off the ground. SEO is one of the best marketing tools a small business can invest in. Developing visibility on search engines will take time and effort, but there is never a direct charge for each impression or click, like there is with PPC (pay per click.) It can be a cost-effective strategy for businesses just starting out that will build trust and credibility with end-users.

Kayla Centeno, Markitors

Incorporate Automation

In order to maintain consistency with the quality of your products and services, some degree of automation is key. This minimizes the potential for human error while also enabling mass production at scale for growing businesses. Our patented D.Rain system, for example, is one such innovative technology that is used to block and anchor each panel and provide continuous moisture and drainage throughout.

Todd Sriro, Be.On Stone

Double Check Site Loading Time

An innovative way that companies can optimize their websites to improve growth and conversions is passing Core Web Vitals’ three key metrics that quantify page experience: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), and FID (First Input Delay). One thing to do in order to pass LCP is analyzing how a page loads in a waterfall chart using Chrome Developer tools. Through this analysis, you are able to see which scripts delay loading times and which elements are non-essential. Another benefit of a waterfall analysis is that you can visually see which JS actions can be moved to the end of the waterfall without impacting render times.

Guy Katabi, Lightkey

Try Flexible Coworking Spaces

MAC6’s private office suite and co-manufacturing space are perfect for companies looking for a more innovative approach to work. At our facility we have a unique focus on health, wellness and productivity with our 24/7 mind & body strengthening fitness center, fit-trail parcourse, virtual and in-person meeting spaces and more. This is the perfect location to bring your team together for a more collaborative and innovative culture. Check out our enterprise office space solutions in Tempe, AZ.

Kyle McIntosh, MAC6

Find Efficient Processes

One innovative idea an entrepreneur can use to grow their business is to work smarter, not harder. It adds up to finding the most efficient way to get the job done. The best thing to do is to not only try to create the best product but also to establish the best process that works for you and can save you time and stress. The beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you have the freedom and the flexibility to create new processes and benefit from the results.

Ben Cook, Jr., Printed Kicks

Conduct A/B Experiments

A culture of innovation has been part of my DNA since my time at Google, and sustainable growth is one of my company’s core tenants. One example of how my company innovates is through using A/B experiments. Doing a small A/B experiment before fully implementing an idea ensures that our ideas will be received well even outside of our small bubble. Our launch and iterative philosophy have allowed us to embrace concepts that work and discard others as fast as possible for sustainable, data-driven growth.

Guna Kakulapati, CureSkin

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