Worries that automation is difficult to implement and no less of a challenge can make online businesses miss out on some remarkable opportunities.

Automation has long been used to speed up time-consuming manual processes, helping businesses become more scalable, productive, and – above all – profitable. But today, it has advanced by light years, ushering in a brand new era of solutions that are both smarter and cost-effective.

So, if you’re thinking of jumping on the automation bandwagon, don’t think twice. Here are the top five easiest ways:

1. Automate Your Pre- And Post-Sales Processes

Automation helps enforce better communication among team members by enabling a smarter approach to managing leads and sales. Tools like Zapier are a good example. They combine pre-sales and post-sales activities in a single platform, allowing you to manage everything in one place.

Let me explain. Zapier is an online automation tool that links different apps and services together to enable two-way communication between them. This opens up an infinite world of capabilities for you.

For instance, you can connect your sales and CRM systems together to gain a 360° view of your business performance. Likewise, you can integrate your Slack workspace with Zapier or other similar tools like Automate.io to connect it with apps that aren’t directly compatible with Slack.

To be specific, it gives you the ability to automatically:

• Notify your team when a hot lead enters one of your sales pipelines
• Save certain files and reports to your Google Drive
• Send Gmail emails as Slack messages

The list is essentially endless. To put it in a word, sales automation imparts significant influence on your bottom line by giving your salespeople more time to close deals than track prospects.

2. Power Up Your Digital Calendar

There’s nothing more frustrating than playing phone tag with a potential customer. Or sending multiple emails one after another to figure out a time that works well on both ends.

Luckily, there are a variety of online booking tools available to help you plan your appointments and meetings in an efficient and seamless manner. One such tool is Calendly.

Calendly automatically syncs with your calendar to check your availability and allows people to schedule meetings with you. To spruce things up a bit, you can add Zoom to the mix. Connecting your Calendly account with Zoom (using Zapier or a similar service) will, itself, add a link to your meetings. This way, you wouldn’t be left waiting when it’s time to meet.

3. Identify Sales-Ready Leads

Lead generation is the heart and soul of any sales team. Because without leads, there’s no business and thus no opportunity for growth. While there are plenty of ways to capture leads, according to HubSpot, 74% of companies use lead generation forms, such as Typeform.

Unlike ordinary forms that contain only a few fields like name and email address, lead generation forms contain customer-specific fields. Not only that, but being interactive and user-friendly, they encourage visitors to take action.

However, not all interactions are worth your attention. Or, to put it differently, not all leads enter your sales funnel with a buying intent. Hence, it’s crucial to categorize leads based on the quality and level of their interest.

Manually, this process is time-consuming, tedious, and prone to human error. What businesses can do instead is connect Typeform with their Slack workspace. Zapier or any other automation tool can serve the purpose.

It will automatically classify and categorize form submissions when certain criteria are met, and your sales team will be notified via an instant Slack message. It will also automate the process of storing files from filled forms by uploading them to Dropbox, Google Drive, or your preferred cloud storage service.

4. Streamline Email Deliverability

When it comes to keeping in touch with your audiences, there’s nothing that can replace email marketing. While there are a number of applications available to help you send bulk emails, easing the work to some extent, automation raises the bar up a notch.

Here’s how: You can integrate an email automation tool, such as Mailchimp, with Typeform to sync data between the apps and build powerful workflows. For instance, you can create Mailchimp email templates for each stage of the sales process. The automation tool will take customers’ information from the forms and send them “fully customized” emails based on where they stand in the sales funnel.

5. Automate Your Workflows

Repetitive tasks make employees disengaged and less productive. They don’t normally involve much work, but when you have to share the same meeting link with your team daily, enter the same personal information in different contracts every week or so, and file financial reports every month, those small chores mount up — and take away significant time from work.

Automation changes the game by taking care of such tasks and letting employees be more productive towards the work that requires increased attention.

There are a number of tools available to automate the aforementioned tasks. For example, Zapier’s Schedule tool can help send weekly meeting links in Slack. Nintex can automatically generate documents for you, and Zoho can streamline expense reporting. You can connect these tools together via an automation tool, and it will autonomously keep track of recurring tasks for every employee’s schedule.

Using project management tools that support automation – ClickUp and Monday.com are two good examples – can also help you automate workflows. You can set triggers to automate repeating activities in your tasks, such as rescheduling the due date or changing the assignee whenever there’s a status change.

Unlimited Possibilities with the Right Investments

Automation promises unlimited possibilities for online businesses. Just invest in the right tools, and it will empower your teams to focus on creating value for both themselves and for the company.

About the Author

Austin Rotter is a branding professional with over a decade of experience in the industry. He is associated with hyper-growth tech enterprises, promising startups, and Fortune 1000 brands, helping them cut through the clutter and make an impact in the digital world.

Your brand’s identity is the heart of your entire business. Your business’s voice, copy, and look are how potential clients judge you. It’s the stuff that makes you and your business unique.

Unfortunately, these days, it feels like most marketing strategies and brand guidelines give generic advice. When everyone follows the same guidelines, we end up in a sea of sameness. So how can you be sure to stand out?

I have spent over a decade in marketing and can tell you that building lucrative relationships is not as hard as it seems! It all starts with diving inward and discovering your true authentic self. So now, I spend my days helping clients find their true potential by getting authentic, clear, and connected.

Excavate What is No Longer Serving You

It’s time to dig deep. Remove from your life, business, and heart what is no longer serving your highest self. What do you need to excavate to reach your most authentic self? Holding on to things that are holding you back will not create your desired business or life.

It might be tempting to skip this step and jump into adding to your brand story, but this step is crucial. My favorite analogy for this is oysters in a bucket. You can’t cover up the stench of old seafood by adding flowers or perfume. You create a bigger stink.

So how do we start the excavation process?

Free-form writing is one of my favorite ways to get rid of thoughts or ideas holding you back. Give your subconscious a voice and clear the exhausting burdens keeping you from letting your genius loose. Free-form writing is different from journaling. This style of writing is about letting go. I encourage you to rip up the paper or burn it after you have finished.

Remind Yourself of Your Wins

Now that you have removed what is no longer serving you and your business, it’s time to replenish and replace it with supportive inspiration and paradigms.

Write a brag list highlighting your favorite accomplishments or moments in your business journey. How have you created transformation for your clients? Where did they start emotionally, and how were they when you finished?

You are not focusing on vanity metrics but on how you and your clients felt after your work with them. Measure what matters.

Get Clear on Your Brand’s Story

We have removed what’s not working and reminded ourselves of what works – now it’s time to turn your authenticity into a straightforward, uniquely your story.

Clarity helps remove the fog of working with you. It isn’t the best that lands the client. It’s the business with the most explicit message, the one that requires the least amount of brain cells to be expended by the client.

Authentic copy captures attention and builds relationships. It starts with who I am, the client, and what they care about. It’s clear and makes the reader pay attention. If you don’t get real, you’ll continue to sound like everyone else!

Digging into your authentic self will create uniquely genuine relationships. Be yourself to stand out from the crowd. An inauthentic copy will never build a connection that matters. Descriptions that are technically true but not clear or compelling will always turn off potential customers.

Get Connected to Your Ideal Client

Consistently combine your story with your ideal client to build lucrative relationships. It’s not about being unique. It’s about being uniquely suited for your perfect client.

Using social media for authentic relationships begins with positioning yourself as the guide to solving a problem. Then, use video, and be sure to stay within your niche. Showing up as your authentic self online is a surefire way to create fans from your ideal clients.

One of my favorite ways to start connecting is by creating a one-liner. Find a problem, a solution, and the result your potential client can expect. Don’t let your ego get in the way of this message. Be clear, not cute. Once you have this nailed down, it’s time to use it everywhere.

At the heart of your business is a desire to create lucrative relationships. Every relationship begins when two or more people see the potential in merging their stories. You need to find a way to show your potential clients how your story can combine with theirs and solve a problem.

About the Author

Aleya Harris, CPCE is CEO at Flourish Marketing where she works to transform leaders into legends through radically authentic messaging and copywriting.

A study by FedEx showed that a huge 68% of people believe a sign accurately reflects the quality of your products and services, so you want to make sure that yours look good!

Your business signage will talk about you behind your back. It will let people know all about you, even when you’re not there, so make sure that what it’s saying is all good with these top seven tips on creating new business signage.

1. Consistency

One of the most frequent mistakes that new businesses make with their branding is not being specific enough with their design choices; essentially wanting to include every design feature, font and color that they like. This comes out even more when there are multiple signs, especially if they vary slightly, such as the sign above the door vs. a sign above reception, then the letterhead on paperwork.

Try to have one set design style from the get go, one that is simple enough to be replicated and which won’t age too quickly or degrade by being used in various formats. You don’t want separate signs and branded items to look like they belong to a different company!

When in doubt; hire a designer. If money is tight, look at design students who need help building their portfolio, they can do it for a fraction of the price.

Another aspect of this is when you get the same sign items made by different companies or at different times. Keep careful note of the color codes for the exact shades you use as well the font names and sizes so everything matches, no matter when or where they’re produced. The best case scenario is to get everything made at the same time, by the same people so it all matches without any problems.

2. Less is Usually More

We know what it’s like, you’ve just started a new business and you want to shout from the rooftops about all of the wonderful things that you sell and do. However tempting it is, try to avoid putting every ounce of information in your sign.

Plus these things are likely to change, especially in new businesses. Even if you have a large surface area for your sign, refrain from using it as a listing ground for all the services that you offer.

You may find that your biggest performer stops being popular after a year, so do you still want to rave about it on your permanent business signage? Make use of other surfaces for this – windows and walls can be great places to put up less permanent decals or graphics.

Keep it simple and to the point. For your actual business sign, you want to display your name and a logo, what it is you do, and maybe some contact information.

3. Quality

You could have the best design for a sign in the world, but if it’s poorly executed or made with below par materials, it’s going to look cheap and possibly harm the image of your company (or harm actual people if it isn’t made up to code).

This goes back to the design specifics too. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could end up with a pixelated logo or unmatched colors or worse. Leave the design to professionals as much as you can, or at least, make sure you invest in the signage that your business deserves.

4. Know Your Audience

As soon as you’re open for business, the needs and wants of your customers, unfortunately, trump yours. What that means is you may like pink sparkly designs, but if your customers aren’t into it, those pink sparkles may hurt your business.

Take the time to research your industry and your potential customer base, taking into account your local area too. Look at what your competitors are doing and try to do it better, without outright copying. No one wants a replica of something from an untested newbie when they can get the real thing from someone they know.

Equally, try adding some personality to your signage if you’re in an industry that it’s appropriate for. For example, coffee shops and micro breweries may rely on puns for their marketing and product names. What’s a few days worth of research when it comes to designing the signs that will hang above your business for years to come?

5. State What You Do

This may seem like it’s obvious, but try not to be too mysterious when it comes to naming what it is you do, especially if you’re a brand new business. A large percentage of success at gaining new business stems from clarity.

If your company name doesn’t spell it out (such as if it’s named after someone), consider a tagline or image that will. When in doubt try to explain what your business does in one sentence, and go from there. Take into account how you work, what problems you solve, and who your target audience is too, as this may help describe your business better. 

Avoid including random items just because you like them. If you love turtles and want it to be part of your design or your mascot, then go all in with it and make it a part of your logo or branding assets, not just here and there in an inconsistent way. There’s nothing weirder than a company that has unconnected pictures of animals on some of its branding without any explanation. Consistency always!

6. Location

You may think that having duplicate signs will help with brand consistency, but this is not always the best course of action. Thinking about the specifics of each sign as individual jobs can help you make the most out of each opportunity to communicate with a potential customer.

For example, the sign about your shop will most likely be huge, so you can put a larger amount of information on it. If you simply made this sign smaller for wayfinding signs or stand alone signs further from your location, then some of the wording may no longer be legible.

It may take a little longer, but try to alter and design each sign based on where it will be located, taking into account the size, the conditions of the area, and whether it will need to be lit up at night.

If you are unsure of where to place signs, try walking around as if you were a customer – starting from where they park the car, through the direction to your store, and then around your premises, all from the customer’s point of view.

7. Careful Color Consideration

Even the most conservative businesses can gain something from using an eye-catching shade in their signage. You may think of black and white as professional, but unless it has been done in some clever way, it will at best, fade into the background, or at worst, look like a temporary fix while awaiting a permanent sign.

However, there is a careful line to tread between eye catching and a headache. Try to stick to three colors maximum for consistency, and think about the background as much as the actual components of the sign.

While the choice of font for the wording matters, the background has as much to play in whether a sign is legible or not. Colors close together on the color wheel won’t contrast enough and will make your letters hard to distinguish, such as a purple on a blue background.

A tip for free: don’t be afraid to stand out, just make sure it’s for the right reasons. Always check over your signage ideas with mockups before going to production. We’ve all seen the online lists of business vans that say something different (and hilarious) when the doors are opened and the name is partially obscured.

Equally, gimmicks and jokes may seem like a good idea, but you want your sign to be timeless, not a cringey throw-back that dates really quickly.

About the Author

Zarna Feltham is a Business Support Administrator at Boon Edam Ltd. Previously, she worked as a Production Manager at Medash Signs. 

Choosing your ideal business partner — to open a podcast together, to start a company, or to expand your venture — is not an easy task.

How do you know if you’re truly the right fit? What signs can you look for that might help you make this important business decision? Is a business partner really as important as a life partner?

These questions, and more, keep any dedicated entrepreneur up at night. It’s time you dig deep to understand what you, and your business, need to move forward.

Understand What You Do Poorly

Sometimes it’s true that opposites attract. Here are a few tips to consider the type of business partner you need:

1. Identify the skills that you’ve mastered and make a list. These are the skills you probably won’t be looking for in a business partner.
2. Take a deep dive into the things you’re not so good at. Excel? Public speaking? Don’t be afraid to identify your weaknesses; we all have them!
3. The intersection of what you do well and what you do not is where you should begin looking for your business partner. Or, if you’re already knee-deep, this can help you identify if the partnership is really worth saying ‘I Do’ to.

Lean into Your Values

Ultimately, your business venture will be a reflection of your values; from your bottom line and mission statement to the way you run your company. If your business partner doesn’t have the same values as you, it’s time to reevaluate. Here are a couple of tips for doing so:

• Think about your personal values. You’ll be surprised that a lot of your individual values overlap with your business values.
• Think now about the values present in your company that expand beyond your personal values. Are there any contradictions?
• Once you’ve made these two lists, highlight the values that overlap. These values are at the heart of your business venture.

The overlapping list of values must include values that are also important to your business partner. Any inconsistencies in your values will lead to growing pains and confusion not only for you and your business partner, but for your employees as well.

Look Outside of the Nine-to-Five

It’s all too easy to get swept up in the work day. From morning meetings to constant emails and client deliverables, the work is endless! Don’t let the never ending to-do list keep you from finding a business partner who you enjoy outside of work.

The best partnerships are oftentimes strengthened through activities outside of the office. If you’re having a hard time identifying your values or understanding your soft skills, take an afternoon to challenge yourself and your business partner to try something new and non-work related:

1. Try an outdoor activity like a long walk or hike.
2. Consider a challenge like a ropes course or an escape room.
3. Other adventures can include a cooking class or pottery workshop.

These events and activities can be helpful companywide, so consider including your employees in the events too! At best, these are great team building exercises, and at worst, they’re opportunities to identify pain points and inconsistencies between company members.

Are You Ready to Say ‘I Do’?

Choosing (or fully committing to) a business partner is one of the most important decisions you make when running your company. From your weaknesses to your values, it’s important to consider both the big picture and little details that make up your company and your business relationships. Choose wisely and your business venture will be a wonderful adventure!

About the Authors

Andrea Cwik and Rachel Grunn are full-time real estate investors, syndicators, and leaders in the industry with ownership in over 1,400 apartment units. Together, they are co-founders and Managing Partners of GoodGood Investing, established to empower entrepreneurs and busy professionals with financial freedom through passive multi-family investing. Their dedication to helping investors build a future they love is at the heart of their business.

The jury may still be out on whether we’re in a recession, but the job market has already begun to soften. You can see the first cracks exactly where you would expect. At Robin Hood, for example, where they recently cut 23 percent of the workforce, you can draw a straight line between staff reduction and a reduction in market confidence.

We all know inflation is changing the way we spend, and not long ago Walmart cut corporate jobs in response to the way consumer shopping is changing. The appearance of the phrase “The Great Regret,” defined as both employers and employees feeling they made and accepted offers too quickly, are sending percentage estimates of the Great Resignation well south of original predictions.

As a result, you may be tempted to put a career change on hold. The market is likely to get even more competitive if you consider the aggregate of (1) potential economic-related layoffs, (2) the softening but still healthy number of people who will change jobs under the umbrella of the Great Resignation, and (3) the growing number of people conducting either a proactive or unwanted job search because of the Great Regret.

Resist that temptation to stay put! You would be doing yourself, your current and future employer, and the economy a disservice. Here’s why.

More Than Ever, Companies Need a Fresh Perspective

Look at Google’s Simplicity Sprint. Google asked all employees to contribute to innovation that will rock both the top and bottom lines, as well as the way work is done in general, simply by asking for their help. If you’re coming in from a different industry with a different perspective, you can offer that to a prospective employer.

There are always jobs available for highly competitive candidates who present themselves as someone who knows how to integrate lessons learned about customers, products, and innovation into a new industry and market. Tee up that kind of unique value and fresh perspective to a prospective employer, and you’ll be a more attractive candidate than the one who has been doing the exact same job somewhere else.

Having a Passion for the Role You Want to Be Doing is More Critical Than Ever

While there is no substitute for experience, there is also no rule saying that, for example, product development experience in financial services SaaS will not be valuable to a team doing product development in hospital administration technology.

Maybe what you learned doing financial services product development for a SaaS company has taught you so much about how customers engage with products that you want to join a SaaS revenue operations team in a different field.

The trick to making these changes, or any other, is being able to explain with examples and a high level of enthusiasm WHY it is you want to make this shift. As with all job interviews, the question, “Why do you want this job?” is the most important one to prepare in advance, and your answer requires a high level of specificity.

If you’re changing careers, make sure your answer addresses these subjects. You won’t get these questions directly, but the hiring manager will be thinking of them:

• Your experience is not a direct match for this role, explain why your experience would be a better value for my team and organization.
• Give me an example of how your experience from outside the industry/function can be applied to this role in a unique way.
• Why should I hire you instead of someone doing this same role at a competitor?

If you have passion for what you want and understand why, you should be able to answer these questions with a comprehensive analysis of the skills you have, the kinds of skills required in most job descriptions of the type you want, and an inventory of what is drawing you to that job in the first place.

Network, Network, Network

Networking in a career transition is even more important for mid and upper-level roles. If you aren’t going for an exact or near match in your job search, don’t rely on recruiters below the big brand retainer level firms who fill C-Suite roles. Additionally, don’t expect that your resume will make it through many screening rounds without the necessary keywords of the market and industry if you apply to roles online.

You need to pitch your story to someone with a direct line to the hiring manager who understands what you’re selling and can get you in front of the person who is buying. Be patient. Get your story down. Then get out and tell it as much as you can.

About the Author

Amy Feind Reeves is the Founder and CEO of JobCoachAmy, where she leverages her 25+ years of experience as an executive and hiring manager to help professionals at all levels of their careers find and keep jobs that make them happy.

Ready to make your mark on the biz world, boss ladies? A legit mindset is a key to success for female entrepreneurs.

This state of mind is focused, driven, and unapologetically confident. It’s about embracing your inner boss babe, trusting your skills, and is determined to turn your vision into a success. So, let’s get started and show the world what we’re made of!

Ladies, listen up! Here’s the blueprint for a killer mindset that’ll make you the queen of the entrepreneurial jungle. These are the key ingredients for a legit mindset that’ll make you unstoppable in business:

Be Your Own Fan

It’s time to channel your inner superhero and believe in yourself! You’ve got unique skills, experiences, and talents that make you a one-of-a-kind business asset. So, trust your instincts, and don’t be afraid to take bold risks and make bold decisions. It’s the first step towards building a powerhouse mindset that’ll make you unstoppable in the biz world.

Lemons to Lemonade

Fail forward! That’s the secret to success in the entrepreneurial game. Setbacks are just part of the journey, so embrace them and turn them into opportunities for growth and improvement. Remember, the road to success is paved with missteps and mistakes. So, don’t let them discourage you – instead, let them propel you toward greatness.

Goals, Let’s Roll! Time to Set Our Sights on Success!

Let’s get organized! A roadmap to success starts with clear goals. Write them down, both big and small, then create a plan to make them happen. That’ll give you a sense of direction and keep you motivated, even when the going gets tough. Trust us, a little planning goes a long way toward establishing a positive and powerful mindset.

Gather Your Squad of Champions! Positive Support = Success

Finally, it’s time to surround yourself with a squad of champions! Seek mentors, advisors, and peers who’ll uplift, guide, and inspire you. A positive support system is essential for staying motivated and focused, especially during tough times. So, gather your tribe of champions and let them be your source of strength and encouragement.

Roar with Pride

It’s time to unleash your inner lioness! Confidence and assertiveness are the building blocks of a legit mindset. Believe in your ideas and roar them out loud. Don’t wait for anyone else to take charge of your success – do it yourself! Be bold, be confident, and show the world what you’re made of.

Eyes on the Prize

Let’s keep our eyes on the prize! Persistence is key to success in the entrepreneurial game. Don’t let distractions or setbacks slow you down. Instead, keep pushing forward, keep grinding, and stay committed to your vision, even when the road gets rocky. Remember, greatness awaits those who remain focused and don’t give up.

Ladies, It’s Time to Go for Gold!

You’ve got what it takes to be a boss in the biz world. Don’t let anyone dull your shine or tell you that you’re not worthy of success. Instead, believe in yourself and make your mark. The worst-case scenario? You’ll fail. But the best case? Oh, honey, you’ll soar to the top and make a name for yourself that’ll echo through the ages. So, let’s do this thing!

About the Author

Stefanie Magness is the founder of Legit My Biz and a business counselor with the DC Small Business Development Center and DC Women’s Business Center.

A good friend asked me recently, “What’s the single most debilitating thing facing the generation entering the workforce?” My fast answer: critical thinking. With managing emotions a close second.

I’m not a generations researcher by career focus. I wound up studying this in response to a growing number of befuddled clients – and apparently most CEOs in Davos last month, asking “Who is this new generation and how do I manage them? Help!”

Here’s what’s happening and how managers must respond – and quickly.

Aren’t These Just Millennials, Part Two?

In some ways, yes. Like Millennials, Generation Z – generally agreed to have been born between 1995 and 2012 – has been raised under overprotective parenting fueled by inaccurate beliefs that children are in great danger most of the time and thus must be protected.

This has led to what some social psychologists have dubbed a culture of safetyism⁠, the result of which is a large percentage of teens and young adults who are opting out of taking steps towards independence such as obtaining a driver’s license, dating, holding a high school or college job, or making school or career decisions without tight parental oversight.

These findings are based primarily on four databases from national comparative surveys that go back to the 1970s and constitute 11 million respondents in total and a representative demographic sampling. So, we can see with great accuracy what’s different from one generation to the next.

The New College Culture, Social Media, and a Pandemic

The last eight to 10 years have seen college administrators buckle in the face of a growing body of vocal students who have equated emotional discomfort with physical violence and “abuse” – disrespectful to actual trauma survivors – by sanctioning or firing professors and putting a range of policies in place to support their “safety-first” goals. This is particularly ironic given that colleges’ raison d’être is to facilitate diverse points of view.

Much has been written about the highly concerning effects of social media on youth and its connection to increased rates of anxiety and depressive disorders. The data sets are still building in explanatory power, but what we do know is that teens report worse mental health outcomes the more time they spend on social media and that this has led to unprecedented high demands for counseling.

Finally, a pandemic took place at key developmental years for Generation Z. Teens coming into their college years reported more isolation and fewer interpersonal experiences than ever and became accustomed to engaging with others and new ideas from behind computer screens instead of on campuses and in face-to-face interactions.

This perfect storm of contributing factors has brought maturationally-delayed and risk-averse young adults to the workplace doorstep against a backdrop of record high education debt.

It should be noted that this cohort brings the potential of a host of strengths to workplaces. They seem to have a more realistic expectation of job fulfillment compared to Millennials, a stronger interest in societal and environmental issues than any generation demonstrated at their age (though perhaps more “sedentary activism” thus far), and they expect workplaces to embrace diversity in many ways such as gender expression and neurodiversity.

As one leader put it, “It’s the purpose-driven nature that’s different from the Millennials. They have immature notions of what that means in an organization, but they really are different in how much energy they have for it.”

How Should Managers Respond?

Gen Z will show up to the workplace with high anxiety, a somewhat stronger work ethic driven by greater financial pressures than Millennials had to contend with, and in need of what I am calling “extended parenting.” If that sounds like you’re unprepared, you’re right.

Here are the 6 skills to start practicing right away:

1. Teach Tools to Manage Emotions

Perhaps the most notable change that leaders will see, and that they have reported to me in interviews, is a new requirement to help their young workers manage their emotions — frequently, and in many contexts.

To be clear, this generation is not less capable of managing feelings than others. Rather, they are delayed in building tolerance and nascent management tools to process uncomfortable ones.

You will need to help your Gen Z learn when and how to appropriately recognize, internally process, and then make choices in response to their feelings. You’ll also need to help them learn what a healthy coping mechanism is and when and how to practice healthy ones when emotions start to hijack thinking.

2. Help Gen Z Understand What Being “Authentic” Really Means

This cohort has been raised with an assurance that feelings should always be trusted and even eclipse other types of information, and that being authentic – a guiding goal for many young people – means that the workplace should embrace most manifestations of self-expression under the heading of “inclusive culture goals.”

While pushing organizations to not hide behind corporate-speak is a meaningful demand, being authentic in a mature manner means paying attention to the situation you’re in and responding accordingly. Help your Gen Z-ers by showing them how to pull forward some character traits and how to set aside others as context requires. This is mature and adaptive.

As one Gen X leader put it, “They may not be self-aware yet, but they know they need to be. This is what makes them really different from my Millennials.”

3. First Give Clear Direction, Then Lean into Ambiguity

Compared to other cohorts at their age, this generation has had scant opportunity to make independent analysis with disparate information. They’ll need your patience and regular working sessions to develop critical and bigger picture thinking skills.

Start with a diet of clear and specific direction. Then give recognition when your Gen Z-ers start to integrate data analytically and float hypotheses without having all the information. As you well know, there are few “right answers” in the workplace, but this is likely unfamiliar territory to your Gen Zs.

4. Give Attention but Limit Feedback

Gen Z may be asking for a lot of “feedback,” but it’s actually attention that they really seek. A life spent seeking “likes” inside the immediate feedback fishbowl of social media creates a worker who will continue to seek this type of recognition.

Interestingly, the data also tells us that Gen Z seeks a bit less praise compared to Millennials. Your strategy then is to recognize their contributions and skill growth but tread lightly with how you deliver hard-to-hear feedback until it seems that a cushion of psychological safety has been put in place.

5. Role Play Hard Conversations

This cohort has significantly less face-to-face interpersonal experience than generations prior and conflicts have often been managed by “de-friending” on social media. This tendency first showed itself to me when I spent time counseling college students in 2010. By now, it’s become well-ingrained.

Don’t be surprised if a Gen Z-er elects to quit (or make a formal complaint to HR) instead of having a real-time discussion around a conflictual issue or one that holds an emotional charge for them. But you can lessen the chances of this by offering to role-play difficult conversations and praising them after they have them.

6. Don’t Reward Progress with Title Inflation

Some experts on Gen Z have suggested that allowing this cohort to create their own job titles and delivering them a series of small “promotions” even if only in title are effective means to reward and engage.

Don’t do it.

False “blue ribbon” title inflation will backfire in the end, sets a bad precedent, is already engendering well-deserved resentment on the part of older generations, and will spawn a host of unintended consequences that you won’t want to unravel and repair. Stick with encouragement and empathic but increasingly direct honesty.

Key Takeaways

Gen Z brings a special set of gifts to the work world. But they are also struggling more than any cohort prior, demanding that managers “extend parenting” to help them succeed.

Time to get ready – and fast.

About the Author

Kelly Kinnebrew, PhD is a clinical and organizational psychologist who specializes in executive career and senior team development, human capital applied research design and implementation, talent strategy consulting to teams undergoing big change (M&A, expansion, strategy changes), and culture work within and across country borders. She is also a researcher, writer, and speaker on gender issues at work, complex teaming and strategy, performance management that works, managing the dramatic rise in narcissistic leaders, and managing Generation Z.

Creating an effective onboarding program requires a delicate balance. On the one hand, uniformity is key to onboarding, as you want to create coherence by ensuring consistent messaging and training practices across all new hires. At the same time, onboarding practices need to account for differences in gender, race, age, and ability to ensure that all employees feel welcome and included.

The best way to achieve this coveted middle ground is through a commitment to diversity.

At its core, diversity is about celebrating people’s unique perspectives and experiences, and recognizing that these differences can actually bring people together.

Numerous studies have shown that diverse workforces exhibit increased engagement, creativity, and innovation. For this reason, and many more, it’s important to build a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy for your business, beginning with the onboarding process.

Establish a Strong Foundation

One way to ensure a truly enriching onboarding experience is to create an atmosphere of inclusion that appeals to new hires before they even walk in the door.

This encompasses everything from using inclusive language in job ads to ensuring that your hiring team represents a diverse set of perspectives and has received anti-bias training. These steps help build the foundations for a thriving workplace community.

In a similar vein, being open about your business’s DEI commitments sends a strong message to prospective candidates about what your company stands for, making it easier for them to decide that your company will be a good fit for them.

If people know that their company is going to support them and empower them to be themselves at work, they are much more likely to bring all of their creativity and energy to their roles.

Openly celebrating your values makes your business attractive to candidates who share those same values, creating a positive feedback loop.

Commit to Communication

It’s important to remember that there is no single, premade framework for creating an inclusive onboarding experience.

When you give new hires the opportunity to share their questions, concerns, and feedback during the process, they feel like their voices are being heard and taken into account, which goes a long way toward making them feel comfortable and welcomed.

The buddy system is a common feature of many effective onboarding programs and is helpful at promoting inclusivity, as pairing new hires with an experienced employee who has shared intersecting experiences immediately establishes a network of trust and support.

Similarly, if an organization has an employee resource group (ERG) or similar structure, introducing new hires as soon as possible is an effective way to help them establish strong bonds with current employees.

Engaging them in 1-on-1 meetings whenever possible also helps them become more comfortable with management and with the company in general, as some individuals may feel uncomfortable addressing certain issues in more public settings.

Batching the start days of new hires is a great way to help make their first days on the job easier and more enjoyable. When new hires come into an organization with a strong shared context, they’re able to establish immediate bonds that lay the groundwork for thriving relationships down the road.

Prioritize Personalization

The fact that people process information in different manners and at varying paces often goes underemphasized in conversations about diversity. An onboarding process that truly works for everyone must recognize that not every employee is going to reach the same milestones at the same time.

This doesn’t mean that it’s necessary to expand the onboarding process to encompass every possible learning style. Instead, it means empowering individual employees with the tools and resources necessary to master the materials in a way that works best for them.

Putting onboarding materials into their hands and giving them time to process it and ask questions enables new hires to truly master it without feeling overwhelmed.

Finally, it’s crucial to remember that the best onboarding experiences are not only comfortable and informative but enjoyable as well.

Taking classic employee appreciation activities such as welcome gifts and personalizing them by opting for suppliers that share your organization’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals provides powerful, tangible evidence of your organization’s broader mission. In doing so, it promotes a more direct emotional connection to company values.

Diversity Can Be Your Company’s Strongest Asset

Onboarding is a critical stage in the hiring process, one that sets the tone for an employee’s future performance and relationships at work. In fact, 90% of employees decide whether they’ll remain with a company within the first six months of work.

If employees don’t feel that their workplace supports their unique needs, they may find it difficult to thrive, let alone stay.

An onboarding process that demonstrates a real commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ensures that your business nurtures the widest possible range of strengths and competencies. When understood as a foundational commitment that benefits every aspect of a business, diversity can become a company’s strongest asset.

About the Author

Tara Milburn is the Founder and CEO of Ethical Swag, a sustainable branding company specializing in helping HR professionals achieve their ESG goals through eco-friendly onboarding and employee recognition initiatives.

Along with sex and religion, money is one of the most taboo subjects. We are encouraged not to talk about it. And with that, we tend not to learn about how it works and end up not enjoying it even when we have it. And this is what we often unthinkingly pass on to our children.

Kids tend to pick up their parents’ points of view about everything, including money and finance. So, if we believe, for example, that money is the root of all evil, or we don’t want to have too much money because we’ll have to share it, these points of view will be picked up and adopted by our children.

Beliefs like this will surely limit the amount of money you and your children can have, but also your feelings about the amount of money you have.

Poor, Rich, or Wealthy

To bring clarity to this often most unclear of subjects, I’ll start by talking about poor, rich, and wealthy (and some of it may not be what you think!) and then give you some practical, pragmatic tips for educating your kids so they have ease and enjoyment in this area of their lives.

Being poor seems obvious – not having enough money, or just having enough money to survive. I know all about that. I grew up in a village in Scotland without enough food to eat and without enough money for heating and warm clothes in the bitterly cold winters. And yet there is more here.

It’s also about how you think – do you function from poverty mentality? This is the place where you expect the worst, where you’re unwilling to receive from anything – the sunshine, the forest, the kindness of a stranger. You’re shut down to the world around you.

Rich also seems obvious. It’s that place where you have money, where you can have a lifestyle where you aren’t just surviving. However, rich people often have some of the same limiting beliefs and lack of ease around money as poor people. They don’t have ease with it. They’re constantly afraid they’ll lose what they have.

And this is where wealthy is different. When we’re wealthy, we’re willing to have money, not just spend it. It’s not just about money; it’s about receiving all the good things in life, including money.

It’s the space where you become aware of possibilities and are more alive. You function with a generosity of spirit, where you know and trust that the world is an abundant place, and you’ll be looked after.

When you’re willing to receive more, you’ll find that people seem to want to gift to you, and so you receive even more. The universe will put people and things in your path to help you create what you’re asking for.

How to Become Wealthy and Teach Your Kids to Become Wealthy

So, how do we become wealthy, and what can we do to teach our kids how to become wealthy?

First off, it’s about you. Kids will pick up your points of view about money, wealth, and receiving. However, ninety percent of our opinions and thoughts are not cognitive.

So, to become aware of where you’re functioning from with money requires becoming truly present with your thoughts and your choices with money.

To help you to see what may be going on for you, let me give you some common examples of limitations people have around money.

• Money is the root of all evil.
• I need to be looked after.
• I don’t want too much money, I’ll have to share it.
• Struggling is the only thing that motivates me to create.
• If I have more, someone else will have less.
• Having more is indulgent, selfish, greedy.
• I don’t deserve it.

Just starting to become aware of all of this is the beginning of changing it and being willing to have more money and more of all of the good things in life.

One of the aspects of wealth is being willing to have money. Teach your kids, from when they start to have money of their own, to put away ten percent of all the money that comes in.

This money is an honoring of them, and it creates in their life the energy of the willingness to have money, and somehow attracts more money in. As they get older, you can also teach them ways of using this money to create even more money.

Also show your kids that they can create money for themselves. They can sell cookies or lemonade, print T-shirts, wash cars, walk dogs, or whatever else they can think of!

Teach them to be willing to do anything that will create the money to get what they would like to have in their lives. This will serve them as kids, young adults, and throughout their whole lives.

Teach your kids how to spend with generosity of spirit, to gift to other people, and to enjoy the gifting. This can be inviting a friend to the cinema, or giving them some money for a treat and encouraging them to share it with a friend too.

Also share with them the difference between receiving and taking. When someone truly receives a gift, there is a gratitude in their world that is a function of being wealthy.

When someone is gifted something, and they’re not truly able to receive it, they take it. This taking is devoid of gratitude, and can feel to the giver like a slap in the face. Often, the giver makes themselves wrong at this point and shuts down their capacity to give. Teach your kids that this is not personal and not to do with the person gifting but with the other person’s ability to receive.

And you can show your kids gratitude for money. What you’re grateful for will show up more in your life.

Having money is also an honoring of you. Show your kids that when you’re willing to honor you, you’ll have the money for more expansive choices: a long haul first class ticket or a beautiful, soft cashmere sweater that allows your body to feel nurtured and cared for.

Similarly, being wealthy allows you to create a future. If you only have enough money to just about get by, you stay stuck in the present with the future happening to you.

In the end, these keys to being wealthy are also keys to having more of you. This is the space where you can drop your barriers and have what you truly desire your life to be, without the stress of money. And isn’t that what we as parents truly desire for our kids?

About the Author

Moira Bramley is a wealth coach, savvy investor and certified facilitator for Access Consciousness. She has several product companies, is a shareholder in Castello di Casalborgone in Italy, an investor in El Lugar in Costa Rica and has an extensive investment portfolio.

When you’re a mom and a manager, you can’t help but look at the calendar year with a sense of anxiety. You have to hit your business performance goals while keeping everything running smoothly at home. No pressure, right?

As a mom of three young children and a leader of numerous direct reports, I’d love to say that I’ve found the perfect way to balance all my responsibilities. However, I admit that I’m still figuring everything out.

Take coaching, for example. In my mind, moms and managers should aspire to act like coaches. But I admit that I rarely show up as a coach at home or work. Instead, I find myself course-correcting short-term tasks and projects. That’s a fast way to burnout, which is something I’d like to avoid.

Burnout is all too real, particularly for working mothers. An analysis done by Maven showed that working mothers are 28% more likely to experience burnout than working fathers. The key, therefore, is to put measures in place to make things less rocky from a holistic perspective.

With that objective in mind, I’ve compiled a list of dos and don’ts. I plan to follow them as closely as I can this year and encourage you to walk with me on this journey to adjusting expectations and avoiding burnout without compromising your core ideals or desires.

1. DO Have Clear Expectations for the Year

Now is a great time to figure out what your yearly road map looks like. Be sure to make two road maps: one for work and one for home.

Then, review your plans. Are they rooted in reality or what you think you’re supposed to do? It’s not a bad idea at this stage to figure out what’s achievable versus what’s more of a pipe dream.

2. DON’T Let Yourself Lose Sight of Your End-of-Year Expectations

Keep your road map in front of you in digital or old-fashioned paper format. That way, you can remind yourself of the expectations you hope to meet.

If you just put your road map away and look at it weeks or months later, you’ll cause yourself unneeded stress. Certainly, you’ll have missed something along the way and be way off track by the end of the year. No one needs that extra stress, including you.

3. DO Recalibrate from Time to Time

As you move through the year, you might have to put some goals in a figurative “parking lot.” These are goals that seemed reasonable when you made your road map but just aren’t anymore.

With that being said, make sure you know which duties are nonnegotiable or can’t be extended into the next year. For instance, you might have to finish a big client project by the end of the year — no ifs, ands, or buts.

Flag some items as can’t-miss priorities so you stay on course.

4. DON’T Assume Your Family Members or Colleagues are Mind Readers

We all get into the habit of thinking that our co-workers, kids, partners, and friends can read our minds. Unless you’ve shared your expectations and goals, others won’t know about them.

Have honest check-ins and open conversations about what you need and what you must accomplish to reach your goals.

5. DO Reassess Your Level of Support

The more support you have, the easier it will be to cross the finish line feeling relaxed and energized. Be sure to take this step at home as well. Hire a cleaning person for the holidays or ask your family to take on more housework during spring-cleaning time.

Resist the temptation to be everything to all people, because if you’re everyone else’s foundation, you’re at risk of wearing yourself too thin.

6. DON’T Be Rigid

Make it your policy to adapt to changing conditions. You’re going to encounter unknown variables that you couldn’t have predicted when you constructed your road map.

Even if it’s not in your nature, roll with the lemons that life tosses your way. Revisit your ways of working if necessary. Flex your creativity and adaptability skills to the max.

7. DO Trust Your Direct Reports

You’ve spent tons of time hiring and mentoring the people you manage. So, let them do their jobs. Give them the benefit of the doubt so they can act like professional adults. Never assume that they’re slacking off or will let you down. Rather, empower them to complete assignments responsibly.

Key Takeaways

Above all, focus on unparalleled experiences and celebrations. Progress through the year with a pragmatic mindset and an adjustable plan. Both your co-workers and your family members will thank you — and so will your stress levels.

About the Author

Erika Rosenberg is the Director of Global Brand Marketing at Lingokids. Having spent two decades launching, managing, and developing brand and growth marketing for companies like Disney, Star Wars, and Mattel, and being a mother of three, Erika is an expert on kid/family marketing. Everything she does is about championing and empowering brands to get to where they really want to be.

After a morning of back-to-back meetings, whether in person or virtual, my mind is ready to explode, while my brain needs to recharge.

Throughout my career, when I worked in New York City or at a startup in Silicon Valley years ago and on through today, I’ve made it a priority to eat lunch at my desk and schedule time to exercise in the middle of the day. Whether my daily routine fluctuated, then after moving to the Greater Boston area with its icy cold winters and even with an overflowing inbox and list of to-dos, I knew if I didn’t prioritize my mental well-being, my work would suffer.

I’ve never let weather get in the way. It could be blazing hot heat or a blizzard dumping knee deep snow. It’s like brushing your teeth: do it every day, with the add-on that I carefully plan for it.

Exercise gives my brain a mental break and recharges me for the rest of the day. It also helps me handle challenging situations with less stress and better outcomes.

Given I’m a swimmer, I found short quality midday swims to be calming and restorative. Early in my career, one of my Silicon Valley bosses didn’t want me breaking for exercise in the middle of the day. I was like a dog with a bone working to convince him, not letting up until he understood that a short noon workout every day made me a better performer. Then, to my surprise and joy, my boss took swimming lessons after work and joined me on some of my noontime swims. He too experienced his own performance boost.

The takeaway: if you encounter resistance, keep making your case. You’ll likely end up with agreement, a grateful boss, and possibly a workout partner as I did.

Later on, when I ran my Boston-based startup, I encouraged my team to exercise midday. Depending on when your day starts, midday can mean many things. At my company, software developers and scientists often started their day at 11, so for them midday was 3 or 4pm. Because mine often started at 6am to accommodate meetings with Europe and Asia, because we were doing business in 100 countries, midday for me was 11am.

Time zones dictated when overseas business transactions took place. The only time I could take for myself was that sacred middle-of-the-day slot. Before I left the company to focus full time on angel investing, board memberships, and mentoring startups, my office was conveniently near a swimming pool. Now that my work is mostly remote, I walk with my dog around a reservoir near my home. Fortunately, I can adjust my schedule if needed. Typically, the dog and I walk in the noon hour.

Others Who Follow a Similar Routine

When I asked some friends about their exercise habits, I discovered midday is popular regardless of the type of work they do. A few shared their lunchtime break story.

Taylor, an architect working from her office in midtown Manhattan, starts her day early. At lunch, she walks around Bryant Park, which is next to her building. The walk resets her mood and gives her a healthy dose of Vitamin D. She told me it provides inspiration for her latest innovative architectural designs.

Miguel and his crew do most of their Massachusetts house painting in spring, summer, and fall. Originally from Brazil, they listen to Brazilian music while working. They take their lunch in the shade, then dance to the music. It’s a satisfying break for them and a unique experience for the lucky homeowner whose house they’re painting.

Charlie has been a software developer for years. Although he loves his work, he craves time off from staring at the screen and hunching over the keyboard for hours at a time. He walks around a nearby body of water to clear his head and finds he’s able to solve complex problems he’s been wrestling with. His walk completed, he’s ready to burrow back into work.

New York City tech professionals Gabrielle and Luis schedule a short midday walk through their Carroll Gardens neighborhood in Brooklyn. With one Zoom meeting after another, they often feel they’re spinning in a vortex, ready to burst. Breaking around noon gives them essential sunlight (even when it’s overcast, you still get the benefits of daylight). They process better and reflect on information from their morning meetings, which aids their decision-making, puts them in a better mood, and boosts their afternoon productivity.

You might worry that after a short exercise break you’ll return to a digital stack of emails or Slack messages, or that you’ll lose your focus. To the issue of focus in particular, I have good news. Science shows that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one’s ability to focus on that task for prolonged periods. An exercise diversion adds even more benefits.

The Science about Brief Exercise Breaks

A large study published in the Journal or Neurology showed that across a broad age range even small amounts of exercise, such as walking 15 minutes a day, have a noticeable effect on almost all regions of the brain. The researchers found that the increased oxygen intake and blood flow while their subjects exercised gave their bodies a big boost of energy.

I can attest that the opposite happens without exercise. On the rare occasion my schedule gets in the way of my midday burst of exercise, I can feel my performance start to sag.

Try to schedule a midday exercise break into your daily routine. Encourage others — even your boss — to join you. And if they need extra convincing, tell them science says it’s a good thing to do. Once you make it a habit, you’ll find yourself blissfully looking forward to it.

About the Author

Marjorie Radlo-Zandi, founder of Jazzas, is an angel investor, board member, and mentor to innovative early-stage companies. 

The media landscape is in a constant state of change, and your PR strategy should be changing with it. Does your PR strategy consist of emailing your local TV newscasters every time your business launches a new product? Do you wonder why you haven’t received a single email response, or worse, your company was covered in the media and it resulted in no new leads, no spike in web traffic, not a single new customer?

If so, it might be time to rethink your business’ PR strategy.

Start with Your Story

Storytelling allows your business to connect with your customers. When creating your business story, here are a few things to consider.

• What makes your business unique?
• What do your customers love about you?
• What words do you want people to associate with your business?
• What new things do you have to share? (i.e., a product launch or partnership)

Now that you have your story, it’s time to find the right voices and vehicles to deliver that message and – spoiler alert – it may not be traditional media.

Find the Right Voice and Vehicle to Deliver Your Message

This is where you need to throw out everything you’ve heard about paid vs. earned media.

The goal here is authenticity. To find an authentic vehicle for your business’ story, you need to find out where your target audience gets their information and who they trust.

For some businesses, this might be traditional journalism, especially if you’re a local business looking to reach local customers. A local paper, news station, or podcast can have tremendous influence, especially when their delivery “vehicle” spans beyond one medium. Your story appears online one day, in the print edition the next, and the journalist shares it out to their thousands of followers online.

If your business is online, ecommerce, or ships to any U.S. address, resist the temptation to spam top tier national outlets. Remember that journalists at top national publications receive hundreds of pitches a day, and the time it will take to get your business to the top of the pile might not be worth it.

It’s also important to remember that not all media is free. Increasingly, especially in the case of product reviews, many top tier media outlets look at businesses with affiliate links. Affiliate links generate revenue for the publisher and provide helpful data for businesses. Affiliate placements allow you to see which publications are driving traffic and sales

If you’re well versed in your audience, your dollars may be better invested in working with a content creator or influencer. Niche influencers with high engagement rates may reach fewer people than an online listicle in a national publication, but their connection to their audience often results in more actions for your brand.

Key Takeaways

Your business’ story is important, which is why it must be crafted with intention. Not every media outlet will be the right vehicle for your story. Be sure the vehicle and voice you use to deliver your story is authentically you.

About the Author

Andrea Sok is the Founder and CEO of Sok Influencer PR where she works with businesses, startups, and nonprofits to grow and scale by leveraging traditional media, content creators, and influential voices both digital or physical communities.