Each and every time consumers encounter your business on social media is a valuable opportunity for you to create a positive perception of your brand. Your activity on social media can have a huge impact on your brand image and you need to make sure the relationships you build with your audience are based on trust and authenticity. For most entrepreneurs and small business owners, that means having to experiment to find the approach that works best for your business. To help you avoid any negati...

A SWOT analysis is a simple yet powerful tool for evaluating your competitive position and making strategic decisions for the future of your business. By examining both the internal factors—your strengths and current weaknesses—and external factors that impact the business, you can develop a business strategy that helps you maximise existing opportunities, discover new opportunities, and prepare for changes in the market. Here, Lisa Furgison challenges you to carry out a SWOT analysis and create...

When pitching your business to potential investors, too much exuberance can be a bad thing. While passion and enthusiasm are important, investors are looking for evidence of how competent and trustworthy you are. Thorough research and preparation is key to presenting a compelling pitch that shows you understand the market and have realistic expectations for growth. Here, Scarlett Cook shares a guide to structuring your pitch with some top tips for avoiding the common mistakes that signal ov...

Whenever you connect with other entrepreneurs you create valuable opportunities for boosting your visibility, gaining credibility, and forging important relationships—all of which are crucial for building a successful business. And by developing the right approach to networking, you'll increase your chances of getting high quality introductions to potential business partners, clients, or investors. Here, Malak Saleh shares "five key lessons" from high-profile executives and entrepreneurs on...

Younger consumers are already driving a trend towards profit with purpose. And with an increasing sense of urgency about pollution and the consequences of climate change, it's a growing trend that's set to become the norm, says entrepreneur Nicolas Brusson. Although entrepreneurs have a duty to build profitable businesses, as global citizens "it is also our duty to engage with the challenge of climate change at a meaningful level, not just as a cursory CSR exercise," says Brusson. Here, he ...

Whether you're looking to advance your career or grow your business, networking can help you to unlock new opportunities. And the ability to forge meaningful connections can be a great asset for entrepreneurs. The more people you engage with on a regular basis, the bigger your network becomes and the greater your exposure to opportunities for accelerating your success. Yet, despite the benefits, many people dread networking. If the thought of striking up conversations with people you've never me...

Entrepreneurs are great at coming up with ideas to improve people's lives through the products they create, the services they provide, or the problems they solve. Yet many breakthrough ideas never see the light of day because people fail to act on them. Taking action to follow through on your ideas requires courage. And you can only gain the courage you need by facing your fears. Here, Danielle Sacks shares five principles Case Foundation CEO Jean Case says entrepreneurs and other change-makers ...

Sales are the lifeblood of every business. And no matter how good your products or services are, they aren't going to sell themselves. Lead generation is the process that attracts people to your business and sparks their interest in what you're selling. And the more effort you put into lead generation, the more people you'll have in your sales funnel that you can convert into paying customers. Here, Ryan Myers shares some top tips for implementing an effective lead generation strategy that will ...

As a marketing tool, podcasts provide an easy to consume, effective and convenient way to share engaging content, increase your reach and grow your audience. Listeners can access your content during their daily commute or while doing other things at home or at work, making it easy to consume. And by regularly hosting podcasts you can develop your public speaking skills while establishing your authority and building trust with your audience. To help you reach your podcasting goals, Krystle M. Dav...

Starting and running a business can be stressful and even the most committed entrepreneur isn't immune to burnout. Resilience is the key to overcoming stress and even if you're not a naturally resilient person, you can learn to develop a resilient mindset. "Resilience is not about being able to power through the challenges and keep going. It's about developing the skills to adapt, recover, and recharge ourselves," writes leadership and executive coach, author, and speaker Beth Kennedy. Here, she...