Category: Innovation Now

An expert weighs in on its importance when building a company. December 19, 2019 6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by It’s official: Data science isn’t just for tech companies anymore. From the ethical treatment of farm animals to sleep optimization and fashion, Zank Bennett, CEO of Bennett Data Science, helps entrepreneurs utilize artificial intelligence in a wide array of industries. Working with large and small companies alike, Bennett makes complicated technology easy-to-use so even entrepreneurs with little tech experience can harness the power of AI. I recently spoke with Bennett for more insight on how business can capitalize on data science and reap its rewards.  Why should entrepreneurs utilize data science, even if their startups are not tech-focused? For companies to be successful nowadays, they really have to nail the personalization piece, and entrepreneurs get this more than most. When entrepreneurs start companies, one of […]

From Amazon to Pinterest, the entire e-commerce ecosystem is making the switch. December 19, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by E-commerce businesses live and breathe by keyword searches, but new technology is causing the industry to think outside the written word, and all in the name of efficiency. When you’re searching for a Roomba or a smartphone, a keyword search works pretty well. But if you’re looking for something specific and unique, like a particular article of clothing or a coffee table, it’s much more efficient to search by picture. That’s why visual search is making such a huge splash in the retail industry. It taps into the idea that sometimes words fail, but a picture says it all. Keyword failure was the genesis for the entrepreneurial tech company, Syte, which is one of the major providers of visual-search technology. The company’s co-founder, […]

Remote workers are a great way to have your company’s boots on the ground in several parts of the country. Here are ways to keep them all focused on the same goal. December 17, 2019 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by The service industry sector has embraced remote work for many of its employees and managers, and by using geography as an advantage, service companies can leverage remote workers to improve field response time and ensure that critical issues are resolved quickly. With the advent of powerful collaboration tools, today’s remote workers are able to share critical data in real-time. This greatly improves decision making and has a positive impact on customer satisfaction. My company has fewer than a dozen staff who come into an office each day. The rest of our employees and managers are field-based and work from our hospital office, […]

AI-powered chatbots can help take your business to new heights as long as you follow these rules. December 17, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by Chatbots are still considered an emerging technology, but their use is rapidly expanding among all businesses. Why? Because chatbots offer many benefits, including better customer experiences, increased customer engagement and increased sales and conversion rates. Also, with the advancement of artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing, chatbots are poised to become more and more intelligent — which means even more businesses will adopt them. Related: 5 AI Trends That Will Reshape Customer Service Over the Next 5 Years Business Insider experts predict that by 2020, 80 percent of enterprises will use chatbots. We don’t quite know why the other 20 percent is shying away, but we hope the realization dawns upon them soon. After all, chatbots can reduce your customer service […]

From the archives: The Esquire guy gives advice for celebrating your employees’ victories and your competitors’ failures. December 16, 2019 7 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by This story originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Entrepreneur. You could say: “To all of you.” Which is concise. You could say: “Without your work, where would we be?” Which is vaguely gracious. You could say: “Give yourselves a round of applause.” Which buys time. You could say: “Deb. [pause] Deb, Deb, Deb, Deb, Deb.” Which buys even more time and makes Deb feel fantastic. Related: Nail Your Next Big Toast with This Public Speaking Training If you say all that, then what you’ve got there is a toast. A real toasty toast. An empty, meaningless, limp toast. (Deb might disagree.) Which is fine. And also awful. Because toasts that are merely toasts are the worst toasts of all. A toast […]

Whether or not that serves as a deterrent for abusive posting on Instagram is another story. December 16, 2019 2 min read This story originally appeared on Engadget Presented by Instagram’s anti-bullying efforts now extend to discouraging abusive behavior in posts, not just comments. It’s introducing a feature that warns people when their post captions might be offensive, using AI to detect language similar to posts that have previously been reported. In theory, this makes bullies second-guess their vitriol, stick to kinder language and learn about the social network’s rules. You can ignore the warning if Instagram made a mistake. Related: Instagram Stories: 18 Marketers to Follow for Incredible Inspiration The anti-bullying notice is available now in “select countries,” and should be available elsewhere in the “coming months.” Whether or not this proves effective is uncertain. Instagram said that its efforts to reduce bullying in comments have been “promising,” but that doesn’t guarantee similar performance for the […]

From people to products, the cybersecurity industry is advancing at a rapid pace. December 15, 2019 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by Personal and corporate privacy continue eroding away as cyberattacks and data breaches become more common. In the first half of 2019 alone, more than 4.1 billion data records were exposed in known data breaches. The average cost of data breaches for affected companies is now nearly $4 million per business. Standing guard while our society becomes ever more dependent on technology is the $120 billion cybersecurity industry, which is expected to grow to $300-plus billion by 2024. With the coming ages of AI and IoT, we stand to benefit from having an internet-connected home, vehicle or daily schedule in order to further automate and organize our lives. But we have to ask ourselves: What are the potential hidden costs of becoming more connected? With a hacking […]

Though specialized STEM programs for girls are a step in the right direction, we need to make a leap. Here are four actionable ideas. December 13, 2019 6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by Recently, Dr. France A. Córdova, director of the National Science Foundation, gave a presentation at the U.S. Council on Competitiveness meeting in Washington, D.C. She holds an extraordinary record of accomplishment and has made a tremendous impact on academia and the U.S.’s scientific community. Córdova is also the youngest person — and first woman — to serve as Chief Scientist at NASA. Her journey began with her love for STEM.  In some ways, the future of work is largely linked to STEM. Yet in this day and age, despite role models like Córdova, women continue to remain significantly underrepresented across the board in this industry. What’s more, the inevitable reality of an […]

Make your days more manageable and your goals more achievable with these tools. December 12, 2019 2 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Kate Volman discusses some of the tools she uses to stay on task.  Volman mentions that most of the productivity tools people use are centered around technology. But how can you, with so many available options, choose the right tech tool for you? To help you streamline your decision process, Volman lays out three tools she has been using for years. Evernote. All your physical and separate notebooks can be collected in one place.  Acuity scheduling. This scheduling app is a helpful streamlining tool. Send along your available times, and let your clients fill in what time works for them.  Audible. This audiobook app is ideal for finding time to read when you really don’t have it. Whether you’re […]

These tips will help you juggle many roles and responsibilities. December 11, 2019 2 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Greg Rollett discusses some productivity strategies that have helped him as a busy entrepreneur with many different responsibilities. Since is asked to wear many different hats on a daily basis, he needs to be constantly productive. He also feels pressure not to let others down.  If you are similar to Rollett in juggling many roles, these productivity tips can help. Here are the first two: Set a start and end time to your work. Rollett shares that his ability to sit down at a designated workspace for a certain time period helps him to get tasks finished and maximize his creativity.  Tailor your “transition times.” If you are like Rollett and moving swiftly from one role to another, it can be helpful to schedule breaks for switching […]

The young franchisor has focused on improving operations — and sales have increased as a result. December 11, 2019 4 min read This story appears in the December 2019 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe » Presented by Pure Barre is all about being strong — and about the hard work that building strength requires. The fitness franchise is beloved for its make-your-muscles-tremble workouts, which are offered across North America by more than 500 franchisees, most of whom are women. When Sarah Luna stepped in as company president in November 2018, she was determined to make the brand itself even stronger, no matter how much hard work it would require. She’s since focused on operational improvements, updating studios, and boosting membership sales. (They’re up 75 percent year over year.) At just 33 years old, Luna falls into the same millennial demographic as plenty of Pure Barre’s franchisees, which has allowed her to […]

Make sure to avoid these time-sucking habits. December 9, 2019 2 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Brian Tracy explains a group of habits that can kill your productivity. The seven worst are:  Failing to plan out your day. If you do not create a blueprint for your day, you will be more tempted to fill your day with distractions and meaningless activities.  No self-discipline. If you push yourself on a more regular basis, the strength of your self-discipline will also improve. Consistently sleeping in. Tracy says taking advantage of the morning “golden hours” is the easiest way to imrpove your productivity.  Wasting time online. If possible, try to keep your electronics and the temptation of the internet in another room.  Not prioritizing. As American author Mark Twain put it, start your day by eating the frog. Complaining. Think about if any […]

Productivity apps make big promises, but it’s how you use them that matters. December 9, 2019 6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by There are tools for just about everything these days: apps for meditation, for making sure you’re drinking enough water, even apps whose primary purpose is to keep you off your phone. The app store is littered with millions of tools and software that claim to make us better, at work, and at life. If you Google “Pomodoro technique,” you’ll see a minimum of twelve apps recommended for you to try. We have choices, which at face value sounds like a great thing. So many options mean there must be the perfect tool for us— we just have to find it. Related: 4 Productivity Tips That Changed My Life Pomodoro means tomato in Italian. But, it is also a unit of time. The technique was […]

There are myriad exciting innovations that can help business owners reach peak performance. December 7, 2019 7 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by The following article is based on excerpts from Ben Angel’s book, Unstoppable: A 90-Day Plan to Biohack Your Mind and Body for Success. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | IndieBound. And stay tuned for The Unstoppable Journal, the only journal of its kind based on neuroscience, psychology and biohacking to help you reach your goals. (Coming January 2020.) Chronic stress can cost us more than just productivity and performance; it can trigger digestive symptoms, headaches, anger, anxiety, insomnia, sadness and depression. When you’re under chronic stress, you are more susceptible to severe viral infections, which is why you may find yourself getting sick more often than not. The problem is when we’re stressed out, we’ve switched on our fight-or-flight […]

On the new episode of ‘Capability Amplifier,’ host Mike Koenigs digs deep into the world of personal branding. December 6, 2019 10 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs…these are some of the largest personal brands in human history in terms of name recognition and global impact. Now think about your personal brand for a moment. Where would you be if you had to start over, with only the benefit of a strong personal brand, and the ability to influence and connect with a large number of people? As an example, Elon Musk has never paid for advertising or marketing. In his most recent Tesla Cybertruck launch, he booked over 200,000 preorders that, when fulfilled, represent over $10 billion in sales! (That’s assuming an average price per truck of $50,000). Yes, Musk is a unicorn — but when you have […]

If you’re going to grow through the 2020s, you’ll need to innovate. December 5, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by Customer service isn’t static. Phones replaced house calls. Email edged out phones. To keep existing customers and attract new ones, you need cutting-edge customer service. Consumers are four times as likely to buy from a competitor after a service issue than they are after a product one, according to research by Bain & Company. Still, customer-service overhauls aren’t cheap. Invest wisely by considering these five predicted trends that will shape customer service over the next five years. 1. Social media will become default channels. Just 13 percent of consumers over the age of 55 have used social media for customer-service purposes, a Microsoft study showed; on the other hand, 55 percent of those aged 18-34 have. As millennials and Gen Zers make up a larger and larger […]

December 5, 2019 5 min read This story originally appeared on Calendar Presented by Companies continue to tout the importance of work-life balance for their talent. They acknowledge that workers need rest and relaxation. However, wanting to create this balance and actually achieving it are two very different things. That’s because the process for striking this ideal balance with available time has proved elusive. However, Microsoft Japan may have finally discovered the formula for greater productivity and a work-life balance that works for their team. Their answer is the four-day workweek. The result of everyone working four days with three days off equates to a 40 percent increase in overall productivity, according to the company’s research. The idea that everyone in the company would take three days off may not seem like the pathway to higher productivity. After all, essentially shutting down operations for three days doesn’t sound like much can be achieved. […]

Work smarter, not harder with these products. December 4, 2019 5 min read Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. Presented by When you’re trying to get your dream business off the ground, you’re juggling an enormous to-do list and a loaded schedule. When you’re running from meeting to meeting and checking things off your list, it helps to have everything you need to get the job done on hand. Getting caught in traffic without a car charger while your phone drains towards 1% shouldn’t be an additional stressor in your life. You’ve got enough going on. These products can help you stay on task no matter how busy you get. AUKEY Wireless Charger Image credit: Amazon The Qi-certified AUKEY […]

When it comes to effective digital marketing, the speed of technology, innovation and adoption presents unique challenges. December 3, 2019 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Presented by If you’re trying to introduce your law practice to a new level of online marketing, you may be feeling overwhelmed. A mere glance at the stats can scare you — the prospect of forking out up to $500 for a single click to your website isn’t appealing to everyone.  However, I have seen far too many lawyers who heavily invested in their organic performance — and successfully, for some time — only to see their entire online assets evaporate after another Google algorithm update. I recently had a conversation with Nicholas Wooldridge, a high-profile lawyer who has been generating a huge chunk of his business online. Related: Don’t Let Digital Marketing Mistakes Derail Your Business I asked him to share the secrets […]

Best Buy, Target, Amazon, and more are serving up more deals from Nespresso to Beats by Dr. Dre. December 2, 2019 3 min read Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. Presented by Is Cyber Monday the new Black Friday? This year’s deals are further proof that it might officially be taking the reins as the best shopping day of the year. And since most of us are technically on the job today, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you to find the best deals out there. Shop by your favorite retailer or Control F to find your favorite brands. Quick reminder that Christmas and Hanukkah are only three weeks away, so maybe throw some gifts in your cart while […]