Consumers continue to grow increasingly aware that when we throw something away, “away” is just someone else’s “here.” We know our floss, ketchup packets, and sandwich bags whirl in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and the ocean is soon to contain more plastic than fish. Fear. That’s what many feel about the future, and there is no greater motivator for behavior change. That’s why closed systems are the future of business. Closing the loop simply means modeling your business so that every item (packaging or otherwise) going out has a way to come back to be shared, repaired, reused, or recycled. Businesses that don’t concern themselves with the end result of packaging and waste will soon face the firing squad of public opinion. More and more people, especially those in the younger generations, are waking up to the consequences of convenience. Around the world, just in the last five years, 85 percent of people have already made lifestyle changes in the name of sustainability. In public spaces, where there used to be a single trash can, you may notice that besides the addition of recycling and compost, there now often sits a new label for the can we used to simply call trash. It now says: “Landfill.” We can no longer afford euphemisms. The implications of this global shift in thinking is a tremendous opportunity to meet consumer demand, make money, and protect humanity from the consequences of ecosystem destruction. For example, the clothing brand For Days created a plan for customers to return clothes after they’re worn out, to recycle back into yarn. Natura, a Brazilian beauty brand that has been carbon neutral since 2007, uses plastic made from sugarcane, and sells refills rather than 100% new containers. Its parent company, Natura & Co, posted net revenues of $7.2B in 2020. The opportunity to transition to closed loop models across industries is vast and ripe for innovation. I founded Prep to Your Door after I realized how much waste the usual pre-packaged meal creates. We now prepare and deliver ready-to-eat meals, across Texas, in jars that are collected and reused in a closed loop, zero waste model. Not only is this an altruistic step towards responsible environmental stewardship, but a core reason for customer loyalty that is fueling the growth of our company. We’ve seen year over year growth since inception and have saved over half a million pieces of plastic from the landfill to date, as charted below. 3 Reasons Closed Loop is the future of business: 1. With more attention on the environment, the demand for sustainability is building. From 2016 to 2020, the number of tweets about biodiversity and nature loss rose from 30 million to 50 million, a 65% increase, according to a 2021 report. This report also showed a 71% rise in the searches for sustainable goods. The study, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and commissioned by WWF, showed that 60% of organizations have started collecting data on supply-chain sustainability. This data will be essential to answering to a public that increasingly wants to know whether doing business with a company will help or hinder the battle against climate change. Globally, a third of the population is willing to pay twice as much for sustainable products. In the United States, 64% are also willing to pay more, and are looking for trustworthy brands to support. 2. Increasing regulation will add cost to those who lag. From taxes on emissions to out-right banning of single-use plastics, the political muscles that can force change are already being flexed. If you don’t have a plan for the disposal or reuse of your packaging, you may be caught in a situation where the cost to do business skyrockets due to new taxes, or where you’re scrambling to replace a system that will soon fall outside regulations. Industry leaders and visionaries who see the changes coming and plan ahead will create businesses that not only weather, but ride these storms to success. 3. The best people want to be a part of change. In a survey of about 1,000 employees, more than 70% said that they would prefer to work at a company with a strong environmental agenda. About 30% said they’ve bailed on a company because the organization lacked a sustainability plan. Providing a vision, inspiration, and pride in what they’re doing creates an environment employees want to be part of. There was no Great Resignation at Prep to Your Door, because people want to be a part of what we do. Your plan for sustainability influences your demand, costs, and turnover. Are there three factors that affect the profitability of a business more? For your business to not only survive but thrive, you need to become a part of the standards and practices that will help the world thrive. As the McKinsey report, “Profits with purpose: How organizing for sustainability can benefit the bottom line,” said, “a growing body of evidence indicates that sustainability initiatives can help to create profits and business opportunities.” This is an opportunity you can’t afford to miss. Source: https://www.forbes.com/ Images credit: Getty
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At the start of your business journey, anything goes. You’re prolifically meeting people, following up and building your network. You’re going for coffees, having your brain picked and attending multiple networking events each week. It’s unsustainable but essential. In the beginning, it’s necessary to be everywhere. Many entrepreneurs, however, reach a point where this doesn’t make sense. Where the opportunity cost of saying yes is higher than the benefit of the event itself. Here, a different strategy is required. Whilst there’s a place for serendipitous encounters and keeping an open mind, a personal policy can set the right foundation. Dr Emil Hodzovic is a former medical doctor turned high performance coach and investor who learned the hard way how exhausting and inefficient general networking could be. He now wins new high-ticket clients by referral and networking and is a member of several groups, but views his time differently now compared to the start of his entrepreneurial journey. Intentional networking is Hodzovic’s antidote to being too busy and spreading time too thinly, with six key components. Level up Alcoholics Anonymous describes lower companions as those people who persuade or entice you to go back to your old ways. Often, someone successfully progressing in their AA journey will relapse after hanging out with these people. Lower companions represent a former version of you. As an ambitious entrepreneur, your lower companions might be the family member who always wished you’d get a real job, the friend who reminds you of what a messy teenager you were, or the group that have interests you no longer hold. "When I started out I ran myself into the ground attending every single event or meetup and saying yes to every request to connect,” said Hodzovic. “Becoming more intentional was a requirement to keep moving forward and growing." If we become a combination of the five people we spend the most time with, it makes sense that those slots are filled with A-players, not those that reflect who we used to be and keep us playing small. Identify and avoid. Join groups that are the level above where you are in your business journey to maximize your opportunities for growth. Notice high and low energy When leaving someone’s company, notice how you feel. Chances are it’s either full of energy or ready for bed. For Hodzovic, awareness was key. "I noticed I came away from some interactions totally energised, and as an introvert that was a huge realisation. So I started to seek those out specifically and in turn avoid those that disproportionately drained me." High energy conversations are about ideas, fun, and personal growth. Travel, business and productive sharing. Encouraging someone, lending a hand, reassuring them and mirroring their powers. Low energy people bring low energy topics: gossip, complaining, drama, politics, hearsay and current affairs. If you can be completely yourself and feel better after saying bye, you may have found your high energy companions. If you find you have to censor yourself, they’re not your people, and intentional networking says you should leave early and never return. Just say no Time is your only finite resource. Whilst in the early stages of business you may have swapped your time for money, now you’re swapping your money for time. Assistants, team members and outsourced services are how you pay to get time back. The opportunity cost of every experience is big and the time has been cleared so you can make more money or seriously relax. “A mistake at this stage would be to fill the time you have freed with unproductive events,” explained Hodzovic. So just say no. Extract yourself politely from low energy conversations. Turn the invitations down, leave the WhatsApp groups. Don’t jump on the call, don’t book the catch up. Say no to everything except those insanely valuable opportunities or those people who are insanely valuable to you. If they’re not coming your way, go get them instead. Pay to play As an entrepreneur building a serious brand, you want to meet people doing the same. But where do they all hang out? Hodzovic thinks there’s limited value to free networking events, one that you might quickly outgrow. Often the solution is pay to play, where the guest list is vetted before you arrive. Networks with high barriers to entry. Barriers are exactly what you want when you’ve graduated to this stage. If you’re confident you can bring a lot to the table, you get to choose the table. If you’re wondering why you’re not progressing, you could have picked the wrong one. Intentionally meeting people needs a strategy, and paid networks might be the one for you. Have something to give “The secret to intentional networking”, explained Hodzovic, “is not that you’re meeting people to take. It’s quite the opposite, you’re meeting them to give.” Your buy-in to new groups is your insights, emotional intelligence, impressive audience or way with people. They are the aces up your sleeve that you dish out with abundance. With the right people, you can’t give enough. Bring the high energy, never the weirdness. Do favors, practice non-judgment. Talk about the biggest problems and see how they disappear. Be open to opportunities of all kinds because you can trust their source. Like karma and boomerangs, it all comes back to you. Keep a personal CRM “Tracking your engagements can sound sterile, but it’s necessary to maintain those relationships over time.” Hodzovic swears by a personal CRM system. You have calendar events for your appointments, so why not for your people? You might meet someone in a mastermind, hit it off amazingly, but then life gets in the way and unless either party is intentional, the energy won’t sustain. You might live in different countries, on different time zones. Out of sight can be out of mind, without regular reminders to check in. Keep a record because you care. Notion and Airtable can both be configured to act as personal CRMs and there are plenty of other apps out there. Entrepreneurs are intentional about their business growth and their SEO, but rarely about their network. Make a change by making a note. If you’ve graduated from the school of early-stage entrepreneurship, who you spend your time with might require a rethink. Control your social commitments like you control your finances or sales activity and get intentional for the biggest rewards. Whilst there will come a time for giving back, you can make more difference in the long term if you’re narrowly focused right now. Protect your time, protect your energy and spend both wisely with a new personal policy around what you attend. Source: Forbes.com Image Credit: Getty
Growing a small business team isn’t just about hiring – it’s also about retaining your current employees. This concept is more important than ever as companies are struggling to find qualified and interested candidates. Here are tips for both hiring and retaining top talent, thanks to members of the online small business community. Upgrade Your Onboarding Checklists by Ditching Excel Excel is often the default option for charts and checklists. But if you use this for hiring and onboarding, it may be time to upgrade. Use These Recruitment Tools to Improve Your HR Strategy HR is just like any other business department; there are tools to automate and improve your processes. If you haven’t already, try online or software recruiting tools. Remove Drudgery and Dread from the Workplace You can’t possibly get the best out of your team if they dread coming to work. So if you have an unpleasant office environment, improving it should be your top priority. Reward Employees to Improve Their Experience You shouldn’t only evaluate your team when there’s something to criticize. Rewarding team members for quality work is equally as important. Don’t Let Customers Chase Away Your Best Employees The “customer is always right” philosophy can make life harder on your employees. In fact, difficult customers may cause some team members to seek opportunities elsewhere. Learn How to Hire Freelancers Freelancers can be an ideal way to grow your team without taking on extra office space or covering benefits and training. Run Effective Remote Meetings Meetings are a big part of most workplaces. But allowing team members to work remotely – or at least attend meetings that way – can be seen as a major benefit. Find the Best State to Start Your Franchise Opening a successful franchise business requires many ingredients, like access to capital and an eager pool of potential employees. Many of these factors change based on the location. So where you choose to start may impact your ability to hire and afford a franchise. Combat Impostor Syndrome in Your Business Impostor syndrome can make entrepreneurs feel ill-equipped to run their companies. And it often impacts employees as well. Combating it may help businesses work more effectively from multiple angles. Inspire Others Through Positivity Positive attitudes can rub off on others. At work, inspiring others through happiness and positivity may even lead to improved morale and productivity. Source: smallbiztrends.com Image Credit: Depositphotos
Covid-19 delivered catastrophic blows to almost every facet of the business world. While the pandemic became a catalyst of innovation for some organizations, it was a wake-up call for others—especially those with missing or immature digital transformation initiatives. The pivotal role of digital transformation was underscored further during the first few months of the crisis. Businesses grappling with revenue losses and subsequent layoffs managed to keep afloat with the help of technology. Fast forward to 2022: Digital transformation is still the priority of executives looking to future-proof their businesses. And with technology trends like AI-powered automation and the wider availability of 5G, transformation initiatives are spurred by a slew of different reasons. Improve Customer Experience And Engagement We live in an age of digital immediacy. Customers want the best possible experiences offered through digital channels as fast as possible. To meet the rapid rise in customer expectations, forward-thinking businesses looked at digital transformation for solutions. According to one study, boosting customer experience and engagement remains the top goal driving digital transformation. During the onslaught of the crisis, governments all over the world imposed lockdowns, which increased the demand for online shopping and delivery services. One report reveals that online retail sales’ share in total retail sales increased from 16% to 19% in 2020. Businesses that were quick to adapt accelerated their digital adoption, leveraging e-commerce, data analytics and automation tools. These digital leaders were able to maintain, if not elevate, customer satisfaction. So, how can your businesses do the same? Keep Customers In The Loop As the future remains uncertain, no one knows when we'll return to "normal"—if we ever will. For this reason, it’s crucial for businesses to think of innovative ways to stay connected with their customers. For example, service businesses may have to implement a skeletal workforce if the government announces restrictions anew, which would require technology to send updates and alerts as a means of managing customer expectations. Analyze Customer Behavior There are several insights you can gather from analyzing customer behavior data. By utilizing technology like AI, you can learn a lot about what customers want, how they want it and their bottlenecks. While behavioral analytics takes time and money, it’s usually worth it since it enables data-driven decisions that will elevate the customer experience. Maximize Operational Efficiency Operational efficiency should remain a top digital transformation goal. After all, enterprises seeking to increase their profit need to improve efficiency first. When crafting an efficiency improvement plan, decision-makers need to ask the following:
Breaking down data integration, process delays, process automation and data analytics issues makes it easier to identify the right technologies and determine the best route to deployment. Enterprises just need to remember that the path to digital transformation greatly depends on the industry they belong to. Legacy System Modernization Out of fear of falling behind the competition, many businesses with legacy systems are learning to let go. Modernizing old systems, after all, provides several incredible benefits to business efficiency, such as:
It’s worth noting that, in the modern enterprise, speed is key. Utilizing technology, such as automation tools and cloud solutions, helps teams move faster through the digital transformation road map and toward becoming more efficient. Reinforce Cybersecurity And Data Privacy As more people rely on the internet and virtual platforms, it has become increasingly imperative for enterprises to strengthen their digital security. Compromised security can bring devastating consequences to a business's reputation and revenue. Unfortunately for some businesses, they had to learn the hard way. According to a 2021 report by Sophos, the proliferation of ransomware attacks costs mid-sized organizations an average of $170,404. Fortunately, there are ways to heighten cybersecurity and data privacy in today’s highly digital world. Proactive cybersecurity practices, like continuous security validation, can help businesses prevent cyberattacks before a breach actually occurs. While it’s vital to protect data from external threats, insider threats also remain one of the biggest security issues, meaning enterprises must remember to look into their own backyard, too. Leveraging technology to moderate information access will be pivotal in reinforcing cybersecurity and data privacy. Introduce New Products And Services The pandemic emphasized that businesses have to think creatively to stay afloat amid unprecedented circumstances. To some, it was a precursor to new offerings that will help maintain a positive cash flow. For instance, service industry businesses like gyms had to close their brick-and-mortar branches to prevent the spread of the disease. We’ve seen fitness trainers offer classes at home with the help of technology to cope and continue earning. Such use cases highlight the importance of pursuing digital transformation. Nowadays, businesses are placing additional effort into innovating solutions to become more future-ready amid uncertain times. Conclusion The pandemic tested business resiliency, and we’ve seen that the common denominator in enterprises that survived is digital transformation. Organizations across all industries need to seriously consider their next transformation steps in order to cope with unexpected challenges today and in the future. Source: https://www.forbes.com Image credit: Getty
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