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07 Dec 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in Business Models, News Permalink

How to Make High-Priced Products Accessible to Working-Class Families

Sticky Post By On December 7, 2023


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

There are times when products are inherently expensive. Homes are a classic example. So are vehicles. In those cases, the constant human needs for shelter and transportation have created natural solutions in the form of mortgages and auto loans.

But what about companies outside of staple product niches? Here are three examples of how companies with high-priced products designed for larger consumer markets can make them accessible to working-class families.

Leasing expensive equipment to customers

Leasing is a classic business model. It involves renting an asset under a contractual agreement at a certain price for a set amount of time.

When leasing comes up, it’s usually referencing major assets such as a house or car. However, it’s completely possible to lease a wide variety of additional products.

Related: 5 Major Leasing Deal Points to Know Before Signing a Lease

One example of this is solar panels. NerdWallet reports that the average solar panel installation can cost as much as $35,000. The renewable source of energy can save money over time, but its barrier to entry is inhibitive and has made solar power inaccessible to lower-income homeowners for over a decade.

Some companies aim to combat this by leasing solar panel systems to homeowners. The end result is lower energy bills that ideally cover both the leased equipment and reduce the original cost of energy for the home.

This approach to solar panel installation saves consumers tens of thousands of dollars in up-front fees. This makes it possible for homeowners to tap into the long-term savings of solar power without breaking the bank in the process. The same model is easy to reproduce for any brand that has a solid product and enough capital or investors to front the cash for equipment.

Related: How to Invest In Real Estate Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

Offering interest-free payments

Interest is a major detracting factor that makes larger purchases unappealing. For example, if an individual purchases a car in New York and takes out a five-year $25,000 auto loan at 5% interest, they’ll end up paying over $2,600 more in interest.

Broken down over 60 months, this is nearly $45 per month in interest alone. To a working-class family, this is a legitimate cost that they must factor into their financial plans.

Savvy companies that sell big-ticket items have caught onto the toll that interest payments take on their customers. Some have opted to offer interest-free payments as an alternative.

Home Depot, for instance, regularly offers its customers coupons for 12-month and even 24-month interest-free financing. The Home Depot credit card also provides a round-the-clock six-month interest-free financing option. That means a customer can hold a balance with the company for that entire period (whether it’s six, 12 or 24 months). As long as they pay off the total before the payment period ends, they won’t pay a penny in interest.

This model assumes a certain degree of risk on the part of the company. However, when managed well, the interest-free financing model more than makes up for the risks in the amount of larger purchases it encourages from those customers with limited up-front funding.

Breaking things into smaller bundles and á la carte pricing

Sometimes, a grouped product selection can push something out of reach of working-class family budgets. When this is the case, splitting a product up into multiple components can help reduce the financial barrier to entry.

The exorbitant cost of cable television is a good example of this issue. Cable provider Spectrum has found a solution to the problem of its excessively priced full television packages by offering its Spectrum TV Choice bundle.

This allows users to choose from a variety of channels to fill up a smaller quota of total channels. They can change their selection once a month, making the arrangement sustainable and accessible.

Not all products come in individual pieces. Whenever that is the case, though, companies should consider innovative ways to repackage the individual components to make them accessible to customers without losing their collective value.

Related: How Businesses Can Empower Consumers to Make Sustainable Choices

Making high-priced products accessible to everyday consumers

The middle class in America is able to make larger purchases. But they cannot do so with the same laissez-faire attitude as those with ample wealth and disposable income.

Companies that want to market higher-priced products to middle-class consumers must be willing to find unique and innovative ways to help them make a purchase. From leasing and financing options to á la carte and “buffet style” offerings, consider how you can make your brand’s big-ticket items accessible to your target audience.



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06 Dec 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in Marketing, News Permalink

10 Creative Content Ideas Inspired by Gary Vee

Sticky Post By On December 6, 2023


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

This story originally appeared on Under30CEO.com

Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Gary Vee) is an entrepreneur and marketing expert known for his forward-thinking digital advice. Through books, speeches and online videos, he shares tips on grabbing consumer attention amid endless content noise.

He advises jumping on emerging platforms early before competition makes cutting through difficult.



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05 Dec 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in Leadership, News Permalink

3 Ways to Navigate the Journey from Entrepreneur to CEO

Sticky Post By On December 5, 2023


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Based on Noam Wasserman’s The Founder’s Dilemma, 4 out of 5 entrepreneurs step down as CEO, either because they discovered they weren’t fit for the role or because investors ousted them from the company. This adds up to the notion that entrepreneurs rarely make good CEOs.

However, a recent study showed that companies with founder-CEOs were valued 10% higher during IPO. There’s a premium associated with having the founder as the top executive when a company goes public.

Successful entrepreneur-CEOs, such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Larry Ellison of Oracle, led their companies to massive growth before stepping down as chief leaders. I started my entrepreneurial journey at a young age and eventually established Admitad in 2009, which has since grown to become one of the world’s largest partner marketing networks, consistently reaching over 500 million customers globally every month. After years of growing the company and acquiring several businesses, we decided to consolidate all entities under the wing of a new parent company, Mitgo, where I currently serve as the CEO and remain the sole owner.

Here are my three key lessons for the transition:

1. Know when to evolve as an entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs and CEOs have distinct roles. Entrepreneurs are visionaries who create and transform groundbreaking ideas into successful, viable businesses. CEOs, on the other hand, execute the vision and build the infrastructure for the business to succeed, scale and adapt.

While many entrepreneurs can successfully grow their businesses, they often struggle to move beyond the entrepreneurial level of sustainability. To reach a larger scale, a startup needs a CEO. Embracing this natural evolution is essential for achieving true success.

To me, the realization came when I noticed a decline in our business’s growth. We needed to transition to another stage of development and implement a management system.

Recognizing the need for change and having the courage to take action are vital aspects of leadership. To become a CEO, you must develop strengths in structure, organization, and delegation. It’s a cognitive, proactive and deliberate process. It requires learning new skills, adopting new systems, and trusting others to make critical decisions.

Related: Here Are the Key Traits of a Top-Tier People Leader

2. Nurture leaders within the company

Entrepreneurs often start their journey alone. Even when a small team joins, the company structure remains informal, with founders taking on multiple roles. However, as the organization grows, entrepreneurs must relinquish some control by shifting from a hands-on approach to delegating crucial tasks to trusted leaders.

Becoming that thin throat for everything is not a good thing. To create something great, something bigger, you have to form leaders within your company. Nurturing leaders goes beyond simply assigning tasks to individuals. It involves creating a culture that values and fosters leadership qualities at every level.

As a CEO, you must empower leaders to make critical decisions, take ownership and drive the company’s mission forward. Decentralization means letting go of a tightly controlled ship that relies on a top-down approach to decision-making.

Once you stop micromanaging every detail of the company, you can focus on larger strategies to scale your business and ensure its long-term success. To implement this principle, Mitgo now has business units led by specific individuals who act as CEOs of their respective units. They still report to a board but have been trained with the necessary skills to lead.

3. Build a sustainable business — don’t just create a “cash cow”

It’s normal for entrepreneurs to build a business to make lots of money. After all, who doesn’t enjoy significant revenue and profitability? So, founders typically focus on quick wins, immediate profits and short-term gains.

But every visionary entrepreneur should embrace a deeper and more enduring concept: building a sustainable business. We need to build companies that are transferable and will continue to work even when we’re out of the picture.

It starts with the legal. When the founder is gone, and they are the only founder, the company has no choice but to die. I want my company to live long after.

Building the legal foundations to make the business transferrable is just the start. As a CEO, you have to pave the road that others can follow without the risk of failure. This means putting signposts to guide them along a clearly designated path. It also means realizing that they all have families and that the decisions you make can impact them.

Related: 8 Ways to Turn a Good Leader Into an Exceptional One

The leadership qualities of a good CEO

Entrepreneurs are born leaders. From an early age, they are inherently creative and possess the skills to make things happen. During the early stages of the business, they lead by example and play a crucial role in driving the team’s success.

However, transitioning to a CEO role requires additional leadership qualities. Being a good CEO means acknowledging that you cannot do everything alone. You must delegate responsibility and empower the team to take ownership of their work. You must be receptive to feedback and listen to what others have to say.

In a constantly evolving business landscape, you must be willing to pivot when necessary and make well-informed and timely choices. You should also take accountability for the outcomes of your decisions and stand behind them.

Furthermore, you should continue to encourage a culture of innovation and proactivity. This includes promoting a forward-thinking mindset and staying on top of trends. As CEO, you must continue to seek out opportunities and address potential issues before they arise. Remember, you are shaping the future of your organization.

In the initial stage, you are the nucleus that holds the whole team together. At some point, you realize you can’t do it on your own. You take people with good soft skills, teach them the hard skills and give them time to grow. You rely on them to help lead the company while you pursue strategies to grow the business. That’s how you become a CEO.



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04 Dec 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in News, Technology Permalink

Navigating the Future of AI Regulation for Ethical Innovation

Sticky Post By On December 4, 2023


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

This story originally appeared on Readwrite.com

As the conversation around the future of AI grows, the debate concerning AI governance is heating up. Some believe that companies using or procuring AI-powered tools should be allowed to self-regulate, while others feel that stricter legislation from the government is necessary.

The pressing need for some governance in the rapidly growing AI landscape is evident.

The Rise of AI: A New Generation of Innovation

There are numerous applications of AI, but one of the most innovative and well-known organizations in the field of artificial intelligence is OpenAI. OpenAI gained notoriety after its natural language processor (NLP), ChatGPT, went viral. Since then, several OpenAI technologies have become quite successful.

Many other companies have dedicated more time, research, and money to seek a similar success story. In 2023 alone, spending on AI is expected to reach $154 billion, a 27% increase from the previous year, according to an article reported by Readwrite.com. Since the release of ChatGPT, AI has gone from being on the periphery to something that nearly everyone in the world is aware of.

Its popularity can be attributed to a variety of factors, including its potential to improve the output of a company. Surveys show that when workers improve their digital skills and work collaboratively with AI tools, they can increase productivity, boost team performance, and enhance their problem-solving capabilities.

After seeing such positive publishing, many companies in various industries — from manufacturing and finance to healthcare and logistics — are using AI. With AI seemingly becoming the new norm overnight, many are concerned about rapid implementation leading to technology dependence, privacy issues, and other ethical concerns.

The Ethics of AI: Do We Need AI Regulations?

With OpenAI’s rapid success, there has been increased discourse from lawmakers, regulators, and the general public over safety and ethical implications. Some favor further ethical growth in AI production, while others believe that individuals and companies should be free to use AI as they please to allow for more significant innovations.

If left unchecked, many experts believe the following issues will arise.

  • Bias and discrimination: Companies claim AI helps eliminate bias because robots can’t discriminate, but AI-powered systems are only as fair and unbiased as the information fed into them. AI tools will only amplify and perpetuate those biases if the data humans use when coding AI is already biased.
  • Human agency: Many are they’ll build a dependence on AI, which may affect their privacy and power of choice regarding control over their lives.
  • Data abuse: AI can help combat cybercrime in an increasingly digital world. AI has the power to analyze much larger quantities of data, which can enable these systems to recognize patterns that could indicate a potential threat. However, there is the concern that companies will also use AI to gather data that can be used to abuse and manipulate people and consumers. This leads to whether AI is making people more or less secure (forgerock dotcom).
  • The spread of misinformation: Because AI is not human, it doesn’t understand right or wrong. As such, AI can inadvertently spread false and misleading information, which is particularly dangerous in today’s era of social media.
  • Lack of transparency: Most AI systems operate like “black boxes.” This means no one is ever fully aware of how or why these tools arrive at certain decisions. This leads to a lack of transparency and concerns about accountability.
  • Job loss: One of the biggest concerns within the workforce is job displacement. While AI can enhance what workers are capable of, many are concerned that employers will simply choose to replace their employees entirely, choosing profit over ethics.
  • Mayhem: Overall, there is a general concern that if AI is not regulated, it will lead to mass mayhem, such as weaponized information, cybercrime, and autonomous weapons.

To combat these concerns, experts are pushing for more ethical solutions, such as making humanity’s interests a top priority over the interests of AI and its benefits. The key, many believe, is to prioritize humans when implementing AI technologies continually. AI should never seek to replace, manipulate, or control humans but rather to work collaboratively with them to enhance what is possible. And one of the best ways to do this is to find a balance between AI innovation and AI governance.

AI Governance: Self-Regulation vs. Government Legislation

When it comes to developing policies about AI, the question is: Who exactly should regulate or control the ethical risks of AI?

Should it be the companies themselves and their stakeholders? Or should the government step in to create sweeping policies requiring everyone to abide by the same rules and regulations?

In addition to determining who should regulate, there are questions of what exactly should be regulated and how. These are the three main challenges of AI governance.

Who Should Regulate?

Some believe that the government doesn’t understand how to get AI oversight right. Based on the government’s previous attempts to regulate digital platforms, the rules they create are insufficiently agile to deal with the velocity of technological development, such as AI.

So, instead, some believe that we should allow companies using AI to act as pseudo-governments, making their own rules to govern AI. However, this self-regulatory approach has led to many well-known harms, such as data privacy issues, user manipulation, and spreading of hate, lies, and misinformation.

Despite ongoing debate, organizations and government leaders are already taking steps to regulate the use of AI. The E.U. Parliament, for example, has already taken an important step toward establishing comprehensive AI regulations. And in the U.S. Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading in outlining a broad plan for regulating AI. The White House Office of Science and Technology has also started creating the blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.

As for self-regulation, four leading AI companies are already banning together to create a self-governing regulatory agency. Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic all recently announced the launch of the Frontier Model Forum to ensure companies are engaged in the safe and responsible use and development of AI systems.

What Should Be Regulated and How?

There is also the challenge of determining precisely what should be regulated — things like safety and transparency being some of the primary concerns. In response to this concern, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has established a baseline for safe AI practices in their Framework for AI Risk Management.

The federal government believes that the use of licenses can help how AI can be regulated. Licensing can work as a tool for regulatory oversight but can have its drawbacks, such as working as more of a “one size fits all” solution when AI and the effects of digital technology are not uniform.

The EU’s response to this is a more agile, risk-based AI regulatory framework that allows for a multi-layered approach that better addresses the varied use cases for AI. Based on an assessment of the level of risk, different expectations will be enforced.

Wrapping Up

Unfortunately, there isn’t really a solid answer yet for who should regulate and how. Numerous options and methods are still being explored. That said, the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has endorsed the idea of a federal agency dedicated explicitly to AI oversight. Microsoft and Meta have also previously endorsed the concept of a national AI regulator.

Related: The 38-Year-Old Leader of the AI Revolution Can’t Believe It Either – Meet Open AI CEO Sam Altman

However, until a solid decision is reached, it is considered best practice for companies using AI to do so as responsibly as possible. All organizations are legally required to operate under a Duty of Care. If any company is found to violate this, legal ramifications could ensue.

It is clear that regulatory practices are a must — there is no exception. So, for now, it is up to companies to determine the best way to walk that tightrope between protecting the public’s interest and promoting investment and innovation.



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03 Dec 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in News, Office Supplies Permalink

Don’t Miss This Sam’s Club Membership Deal for Just $20

Sticky Post By On December 3, 2023


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.

Entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to save money. When juggling personal and business expenses as you build your company, it’s even more important to find ways to cut back and save money. One of the best ways to do that is by shopping at a wholesale club like Sam’s Club. And when you can sign up for your first year for just $20, that’s a deal you can’t miss out on.

One of our most popular Cyber Week deals, we’ve extended its availability to December 3, but after that you won’t be able to get it anymore. This is your last chance to lock in a year’s membership to Sam’s Club for 60% off the $50 retail price — that means you pay just $20.

Sam’s Club members can find savings on all kinds of personal and business items. From groceries and furniture to office supplies and even travel, Sam’s Club members typically find value unmatched by traditional retail. You’ll be able to load up on essentials in bulk at a more significant discount, so you have to make fewer visits and are better able to budget through leaner times. If you need to travel for business, you can even find discounts on hotels, rental cars, and more.

Through December 3 at 11:59 P.m. PT, you can get a one-year membership to Sam’s Club with auto-renew for just $20 (reg. $50) — but act fast because this is your last chance to lock in this popular Cyber Week deal.

Prices subject to change.



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02 Dec 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in News, Streaming TV Permalink

Discover Your New Favorite Show or Movie with This App, Now $39.99 for Life

Sticky Post By On December 2, 2023


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.

Entrepreneurs notoriously work more hours a week than the average worker. That’s all the more reason to ensure you fit in some good downtime. If you’re a fan of watching Netflix and chilling to wind down, there’s now an app for that to ensure you don’t waste a minute scrolling for new content.

With TeeVee Premium, film and television fans can save time looking for their favorite movies and shows while also being introduced to other content they’ll enjoy. And right now, a lifetime subscription to this entertainment tracker is on sale for just $39.99 (reg. $89), the best price available on the web.

Millions of people are already taking advantage of TeeVee Premium, which boasts an impressive 4.8 rating on the App Store. This entertainment tracker serves as your very own personalized guide to film and TV as you input what shows and movies you love and get introduced to brand-new content you’ll treasure in the future.

Among the app’s key features? TV show tracking, which means you’ll receive alerts on upcoming episodes and seasons and have a way to organize your favorite watched content easily and conveniently. And once you’ve logged your faves, you’ll be able to discover even more. All of this is rolled out on TeeVee’s design-centric approach, so you get to enjoy superior aesthetics as you take advantage of all the info within the app.

Keep track of your entertainment passions easier with a lifetime subscription to TeeVee Premium, just $39.99 (reg. $89), the best price online, right here for a limited time.

Prices subject to change.



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01 Dec 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in Books, News Permalink

5 Tips for Helping Your Book Stand Out In an Overcrowded Niche

Sticky Post By On December 1, 2023


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Think you have a good book idea in you? You’re not alone. In fact, it’s estimated that in 2022, between traditional publishing and self-publishing, over four million new books were released. That’s a lot more books than even the most avid reader could ever find time for.

It also means that if you want to publish your own book to strengthen your platform and your business, you can’t just release it on Amazon and hope for the best. You need to take actionable steps to help it stand out.

1. Give your writing the attention it deserves

No matter what you want to write about or how you hope to market your book, you have to put a lot of time and focus on the actual writing itself. This means ensuring that your book is well organized and that chapter ideas flow smoothly. It also means that you take the time to proofread your writing for grammar and spelling mistakes.

This may seem self-explanatory, but ensuring quality writing allows your ideas to shine through. Bad writing will stick out to readers, but not in the way you want. Consider working with a professional editor or using beta readers (or test readers) to get feedback on what is or isn’t working before you publish.

Related: Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write a Book

2. Consider working with a co-author

Depending on the connections you have in your industry, working with a co-author can become a powerful strategy for getting your book to stand out. The right co-author can strengthen your own insights with their personal expertise, making it easier to develop high-quality content for your book.

However, a co-author can be even more powerful after publication. The right co-author can lend your book instant credibility with their audience. It also provides someone else who can assist with marketing efforts. Especially in business writing, a co-author can help you achieve far greater reach and more potential sales than you would on your own.

3. Make sure you have an eye-catching cover

The cliche “a picture is worth a thousand words” is surprisingly accurate when it comes to books — much more so than “don’t judge a book by its cover.” In fact, a survey found that 52% of readers choose which book to buy based on its cover art.

While business books often opt for relatively simple designs, it’s worth paying a little extra to have this done by a professional who understands the nuances of typography, colors and imagery. An attractive, professional cover will help your book make a positive first impression and entice people to click to learn more.

A word of warning: Beware trying to go the cheap and easy route of AI cover generation. The use of AI is quite controversial in publishing and could get your book the wrong type of attention.

4. Work with a book marketing agency

Book marketing can be surprisingly challenging. Email lists, e-reader advertisements and getting advance reviews for your book before it launches can all play a critical role in achieving sales success — but getting relevant placements and reviews can be challenging for a first-time author.

Book marketing agencies can be incredibly useful in this regard. With resources like curated email lists that can be filtered for different book categories and connections with advanced readers, they can help build strong word of mouth for your launch.

Related: Here’s How Writing a Book Can Give Your Brand a Much-Needed Boost

5. Price effectively

Book pricing can vary significantly based on its length, whether the book is being published as a hardcover, paperback or ebook and other factors. Many self-publishing business non-fiction writers see the bulk of their sales come through ebooks, which they can use to their advantage with more flexible pricing arrangements.

For example, a common strategy is to price the ebook at a significantly discounted price (even as little as 99 cents) during its launch week to increase sales. This helps propel the book up the bestseller list right away, which in turn can generate more reader reviews, word of mouth and exposure through bestseller lists. Look at other successful books in your niche to determine the average pricing, as this will give you a good idea of market expectations.

Write your way to success

Getting a finished book out into the world is a big accomplishment. Sharing your unique knowledge and insights can be a powerful way to build your personal brand and even attract new clients to your business. But if you want those kinds of results, you need to make sure your book will stand out in its niche.

With strong writing and solid marketing to back it up, you can ensure a successful launch for your book that helps it achieve the kind of results you hope for.



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30 Nov 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in Email, News Permalink

Google Is About to Delete Inactive Accounts. Here’s How to Avoid A Massive Gmail Bounce Rate.

Sticky Post By On November 30, 2023


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

“If a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least two years, we may delete the account and its contents,” Google announced in a blog post, and that time is coming soon. In December, the tech giant will begin removing inactive accounts along with their content across Google Workspace, which includes Gmail. The policy applies only to personal Google accounts — but for businesses like yours, that may result in a spike in bounces.

Why Google will start purging abandoned accounts

Google’s decision to weed out inactive accounts is another step the company is taking to prevent security threats like spam, phishing and account hijacking.

“If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised,” Google’s VP of Product Management Ruth Kricheli explains. Abandoned accounts have weaknesses bad actors could exploit. Old passwords and a lack of two-factor authentication make them vulnerable and “a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam,” adds Kricheli.

How to prepare and avoid a massive Gmail bounce rate

For businesses like yours that use email to connect with customers and prospects, Google’s move is a high bounce rate alert. With Gmail being the largest email provider in the world, your email list likely contains many personal Gmail accounts, especially if your business caters to consumers.

Email providers consider a bounce rate under 2% acceptable. But once you’ve crossed that threshold, your emails can start landing in the spam folder. Bounces tarnish your sender reputation, which is a 0 to 100 score Internet service providers (ISPs) use to determine whether you’re a legitimate sender or a spammer. The closer to 100 your score is, the more ISPs trust you as a sender – and deliver your messages to the inbox. Lower scores mean your emails could be spam.

So, how can you prepare beforehand and avoid emailing addresses that may bounce? Being proactive is much easier than fixing the damage.

Related: 5 Simple Tweaks for Better Email Deliverability

Remove inactive subscribers

Many businesses hold on to subscribers longer than they should. Having a sizable email list can give you a wider reach. However, in email marketing, engagement trumps such vanity metrics. Also, if someone hasn’t opened your emails in more than six months, what are the chances they’ll ever start engaging again?

So, segment unengaged subscribers and try to win them back with an enticing offer. Make sure you put it right in the subject line and preview text so they can’t miss it. Then, remove non-openers and keep only prospects who click. Before Google starts deleting them, it’s best to prune these accounts yourself to avoid any bounces.

Validate your entire email list

Observing how your inactive subscribers react to a targeted campaign gives you useful audience insights. But inactive subscribers aren’t the only risky types of contacts you could have on your list. Abuse emails, for instance, belong to individuals who tend to report many emails as spam. To avoid potential spam complaints, some email marketers prefer to weed them out using an email verifier.

There’s also the issue of temporary email addresses, which many people use to avoid giving out their real address. Temporary emails self-destruct and cause your emails to bounce, so deleting them from your database is good prevention.

On average, almost a quarter of your database goes bad yearly, according to ZeroBounce’s Email List Decay Report. The upcoming Gmail purge will only add to this natural data decay, so validate your list again to ensure it’s safe to use.

How Google will delete inactive accounts

While Google’s policy took effect in May 2023, it won’t affect inactive Gmail users until December. The tech company will delete abandoned accounts in several phases, starting with those people created and never used again. Could you have any such email addresses in your database? Check your email marketing reports. If any subscribers signed up for your emails but never opened your messages, remove them immediately.

Related: How to give your email marketing a boost ahead of the holidays

Abandoned accounts are hurting your email marketing

As a business owner trying to reach your customers’ inboxes, you must always be aware of your sender reputation. Bounces and spam complaints affect it dramatically, but so does poor engagement.

When people don’t react to the emails you send, ISPs interpret that as an indication that your content isn’t helpful. As a result, your emails are more likely to go to the junk folder. That’s why email marketing best practices involve regularly pruning unresponsive subscribers. Their mere presence on your email list hurts your email deliverability. And when they’ll start bouncing, the damage will be even more severe.

So, reevaluate the health of your email list so that your newsletters and campaigns can make it to the inbox. The Gmail purge is the best reason to look into the quality of your contacts today.



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29 Nov 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in Growth Strategies, News Permalink

Survive the Startup Graveyard — This CEO Reveals What It Takes

Sticky Post By On November 29, 2023


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

From startup to market maturity, there’s much to learn about scaling a business and your career. The harsh reality is that over 90% of startups don’t make it, and nearly 20% fail within the first year. So, if you happen to be among the minority of those who survived the gauntlet of challenges in the early years, first of all, congratulations. Second, you might be at a point where you need to scale in order to grow.

As CEO of a leading SaaS company, I get a lot of questions about what it takes to grow a company while also learning to scale as a leader. I joined Pushpay in 2016 when the company was experiencing triple-digit growth year-over-year, with about 3,500 customers and less than 200 employees. Fast forward to today — the company is wildly profitable, has more than 15,000 customers, and has 500 proud employees around the globe. On paper, I certainly did advance from a senior manager to CEO in a matter of just six years. Yet the reality is that I had been preparing for a C-suite role for years. From owning my own consulting practice to leading a growing nonprofit organization, I have been investing in professional learning and leadership at every stop, paving the way to my role as CEO.

Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about what it takes to reach the top — and spoiler alert, they’re all things you can do, too.

Related: 10 Growth Strategies Every Business Owner Should Know

1. Invest in mentorship and coaching

A mentor recognizes your potential and encourages you to reach that potential. Reaching the top is difficult, but it’s even more difficult on your own. Find a mentor who will champion your interests and can act as a good sounding board as you continue to evolve in your career. A good mentor supports and guides you through the ups, downs and everything in between and gives you the nudge you need to accomplish things you didn’t think were possible. Establishing a relationship with a coach is also immensely valuable. A coach can help you develop skills in specialized areas, offer valuable feedback and challenge you to consider different perspectives. There have been times in my career when I was meeting with a mentor or coach weekly — or even daily — depending on the challenge at hand. From a corporate perspective, seek coaches and mentors who understand the challenges of your industry.

I have received a lot of valuable advice and guidance over the years from these individuals who have influenced my leadership approach. Some tactical examples include:

Creating a safe place to battle out hardpoints

In preparation for challenging meetings or discussions, it’s important to practice and refine your talking points in advance. Create a group of trusted people to help you debate topics and use them to help you refine your talking points in advance of a presentation or discussion (think quarterly earnings announcements, investor calls or a business pitch). The entire intent of this group, and these sessions, is to challenge the status quo and to call out the hard points so you have practice in how to respond well.

Never present a new idea in the boardroom for the first time

Thoughts and pitches should be circulated and socialized in advance. This allows for an initial temp check and early buy-in so that at the Board meeting, the answer is a quick ‘yes.’ On the contrary, socialization also allows you to understand if there’s a debate to be had and allows people to be prepared to have that debate.

Involve mentors and advisors in the talent acquisition process

For most of our VP and above hires, and certainly all of our C-suite hires, I now invite mentors into the candidate review process. They are a critical part of helping build the scorecard and ensure accountability, which has been extremely helpful for me throughout my career. Involving a mentor or advisor also helps ensure you are hiring without bias.

I attribute much of my success to the many mentors and coaches who have invested in me over the years. As you advance in your career, consider paying this forward by mentoring other aspiring leaders.

Related: What Meaningful Mentorship For Women Employees Should Look Like

2. Fail fast

Taking risks can be terrifying, but to elevate your career, it is necessary to learn how to take calculated risks and embrace failure. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Taking risks challenges you and helps you strive for growth — and if you’re not pushing the envelope, you’re not innovating and evolving. Outweighing the risk versus reward is where the balance comes in. Does the potential failure have a significant negative impact on the business, or would it just be uncomfortable? If (and when) you do fail, the important thing is to be able to pick yourself back up, learn from the failure, move forward fast and improve for next time. When you truly embrace this approach as a leader and support it as a part of your culture, you’ll be amazed by the creativity and innovation that follow from your team.

In fact, at Pushpay, we embrace, what we call a Blameless Culture approach, which actually originated from the healthcare industry. Moving from blame to promoting a culture of accountability creates trust and psychological safety within your organization and supports growth. At Pushpay, this approach has not only shaped our product and engineer development culture but has benefited our entire company as we work together to achieve our mission. One of the earliest examples I can remember of our team modeling a “Blameless Culture” approach was when a senior leader within our engineering team at the time (in our early startup days) accidentally deleted and lost a mountain of code. It was erased and lost forever, which in turn had some downstream impacts. While it felt like a devastating loss at the time, the team immediately shifted to a solution-focused mindset rather than lingering on the action of the individual. The blameless concept, at its core, is really about learning from failures, implementing those learnings to mitigate for the future, and coming together as a team to celebrate the failures as much as the wins.

Related: Take the Risk or Lose the Chance

3. Invest in tools that can help you scale

Operating with a constrained budget is not fun in the early years and often dictates what investments you can make — especially when it comes to corporate tooling. However, one of the best investments you can make is in software and technology that will have a long-term impact on your business and customers. For example, Salesforce was an early investment for us at Pushpay and one that’s paid dividends as we’ve continued to grow and scale. At the time, it felt like the investment was more than we could justify as a company in its infancy. However, our leadership team understood how important it was to set a solid foundation to ensure we had the right tools in place to support customer relations, sales, marketing and more. From a customer and data management perspective, investing in the right tools helped set us up for success against our competitors in the years to come.

4. Have a continuous improvement mindset

No one ever has all the answers – not even the CEO. The path to successful leadership is filled with curiosity and continuous learning. There is a big difference between managing a team of five and leading a team of 500. Ask questions, don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something, and relentlessly pursue knowledge and truth.

As leaders, it’s also imperative that we maintain an edge for innovation and personal learning, as we’re responsible for inspiring creativity and innovation among our teams. I think it is critical that leaders are intentional about continuing to learn, improve and advance their skills. This is especially true for middle and upper managers, who often need to activate new skills and capabilities to scale departments. Having a continuous improvement mindset leads to small incremental changes that lead to significant improvement over time. What’s one thing you can learn or do today that will help you be a better leader?

Be proactive in learning about the industry you are in and expanding both your hard and soft skills. Hard skills that are needed and necessary in advancing in most careers are things like data analysis, decision-making frameworks and performance management methodology. Soft skills include executive communication, cross-functional collaboration, networking and building effective business relationships.

You can broaden your technology skills by achieving certifications and participating in training, conferences and other continuing education programs. Don’t wait for someone to raise their hand to inform you of industry innovations — take the initiative on your own.

Related: How to Expand Your Business to Over 30 Markets in 5 Years — 7 Tips for Successful Growth

5. Do the work

It sounds cliche and almost crass, but there is no substitute for doing the work. In a world where AI is at our fingertips, and outsourcing is normalized — there is no replacement for digging in and problem-solving in an authentic way. Leadership is hard, getting a promotion is hard, and, as I mentioned above — growing and evolving in your career can be challenging. Simply put, successful leaders aren’t successful because of luck. They are successful because they have put in the time and energy and have prioritized hard work and professional growth. I’m not saying the hustle culture is the way to go here. In fact, as a society, I think we have shifted our mindset to better support a more harmonious balance of careers and home life. However, I firmly believe that success comes to those who put in the work, and oftentimes, that means outside of the standard “work day.”

What are you doing outside the standard nine-to-five to help you grow as a leader? Are you spending some of your nights and weekends on passion projects that are helping propel you forward in your career? Are you initiating time with leaders or influencers in your industry? Much of my growth as a leader has come from a commitment to myself to maximize those moments and be intentional about what and who I am investing time with beyond the standard workday.

The last piece of advice I would give to anyone climbing the ladder of success is to love what you do. A large part of success comes from finding clear purpose and meaning in your work. When your mind and heart are connected to what you do, this fuels you to come to work each day to do great things.



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28 Nov 2023
Sticky Post By Posted in News, News and Trends Permalink

Google Purging Inactive Accounts This Week—How to Save Yours

Sticky Post By On November 28, 2023


If it’s been a while since you checked your primary, secondary, or burner Google account, you might want to log in—before it’s removed forever.

Google will begin removing inactive accounts this week on Thursday, December 1, along with all of the account’s data and contents, which includes everything such as emails, documents, photos—even calendar events.

Here’s what to know about the upcoming account purge.

Why is Google deleting inactive accounts?

According to a company blog post published in May, Google’s VP of Product Management Ruth Kricheli said that the action would be taken in an attempt to protect Google users from security threats including phishing scams and account hijacking.

“If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised,” Kricheli wrote. “Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step verification set up. Meaning, these accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam.”

What accounts are eligible for deletion?

Google will begin wiping out accounts that have been inactive for two or more years.

Business accounts and accounts affiliated with educational institutions and companies will not be affected, regardless of their last time of login or usage.

“This update aligns our policy with industry standards around retention and account deletion and also limits the amount of time Google retains your unused personal information,” Google said.

When will Google start deleting inactive accounts?

Google will be taking a “phased” approach to deleting inactive accounts starting December 1.

The company noted that accounts that are on the chopping block have been receiving notices and warnings over the past few months of the upcoming purge.

How do I prevent my account from being deleted?

Use it or lose it—and as soon as possible.

This can be done by simply logging in and sending an email, using Google Drive, or even watching a YouTube video or conducting a Google search while logged into your account.

In order to have no risk of deletion, it’s important to log in or perform one of these actions at least once every two years.



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