Entrepreneur's Startups Summer 2021

The pandemic has been tragic. Dispiriting. Alarming. But for entrepreneurs, it has been something else as well: opportunity. Now more than ever, that opportunity is ready to explode. That’s what this edition of Startups is all about—looking at the changes entrepreneurs have made throughout this crisis, how they have set themselves up for success, and how you can, too. How is that possible? There are two ways of looking at what has happened. The first is adaptability. The pandemic has forced entrepreneurs to make changes they might have never considered, and for many people, that has resulted in innovations, new revenue sources, new ways to serve consumers, and great ideas that last long into the future. The pandemic, in other words, has broken down many entrepreneurs’ barriers—and for the better. The second is demand.…

1 Excited fans. “We used to spend thousands of dollars on social media advertising, but we developed a brand ambassador program last year. We enlisted our loyal and enthusiastic customers to help spread the word about our company in exchange for discounts and swag. This cut marketing costs while our customers felt a part of the team.”—KRYSTAL DUHANEY, CEO, Milky Mama 2 Supplier savings. “We’ve saved money by providing our suppliers with some certainty. Many suppliers have trouble forecasting demand these days, which created an opportunity for us to play the long game with them. We used our sales projections to order at a higher volume and with longer-term commitments. That helped our suppliers minimize their own volatility, and in turn, they’re lowering our costs—which boosts our margins and ensures that our products…

As we move through 2021, there’s a palpable desire to get “back to normal” as A quickly as possible. But in the business world, getting back to normal would be a big mistake. No doubt, last year was tough and tragic. Yet there have undeniably been significant and positive changes in the way we work, learn, and grow as business leaders. So now, as we inch back to whatever “normal” means, it’s important that we cling tight to these three valuable lessons learned from 2020. 1 Embrace flexible schedules. I’ve toiled at organizations that attempted to encourage at-home offices. One manager’s opinion can impact the entire team and create different policy interpretations across departments, causing frustration among staffers. But now we’re all old pros at working from home! Since employees showed they could stay…

Now is not the time to overlook the power of digital marketing. It’s been a turbulent year for business owners and consumers alike, and to reengage your fans, a personalized approach is key. Gone are the days when marketers could get away with sending a mass “We miss you!” email to inactive subscribers, hoping to lure them back with discount codes. Instead, savvy companies should explore new technologies, target their audience with intention, and rely on analytics to learn more about their audience. Follow these three tips to recapture shoppers’ affection (and dollars). 1 Invest in new technology. To expedite innovation within your own business, invest in forward-thinking technologies offered by young startups. Earmark 10 percent of your marketing spend as a “test and learn” campaign budget. Once you get the results…

You think it’s hard getting to the top? Try staying there. The accelerated churn rate of the S&P 500 indicates that at least half of today’s top U.S. companies will get replaced by new ones over the next decade. That is a mind-boggling market value of $16.8 trillion up for grabs. And the craziest part is who replaces the old market leaders: It’s often companies that, just a few years before, were considered scrappy little startups. So how does a new company rise to slay a giant? It doesn’t happen by accident. It’s as if the two are playing a game of chess—except the incumbent has been playing the game for years, and the startup is entering halfway through. The startup is at a severe disadvantage. Normal strategies won’t work. It must…

We are living in a moment of abundant opportunity. That might sound unrealistic, or at least untimely, given what the pandemic has put our world through. But the past 15 months have revealed new opportunities in the ways we learn, work, and live. Entrepreneurship is no longer just a business term. It’s a way of life. We have all been forced to reflect on what really matters to us as individuals, as leaders, and as entrepreneurs. Instead of seeing each of these three distinct areas as disconnected parts, now is the time to create one healthier whole. As you set out to reinvent and reinvigorate your life as an entrepreneur, don’t back away from opportunities simply because you can’t predict the final outcome. When you hesitate, it’s harder to gain buy-in from…