Intelligent people tend to be messier, go to bed late, and curse a lot

Intelligent people tend to be messier, go to bed late, and curse a lot

by | Feb 23, 2024

Business Insights

Intelligent people tend to be messier, go to bed late, and curse a lot

February 23, 2024

Intelligent people tend to be messier

What makes a genius, a genius? Everyone has an ideal image of what a genius would look like and what are the characteristics of successful people. That picture usually shows a focused person, a person whose creativity is beyond the average, has a photographic memory, is an eloquent communicator, never swears, is a neat person, and much more.

However, it’s safe to say that these are stereotypes more or less since most geniuses are actually messy. Surprisingly (or not), research shows that smart people stay up late and speak fluent Curse language.

Messy people are smarter

When you were a child your parents constantly nagged you to clean your room. Sometimes, when they threatened to ground you, you did clean it. However, almost all of the time you left it messy.

Well, scientists discovered that this was a sign that you probably have a higher IQ than the average Joe. We are not kidding. This claim is backed by the findings of scientists from the University of Minnesota. It turns out, to your mother’s disappointment, that a messy desk is a sign of a brilliant mind.

So if you don’t have a spruced-up desk or office, the next time your colleagues or employees ask you how you find your way around, just tell them that messy people are smarter. 

Even if things seem scattered everywhere, you know where everything is located and find it in a jiffy. It’s just that messiness and intelligence go hand in hand. It looks like you subconsciously leave things unorganized, because, in a way, it sparks your creativity. Consequently, we all know how creativity is a common trait of genius people.

The study conducted by the University of Minnesota goes on to state that genius leaves their desk messy because they invest the time needed to clean and organize the more important stuff. For example, instead of spending an hour cleaning up the mess, they spend it on market research that will later prove crucial for their business.

People with higher IQ go to bed late

You may have heard that successful entrepreneurs and people, in general, go to bed early and wake up at 5 am, but that’s just fairytales for grownups. And there’s a study to debunk that.

As the sky goes dark, and all your obligations are done for the day, you lay on your bed, your body starts to ease up and your mind follows. Actually, that’s the moment when the most groundbreaking ideas come to you and also, that’s why sleep is one of the many things successful people sacrifice to achieve greatness. This is because during working hours your mind is too busy processing miscellaneous information. The last revenue report; an employee’s resignation letter; next quarter predictions – all of this weighs heavy on your brain…

If you’re a night owl, you’re in good company – Barack Obama, Elvis Presley, Winston Churchill, and Charles Darwin were all-night thinkers. And look where they got.

The more you curse, the smarter you are

Society and bon ton disapprove of cursing and using profanities. People who curse a lot are often thought to be on the lower scale of IQ. However, that is not the case. Smart people are not only messy but they also curse a lot. 

There are two points regarding the usage of curse words with intelligence. The first one states that if you don’t know any curse words you are limiting your vocabulary. The second point is that when intelligent people use curse words, they let out negative energy and this helps them to get their focus back.

A supplier didn’t deliver on time? Don’t pretend you got your cool. Go one, spit out every juicy curse word you know. Vent out. Then go to an online marketplace and find a new supplier for God’s sake.

Conclusion

Smart people tend to be messy because they’re more impulsive. They love to improvise, but at the same time, they are very creative in their solutions. Another fact is that they just care less about some stuff, like keeping bed and bath in order, and they curse a lot because they have better vocabulary and they like to enrich their speech with colorful words.​

That being said, the next time someone calls you uneducated, stupid, messy, or whatever – just show them this article and smile.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should give up on improving yourself from now on. By thinking positively and working towards being smarter, you will eventually be able to achieve your goals and change the way you see the world around you. Nobody likes a messy person, so make sure to clean up after yourself once in a while. And if you feel like cursing, do so, but remember that keeping a cool demeanor might be the best for you in some situations.

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30 environmental startups with innovative solutions (2024)

30 environmental startups with innovative solutions (2024)

by | Dec 21, 2023

Business Insights

30 environmental startups with innovative solutions (2024)

December 21, 2023

Amazing environmental startups that are on a mission to save the planet

Environmental startups are also known as green startups and are stealing the spotlight in the business world more and more in the past few years. With climate change becoming an enormous threat in today’s world, the need for businesses that make environmentally-friendly products and services significantly increased.

What are environmental startups?

Environmental startups are the ones who aim to create a sustainable and financially viable future, by producing or offering environmental-friendly products or services. These startups for example use materials that are environmentally friendly so they can help to reduce global warming.

30 best environmental startups worldwide

Even though there are plenty of businesses that are becoming green businesses because it’s good for their branding, we’ve found 30 environmental startups who are putting the planet before their profits for real.

Emitwise

We are starting the list with Emitwise and their AI technology for measuring, reporting, and reducing the carbon footprint of your operations and supply chain. For that purpose, carbon accounting and technology experts designed this platform to help you future-proof your business for a net-zero carbon world. 

By using Emitwise you can fully automate your carbon accounting across all business units and supplies. The platform is easy to use, breaks down your data, and generates powerful visualizations. That way it enables sustainability teams to identify opportunities for improvement and effectively engage stakeholders.

Aurora Solar

Founded in 2013, Aurora Solar by this day has designed over 6 million solar projects. Hence, the favorable impact their platform has on the environment it’s obvious. 

With Aurora Solar, you can confidently design and quote systems from your desk, generate bankable Shade Reports, streamline your entire solar project lifecycle to move faster and accelerate revenue, and even more.

Moreover, their Lead Capture AI turns visitors into qualified solar leads and shows your customers what solar could look like on their homes and how much they could save. And if your goal is to increase sales, then using their Sales Mode will help your team sell faster, one call close, and powerful 3D Design On-the-Go.

Mosaic

Mosaic is another outstanding environmental startup that connects customers’ desire to benefit from solar, with the financing and services that are most suitable for their needs. They work directly with the leading solar and home improvement companies, therefore they make financing fast and affordable for homeowners.

With their innovations in technology and financial products, Mosaic provides easy access to affordable and sustainable home improvements. Therefore, having a sustainable lifestyle has never been more simplified. 

By today, they’ve helped 180k homeowners switch to sustainable solutions, which once again proves that their dedication to using the power of business to significantly impact climate change makes the world a better place.

Laska

With their innovative process, Laska evaluates waste in the most effective way possible, or as they say, their mission is to “convert the life”. They are one of the best environmental startups in 2022 because they have developed a product that is uniting both, the financial gains and measurable environmental impact.

With their upcycling expertise, Laska upcycles end-of-life tires with innovative, sustainable, and eco-friendly approaches, and brings them into the economy as energy and raw materials. Their mission is to eliminate negative impacts on the environment and society, significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while also creating a product that satisfies the need.

Skeleton Technologies

Skeleton Technologies is founded in 2009, today represents the biggest technological advancement in the industry in the last 20 years. Their driving force is the idea of changing the energy storage industry, and by developing and producing the best ultracapacitor cells, modules, and systems, they’ve proven they are able to help companies save energy.

And as more and more people are finally becoming aware of climate change, in 2019 they have 3X revenue growth and more than 100 million euros in order intake. And that has two beneficial sides. On one hand, businesses are willing to invest in such eco-friendly products, and on the other hand, the experts of Skeleton Technologies have the resources and motivation to further develop environmental innovations and fight climate change.

Cirrus Shower Ltd

Studies have shown that a water crisis is threatening the world and that in fact, we might run out of usable water, but it’s good to say that we have strong business warriors in this field as well. Cirrus Shower is one of those environmental startups that are developing water-saving solutions we can use in our everyday life.  

Their innovative nozzles use water-atomizing technology to increase water efficiency and reduce water consumption by 75%. Moreover, the Cirrus Shower solution also requires less energy to heat the water, which means the environment benefits not only by saving water but by saving energy as well.

And while saving the planet, pleasure is not excluded as well. There are French aromatherapy pods that infuse your shower with natural essential oil goodness. Hence you will be wrapped around with a cloud of therapeutic aromatherapy bliss.

Algenesis Materials

Did you know that 532 billion pounds of plastic are landfilled or incinerated each year? Algenesis Materials, being aware of that, started producing fully biodegradable plastic made from algae and helps the planet recover from the pollution caused by products that are made from fossil fuels. 

This material science and technology company united the knowledge of amazing scientists on a mission to help the planet recover from the pollution caused by products made from fossil fuels. They redesigned plastic materials and their patented technology became the world’s first high-performance, renewable, and fully biodegradable plastic material made from plants.

FUERGY

FUERGY is a team of specialists with decades of experience in the energy sector. After realizing the advantages and potential an energy efficiency solution could deliver, they founded FUERGY so they can create a whole new energy ecosystem.

Their goal is to switch from conventional electricity consumers to innovative green power consumers. Hence, with their in-house developed software and hardware, you can turn your regular power grid into a Smart grid. As a part of their innovations, they’ve developed two products: brAIn – a smart energy storage solution, and mAInchart – a dispatch system for energy retailers.

Homeboy Electronics Recycling

Homeboy Electronics Recycling is another one of the most innovative environmental startups, offering a nationwide recycling program. Their list of recyclables electronic devices includes everything with a cord, cable, or battery. Their social mission besides providing customers with the highest quality electronics reuse and recycling solutions also includes employing people who face systemic barriers to work.

Moreover, with the world becoming more tech-hungry than ever before, and only 20% of the electronic waste produced globally being recycled, the impact this startup has on our environment is huge. By fulfilling any e-waste, IT asset disposition, or data destruction needs you may have, they save the world, one device at a time.

Krill Design

Krill Design, through a process of circular economy, enhances the waste of the food chain and transforms the resources of nature into eco-design products. Have you heard of a lamp made out of orange peels? Even though it might sound unbelievable at first, it’s actually possible with Krill Design innovations, and moreover, it looks amazing. 

By transforming your company’s organic waste into new biomaterials, Krill Design can create products in line with your business desires and needs.

AMP Robotics

AMP Robotics is a recycling robot company dedicated to reimagining and actively modernizing the world’s recycling infrastructure. They strongly believe that technology unlocks the limitations in the waste industry and they leverage the advantages of artificial intelligence and robotics to pursue their mission. 

The mission of this environmental startup is to enable a world without waste. One of their driving forces is their optimism that environmental harm is not a lost battle, and there is still a chance to do something about it. Hence, they are developing new tools, methods, and approaches to solve problems quickly and be a force of change.

Absolar Solutions

Founded in 2020, Absolar Solutions has a mission to decarbonize every property within the UK and beyond. Their unique data and advanced modeling deliver powerful insights across solar radiation, property attributes, and potential energy efficiency measures. ​

This award-winning environmental startup has a team of experienced energy, sustainability, and real estate professionals. With their help, customers can understand their solar energy potential, prospective return on investment and facilitate installations.

Scindo

Scindo is shaping the future of recycling by recycling the unrecyclable. They are harnessing the power of enzymes and are creating a novel biological platform to turn low-value plastic landfill waste into high-value molecules. 

Even though there are a lot of experts working on developing recycling solutions, there are still plastics that can’t be recycled with current methodologies. This is where Scindo comes in to help. This environmental startup creates a more circular economy for plastics by developing an alternative to landfills and incineration.

Carbominer

Carbominer is a Ukrainian hardware environmental startup working on innovative technology that’s able to capture CO₂ from the ambient air locally, thus eliminating at least 35% CO₂ supply costs. Therefore, they’ve set two global goals. One is CO₂ removal, and the other is food production. 

Carbon dioxide causes the atmosphere to heat up faster and that’s the greenhouse effect that causes global warming. Hence, Carbominer uses its qualified workforce to slow down the rising CO₂ level and fix climate change.

Molekule

Molekule’s flagship product is an air purifier with acclaimed, award-winning technology. PECO technology that is developed by Molekule over 25 years by research scientists is an innovative technology that uses free radicals (the same radicals used to destroy cancer cells) to break down pollutants at a molecular level, including viruses, mold, bacteria, allergens, and chemicals. 

Furthermore, compared to standard filters, the air purifier developed by Molekule can destroy pollutants 1000 times smaller and can destroy over 99% of SARS-CoV-2 in 1 hour. This demonstrates how PECO adds a layer of protection against airborne viruses.

Heliogen

Heliogen is focused on developing solar energy solutions that are powerful enough to eliminate the need for fossil fuel energy. Their professional team is working towards unlocking the power of sunlight to replace fossil fuels.

Heliogen’s unique breakthrough technology precisely aligned an array of mirrors to reflect sunlight to a target on the top of a Sunlight Refinery tower, delivering high-temperature, carbon-free thermal energy. This technology is sustainable, scientifically proven, and cost-effective and makes Heliogen one of the most promising environmental startups in 2022.

Redaptive

Redaptive markets its services as EaaS (Efficiency-as-a-Service), helping shepherd its clients through the processes of planning and installing clean energy solutions. Furthermore, they help companies maximize their savings by only charging for energy usage with a monthly utility bill. 

What makes them different from other energy efficiency or sustainability providers is that Redaptive manages the funding, project installation, procurement, and maintenance of LED, HVAC, geothermal, solar, and other sustainable energy and energy efficiency programs.

Encamp

You no longer need spreadsheets, consultants, and outdated EHS software so your company can stay green and manage its environmental compliance. One of the most promising environmental startups, Encamp, developed a centralized platform for managing risk, evaluating regulations, and filing paperwork. 

Moreover, this platform automatically submits reports to agencies and empowers your team to collaborate better and improve knowledge sharing by eliminating outdated technology, inconsistent data management, and copy-paste reporting. Companies that are using this award-winning platform are considering it as a wonderful time saver since Encamp ensures that all the State regulatory requirements are met and any fees are paid on time.

Wunder

Founded in 2014, Wunder simplifies securing financing for commercial solar projects. Their online marketplace streamlines connecting developers to capital sources for funding projects.

Wunder’s platform provides loan origination, underwriting automation, and application tracking for solar construction and long-term financing. This aims to accelerate deal flow and lower customer acquisition costs.

Coral Vita

Founded in 2019, Coral Vita operates commercial coral farms utilizing renewable energy and aquaculture technologies. Their land-based facilities grow resilient coral up to 50 times faster than ocean reefs.

The healthy farmed corals are then transplanted to revitalize damaged reefs. Coral Vita’s farms also raise awareness through community education and eco-tourism visits.

R-Zero

Founded in 2020, R-Zero emerged as businesses and schools sought solutions for operating safely post-pandemic. Their UV-C tech provides whole room disinfection without chemicals. The devices continuously monitor and improve air quality too.

R-Zero’s products allow people to congregate indoors with less worry about transmitted diseases. The company also focuses on environmental responsibility – their units reduce energy waste and use recycled materials.

Bottle+

Founded in 2019, Bottle+ has developed a sustainable alternative to bottled sparkling waters and sodas. Their reusable bottle contains a carbonation system that injects tap water with CO2 to make sparkling water on demand.

Users simply fill the bottle from the sink and press a button for fresh fizzy water. This eliminates the need for hauling cases of bottled bubbly drinks while dramatically cutting plastic waste.

Apeel

Founded in 2012, Apeel has created an innovative protective coating made from plant materials that doubles the shelf-life of produce. Their product forms an invisible extra “peel” when applied to the surface of fruits and vegetables.

This peel slows water loss and oxidation – the main causes of spoilage. Produce coated with Apeel’s edible protection stays fresher longer, reducing waste across the supply chain.

Inspire

Founded in 2013, Inspire provides renewable energy systems like solar panels and home batteries alongside smart energy optimization. Their digital platform gives homeowners control over clean energy production and consumption.

Inspire pairs customized solar and battery installations with real-time usage monitoring via app. Homeowners can track and adjust systems to minimize energy costs. Automated energy advisors optimize savings.

Rheaply

Founded in 2016, Rheaply operates an online marketplace for buying and selling used lab instruments and supplies. This enables circular sharing of resources within the research community.

Rheaply’s platform connects asset owners with buyers, handling logistics and transactions. Items like microscopes, centrifuges, and refrigerators are rehomed to maximize utilization instead of sitting idle.

Optera

Founded in 2021, Optera provides companies with an ESG data management system to oversee carbon and sustainability initiatives. Their platform centralizes measurement, reporting, and reductions planning.

Key features include supply chain emissions tracing, progress dashboards, and scenario modeling. This enables users to quantify impacts, set actionable goals, and track performance over time.

Integriculture

Founded in 2019, Integriculture aims to produce cultured meat and seafood using cell cultivation technology. Their process grows real animal cells without slaughter to create alternatives to conventional meat.

Integriculture focuses on Southeast Asian markets and products like chicken, shrimp, and crab. Their regional approach allows hyper-localized production and distribution to consumers.

Watershed

Founded in 2020, Watershed provides an end-to-end climate management system for companies to track, reduce, and offset their carbon footprint. Their software calculates emissions across operations and supply chains.

It then guides users on decarbonization strategies, displays progress to goals, and facilitates high-quality carbon credit purchases to neutralize remaining emissions. This streamlines corporate climate action.

Grow a Wish

Grow a Wish was founded in 2019 with a mission to make giving more meaningful. Their greeting cards contain native flower seeds embedded in the paper. Recipients can plant the card to grow flowers after enjoying the message. This provides an extra layer of joy and remembrance from each card. 

The wildflower seeds also benefit pollinators and the environment when planted. Grow a Wish partners with charities focused on poverty, children’s education, and the planet.

LevelTen Energy

With LevelTen Energy, even the smaller companies can invest in cleaner energy since they offer renewable energy in amounts and prices proportional to each company’s needs. LevelTen Energy is the world’s largest marketplace for renewable energy buyers, sellers, advisors, and financiers.

They’ve developed the most sophisticated, real-time project and PPA analytics in the industry, and online RFP and planning tools, standard contracts, and instant data which helps companies easily find the best deals.

What all these environmental startups have in common

These environmental startups are working towards the same goal – shaping our future for the better. For that purpose, the world’s most ambitious experts in the field by leveraging technology have developed solutions that are already proven to make a positive impact. Lastly, all of these promising environmental startups are sharing the same goal when it comes to profits as well, and that is mid-to-long-term sustainability rather than just short-term profits.

Discover more creative startups that might interest you:

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How to turn your hobby into a business in 2024

How to turn your hobby into a business in 2024

by | Dec 20, 2023

Business Tips

How to turn your hobby into a business in 2024

December 20, 2023

Turning your hobby into a business
It’s fair to say that the digitalisation has had an even bigger impact on life and work than the industrialisation. Nowadays, you’re just a click away to turn a hobby into a business. The internet offers more opportunities than ever before. That being said, you can have a full-time job and still earn on the side from your hobby business. What’s great about hobbies is that we enjoy doing them, so working on your hobby business would be a lot of fun. You’d feel no obligations or have a fixed schedule.

But how to monetise fun and how to turn your hobby into a unique and fun business? Namely, there are a million ways to do it but at the end of the day it all comes down to several key steps which we’ll cover in the following paragraphs. However, you should remember that competition has never been harsher and you should find a way to stand out in order to come from passion to profit.

Is there a market for your hobby?

Is there an audience for your hobby? What is the competition? Is there a place for you on the market? Is the demand big? Do you offer a solution to a problem?

Analyse the demand

We can’t stress enough the importance of analysing the market. Unfortunately, one of the main causes for small business failure is that there is no market need for the particular offering. Be careful when researching and don’t get blinded by your own feelings. You can create the most unique product or service but if there’s no demand for it, it’ll flop in an instant.

Take a look at competition

Additionally, you should be careful of competition too. An oversaturated market leaves almost no space for newcomers, unless your offer is revolutionising and solves a problem more efficiently than the already existing solutions. 

On the other hand, competition is good because it’s what keeps innovation going and spices up the game. One thing is for sure, you can learn a great deal from analysing your competition, just don’t get caught too much into it or you’ll lose your focus.

Test before going all-in

Lastly, you can always test the product or service coming from your hobby business before investing in it. For instance, you can attend fairs and observe the public response. If the feedback is positive, nothing is stopping you from turning a hobby into a business. By the same token, if you offer a service, try advertising it first and see what happens. If it generates enough buzz, it might be time to create a business model around it.

Slow but consistent transition from hobby to business

Obviously you already have a job so take things slowly – baby steps. You still have bills to pay and going broke is out of the question.

Invest more time than money

At the beginning, you should invest more time than money into it. Of course, having a full-time job leaves you with fewer hours on your watch than you’d like but there are ways to work around that too. If you use public transport, use the commute time to work on your side hustle. Instead of aimlessly scrolling on social media, write your business plan. Plug off your TV and grind. Listen to podcasts to educate yourself while doing whatever. We don’t say it won’t be tiring, but at the end it will be worth it.

But also, don’t be a cheapskate

However, don’t expect to find your name on magazine covers if you’re not willing to put a single dima into your business. Building a brand, marketing, production, hiring or outsourcing – these are all things that require a certain budget. If you have personal savings and you intend to use them be extremely careful. Alternatively, you can find an investor or a partner to help you turn a hobby into a business.

Eventually, as things start to unfold you’ll come to a certain point when you will have to quit your job and seriously devote yourself to your baby business.

Grow an online presence

If the first two decades of the 21st century was all about the internet, you’re free to guess the third one will be too. As a matter of fact, being present online has become more of an essential necessity than a luxury. For example, if you’re a musician looking to broaden your audience, one effective approach is using tools like DistroKid’s app to release your music on various platforms. Yet, whether due to the challenges of going online, research shows that an overwhelming percentage of SMEs don’t have a website, aren’t listed anywhere or don’t manage social media accounts. 

If there were 11 commandments, “Be online” would have been the eleventh.

These days there’s no excuse for your passion turned into business to not be present online:

In other words, if you’re hobby-turned-business doesn’t have a website or is not found on Google, you might as well give up on your dreams and stick to your 9-5 job.

Sure, becoming viral is trickier than before, but with the right storytelling and SEO writing, marketing tactics and growth mindset nothing is impossible. But even so, building a brand that is consistent and has a solid base of clients, even if it is a small one, is sometimes more important than being famous on the internet for one minute.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

Remember not to stop having fun once you turn a hobby into a business. The thing you once loved so much can easily become a burden and you’ll be as miserable as you were at your job if you’re not careful. To put it briefly, every once in a while remind yourself why you started in the first place and stick to your true self. Don’t let the current take you deep underwater.

A passion turned into business that lost its original appeal is not much different from a corporate job. Hence it’s important to keep looking at your hobby as just a hobby and not work. That way you’ll never have to work a day in your life.

Extra: 9 hobbies turned into successful businesses

There are many examples of hobbies turned into successful businesses.

For example, we have all heard about Craigslist but did you know that it all started with an email containing a listing of only two events?

Also, are you familiar with Twitch? With it, people are now making thousands of dollars each month just by playing video games. Imagine a hobby that was once flagged as being unreasonable and childish now is a billion dollar industry.

Tom’s of Maine, Harley Davidson, Darn Good Yarn, Rent the Runway, Yankee Candle – these are all a fraction of the list of hobbies turned into successful businesses.

But if you still need reassurance, here are ten real-life examples of hobbies turned into successful businesses.

Truism Fitness

I used to write freelance fitness articles for fun after I got out of the marine corps and never meant for it to turn into a business or passive income, but after doing it for a couple years I decided to start my own website and it is now a 5 figure monthly income.

I had a period where I got away from working out and eating healthy and gained a lot of weight. When I decided to get back into shape I noticed how deceiving the fitness industry can be and that is what made me go from a writer to creating a website that gave people a tool to help them change their lifestyle without being taken advantage of.

I have more fun doing it now then before, especially when I receive comments from our readers and get to help them one on one.

Jamie Hickey, Personal trainer/Nutritionist at Truism Fitness

Tunedly

I have been into songwriting and music production since an early age. Matter of fact, I started playing the piano when I was nine years old. Music has always been my main hobby growing up. In my early and mid 20s, my music started generating some income. 

Eventually, in 2016, I co-founded the music/tech company Tunedly, which is an online recording studio and trusted music publishing company. We raised angel capital and managed to put together an advisory board consisting of Mathew Knowles (Beyonce’s father) and Harvey Mason Jr. (interim CEO of the Grammys). 

I turned my hobby of songwriting and music production into one of the market leaders for online music production for songwriters worldwide.

Chris Erhardt, Co-founder & CEO of Tunedly

Mye De Leon

I’m a lettering artist who teaches creatives how to draw the art of letters and turn it into a profitable income. My story started when I was just rediscovering lettering while on the verge of depression after giving birth to my son with Down Syndrome and I used lettering to keep me sane from all the challenges of raising a child with special needs and twin daughters in a foreign country without any help around. I started making 6-figures from my hobby by teaching other creatives what I know since 2019.

Mye De Leon, Hand Lettering Maven and Business Mentor for Creatives

KidsNaturally Photography

I run my own photography business, and have done for 14 years. Before that, I was an astronomer, at various Universities and NASA. I had the enviable job of travelling to telescopes in far-flung locations like Hawaii! The trouble was I had job contracts that lasted for 3-5 years, and I moved around following the jobs. 

In the end, with my wife and young son, we decided to stay in one place and I turned my lifelong photography hobby into a business. I started with photos of my son and friend’s children, and I loved it! I went from a dry academic environment to a much more creative, people-based business.

Learning business skills was all new to me, however. Back then I didn’t know cash flow from a profit and loss statement. My wife has been very supportive. Gradually, I’ve learned from my mistakes, had good advice along the way, honed my skills, and I’m still loving the freedom and the responsibility years later. I earn a decent wage and have lots of very happy and appreciative clients.

Laurence Jones, Owner of KidsNaturally Photography

Metropolis Collectibles

When students head off to college, the questions are always the same: What’s your major? What are you going to study? The focus is on academics. People hardly ever ask, “What are you going to do for fun?”  

Following their passions can be the key to students leading successful, happy lives. Not only does pursuing a hobby give them a way to blow off steam and relieve stress, it could lead to a future career. I should know. That’s exactly what I did.

For me, the passion was (and is) comic books. I first discovered a love of comic books when I was 4 or 5 years old. In my teen years, I began buying and selling comic books with friends. While in college at St. John’s University, I studied marketing.  I then set up on the streets of Manhattan shortly after graduating and sold comics to stockbrokers coming out of the Exchange.

I used the marketing skills I learned in college to help grow my business. In 1999, I co-created the world’s largest vintage comic book dealership, Metropolis Collectibles and later launched an online auction house, www.ComicConnect.com. The companies hold five Guinness world records for comics bought and sold. We also created the Metropolis Gallery featuring comic book art.

Vincent Zurzolo, Co-Creator of Metropolis Collectibles

DRD Enterprises inc of Davie

Post Hurricane Andrew I began designing and building a tornado proof storage building for the Broward County Boys Club. From what was to be a single project very quickly became an object of interest for those who saw it. 

Flash forward, 4 hurricanes hit Florida in one year! Demand for safe rooms increased as did my hobby of building portable 8 ton dome safe rooms.

Today the safedome is saving lives for Miami Dade County and most areas of Florida as well as Fort Sill OK 12 safedomes bought by the Department of Defense that classifies safedomes as bunkers.

David Pressler, Owner of DRD Enterprises inc of Davie

Mangrum Career Solutions

Before Mangrum Career Solutions was founded in 2009, it was a hobby of mine to refer my friends and relatives to companies that were hiring.

After they got hired, I realized I had a knack for matching people with meaningful work. This is when I decided to open my own executive search firm in 2009.

Since I know word of mouth is a very powerful marketing tool, over 80% of my placements come from referrals. I’ve learned the value of connections and having an active network. I was able to establish supportive partnerships to become the one-stop-shop for clients seeking manufacturing jobs in Ohio and nationwide.

Today, I absolutely love what I do. It still feels like a hobby and less than work, because I do my best to accommodate my clients’ needs while supporting manufacturing businesses with their hiring process. I hope this is helpful for your readers.

Anjela Mangrum, CPC, President at Mangrum Career Solutions 

Racket Expert

When I was 10, my father bought me a red table tennis racket and I started playing on a table tennis court in the backyard with friends. After instant success I started playing in tournaments. When I was 18 I left the game because it was not rewarding as I expected it to be and tried other options. 

However, I had developed a network of people and a lot of knowledge and so I decided to start a consulting and marketing company for the racket sports niche. It’s been the most fun and I couldn’t imagine having a normal job anymore. 

Thomas Roterd, Founder of Racket Expert

Conclusion

The road from passion to profit is often surprising and not everyone who ended up driving on it intended to. Doing something you love is ten times easier and more rewarding than something you’re not inclined to. And that’s your biggest advantage when you decide to turn your hobby into a successful business, as it demands great effort, patience and ingenuity.

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8 brand design tips for small businesses (2024)

8 brand design tips for small businesses (2024)

by | Dec 7, 2023

Business Tips

8 brand design tips for small businesses with shallow pockets

December 07, 2023

These brand design tips for small businesses will help you outstand the competition

Did you know that 90% of small businesses fail? And while there’s a combination of causes, bad branding is high on the list. It’s due to first impressions, and as it takes less than a second for people to form an opinion about your brand, great design is essential.

That’s all well and good if you can afford to outsource professional designers. But what if you can’t? How do you create a professional-looking brand on a budget? Is it even possible?

Foolproof brand design tips for small businesses

Luckily, you can put your struggles behind you because you no longer have to sacrifice your brand’s design because cash is tight. All you need are a few brand design tips for small businesses that won’t empty your pockets. And guess what? That’s exactly what we have for you.

Design your brand around your target audience

Your brand exists to serve your target audience, meaning you have to design it around them to sell to them. You achieve that by defining who they are and then defining your brand to suit.

Your first step for creating a brand that consumers relate to is building a customer persona to understand your audience. This is where market research comes into play, and all it costs you is time. 

You figure out who your target audience is by researching the platforms they use when searching for brands in your market, their demographics, such as age, gender, location, education, and employment, and discovering their pain points, the what and why they need a brand like yours.

When you discover who your target audience is, it will guide your branding strategy, resulting in a brand people will organically gravitate towards and trust. And those are things money can’t buy.

You can use these tools to help you discover your target audience:

  • Keywords Everywhere: It’s a free keyword research tool that provides CPC information on a chosen keyword and its search volume. It’s an excellent way to uncover which keywords your audience use when searching for your products or service.  
  • Facebook Analytics: Provides numerous demographic information pertaining to your current customers.
  • Social Mention: Tells you when your brand is mentioned, and across 100 social media networks, so you know how customers perceive your brand. 
  • Statista: Provides invaluable statistics in graph form on over 600 industries.

Developing your brand identity and voice can save you money

One of the most important brand design tips for small businesses is defining your brand identity and voice. Once you’ve identified your target audience, it’s time to establish a strong brand identity so you stand out from your competitors.  

When you create your brand identity, you give it a voice, the tone you’ll use to communicate with your public. Your tone consists of your brand values, goals, what they represent, and ultimately how people will feel when they first see your brand.

Give your tone of voice some thought and what it is you want your brand to say. If you’re in a professional market, then you should use a sincere and authoritative voice; on the other hand, if you’re an outdoor adventure brand, then your tone would be exciting and rugged.

Once you have your tone, create content that supports it. Such as your blog, emails, social media, and web content, as the secret to a brand voice that gets its message across is consistency.

Build a high UX website cheaply

Gone are the days when you had to mortgage your house to build a high UX website because now you create a drag and drop website and build one relatively cheaply. 

And these sites enable even the most technically challenged business owners to build one in a matter of days, and depending on the size you need, even hours. Making them the perfect solution for businesses on a budget.

Here are four sites that can make your brand look like it invested heavily in your website design:

  • Simbla: If your business has technical needs, this is an excellent choice with an online database and integrated application. 
  • Weebly: An easy-to-use platform that offers highly responsive web design.
  • Strikingly: If all you need is a clean-looking landing page with a CTA (call to action), Strikingly provides a polished, optimized, single-page design.
  • Wix– You’ve probably heard the name before, and for a good reason. There’s not much you can’t do with their intuitive interface, and their customer support is legendary.  

Create a logo design brief

A logo design brief traditionally outlines the fundamentals about your business that you’d provide a designer, including elements such as market, target audience, and logo style.

Logos are an essential element in branding because they’re a visual that instantly connects with our emotions and can create cohesion throughout your marketing platforms. So much so that large corporations spend tens of thousands designing theirs to ensure their brand is instantly recognizable and stays in the viewer’s memory.

However, you can cut out the expense of hiring a logo designer and instead use a logo creator, you can create a professional logo at a fraction of the price – usually about $20. 

These innovative AI machine learning tools can create market and consumer-relevant logos in minutes. All you have to do is answer niche-related questions and then click and drag until you have the one you feel represents your business. You can try this using free logo maker tools.

Use visuals with your branding

90% of information transmitted to our brain is visual, and we process them 60,000X than written content. It’s why visuals are now the driving force behind successful brands, and social media platforms like Instagram enable brands of all sizes to use them for their marketing campaigns.

Visuals create the look and feel of your brand, and your goal is to use ones that match your tone of voice. 

You find the right visuals for your brand by creating a brand style guide. A brand style guide is an excellent way of bringing all the visuals you’ll be using together, ensuring they suit and complement one another. Elements you should include are your logo, color palette, infographics, photography, and video. 

If you already have a website, ensure any visuals you’ve chosen complement it, as your site is often your leading business real estate, so your overall marketing look has to be consistent with your shop front.

Starting a blog is a great investment

Not everyone’s a born writer, and most of us don’t give blogging much thought. But it’s well proven that a blog can be hugely beneficial to a brand, especially one on a budget, as all it costs you is time. That’s why you will it’s good to learn the basics of good small business blog writing yourself. But if you don’t have the time or blogging isn’t your forte, you can outsource at an affordable price.

Paying for traffic using ads and using high-tech conversion strategies aren’t cheap, so one of the most beneficial brand design tips for small businesses is driving traffic on your website by writing relevant, helpful content over advertisements every time. 

Create valuable content and reap the rewards

Content, however, goes beyond your blog.

Content marketing is still the driving force behind the internet and everything on it, especially when building a brand. It provides you with a golden opportunity to establish yourself as an industry expert and go-to resource in your marketplace. 

When you achieve that, people will trust you and choose your brand before your competitors. 

The key to a successful content marketing strategy is creating relevant and helpful content that your target audience needs. It also comes back to our earlier tip relating to your brand voice and using it throughout your content, as this reinforces who your brand is, why you exist, and how you can benefit your audience. 

Social media is free, use it to your leverage advantage

Social media is an essential brand design tip for small businesses on a tight budget. It’s because social media has quickly stepped forward and become a leading platform for brand marketing. There are numerous ways to use it to increase your brand awareness, run marketing campaigns and connect with your target audience.

Such as affordable Facebook ads that specifically target your audience’s demographic, encouraging people to like and share your brand posts and product images, and using links to connect your visuals to your website.

And now, there are free tools that enable you to consistently promote your brand and interact in real-time with your customers. Like a social media manager that automates your scheduling calendar and plans your post-release times on all your social channels, ensuring you post at the times your audience is most active. 

Conclusion

There are amazing brand design tips for small businesses that will only cost your time. Being curious about new trends, learning new skills, and improving your knowledge is “the secret” behind the success of your small business. Knowing you have to be the man behind everything might sound overwhelming at first, but implementing these tips will make the process easier and entertaining.

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How to be a good boss: 12 tips from experts (2024)

How to be a good boss: 12 tips from experts (2024)

by | Nov 29, 2023

Business Tips

How to be a good boss: 12 tips from experts (2024)

November 29, 2023

How to be a good boss

Imagine being the boss everyone admires and respects – it’s an aspiration many in leadership roles strive for. Yet, the path to becoming a truly great boss is often shrouded in uncertainty. It’s a common misconception that being at the helm means you’ve got it all figured out. The truth is, even the most seasoned leaders can inadvertently slip into less-than-ideal management practices, especially in the absence of constructive feedback and insightful guidance.

Don’t worry. Even though no one is perfect, everyone can always try to do and be better in the future. But in order to do that, first we must know what better actually is. And although there isn’t a guide on how to be a good boss, there sure are people who figured out pieces of this puzzle.

Jump directly to:

 1. Be supportive

 2. Have clear vision

 3. Listen

 4. Be patient

 5. Trust your employees

 6. Give feedback

 7. Be decisive

 8. Share the credit

 9. Offer mentorship

 10. Be empatic

 11. Be open for communication

 12. Reward your employees

12 steps to being a better boss

Being a better boss tomorrow is often easier said than done, but you have us. We searched the globe and managed to find the best advice on how to be a better boss from people who are indeed bosses themselves.

 As experts in this field, they all shared the most important things you must do in the name of being a good boss. And don’t be so sure that you know what they are, keep reading. Most of them will surprise you. That’s a guarantee.

Be supportive

Employees are people, and they can make mistakes. How you handle mishaps reveals who you are as a boss. If you are asking yourself how to be a good boss – recognize that employees benefit from support and mentorship, but most of them are more likely to use a reward/punishment scheme to deter bad conduct. 

If an employee excels in a particular field, the talent should be recognized and grown. The ability to harness the strengths of others to accomplish a shared purpose is one of the most important qualities of a successful boss. 

It’s important to take care of each employee’s strengths and weaknesses and guide them individually. Rather than targeting skill gaps, focus on filling them by guiding employees through their flaws and increasing their confidence in new areas.

Pranchil Murray, Head of Customer Success at Malwarefox

Have a clear vision

Well, I believe that being a good boss requires having a clear vision. A boss’s ability to successfully lead his or her team depends on having a clear view of what they want to do at work and where they want their team to go.

A good boss is someone who guides a group of people in the same direction, whether that direction is towards getting more customers or increasing sales volume. If you want to know how to be a better boss, first you must understand the big picture of the organization, including its vision, purpose, and strategic objectives, before determining how your unit, department, or team fits into the overall company vision.

Jason McMahon, Digital Strategist at Bambrick

Listen

As a leader, I give direction, ask the right questions and make the final decision. The rest of the time I’m listening. I listen to problems and suggestions, I listen to everyone’s opinion so that their voices are heard, I listen to their own problems so that they know that someone cares about them. By doing this my employees feel they are important in their role and to the company. This brings positive energy to the company and everyone works happily in the company, which adds to maintaining a positive brand reputation because your employees are your company’s greatest brand ambassadors.

YY Lee, Director of Zoewebs

Listening to your employees not only when there’s a problem, but even just to connect with them is being a good boss. It sounds simple, but even just having a more meaningful connection with employees in that sense builds trust, loyalty to the company, and builds brand and company culture.

Employees want to put more effort in with bosses who are passionate about all aspects of the business, including employees.

Elliot Kim, Co-Founder and Finance and Operations Head at Brevitē

Be patient

Being a good boss must entail having patience. I’ve learned that the more patience I have, the faster things seem to happen and with higher quality. Breathing down someone’s neck to get the status of something is not going to help them finish the task at hand any faster — in fact, it will slow them down.

In the times when I know I’ve done this, I later realized it wasn’t a problem with the team member, but rather it was a lack of communication or expectation setting on my end. I’ve learned over the years that having patience invokes my team members’ trust and confidence in me as the boss, and allows them the space to perform better.

Greg Berry, Founder and CEO of Municibid

Trust your employees

Give your employees trust from the start and do not make them earn your trust. By doing this, you are being a better boss and you are empowering your employees to demonstrate that they are individuals, with unique ideas and perspectives to add to the company that feels the freedom to be independent thinkers and not micro-managed.

If an employee feels like they are walking on eggshells to earn trust before they can really blossom then everyone loses. The caveat however is that if an employee breaks your trust as a boss, there are few ways for that employee to redeem themselves from my perspective and they likely are not a long-term fit.

Jaclyn Strauss, CPA/Founder at My Macro Memoir

The ability to trust their employees is one of the traits of a great boss. Trusting the employees will not only empower them but also will give them a sense of value, which in turn will make them more productive and sincere with their job.

Being able to trust their employees also means that they do not micro-manage, which is a hassle not only to themselves but also to the employees as well.

Seb Hall, Founder & CEO of Cloud Employee

Give feedback

Continuous feedback on employees’ performance in satisfying expectations is the answer to how to be a good boss. Assist them in recognizing when they are performing well and communicating when they are not meeting the criteria.

This may be accomplished by routine coaching of personnel. Mention something they are doing well. If you notice something that needs to be changed, make a note of it as soon as possible. Oftentimes, employees are unaware that they are not meeting the criteria.

Coaching and developing them is the manager’s role. The boss is responsible for informing them when they violate customer service standards. For instance, if management overhears staff being nasty to a client over the phone, they should call attention to it and teach them how to communicate more effectively with consumers. If this does not occur, the customer experience may be negatively impacted, and the employee may be unaware that their behavior is wrong.

Mike Chappell, Founder of Formspal

Be decisive

A boss needs to play a constructive and direct role. I believe in a stress-free and healthy working atmosphere, which can be achieved by providing proper and clear job instructions to the employees.

I need to ensure that my employees understand exactly what they are expected to do so that they are not frustrated and overwhelmed by any sort of ambiguity. This results in you being a better boss by increasing worker motivation and morale, which boosts business efficiency. 

Setting clear expectations encourages employees to do their best and be on the same page as me, reducing miscommunication. Finally, when there are set goals and workplace orders, employees experience a sense of pride when they meet the deadlines or complete the assigned tasks.

Jeff Johnson, Owner/Acquisition Manager at Simple Homebuyers

Share the credit

One of the common demotivating things that some bosses do is reaping all the credit and either neglecting or ignoring to accept the input, participation, and effort of others. That’s literally the definition of poor leadership.

Being a good boss means always supporting and appreciating the input of staff and crew members. It uplifts the characters of the team when a boss openly points out the great work and unique contributions that the team has done in creating a particular project a success. It also encourages collaboration and confidence among the team.

Sharing credit among others does not cost the boss anything though it has a great return on investment. When righteous behavior and achievements are honored, recognized and acknowledged, it is possible to be repeated.

Daniel Carter, SEO manager at Property Investments

Offer mentorship

To be a good boss, create a culture of mentorship in your company because it will encourage your employees to grow with the business. One of the best traits of a successful leader is passing down the knowledge they’ve accumulated. You can start doing that with something as easy as recommending business movies or even entrepreneurial podcasts just as a way to show them that you notice them and have a desire to grow their talent within the company.

Having said that, the secret to being a better boss entails further involvement by creating and providing opportunities for personal and professional development within the organization. Create an internal hub where seasoned workers have the opportunity to volunteer by mentoring new hires. Also, develop criteria to become a mentor to incentivize others to work towards it. Accountability is also key for creating a culture of mentorship, as it helps ensure your business’s leaders stay on top of their tasks, progress, and inspire others to strive for advancement.

Nathan Liao, Founder of CMA Exam Academy

Be empathic

From my experiences as an employee and (now) a boss, I believe that the greatest answer to how to be a good boss is to be empathetic.

Before I hire employees, I make sure that I can rely on them in the future but I don’t forget that they are people too and they are at different stages of their life. Some are just learning and need a helping hand; others are going through monumental periods in their life outside of work, and some have many years of experience.

Being empathetic means you can relate to these employees and understand their perspectives. When something happens or I need to react to something, I take a minute to try and understand where they are coming from and what their situation is. I believe that a good boss should be empathetic and can help build trust, bring the best out of everyone, and build long-lasting relationships that make a difference.

Lindsey Allard, CEO and Co-Founder of PlaybookUX

Be open for communication

How to be a good boss? Simple. Have an open-door system and be ready for juniors when they need you. Convenience is critical; it grants you an advantage because employees seem comfortable reaching out and communicating to you primarily before a problem occurs. Even if you are managing a remote team, make sure your online communication is flawless and you are easy to get to.

That way you don’t end up being a boss who is working around helter-skelter wildly setting out fires because employees were hesitant to approach you in the first place before the fire was inaugurated.

A friendly boss is committed more by juniors and develops a culture of high confidence and more comprehensive employee engagement in their work. That waythe employer reduces the stress in the workplace and employees are more comfortable sharing with the boss their ideas, feedback, suggestions, clarifications, and opinions that could be relevant for the success of the company.

Chris Nutbeen, Founder & CEO of Nuttifox

Reward your employees

Show respect and gratitude to your employees, that’s what being a good boss is all about. Empower them by promoting a culture of self-starters and decision-makers. Trust employees to make decisions and provide opportunities for employees to take on leadership roles. Reward, encourage and appreciate employees that showcase initiative. 

Offer training opportunities to motivate employees to advance their skills. Incorporate weekly check-ins between managers and employees. Send out monthly surveys to gather anonymous feedback from staff on company culture, work-life balance, and overall attitude towards work. Listen and make positive changes based on the feedback received, so you won’t end up with toxic company culture or/and unhappy employees.

Kelli Lane, Chief Marketing Officer at Genexa

Conclusion

If it turns out that you are not a spitting image of your business role model, that’s okay. Maybe you came to the realization that you are not that good of a boss so you decided on being a better boss or you came to an even more harsh and shocking realization that you actually are a bad boss so now you want to start being a good boss. Either way, the important thing is that you decided on self-improvement. Keep in mind that this is a big step forward both in your personal and in your professional journey that is proven to result in success.

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