Kristin Marquet

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Think you're ready to lead? These real-world lessons might surprise you. Stepping into a leadership role for the first time can be as daunting as it is exciting. While many new leaders focus on achieving results, the most impactful lessons often come from what isn’t in the handbook — like how to build trust, recover from failure and communicate with clarity. Knowing these lessons from day one can make the difference between simply managing and truly leading. To that end, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share the leadership tips they wish they had known from the beginning, and why those lessons would have made all the difference to how they lead now.

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Presenting your business to an audience can feel intimidating, but the right mindset and preparation can make all the difference. Whether you're delivering a keynote speech, joining a panel or meeting potential clients face-to-face, confidence when speaking isn't necessarily something you're born with — it's something you build. And when you understand your audience, believe in your message and allow your passion to guide you, your delivery becomes more natural and impactful. To help you improve, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their top tips for becoming a more engaging and self-assured speaker in any setting. From leaning into your passion to mastering your elevator pitch, these insights can help you connect authentically and speak with greater impact.

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If you’re struggling to regain momentum in a tough market, these expert insights can help you turn things around. In a year marked by continued business closures and shrinking profit margins, declining sales remain one of the toughest challenges for companies trying to stay afloat. To regain stability, businesses must move beyond surface-level fixes and focus on proven strategies that drive revenue and strengthen customer loyalty. That includes reevaluating outdated tactics, doubling down on high-value relationships and aligning offerings with what today’s buyers actually need. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share clear, actionable steps businesses can take right now to increase sales and keep customers coming back.

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Want your brand to stand for something real and be taken seriously? Start here. A strong cause can give your brand meaning beyond products or services — but aligning with that cause in a way that feels credible, not performative, takes more than good intentions. Consumers are increasingly discerning, and cause-based branding that lacks follow-through can do more harm than good. So how do you build something that resonates with your audience, earns their trust and stands up to scrutiny? To answer this question, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their top strategies for building a brand around a cause and how these decisions can shape your reputation and long-term success.

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The right words can be a powerful motivator for employees. At a time when so many are unhappy in their careers or roles, fostering a culture of empowerment is crucial to employee success, satisfaction and retention. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through feedback, which not only helps individuals grow professionally but also strengthens team dynamics.  However, feedback can be difficult to get right, especially when you’re attempting to critique or offer up suggestions for improvement. Done the wrong way, feedback can end up discouraging an employee from taking chances or sharing ideas for future projects.  According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, encouraging employees begins with these eight tips. Consider the following advice to hear how encouraging, constructive feedback can play an important role in empowering your employees — and how you can learn to give it.

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Inspiration may not always come from the most obvious of places. Creative inspiration can sometimes be a difficult resource to come by. It’s often difficult to think of ways to innovate, navigate challenges or simply make needed decisions when your creative well has run dry. And those in naturally creative industries such as art, music, film and more can also struggle with the constant need for new ideas.  At times like these, savvy business leaders will often have places they can turn to to spark ideas and out-of-the-box thinking — but these places may not always seem the most obvious places to start. Here, nine members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share the unique places they find inspiration and how that helps them lead — and create — in a positive way.

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Being intentional with social media can help you build the connections you need to succeed. With professional platforms like LinkedIn — and even more casual ones like Instagram and X — offering a vast pool of potential collaborators, clients and industry influencers, it’s never been easier to reach a wide audience and build your network. However, it takes more than just a well-maintained profile to leverage these platforms effectively. Understanding how to engage authentically and strategically can be the key to transforming virtual interactions into real-world opportunities. Whether you’re a casual social media user or are looking for simple ways to refine your approach, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council have key advice for any professional in the culture space looking to use social media to supercharge their networking efforts. Discover how to strengthen vital network connections and advance your career by being more intentional with your social media presence.

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Growing your business shouldn’t come at the expense of your current customers. In business, increasing sales — and, thereby, your customer base — is a natural goal for any entrepreneur. However, scaling too quickly or expanding into the wrong areas can risk alienating the niche market that helped establish your business in the first place. Losing these key customers could mean losing the stability, trust and feedback that acts as the backbone of your current success. For this reason, it's essential to find a balance between reaching new audiences and preserving the unique value proposition that attracted your target market to begin with. To help, experienced business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council share their insights on scaling the right way — a way that allows for healthy growth and expansion without losing sight of the niche market that made your business success possible.

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Honoring "where you came from" can be the key to your business expansion success. As businesses expand beyond their hometown markets, maintaining an authentic connection to their local roots can become a challenge. Growth — especially on a national or global scale — often brings pressure to standardize messaging, streamline operations and appeal to a broader audience.  Staying true to the community that shaped your brand’s identity can be the key to deeper customer loyalty and differentiating your business from competitors. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share strategies for businesses looking to scale while preserving their hometown authenticity.

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Feedback can be hard to listen to, but it’s almost always valuable. Whether it's from fans, critics or team members, criticism is unavoidable as a business leader. Especially in the culture space where so many businesses are built around trending interests and tastes, receiving feedback on your business or yourself as a leader is understandably inevitable. However, learning to handle criticism with grace is a learned skill that's not always easy to do when you’re passionate about your project. Here, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council reflect on their experiences with criticism and offer up 12 tips you can use to better handle criticism as a leader while staying grounded in your vision.

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Embracing these technologies can strengthen your bond with your audience. In 2025, digital platforms are nothing new. Individual users and businesses alike have grown accustomed to the nature of social media and how it has revolutionized culture and the way customers interact with and purchase from brands. However, these platforms have not only continued to evolve, adding new ways of shopping, streaming and consuming, but they’ve also multiplied in number, meaning businesses must always stay up to date on the latest innovations and how they must respond if they want to stay relevant to their customers. So how can brands keep up? The answer may lie in how brands have evolved their communications thus far. Thinking about the rise of digital platforms like TikTok, Instagram or even streaming platforms, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council discuss their experiences with digital platforms over the years and how they have changed the ways in which their brands interact with their audiences now and will continue to do so into the future.

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Take your team to the next level with these expert-approved motivation strategies. Great managers know that bringing out the best in their teams requires more than just setting expectations. Your employees have to feel motivated, supported and empowered to excel — and that all starts with the work environment. Whether through fostering open communication or aligning employee strengths with responsibilities, the right strategies can unlock your team’s full potential. Read on for advice from Rolling Stone Culture Council business leaders about effective management approaches that drive performance and boost morale.

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Is your audience excited about what your company is doing? When it comes to planning an event or product launch, there are a lot of moving parts. Logistics around planning the occasion itself, getting the word out and ensuring you have all the resources you need for it to go smoothly can be a complex puzzle to solve — but one of the most important aspects of planning is getting people excited. Building “hype” around your big event or announcement is key to generating customer interest and buy-in for what you’re offering. Without it, you may not achieve the end result you were after. Building excitement isn’t always easy, so to help, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer 10 of their best tips — including insights into what’s worked well for them — for generating hype around a company event, product launch, piece of news and more below.

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Here's how to manage stress and burnout even when you're thriving. Success in business often comes at a cost to the people who achieve it. Long hours, high stakes and relentless pressure can take a toll on even the most driven entrepreneurs and leaders. Because burnout and stress can significantly impact decision-making, team dynamics and the future of your business, it's important to proactively address these feelings and manage them effectively. To help you do this, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share their tried-and-true tips for dealing with the stress that can come with success.

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Without a focused approach, it can be all too easy to get lost in a sea of useless information. With new platforms, a multitude of media options and endless content being produced each day, those hoping to keep up with the latest trends or news may have a difficult time finding a single source they can rely on. This is especially true of business leaders in the culture space, who must not only keep up with the trends but stay ahead of them to better target and influence their customers. While simply hopping on social media or your chosen news outlet is one way to stay in the know, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have a more focused approach. Here, they each offer up one specific resource they turn to to help them keep up with industry trends, news and updates and why it’s so useful to their business.

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Making a few small changes can have a big impact on employee happiness overall. With employee retention at the forefront of many leaders’ minds this year, finding ways to ensure their teams are happy, healthy and heard is likely on the top of their to-do lists for 2025. One of the most effective ways to improve employee retention is to create a better work environment for them to thrive in. Whether that means better lines of communication, increased flexibility or a more supportive atmosphere, there are a multitude of ways to create a space where employees want to work. As business leaders themselves, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have cultivated work environments all their own, and below, they discuss what’s worked well for them as well as ways any business leader can create a better environment for their employees in the new year.

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When business passion fades, these strategies can provide some much-needed inspiration. When you’re a leader in the culture space, it's easy to get burned out when trends change as quickly as they emerge. The constant pressure to innovate and adapt can make it challenging to stay connected to the passion that drives your work. To help you keep that spark alive, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their tried-and-true strategies for reigniting your enthusiasm. From focusing on your mission to seeking out new challenges, these approaches can help you maintain your passion and avoid burnout in this fast-paced industry.

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Sometimes, breaking the rules leads to the biggest breakthroughs. For many entrepreneurs, taking an unconventional approach — whether in strategy, hiring or growth tactics — has led to invaluable lessons and unique successes in their businesses. But choosing to go against the grain isn’t without risk, as each choice shapes the path forward in surprising ways. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share moments when they challenged traditional advice. Through the lessons they learned along the way, they offer practical insights to inspire bold steps on your own entrepreneurial path.

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To market to a younger audience, you first have to get to know them on a deeper level. Culture is rapidly changing, with influencer-recommended shopping and rapid content consumption becoming the norm. And as younger generations not only embrace this new culture but lead it, companies are finding themselves targeting a new demographic of consumers. However, taking the same-old approach won’t be effective if you want to gain the interest of young consumers. From marketing on the right platforms to supporting their favorite social causes, companies will need to consider younger generations’ differing preferences. Here, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer up nine ways companies can better engage younger consumers and the methods that have worked well for them. 

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Watch out for these telltale signs that your brand may need some fine-tuning. Brand alignment is crucial to any business's success, both on an initial and ongoing basis. If your brand doesn't deliver on its mission and value proposition — or communicate this information in a way that resonates with your target audience — you might find yourself with decreased engagement, fewer sales and a lack of clarity on how to move forward. But how do you know if your brand is misaligned, and what can you do to fix the problem? Here, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share some red flags that your brand needs realignment, along with actionable steps to get things back on track.

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Leadership skills can never truly be mastered, as they are something that should evolve over time. Professional development is often focused on improving yourself and your skills to help you move up in your career. The better you are at something, and the more skills you have, the higher on the ladder you can climb. But no one ever truly reaches perfection — not even leaders. Learning doesn’t stop once you become the boss. In fact, it’s even more important that you continue to learn as a leader if you want to grow, innovate and succeed as a business. So what are some of the things you can learn? Here, 12 business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council discuss the things about themselves they have had to work on improving over the years and why it’s so important other leaders do the same. 

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When you're managing a distributed team, a little intention goes a long way. Both remote and hybrid work environments have proven to be smart solutions for those companies looking to give their employees greater freedom and control over their work-life balance. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t come with their own set of cons. Relationship-building and peer-to-peer connections, while certainly possible, can be more challenging for remote and hybrid teams who aren’t physically in the same place at once. This can leave some employees feeling isolated if there is no plan to address it. Thankfully, managers can utilize plenty of strategies, tips and tricks to keep their teams connected and communicating well. With the recent surge in popularity for remote and hybrid workspaces, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council have become well-acquainted with these strategies. Below, they discuss their top tips for those struggling to manage their teams in a hybrid or remote workplace and share how to connect with and manage employees well in these types of environments.

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Learn what it takes to turn your workplace into an environment where employees want to grow their careers. As new generations enter the workforce, a shift in employee expectations has challenged traditional approaches to retention. Offering competitive salaries is no longer enough — today’s employees want more from their workplace experience. This changing environment has made long-term employee retention feel increasingly difficult for many businesses.  To help, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share what it takes to build a workplace where people want to stay and grow. Follow their recommendations to make your workplace a destination employees won’t want to leave.

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Navigate around these common branding pitfalls to strengthen your reputation and boost audience engagement. For today's businesses, managing a strong online presence is just as important as delivering quality products or services. However, boosting your company’s brand can be difficult in a saturated online space, and there's no shortage of potential pitfalls that can undermine your reputation. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members explore common mistakes businesses make when promoting themselves online. Their insights can help you avoid these missteps, increase audience engagement and strengthen your brand’s overall marketability.

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These strategies can make it easier to break through productivity blocks and accomplish more during your workday. With the constant barrage of emails, meetings and distractions, finding real focus and productivity in your workday can be challenging. Many professionals struggle to maintain momentum long enough to finish a project. However, the right techniques can help boost concentration and productivity on even the busiest of workdays. Here, 15 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their favorite techniques for staying on track and explain why these strategies work so well in a busy work environment. From using time-blocking methods to taking strategic breaks, these tactics can help boost focus and efficiency, even when you're in a productivity slump.

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Become a recognized expert in your field with these effective thought leadership strategies. As an entrepreneur or business leader, building influence in your chosen niche can cement your status as a credible industry thought leader. Being influential requires strategic actions that establish your expertise and encourage relationships with key players in your field. To help you do this, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their top recommended strategies for elevating your influence within your industry. These strategies can make all the difference when you are trying to establish your reputation as a sought-after and respected expert.

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If your employees have checked out, you should first take a close look at your company culture. Many employees seek fulfillment in their careers, hoping to be seen and understood by their employers, and given a chance to show off their skills and grow within their companies. However, many employees don’t feel they’re receiving this kind of treatment. In fact, “quiet quitters,” or those who are simply doing the bare minimum it takes to get by in their jobs, could make up around half of the U.S. workforce—a response that signals widespread issues with employee recognition and engagement.  According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, the solution lies in treating your employees like the valuable team members they are, ensuring they have the opportunities and resources they need to succeed. To do so, they recommend following these 11 tips for reengaging employees and reigniting their passion for their careers.

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Your business should always be improving, even when things are going well. There’s no doubt that the internet has fundamentally changed the way consumers shop. In fact, Nasdaq research estimates that 95 percent of all products will be purchased via the internet by 2040. That means more and more businesses taking an e-commerce approach, and more and more competition companies will have to contend with in the online space. For those businesses already online, there are steps you can take now to begin improving your site’s overall experience and building more customer loyalty. Here, eight business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council each discuss one smart digital marketing move e-commerce businesses can make to improve their overall success in an increasingly competitive market and why they’ll help ensure your success now and in the future.

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These steps can help create the kind of culture that employees will love to brag about. For a business leader, to empower your employees is to give them the tools, resources, support and courage they need to do their jobs well. While constant monitoring and micro-managing may have been a popular management style in years past, today’s leaders are looking for ways to weave empowerment into the very core of their company’s culture, ensuring every employee is able to contribute their best work. However, creating such a culture may require a significant shift from what currently exists in your organization. To build more collaboration, encouragement and positivity into your work culture, consider the following advice from the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council.

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Here are a few ways to track success you may not have thought of. When it comes to meeting your customers where they are, getting on social media is likely a good place to start. But while more and more customers are shifting their browsing and shopping habits to social media, tracking the effectiveness and ROI of a social media campaign can be tricky. Attempting to determine how much money was made from “likes” or “comments” isn’t as straightforward as other forms of marketing, and this can be a major struggle for social media teams trying to prove their success.  However, money made isn’t the only way to define “success,” and there are other goals or milestones that may indicate customers are getting value from what you’re offering. If you’re struggling to find a return on one of your social media campaigns, consider tracking one of the following metrics, as suggested by the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. These key performance indicators may help you see your campaign in a whole new light.

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Here's how to strategically create and follow through on your most important business goals. No matter what industry you're in, business success starts with identifying short- and long-term goals. However, it can be tricky to figure out exactly how to set and achieve those objectives. To help, Rolling Stone Culture Council business leaders share their goal-setting strategies and why these methods are effective. Follow their recommendations to help you refine your approach to achieving your business goals.

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Expressing gratitude is just one way a leader can show they care. One of the many jobs of an effective leader is to inspire and motivate their teams to put forth their best effort and do good work. However, inspiring and motivating are made much more difficult when you aren’t sure exactly what to say. What words will lead your team to solve problems? Find their creativity? Nurture relationships with clients?  According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, it’s not necessarily about the exact words you say so much as their meaning and your genuine feelings behind them. From acknowledging employee contributions to offering more autonomy, your words and their intent can have a powerful impact on your employees and the way they work. Try out the following nine suggestions and see what you can inspire your team to do.

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The only constant with trends is that they will inevitably change. In the culture space, what's in one day could be out the next. Trends are constantly changing, and the companies that build their business off trends may struggle to thrive once their particular trend has come and gone. However, it’s not unusual for companies to want to cater to what’s popular at the moment, offering what customers are most interested in at the time. The challenge then becomes how to adapt as these trends change. How can a business ensure it doesn't fail once a fad has passed? As business leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have a few ideas. Here, they discuss 10 key tips for building a culture of adaptability in your company that will allow you to better respond to constant cultural change.

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Cut through the noise by amplifying your unique story. Today, it seems that nearly everyone is on social media — and that includes businesses. With the majority of small businesses using social media to reach their audience, there’s a lot of competition when it comes to earning the attention of potential customers. This is why it’s so vital to find a way to stand out and cut through the digital noise. However, beyond creating viral videos or following the latest social media trend, there are a number of other, more meaningful ways to set your business apart. Here, nine business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council weigh in on some of the steps a business can take to ensure their social media presence stands out from the competition and engages their followers in a meaningful way.

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Taking care of yourself first ensures you can take care of your company better. Leading a business can be exhausting, but part of being a leader is showing up and giving your all each day, even when things aren’t going how you planned. Finding ways to increase your efficiency without creating more mental work for yourself can be a helpful way of lessening the mental strain that comes with being the boss. When it comes to decision fatigue, for example, there are specific strategies you can use to ensure you never cross that line of exhaustion, even on a busy day. Below, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council share some of those strategies, elaborating on how they go about making good decisions as leaders while protecting their mental well-being at the same time.

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The first step to reengaging a customer is to remember that they’re human. Whether it’s due to a lack of perceived value or just a lack of time and money, customers can often fall off the wagon when it comes to interacting with and purchasing from brands. And while some customers disengaging can be normal, companies may begin to worry once a pattern starts to emerge.  So what can they do to reengage those customers they seem to have lost? What’s the most effective method? Below, 10 business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council share their insights on the marketing “hacks” or strategies companies can use to boost engagement among disengaged customers and pique their interest once again.

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Even the smallest advice can grow to have a big impact. In the business world, it’s not uncommon for aspiring entrepreneurs (and seasoned ones) to have someone they look up to or whom they hope to be like one day. While this person can often be a fellow entrepreneur or business leader, they can also be an everyday person — someone in their family, a friend or an inspiring acquaintance. Regardless of their role, their wisdom can have a profound effect on their ability to lead and have the confidence to do so. Below, 10 business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council share the lessons they’ve learned from powerful female leaders in their life or their industry, the impact those lessons had on them and why these lessons remain so important to them today.

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Prioritizing your website is prioritizing the happiness of your customers. A website is, more or less, the “face” of any business. It’s where your customers can learn more about your brand and products, where they can peruse your offerings and, if you’re an online-only brand, it’s the only opportunity they have to make a purchase. Because of this, business leaders who don’t put a high priority on both the beauty and functionality of their websites are at a distinct disadvantage among their competition, and potential customers may not stick around long with a poor user experience. To ensure your business website meets and exceeds customer expectations, you’ll need to consider the following nine factors, as suggested by the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Here, they go in depth on the reasoning behind these considerations and why prioritizing them will have a positive impact on your visitors.

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A personal touch can go a long way toward making your customers happy. As their business grows, it’s all too easy for business owners to get swept up in the numbers and forget that there are real people behind their profits. If they want to continue to succeed, it’s key that they make their customers feel valued and that they truly care about them and their experience with the brand.  There are a multitude of ways to do this, from simply listening to customer feedback to providing excellent customer service, but it’s often a combination of methods that makes the biggest difference in how customers feel. Below, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council draw on their experiences working with customers to offer up seven of the top ways businesses can make customers feel valued and ensure they return to your business again and again.

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Introverts bring a unique set of skills to the table that other leaders may not possess. When frequent networking, public speaking and an outgoing personality are so often praised as necessary for effective leadership, it can be difficult for introverts to see themselves running a business. But extroverts aren’t the only ones who have great ideas to share with the world, and it’s just as important for introverts to have their voices heard in the business space. By honoring their strengths — like listening and empathy — introverts can not only be effective leaders but great ones as well. Below, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their best tips to introverts looking to lead a successful business in the culture space and explain why they can do it just as well as anyone else can.

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Scaling sustainably is all about the right timing. Running a business is all about taking risks, and so it may not always be clear when or how you should make a move. However, that doesn’t mean business is a guessing game. With data, personal experience or the experience of others at your disposal, you can make smart, educated decisions about the steps your business should take next. When it comes to scaling your business, though, timing is everything. Thankfully, there are signs you can watch for that will help you determine the best time to expand and the right speed of growth. Below, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their guidance as they discuss seven signs that it may in fact be time to scale your business and what a leader should do upon noticing any of these signs.

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To appeal to your customers, you have to speak their language. Nothing is more powerful in communicating your brand’s purpose, mission and vision than your brand’s voice. What you say and how you say it is paramount to how people view your brand and choose whether or not they would like to become a customer. This means if your brand’s voice and messaging aren’t resonating with your audience, you may not be bringing in the amount of sales you need to sustainably grow your business. To ensure you’re not missing the mark, consider the following advice from the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Here, they offer their top tips for sharpening your brand’s voice and communicating with customers in a way that they will identify with and appreciate.

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Help your team beat their winter blues by taking these important steps. Once the celebrations of the holiday season are over, it can be easy to fall into a slump upon your return to work. The merrymaking is over, and the cold, gloomy feel of winter sets in — not the best recipe for a motivated staff. And while the winter blues can hit anyone — even leaders — getting their teams reenergized and ready to tackle the year ahead is essential for leaders looking to hit their business goals and encourage a happy, healthy culture. However, boosting employee morale is about more than just throwing pizza parties. According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, taking the following eight steps can ensure you not only help employees find their motivation in the short term, but help cultivate positivity and an overall better work environment that will last throughout the year.

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While rebranding offers the potential for improvements, it demands a balanced and informed approach to avoid pitfalls and maximize its impact.

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Your team needs a clear plan of action if they’re going to help you succeed. Individuals aren't the only ones setting resolutions for the new year. Throughout the month of January, even business leaders are reviewing their major goals for the year, setting timelines and creating plans for how to achieve them. Without such plans, business leaders aren’t likely to see success, as it takes intentional effort from them and their teams to accomplish the potentially challenging tasks they’ve set before them.  To ensure you’re setting you and your business up for success in 2024, taking the following 11 steps can be a good place to start. Here, Rolling Stone Culture Council business leaders each suggest one thing their fellow business leaders can do to ensure they meet their goals for 2024 and beyond.

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Boost your marketing efforts by ensuring your data collection is effective and efficient. When it comes to properly marketing to your customers, data is king. Armed with information regarding who is buying their products, from where and why, companies can make smart decisions about how to continue marketing to this audience and how to try marketing to any new ones they might want to reach. But if you’re not collecting the right data, or if you’re not collecting it in the most effective way, an overload of information can actually be more harmful than helpful. To ensure you make the best use of your resources and time when collecting consumer data, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council have a few ideas that can help you succeed. Here, they discuss their insights around how to better coordinate consumer data collection so it's actually useful to you and your team, as well as their best tips and tricks for doing so.

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Leveraging contractors can be a great move for your business if you set them up for success. Whether they're writing content for your website or editing your social media videos, freelancers and contractors can be a major help to growing businesses. However, like any part- or full-time employee, they need to be set up for success in order to help your business achieve its goals. Whether through detailed communication or resources and support, treating freelancers like you would any permanent staff member ensures they’re able to do their best work. For further guidance, consider the following advice from the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Below, they share useful tips for building positive working relationships with your freelancers and explain why doing so is so key to the success of your company.

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Resolve customer problems any time of year with these expert-recommended tips. The holidays can be a busy, stressful time for companies and customers alike. An influx of orders, too few staff and emotions running high can mean an increase in mistakes and dissatisfied customers. But these situations aren’t unique to the holiday season, and now that the new year is in full swing, businesses can step back and reflect on customer service lessons they can take with them throughout the rest of the year.  Below, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council discuss some of their top customer service lessons and the practices businesses can keep in mind when trying to find the best way to deal with an unhappy customer, no matter the season.

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Prime you and your business for a successful 2024 by taking these critical steps. The start of a new year can be the perfect time for business leaders to start fresh. Whether it’s reevaluating their processes, trying something new or finding ways to reengage their staff, employers can use this time to learn from any mistakes or successes of the previous year and set themselves up for a better year ahead. But to do so, they may want to consider the following advice from the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council first. Here, they each discuss one business goal they have for the new year and explain why other businesses might want to work toward the same goal if they want their business to succeed in 2024.

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If you want your business to go viral, then apply these tips to go the extra mile. Whether it’s “going viral” or becoming “the talk of the town,” generating buzz around your business is essential if you want to grow your audience and, consequently, your bottom line. General marketing efforts are a good start; however, you'll need to do more to make a big name for your business. According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, the following 10 strategies can give your brand the boost it needs to really take off. Consider adopting one or more of these tactics to build buzz around your business, get your product in front of more consumers and increase your sales as well as your odds of success.

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To better engage with your customers, you’ll need to think like them first. As companies begin reflecting on the past year and planning for the next one, they’re likely setting goals for the new year and the steps they need to take in order to better their company and their bottom line. For many companies, that means working on customer communication and engagement. As the way companies treat their customers can have a huge impact on overall customer interest and loyalty to a brand, ensuring helpful, consistent communication and regular engagement is critical to increasing sales. But improving your communication with customers isn’t as easy as just answering their questions. Here, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council share nine tips for improving your customer communication and engagement in 2024 and why doing so can help you start your year off on a positive note.

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Without any reviews, you’ll need to pique customers’ interest in other ways. Positive reviews are essential to driving new customers to your business, as customers are more likely to buy something if they know plenty of others have tried and liked it before them. But when you're just starting out, you don't yet have any reviews to give you credibility, and this can be a major roadblock when it comes to getting your sales numbers off the ground.  So what can a new business owner do to elevate brand awareness? Below, eight business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their best advice to new entrepreneurs on how to encourage sales with few or no reviews and get their businesses started on the right track.

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Succeeding in business often means turning your fears into opportunities for growth. While it’s necessary to be confident in order to run a successful business, that doesn’t mean business leaders never have feelings of self-doubt or fear. Operations may be running smoothly one day and hit a major roadblock the next. An investor could turn down your pitch, or sales could suddenly take a turn for the worse. Any of these moments would naturally cause leaders to feel anxious about their abilities, but the best leaders know how to overcome those feelings and forge ahead. At times, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council have had their own doubts and fears to contend with. Here, they share how they tackled these feelings head on and how they became better leaders for having done so.

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Even in business, hindsight is 20/20. Experience is often the best teacher — especially in business. Unfortunately, that can often mean aspiring entrepreneurs start out making a lot of mistakes, valuing the wrong things and not considering certain factors that could eventually make or break their business. But while you may not be able to skip ahead when it comes to your experience, the next best way to learn is from those who have taken the same journey before. Whether it’s via a mentor or a best-selling business book, listening to the advice of others can keep you from making the same mistakes they did — and inspire you to forge new paths. To weigh in with the wisdom they’ve gleaned over the years, seven business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council discuss the lessons they wish they would have learned before they launched their businesses and why.

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Losing your passion doesn’t mean it has to be gone forever. It’s not uncommon to make your career your passion, to want to work on something you feel inspired by and that gets you excited to go to work each day. However, even if you’re in your “dream job,” it’s possible to sometimes feel like you’ve lost that passion. Whether it’s a series of failures that have you questioning your abilities or a combination of long hours and too many tasks piling up making you desperate for rest, there are a number of factors that can leave you wondering if you’ve lost your passion forever. As business leaders and entrepreneurs, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have also felt the fatigue and self-doubt of lost passion. Here, they share their best advice for how to regain the passion for your career and discuss how losing their own passion has helped to shape their careers today.

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Before you tackle your business alone, consider this advice first. Running a business on your own comes with an abundance of benefits — the ability to determine your own schedule, the freedom to make decisions based on your own ideas and the opportunity to work on whatever projects you find interesting. However, being a solopreneur or solo creator also means you’re the only one responsible for starting and growing your company, which can be a lot of pressure for one person to handle. As business leaders, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council are familiar with what it takes to build a brand from the ground up. Below, they each offer up one tip for solopreneurs and creators looking to start their own brands, grow them and succeed as leaders in the culture space.

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Mastering the art of storytelling can increase your odds of overall success. The story a company tells to its audience has a direct impact on the way its potential customers think and feel about its brand. Whether you want to inspire trust, encourage a feeling of camaraderie or build subject matter authority, the way you communicate your message will often determine how successful you are as a business. In this way, your ability to weave a narrative into your brand messaging should be a skill you are always looking to improve upon. As business leaders themselves, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have experience sharing the stories of their own brands. Here, they offer their help by recommending their top tips for how to improve your storytelling to better communicate your brand’s message to your intended audience.

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Failure can be one of life's greatest teachers. At one time or another, every leader will experience some degree of professional failure. While the experience can be disappointing or frustrating, it can also serve as a powerful teacher, imparting valuable lessons that can shape one's views or career trajectory. If you've experienced failure in your professional journey, know that you're not alone — and you're not down for the count. Below, 12 members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share the biggest lessons they've learned from professional failure and the lasting impact of that hard-earned wisdom.

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Standing out isn’t just about having the best idea. In a world saturated by millions of businesses all claiming to have the perfect solution to whatever problem consumers have, trying to find ways to make your own business rise above the noise can seem like an impossible endeavor. However, even businesses with fierce competition can find ways of standing out — with the right strategy, of course. To truly get your business noticed and to amass a large following of devoted customers, you’ll need to think thoughtfully about your customers, their needs and what your business can provide that no other business can. To help get you started, nine business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council share their insights on differentiating your company from the competition and recommend a few steps you should remember to take to help ensure your success.

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Unravel the mystery behind plummeting sales. Experiencing a sudden and significant drop in sales can be a distressing ordeal for any business owner. When faced with this challenging situation, it is crucial to act swiftly and decisively to diagnose the root causes and implement effective solutions. By understanding the reasons behind the decline in sales, businesses can make informed decisions and deploy targeted measures to reinvigorate growth and reclaim their competitive edge. Below, 10 Rolling Stone Culture Council members explore essential steps to troubleshoot sales slumps, enabling businesses to identify underlying issues and devise strategies to reverse any downward trends.

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Getting your team to work together often starts with you. In creative industries, an agile work culture helps create an environment which encourages the teamwork and collaboration necessary to come up with new and innovative ideas or thoughtfully expand on existing ones. Part of creating an agile work culture, however, is ensuring your team has what they need to collaborate effectively. To do so, you’ll need to take stock of your current work environment to find areas for improvement.  Whether it’s leading by example, offering full autonomy on projects or defining clear roles and expectations, there are a number of approaches you can take to nurture a collaborative environment — with some approaches less obvious than others. Here, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their best tips for building an agile, collaborative work environment for your employees and why it’s so key to do so.

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Choosing the right partner could mean skyrocketing sales for your brand. With around 72% of Gen Z and Millennials following influencers on social media, it’s difficult to deny the powerful reach influencer marketing can have on such a large portion of the consumer population. Influencers not only boast an established audience of viewers, but they also possess a unique, loyal and trusting relationship with their audience members — something a brand may have difficulty achieving on its own. Naturally, more and more brands are looking to partner with influencers to help sell and promote their products; however, doing so shouldn’t be an impulse decision. Before partnering with an influencer, you’ll want to consider the following seven factors as outlined by the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. By following their recommendations and building out a well-planned strategy for your influencer marketing campaign, you could generate not only more sales but an audience of loyal customers as well.

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When it comes to promoting your business, a well-crafted pitch can make all the difference. In the competitive landscape of public relations, understanding how to develop a good pitch for your business is essential. From telling a compelling story to leveraging effective data and statistics, the content and delivery of your pitch could help your company stand out from the countless other pitches members of the media receive every day. Below, 12 Rolling Stone Culture Council members delve into the crucial points you should keep in mind when working on public relations for your business. Here's why these elements are fundamental in capturing the interest and attention of both journalists and your target audience.

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Digital marketing is changing constantly, but experts believe these shifts could have a major impact on campaign effectiveness. As a marketing leader, your primary goal is to ensure your campaigns connect with the intended target market. This task is easier said than done in a world of shrinking consumer attention spans and competing digital communication channels. However, modern marketing is ever-evolving, and certain changes in trends and tools could make a big difference for marketers who want to improve their reach and see more results. Below, nine Rolling Stone Culture Council members explore some key shifts in the digital marketing realm that could help companies better connect with their audiences.

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Ensure the success of your startup by following these 12 tips to build the best possible team through effective hiring practices. Building a successful startup requires assembling a team of talented individuals who can contribute to its growth and navigate the challenges of the early stages. However, hiring the right people for a startup can be a daunting task. It requires a strategic approach to identify individuals who not only possess the necessary skills but also align with the company's vision and culture. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members shared some essential tips for bringing on the right people to help grow a startup in its early stages. These insights will empower entrepreneurs to make informed hiring decisions that lay a solid foundation for long-term success. 

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Industries are feeling the pressure to adapt to consumer demand for sustainable practices — and failing to keep up could mean losing market share. As consumer demand for eco-friendly and sustainable products and practices continues to rise, industries across the board are being forced to adapt and innovate. Companies that fail to keep up with this shift risk losing market share and falling behind the competition. As leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council see how consumer demand for sustainability is affecting cultural industries and, here, discuss some of the innovations and changes that are on the horizon. By understanding the impact of sustainability on their industry, companies can position themselves for success in a rapidly evolving market.

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From being patient to keeping a positive mindset, here are the tips that will help you start a successful business. Starting a business can be an overwhelming experience, and before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey, it's often helpful to receive advice and guidance from those who have been through it before. Below, 12 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share the advice they received when starting out that still resonates with them today. By learning from the experiences of others, new business owners can gain valuable insights and inspiration to help them navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship.

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Companies must strive to be flexible and adaptable to remain relevant and competitive. Consumer and cultural interests have undergone significant shifts over the years, influencing businesses in various ways. Remaining agile and responsive to changing consumer and cultural interests is essential for businesses that want to succeed in today's dynamic marketplace, as a failure to do so could result in missed opportunities and diminished customer trust. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members share nine tips for how your business can stay on top of changing consumer and cultural interests and the impact they have on the overall business climate.

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From building key relationships to traditional marketing strategies, there are many low-cost ways to attract new customers. In today's highly competitive market, acquiring and retaining new customers is a top priority for any business. However, many businesses struggle with the costs associated with marketing and advertising efforts to attract new customers. Fortunately, there are low-cost strategies businesses can implement to acquire and retain new customers without breaking the bank. These strategies not only help businesses save money, but they are also highly effective in building brand awareness, increasing customer engagement and driving sales. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share 11 low-cost strategies any business can implement to acquire and retain new customers.

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With a business strategy centered around sustainability, brands can attract consumers and increase their bottom lines. As sustainability becomes a prominent topic of discussion, environmentally conscious consumers are actively seeking out companies that align with their values. Because of this increasing concern for environmental issues among consumers, businesses are now recognizing the need to show their dedication to eco-friendly practices. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share practical steps businesses can take to demonstrate their commitment to the environment and eco-friendly policies. From incorporating sustainable materials in their products to implementing energy-efficient measures in their operations, these efforts not only benefit the planet but also have a positive impact on their bottom line.

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With so much noise on social media, a strong and well-planned strategy is the key to standing out. Social media has revolutionized the way businesses interact with their customers and followers. Nowadays, it's not just about selling products or services, but also about building relationships and establishing trust with your audience. This is where an effective social media plan comes in. By implementing the right strategies, businesses can engage with their customers and followers on a deeper level, which can lead to increased brand loyalty and advocacy. Below, 10 members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share the different social media strategies any business can use to build better relationships with their customers and why they are so effective at doing so.

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Silos can often hamper collaboration, but with the right strategies, you can start working together more effectively. In today's fast-paced and competitive work environment, collaboration has become an essential skill for teams to succeed. While individual focus time is crucial, many projects require a diverse range of perspectives and skill sets to come to fruition. However, breaking down the silos that exist between team members and departments and often hinder this success can be challenging. Leaders must create an environment that fosters collaboration by encouraging open communication, promoting cross-functional teams and implementing collaborative tools and practices. To help you do this, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members explain how leaders and their teams can break down silos and become better collaborators.

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Resource planning can be challenging, but it's an important step for keeping your budget and operations on track. For new business leaders, it's important to have a clear and prioritized road map for the business’s future, as this will help guide your decisions each day. However, each initiative, project and task requires certain resources — such as staff, funding, equipment, tools and more. Determining how to allocate these resources effectively is key to ensuring your business has what it needs to accomplish your goals. That said, it’s important to regularly assess whether your resources are being used effectively and to make adjustments as needed to stay on track. To help you do this, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their best advice on how to tackle resource planning as a new business owner.

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Business inspiration can come from any number of places, and sometimes it's the last place you'd expect. When seeking inspiration, there are countless places you can turn to explore diverse perspectives and innovative ideas. For example, books, conferences or podcasts that cover topics both within and outside of your industry can provide fresh insights that can be applied to your own business challenges. Whether they're in a "rut" or just looking for new ideas to enhance their workflows, it's important for business leaders to find reliable sources of inspiration to guide them. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members explain where they turn to for help with creative problem-solving or creating new products in their businesses and how other leaders can follow suit.

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If you've spotted an employee who has "quiet quit" their job, it's not too late to turn things around. In today's fast-paced and competitive work environment, retaining employees has become increasingly challenging. One growing phenomenon that has added to this challenge is the concept of "quiet quitting" — employees who have disengaged from their work but are still physically present in the workplace. Companies often struggle to identify and address this issue, which can lead to decreased productivity, increased turnover and a negative work environment. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members offer some practical advice for reengaging and motivating employees who may be quietly quitting, along with strategies for preventing this phenomenon from happening in the first place.

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Getting noticed in the increasingly crowded social media realm can be challenging, but there are a few effective strategies that can help. Social media is saturated with accounts for businesses and individuals alike, making it hard to get noticed. However, discoverability plays a large role in driving sales and attracting new customers. Though the task may seem daunting, an overhaul of your team's content creation may be necessary to expand your reach, whether this means shifting strategies or focusing on specific projects. To help, a group of Rolling Stone Culture Council experts share their best tips for businesses looking to boost discoverability on social media in 2023.

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Tackling that "post-holiday slump" head-on is the best way to keep your team's morale and productivity up all year long. During the holidays, it's easy for teams to get swept up in the cheer and overall positive mood of the season. However, as the new year begins and the festivities have wound down, you and your employees may experience a dip in energy. While 12 months of holiday spirit might not be feasible (or even desired), there are plenty of ways leaders can maintain their team's good mood and upward momentum year-round. To help, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer eight strategies for keeping up team morale at the beginning of the year and beyond.

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Being deliberate and strategic about your content marketing efforts will yield far better results than a series of unrelated posts. Using social media or a blog to promote your brand isn't as simple as posting for the sake of it. Having a solid content strategy takes the guesswork out of what to publish and ensures that the content will resonate with your audience. Successful content strategies should consider the needs and demographics of your audience, the mission of your business, the purpose of publishing the content and more. Here, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their No. 1 tips for creating an effective content strategy for your brand and why these tips work so well.

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Before getting carried away with an exciting new idea, it's important to confirm it makes business sense to pursue it. The start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to take big risks and implement fresh ideas in your business. But the excitement of a new idea shouldn't distract from the need to confirm whether or not the idea is a viable one. Research must be conducted to determine whether the product will perform as well as anticipated in a given market and that consumers actually want or need what you’re offering them. To help get you started, 10 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share some important steps to help you and your team take an idea beyond the initial "excitement" phase.

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The end of the year is a notoriously busy time, but it's important to make room in your schedule for these key year-end to-dos. As the end of the year approaches, most businesses are wrapping up any outstanding projects and assessing what needs to be carried over into the new year. It's the perfect time for leaders to meet with employees to discuss what worked, what could be better and how teamwork can help achieve next year’s goals. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members share some essential items business leaders should achieve before January 1st. Here's why they believe these 13 tasks belong on your end-of-year to-do list.

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The end of the year is an ideal time to reflect on what you've learned and how you can apply it to your business moving forward. One of the most important aspects of an end-of-year review is assessing what went right and what went wrong for your business. Setting expectations for the following year based on those statistics helps ensure that your company continues to improve. Here, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members share the most valuable lessons they learned over the past 12 months and the key takeaways they'll implement in their businesses in 2023.

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In a world of abundant information, it's imperative to learn how to "filter" media and distill it down to what's necessary for your job. Keeping up with the 24-hour news cycle can be exhausting. It's harder than ever to stay apprised of new social media trends, international news and local stories — especially because trends come and go faster than ever before. For those who work in the culture space, it's essential to have the information necessary to do your job well, which means learning how to tune out some of the noise. To help you do this, 10 Rolling Stone Culture Council members offer their tips for keeping up with relevant news in a productive, efficient way.

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Your followers can be a huge source of creative and engaging content for your brand if you know how to ask for it. Whether it's fans writing articles for your website or submitting product photos as part of a contest, user-generated content (UGC) has become a key component of many modern brands' marketing strategies. This low-cost tactic can help you crowdsource new content ideas while allowing your audience to shine. Not only does UGC make customers feel more engaged with a brand, but it also supplements brand-generated content, saving your marketing department time and resources. To that end, eight Rolling Stone Culture Council members share smart and effective ways businesses can encourage followers to submit more UGC and make your marketing a little more customer-centric.

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Despite rising costs, there are some simple, clever strategies that can save your business money in the long run. With the cost of goods on the rise, many business owners worry they’ll lose profit by maintaining their current prices or lose customers by raising prices to match the inflated purchasing costs. Though inflation continues to interfere in this way with the day-to-day operations of many businesses, business owners have several options for saving money at their disposal. Below, 10 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their best tips for managing your budget and keeping costs low in the face of inflation.

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As the amount of e-commerce channels and online competitors increase, businesses must choose the right tactics to stand out. The e-commerce landscape has evolved rapidly in recent years as more and more "shoppable" digital platforms emerge. Instead of only being able to make online purchases on a company's website or Amazon page, consumers can also buy products directly through popular social media apps like Instagram or Facebook. Though there are more avenues than ever to get discovered by potential buyers, there may also be a smaller chance of getting noticed among a growing sea of competitors. To help businesses stand out, 10 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their top tactics for getting the most online sales possible.

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Carving out your niche is only the first step in launching a successful business. Business leaders who want to scale in a niche market have a unique opportunity. Niche markets often mean less competition, but the businesses that do exist may be tougher to compete against. To help ensure success when scaling up, businesses should take certain steps to set themselves up with the best odds, whether that's by analyzing market trends first or by taking the time to develop a distinct brand identity. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share this advice and more to help business leaders looking to grow in their niche.

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There are countless lifestyle brands on the market today, so you'll need the right elements to stand out as a memorable one. Lifestyle brands have become popular with celebrities, influencers and entrepreneurs alike, with platforms like Instagram or Facebook serving as their ideal place for sharing small snippets of their lives. Whether they’re centered around everyday life or an aspirational dream, these lifestyles form the basis for marketing a business’s products or services. But to make a lifestyle brand work, entrepreneurs need to develop a strategy with all the right components in place. To that end, 12 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share the ingredients entrepreneurs will need to craft a true lifestyle brand that will help them connect with their ideal audience.

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A positive work environment, including one that embraces a growth mindset, starts at the top. In the business world, a "growth mindset" is often prized for its ability to motivate employees and drive them toward success. Leaders and employees who pursue growth and improvement every day tend to give their all so that they can evolve as professionals and as people in general.   As prominent leaders in their respective fields, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council understand how important it is to encourage and inspire employees to grow. Doing so shows them you are dedicated to elevating their careers and helping them improve professionally. Here, 11 members share some of the ways in which any business leader can inspire their employees to develop and maintain a growth mindset — and how doing so can help improve your business in the long run.

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Many entrepreneurs are afraid of failing when they first start out, but it's possible to push past that fear and find success. Today, more people than ever are driven to create their own businesses. While the thought of being your own boss and creating something you love can be exhilarating, many entrepreneurs also experience that prickly feeling of fear when they actually launch. After all, the potential for failure is high in the early stages of a startup, and new businesses don't always make it past their first few years. Some people will fold under the pressure while others will rise to the challenge despite their fear. To help you ensure you're in the latter camp, 14 members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share how entrepreneurs can overcome the fear of failure and push forward.