Kice Akkawi

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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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No business is ever a total failure if you’ve learned something from it. It’s a sad reality that many businesses will fail — in fact, around 18 percent of businesses tend to fail within their first year of operation. However, a failing business doesn’t have to be a total loss for an entrepreneur. There are often many valuable lessons to be learned from a failed business — whether it’s your own or another brand’s. The key is figuring out what those lessons are and how you can apply them to your next business venture. As leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have seen many businesses come and go. Below, they share the notable lessons they've learned from the failure of a business and how that has impacted how they lead now.

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With technology changing the game and audiences craving unique experiences, the future of live music is all about connection, creativity and pushing boundaries.

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Industry leaders share the top business goals your company should implement in the new year. As another new year approaches, businesses in every industry are reevaluating their priorities to adapt to evolving market demands and consumer expectations. From sustainability initiatives to embracing technological advancements, the goals companies choose to pursue will shape their success and impact. But what are the most important things for businesses to focus on, and are those goals universal? Here, Rolling Stone Culture Council members weigh in on the key objectives they believe more organizations should aim for in 2025 and why these goals can make such a difference in your success next year.

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Nowadays, artists have many options to help them grow their brand and become successful.

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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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In today’s media-oversaturated market, setting your brand apart is vital and sonic branding can help by creating a sound and vision that is exclusive to your brand.

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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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With these tips, you can enjoy the holidays and feel productive at the same time. During the holidays, both your personal and professional to-do lists can often feel never-ending. With gatherings to attend, shopping to do, projects to wrap up and tasks to try to complete before you take off on PTO, finding a way to get it all done can seem impossible. To help ease your work-life balance during the busy holiday season, it’s key to get organized at work and put systems into place to help you bring your workload down to a more manageable level. To help, 11 business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council each discuss one tip they'd offer business leaders for how to tackle a long list of competing priorities during this time of year and get a little more enjoyment out of the festive season.

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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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Having the right material as a producer, DJ, musician or band can increase your chances of getting signed to a talent agency. 

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Cutting costs might mean adding smarter solutions. As the cost of doing business rises, more and more business leaders are looking for ways to save money across their operations. Whether it’s quick fixes like eliminating unused subscriptions and tech or more long-term plays like retaining loyal talent, there are seemingly limitless cost-cutting measures you can employ to give your budget a little more wiggle room. To offer up their own recommendations, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council outline the top money-saving tips that have worked for them and explain why other businesses should implement these strategies for themselves.

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Try out one of these expert-recommended tips for a more successful end of year. The holidays is arguably the most fast-paced season of the year for businesses, as customers are focused on getting great deals and finding the perfect gifts for their loved ones. For business leaders, it’s the perfect time to try to slow down and connect with customers on a different level — as well as remind them why they love your products or services.  Because determining how best to market your business during the holidays can require a little more creativity than perhaps other times of the year, eight members of Rolling Stone Culture Council chime in with their advice below. Consider implementing some of the following initiatives these business leaders found success with or use their ideas to inspire some holiday cheer of your own.

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If you’re planning a return-to-office mandate, it may not be easy to get everyone on board. Companies are continuing to mandate a return to the office — including, controversially, Zoom itself — and many employees are not happy about this push. For many employees, the work-from-home policy they enjoyed during the pandemic gave them the much-needed ability to balance their work and personal lives, and many found they were more productive at home than in the office. These benefits they hoped would continue into the future, so companies calling employees back to the office are naturally receiving some pushback.  To help get employees on board, company leaders will need to reconsider old policies and procedures and update their offices to suit the needs of employees today. Here, the leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council outline these steps and discuss the importance of turning unhappy employees into happy ones.

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Booking a DJ/instrument combo with a saxophone, violin, trumpet or electric guitar can be very well received and provide positive feedback from guests.