I’ve Scaled Premium Brands Before — Here’s How to Grow Without Compromising Quality

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Bigger isn’t always better. When scaling a service business, don’t make the mistake of focusing on growth for growth’s sake, overlooking the personalization, efficiency and trust that today’s consumers are looking for — especially in healthcare, wellness and hospitality.

Quality isn’t the only thing that relentless expansion could cost your business: it can also dilute brand identity and erode company culture, ultimately undermining the growth you sought in the first place.

As the CEO of Sollis Health, an immediate care medical membership, my deep background in service-based brands has taught me how to efficiently scale a premium business without sacrificing the customer experience. Act strategically, and you can both avoid these common pitfalls and maintain high-touch service as your business grows.

Related: Here’s How Scaling a Business Really Works

Conquer the paradox of premium growth

Continuing to exceed your customers’ expectations as you grow means boosting efficiency — but how do you streamline effectively without damaging your brand in the process? Operational growth should never come at the expense of the customer experience.

With creative problem-solving, it doesn’t have to, as I’ve learned in scaling service-based brands at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Peloton and now Sollis Health. For example, when Sollis’s Upper East Side Flagship center was starting to hit its stride, we opened a second clinic just a few blocks away to ensure that our member experience wasn’t compromised by a lack of physicians or waits for care.

A “growth-at-all-costs” mindset would have prioritized opening a new center farther away, which would have expanded our reach but negatively impacted the members served by our Flagship. By prioritizing the experience of our Upper East Side members, we were able to successfully grow the market and maintain our industry-leading retention and member satisfaction.

Don’t dehumanize — systematize

When it comes to premium services, customers need to feel that personal touch — your brand, in other words. Protect its integrity as you scale, or run the risk of losing the very thing that keeps your customers feeling connected, staying engaged and justifying their investment.

So how do you prioritize personalization as you grow? Invest in scalable training and tech from the get-go, with established KPIs to keep you honest and make sure the brand isn’t getting lost in the shuffle.

When I was SVP of Member Experience at Peloton, one of the early wins in driving personalization was prompting instructors to “shout out” the birthdays and milestone workouts of members as they were riding live. Hearing their instructor at the New York studio wishing them a happy birthday at their home in Oregon truly delighted them and cultivated lasting emotional loyalty to the brand.

But as our membership grew, it just wasn’t feasible to scale shout-outs, too — at some point, the entire class would become a shout-out! Instead, our amazing Product team developed a “high-five” touchscreen functionality so members could encourage and celebrate one another during any workout, whether live or on-demand.

Related: The Most Successful Founders Take Retreats — Here’s Why You Should, Too

Align on what “premium” means for the brand

When it comes to branding, internal alignment must come first — because if you can’t agree on what “premium” means, expensive and time-consuming disagreements on service offerings, expansions and other deployments are likely waiting for you down the road.

To get ahead of this problem, start by codifying your service philosophy. What sets your brand apart in terms of the customer experience? Which of these elements are non-negotiable as you grow? Which might be challenged by expansion — and what’s your plan for mitigating these challenges? Ultimately, whatever makes your service premium should be so embedded in your brand’s DNA that it gets emphasized, not lost, as you scale.

In a healthcare system that makes everyone feel like a number (patients and doctors alike), Sollis engineers exceptional care by bending that system to our members’ needs: we’re not reinventing medicine, we’re reimagining the delivery. While our beautiful private centers, elite clinicians and thoughtful amenities elevate urgent and emergency care — which is usually a confusing, uncomfortable experience — what makes Sollis premium is our unique ability to provide exceptional care immediately.

With this service philosophy as our guiding star since 2016, we’ve been able to open new centers, expand our medical capabilities and launch new membership offerings without sacrificing what sets us apart.

Measure what actually matters

Traditional KPIs play a crucial role in scaling, but profit margins and ROIs don’t tell the whole story. Premium service quality is incredibly nuanced, which is why “soft” stats — like the “soft” skills mentioned earlier — are important, and yet so often overlooked. With experience playing such a big role in a premium service, tracking customer satisfaction, interaction sentiment, membership renewals and family/friend referrals will help you identify wins and areas for improvement that you may not notice otherwise.

I’m a big fan of the Net Promoter Score (NPS), given its power to predict likelihood to renew, spend and refer. That said, a low NPS often comes too late to take action. So I like to supplement NPS with key leading indicators.

At Peloton and Sollis alike, utilization is the single biggest predictor of retention and renewal, so we track this vital data to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to deliver on our promise to our members, whether that’s making the ultimate fitness experience more accessible, affordable and efficient, or providing exceptional care immediately — no matter what.

Related: How to Future-Proof Your Business and Design Processes That Survive You, AI and Everything Else

Don’t let size be the enemy of quality

It’s never a bad time to deepen your understanding of what it means to scale. Scaling a premium service isn’t just about increasing your size: it’s also about protecting your original vision, the DNA of your brand, as you evolve and grow.

“What will we never compromise on, no matter how much we grow?”

When you already know the answer to this question, keeping the customer at the center of every growth opportunity is a given with every move you make.

Bigger isn’t always better. When scaling a service business, don’t make the mistake of focusing on growth for growth’s sake, overlooking the personalization, efficiency and trust that today’s consumers are looking for — especially in healthcare, wellness and hospitality.

Quality isn’t the only thing that relentless expansion could cost your business: it can also dilute brand identity and erode company culture, ultimately undermining the growth you sought in the first place.

As the CEO of Sollis Health, an immediate care medical membership, my deep background in service-based brands has taught me how to efficiently scale a premium business without sacrificing the customer experience. Act strategically, and you can both avoid these common pitfalls and maintain high-touch service as your business grows.

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https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/ive-scaled-premium-brands-before-heres-how-to-grow/495686




How to Set Boundaries With Your Clients Without Losing Business

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you’ve ever responded to an email at 9:00 pm on a Sunday, waived a late fee to “be nice,” or bent your availability to fit a client’s changing schedule (again), you’re not alone. Setting boundaries as a business owner can feel genuinely impossible.

You want to be helpful, responsive and flexible, but if you’re not careful, that flexibility turns into burnout and ultimately, resentment. In fact, 42% of small business owners report feeling burnout and resentment towards their business.

Setting boundaries doesn’t have to mean losing clients. In fact, clear boundaries often increase trust, professionalism and client satisfaction when implemented well. Here’s how to set them effectively without compromising your business.

Related: Embrace the Art of Saying No: 4 Tips for Setting Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries are a signal, not a barrier

First, let’s talk about what boundaries are actually meant to do in business. Boundaries aren’t about creating distance or being difficult to work with. They’re about setting expectations, and managing expectations is at the heart of great client relationships. When your clients know what to expect from you, they’re less likely to push or feel disappointed. You’re creating a container that allows you both to do your best work.

So, rather than thinking of boundaries as walls, think of them as the frame around your service that holds the whole thing together.

Identify where you’re leaking energy and set those expectations upfront

Before you set new rules, figure out what’s actually not working.

Maybe you’re answering texts at all hours or constantly rescheduling calls. Or maybe you’re putting up with a client treating you and your team not as well as they should. Maybe you’ve continued to say yes to more edits and more scope creep, and you’re feeling like the project might never end.

By taking note of the small places where you feel frustrated or overextended, you are getting direction as to where to firm up your boundaries.

Then, look at where you can set clearer expectations around those things, sooner in the partnership.

This could be in your onboarding guide, welcome email or formal scope of work. Take a look and make sure it spells out things like your working hours and response time, what’s included and not included in your service and your policies around things like revisions, late payments and cancellations.

When clients have this info upfront, you’re not springing “rules” on them later. You’re also setting the expectations upfront, which can deter clients who may want to push those limits — which is fine, as those are the types of clients we are trying to deter.

Related: Why Setting Boundaries Is the Secret to Preserving Energy and Focusing on What Matters

Lead with clarity and neutrality

Boundaries don’t have to be cold. Instead, the key is to communicate them with emotional neutrality and confidence.

For example, instead of: “That’s out of scope.” Try: “Great idea! That would be outside the scope of our current agreement, but I’d be happy to send a quote if you’d like to see one.”

Most importantly, don’t wait until you’re frustrated. If you bring emotional charge to the conversation, especially if the other person involved is heightened too, it can easily go down in flames.

You also don’t have to answer in the moment, especially if your default is to say yes. Give yourself space to evaluate whether this is a true emergency, a miscommunication or a case where you need to restate your limits. You can even excuse yourself from a call to give yourself that space to think.

Set expectations early, and reinforce them gently as needed. If the client pushes back on you, stand firm in the boundary. Being clear doesn’t mean you’re being unkind or unfair, especially when you’re delivering it in simple and neutral language.

Remember, most clients aren’t trying to take advantage on purpose. They’re just used to working with people who haven’t communicated boundaries. Your calm, firm response can reset that dynamic quickly.

Create systems to back you up

If you’re constantly having to manually enforce boundaries, you’re going to get tired fast. That’s where systems come in.

There are lots of ways to set up small boundaries throughout your workflow, to both enforce your policies and to signal to clients that you’re willing to do so.

One of my favorites is to build this into your scheduling and sales workflow. In many scheduling tools, you can add an acknowledgement of your late cancellation policy to minimize late cancellations and no-shows of sales calls.

I also love relying on auto-replies to set expectations on response times. Everyone who emails me gets expectations clearly set regarding when to expect to hear from me, which prevents frustration on their end and on mine.

You can also create templates for yourself to use when you’re in a tough situation with clients. Some great places to start are a late payment enforcement email template and another for out-of-scope asks.

The more you build boundaries into your operations, the less emotional labor it takes to enforce them, and the more “normal” it becomes to anyone who works with you.

Related: How to Establish and Maintain Effective Work Boundaries as an Entrepreneur (and Why It’s Important)

Most importantly — be willing to lose the wrong clients

This one is hard, but essential.

If your setting a boundary makes a client upset — and at some point, it will — they might not be the right fit. By setting boundaries and enforcing them, you are showing yourself, your team and your clients that you are willing to prioritize the working experience for everyone, over just taking every single client who comes your way.

Ultimately, clients who respect your time, expertise and business will stay. Those who expect you to be endlessly available, do free work or disregard your policies will either adjust or self-select out.

The good news is that clients who do stay will be just that much better and will most likely spend more with you, refer more people your way and sing your praises.

Clients often love working with people who have boundaries. Boundaries signal that you take your work seriously and are a professional. Who doesn’t want to work with someone like that? People might not always say it, but they will absolutely notice, and your business will thank you.

If you’ve ever responded to an email at 9:00 pm on a Sunday, waived a late fee to “be nice,” or bent your availability to fit a client’s changing schedule (again), you’re not alone. Setting boundaries as a business owner can feel genuinely impossible.

You want to be helpful, responsive and flexible, but if you’re not careful, that flexibility turns into burnout and ultimately, resentment. In fact, 42% of small business owners report feeling burnout and resentment towards their business.

Setting boundaries doesn’t have to mean losing clients. In fact, clear boundaries often increase trust, professionalism and client satisfaction when implemented well. Here’s how to set them effectively without compromising your business.

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/how-to-set-boundaries-with-your-clients/495255




Is Gen Z Really Taking Their Parents to Job Interviews? A New Report Suggests 3 in 4 Have Already Done It.

Resume writing site Resume Templates surveyed more than 800 full-time Gen Z workers to find out how involved (if at all) their parents were in their job search to secure their current roles — and how involved they still may be.

The report found that a whopping three in four (77%) of Gen Zers surveyed had brought a parent to a job interview. That number is up (a lot) from a separate December 2023 survey of 800 managers, directors, and executives from college prep site, Intelligent, which found 20% of recent college graduates had brought a parent to a job interview.

Related: JPMorgan’s New ‘Supertall’ Office Offers Perks Like High-End Restaurants and a High-Tech Gym. Here’s What Else to Expect.

Surprisingly, Gen Z bringing a parent to a job interview isn’t just for a car ride or hiding in the background on Zoom. According to the Resume Template report, around 44% of respondents noted the interview was in-person, while 27% said the interviews were virtual.

As for what they’re doing there, 40% of Gen Zers said their parent or parents actually sat in on the interview. About one-third (34%) said their parents answered questions, 30% asked questions, and 27% tried to help negotiate salary and/or benefits.

Julia Toothacre, Resume Template’s chief career strategist, says that sometimes, having parents help with job searching can be beneficial, but it should be “supportive behind the scenes.”

Related: ‘Holding on for Dear Life’: What’s Behind the ‘Job Hugging’ Trend That’s Stagnating Your Career

“I support parents helping with resumes, offering professional insights, or reviewing performance evaluations,” Toothacre said in a statement. “These actions can give Gen Z a clearer understanding of the workplace and position parents as valuable mentors, especially if they’ve worked in similar fields.”

But parents shouldn’t be participating directly, she says.

“It not only undermines the child’s credibility but also risks stunting their professional growth and ability to navigate challenging situations,” she said. “Additionally, managers and coworkers may interpret this behavior as a lack of maturity, which can damage the employee’s reputation.”

Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/gen-z-is-bringing-mom-dad-to-job-interviews-report/495986




How to Unlock the Potential of Multi-Unit Franchise Ownership

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Among the nearly 850,000 franchise establishments in the U.S., almost half are operated by owners with more than one location – multi-unit franchisees. These individuals have had to invest significant capital, go through comprehensive training, launch the business, endure the growing pains that inevitably come with expansion and growth and reach the breakeven point. Only then can profitability enter the picture.

It’s totally normal to think of expanding at a time like this, yet many still remain hesitant. Some figure if things are going so well, why rock the boat and put the entire operation at financial risk? Others are simply content to sit back and maintain a single unit establishment, where they can focus 100% of their time ensuring things remain smooth. Without a doubt, the decision to expand to multiple units takes some serious contemplation. But for those looking for that elusive reassurance, here are some positive signs you should consider multi-unit expansion.

Related: Considering Becoming a Multi-Unit Franchise Operator of a New Brand? Here’s What You Should Know First.

Be honest with yourself

Before you can consider expanding your single unit into a multi-unit empire, you need to be completely honest with yourself. As in, are you really doing as well as you think you are? In times such as these, it certainly doesn’t hurt to get an unbiased opinion, which could easily come from your financial planner or accountant – provided they’re bound by the fiduciary rule and have your best interests at heart.

Open the books and conduct an accurate review of your financial performance and determine if you’re meeting – and possibly exceeding – the franchisor’s benchmarks for success.

Related: If You Want to Own More Than One Franchise Unit, These Are the Brands to Check Out

Labor and demand

Two factors that will play an important role in your decision is your labor situation and the local market demand for your product or service. In survey after survey, many of the top complaints from franchise owners is they don’t have a reliable or stable workforce. Turns out, it is hard to find good help these days. If you’re fortunate enough to have an excellent general manager at your current location, will you be able to find a similar performer for the new one? Should you consider splitting up your staff among the two locations and hiring the infill positions? Either way, this can be a big risk.

Then there’s the local market demand to consider. While business may be booming at your current location, will the demographic makeup of the additional territory be the same? In a perfect world, the demand may be similar, but it likely won’t be identical.

Related: This Is the Key Factor for Hiring a Cohesive Team

The benefits of multi-unit ownership

When you own more than one franchise location, everything gets multiplied — your investment, your staff, your inventory, your marketing spend and, hopefully, your bottom line. It’s the ultimate risk/reward situation, so you have to take a strategic and cautious approach to scale properly. Now, take a look at the potential advantages that come with multi-unit ownership:

  • You gain multiple revenue streams, which can greatly increase your income and wealth
  • At the same time, you can spread your fixed costs across multiple locations
  • You can negotiate better terms among your vendors and suppliers with bulk supply orders
  • Your visibility in the local market can double or even triple, making it harder on the competition
  • You can diversify your operational risk amongst the multiple locations
  • Your total valuation for an eventual sale will greatly increase, creating an attractive exit strategy
  • You’re doubling or tripling your ability to build long-term wealth

You may have enjoyed reading through each of those benefits, but before you go out and make a rash decision about expanding, you might want to consider an exercise you conducted the first time around: validation. Unless you’re the first owner among an emerging brand, it’s highly likely that someone in your franchise network is a multi-unit owner. So, reach out to them and get a good reading on their own multi-unit expansion experience. Find out where the hidden pitfalls lie and make plans to circumvent any trouble when you finally decide to double or triple down on your investment.

Above all, expect a setback or two. Multi-unit expansions rarely come off without a hitch. If you’re bold enough to consider making a move that could double or triple your business, always proceed with caution. Because the last thing you want to have on your hands are two struggling locations, as opposed to a single establishment that was thriving.

Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

Among the nearly 850,000 franchise establishments in the U.S., almost half are operated by owners with more than one location – multi-unit franchisees. These individuals have had to invest significant capital, go through comprehensive training, launch the business, endure the growing pains that inevitably come with expansion and growth and reach the breakeven point. Only then can profitability enter the picture.

It’s totally normal to think of expanding at a time like this, yet many still remain hesitant. Some figure if things are going so well, why rock the boat and put the entire operation at financial risk? Others are simply content to sit back and maintain a single unit establishment, where they can focus 100% of their time ensuring things remain smooth. Without a doubt, the decision to expand to multiple units takes some serious contemplation. But for those looking for that elusive reassurance, here are some positive signs you should consider multi-unit expansion.

Related: Considering Becoming a Multi-Unit Franchise Operator of a New Brand? Here’s What You Should Know First.

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/the-signs-youre-ready-for-multi-unit-franchise-ownership/495749




Here Are the Exact Salaries AT&T Pays Employees, From AI Engineers to Product Managers

AT&T is one of the world’s biggest telecommunications companies, with the largest wireless network in North America. With a market capitalization of over $207 billion at the time of writing, AT&T is among the top 75 most valuable companies globally by market value. But how well does this telecom giant pay its employees?

New federal filings, seen by Business Insider, reveal how much AT&T pays its employees. AT&T submitted these filings with the U.S. Department of Labor in the first half of the year as part of an effort to hire highly skilled foreign workers for specialized roles through the H-1B visa program. So far this year, AT&T has filed 345 H-1B applications, up from 266 at the same point last year, according to BI.

Related: How Much Does Apple Pay Its Employees? Here Are the Exact Salaries of Staff Jobs, Including Developers, Engineers, and Consultants.

The H-1B data only includes base annual salaries and omits add-ons, like signing bonuses and stock options.

Other tech companies employ greater numbers of foreign workers. Google, for example, submitted 6,800 H-1B applications in the first quarter of the year alone, mainly in tech roles like software engineering and data science.

The filings show that AT&T competitively compensates its software engineers, with principal software engineers taking home $167,098 to $207,425. That range has a higher starting point than companies like Meta and Microsoft, but a lower maximum. For example, Meta pays $120,000 to $480,000 and Microsoft pays $82,971 to $284,000 for software engineers.

Related: Here’s How Much Money Amazon Employees — From Software Engineers to Product Managers — Make in a Year

Here’s how AT&T compensates other members of its staff, per the filings:

  • Lead System Engineer: $139,750 to $180,000
  • Principal Data/AI Engineer: $163,737 to $197,464
  • Senior Data/AI Engineer: $138,699
  • Senior Data Analyst: $134,322
  • Senior Data Scientist: $148,043
  • Senior Tech Product Manager: $124,689 to $156,000

AT&T also submitted a proxy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in May that offered a glimpse into the company’s overall compensation.

According to the proxy statement, a mid-level employee at the company made $122,611 last year. In comparison, AT&T CEO John Stankey made over $26.4 million that same year, or 215 times more than the median worker.

AT&T CEO John Stankey. Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Advertising Week New York

AT&T made a push to return to the office this year, implementing a five-day-a-week return-to-office schedule in January. Earlier this month, Stankey sent a memo to staff urging them to commit to a fully in-person schedule or find work elsewhere.

Related: AT&T CEO Tells Employees to Comply With 5-Day Office Rule or Leave

According to AT&T’s careers website, the telecom giant had more than 1,600 jobs listed globally, with the majority of jobs (1,578) based in the U.S. Some of the categories with the highest number of postings were technology and sales.

AT&T’s stock was up over 27% year-to-date at the time of writing.

Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

AT&T is one of the world’s biggest telecommunications companies, with the largest wireless network in North America. With a market capitalization of over $207 billion at the time of writing, AT&T is among the top 75 most valuable companies globally by market value. But how well does this telecom giant pay its employees?

New federal filings, seen by Business Insider, reveal how much AT&T pays its employees. AT&T submitted these filings with the U.S. Department of Labor in the first half of the year as part of an effort to hire highly skilled foreign workers for specialized roles through the H-1B visa program. So far this year, AT&T has filed 345 H-1B applications, up from 266 at the same point last year, according to BI.

Related: How Much Does Apple Pay Its Employees? Here Are the Exact Salaries of Staff Jobs, Including Developers, Engineers, and Consultants.

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/how-much-do-att-employees-make-salaries-revealed/496036




‘Holding on for Dear Life’: What’s Behind the ‘Job Hugging’ Trend That’s Stagnating Your Career

Last week, consultants at consulting firm Korn Ferry asked a question that revealed a growing workplace trend. The question: “Have you noticed any colleagues leaving for a new role lately, or been asked to help someone find one elsewhere?”

The answer for many people was “no,” and Korn Ferry says it points to an “alarming” trend of “job hugging” — where employees feel like they are holding onto jobs “for dear life” out of fear of economic instability, rather than making bold moves in their careers.

Related: How to Know If You Are Being Quietly Fired

“There’s quite a bit of uncertainty in the world — economic, political, global,” Matt Bohn, an executive search consultant at Korn Ferry, said in an article quoted by CNBC. And that is contributing to the other side of the stagnation coin — employers hiring fewer people. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the hiring rate is at its lowest point in a decade.

Stagnation isn’t great for employees or employers. For workers, it means diminished earnings (most job changes come with a larger salary), and for employers, it means a slowdown of fresh ideas and perspectives.

In a recent sitdown on Entrepreneur’s podcast, How Success Happens, founder and investor Kim Perell advises people to follow her rule of thumb: “If you’re not earning and you’re not learning, you’ve got to make a change.”

She says three years after working at a job, if you are not making significantly more money or gaining new skills, you owe it to yourself and your career to move on.

Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

Last week, consultants at consulting firm Korn Ferry asked a question that revealed a growing workplace trend. The question: “Have you noticed any colleagues leaving for a new role lately, or been asked to help someone find one elsewhere?”

The answer for many people was “no,” and Korn Ferry says it points to an “alarming” trend of “job hugging” — where employees feel like they are holding onto jobs “for dear life” out of fear of economic instability, rather than making bold moves in their careers.

Related: How to Know If You Are Being Quietly Fired

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/what-is-job-hugging-the-latest-trend-in-career-stagnation/496031




Stay One Step Ahead of Cyber Threats for Five Years for $35

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

When you run a business, the last thing you want is sensitive company data floating around unprotected. Whether you’re working from a coffee shop, hotel lobby, or airport lounge, unsecured networks are a cybercriminal’s playground — and a costly breach could set you back far more than a VPN (virtual private network) subscription ever will.

With AdGuard VPN’s five-year plan, you’re getting enterprise-level privacy at a price that makes financial sense. And it’s on sale for just $34.97 (MSRP: $359.40). Using its own advanced security protocol, AdGuard delivers faster, safer browsing without the bottlenecks you find in other VPNs, the company says. That means streaming presentations, downloading large files, and accessing client portals securely — all without slowdown.

You’ll also have access to 70+ global locations, letting you bypass geo-restrictions and test websites, ads, or digital products exactly as your customers see them across different regions. For distributed teams, this ensures everyone can connect securely and consistently, no matter where they work.

With a strict zero-logging policy, AdGuard VPN ensures that your browsing history and activity stay private — even from them. And because your subscription supports up to 10 devices simultaneously, you can cover your laptop, phone, tablet, and workstations in one go. Or you can cover 10 of your staff’s devices.

For $34.97 (MSRP: $359.40), you’re not just buying software — you’re buying five years of AdGuard peace of mind. In an era where data is a business’s most valuable asset, that’s a return on investment you can’t ignore.

AdGuard VPN: 5-Yr Subscription

See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

When you run a business, the last thing you want is sensitive company data floating around unprotected. Whether you’re working from a coffee shop, hotel lobby, or airport lounge, unsecured networks are a cybercriminal’s playground — and a costly breach could set you back far more than a VPN (virtual private network) subscription ever will.

With AdGuard VPN’s five-year plan, you’re getting enterprise-level privacy at a price that makes financial sense. And it’s on sale for just $34.97 (MSRP: $359.40). Using its own advanced security protocol, AdGuard delivers faster, safer browsing without the bottlenecks you find in other VPNs, the company says. That means streaming presentations, downloading large files, and accessing client portals securely — all without slowdown.

You’ll also have access to 70+ global locations, letting you bypass geo-restrictions and test websites, ads, or digital products exactly as your customers see them across different regions. For distributed teams, this ensures everyone can connect securely and consistently, no matter where they work.

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/stay-one-step-ahead-of-cyber-threats-for-five-years-for-35/495806




Strengthen While You Strategize with This Balance Board Bundle

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

If you’re running a business, running to the gym isn’t always in the cards. That’s where the GoBalance Sport App-Enabled Balance Board & Yoga Roller Bundle can be of service. Designed for busy professionals who want to stay fit without rearranging their entire day, this portable training system brings challenging, full-body workouts right into your home or office. And now it’s $20 off with code GOSPORT.

Unlike a standard balance board, GoBalance Sport pairs with an app to track your posture, monitor your progress, and guide your workouts in real time. Whether you’re in plank position before your first Zoom call or squeezing in a balance session between client meetings, you’ll get instant feedback to make every minute count.

With four posture modes (Balance, Plank, Boat, Bridge), adjustable difficulty, and 12+ free games to keep things interesting, you can target strength, coordination, and flexibility without ever feeling like you’re stuck in a repetitive routine. The included yoga roller adds a recovery boost, perfect for stretching and muscle relief after long workdays.

Beyond the physical benefits, regular balance training has been shown to improve cognitive performance (according to the National Institute of Health) — something every decision-maker can appreciate. By engaging your core and stabilizing muscles, you’re also activating the parts of your brain responsible for focus and coordination, the company says. It’s a workout that not only strengthens your body but can sharpen your mental edge.

Plus, the investment goes further than just your own fitness. Because the GoBalance Sport is approachable for all skill levels, it’s a tool you can share with colleagues, family, or even use in workplace wellness programs. Set it up in a break room or common space, and you might just inspire a culture of movement and better health throughout your team.

And because it’s compact, rechargeable, and travel-friendly, the GoBalance Sport is as mobile as you are. From boardroom to balance board, you’ll be building a stronger core, sharper focus, and more resilient body — no gym membership required.

Pick up the GoBalance Sport Bundle while it’s on sale for $115.99 (MSRP: $159.95) with code GOSPORT at checkout.

GoBalance Sport App-Enabled Balance Board & Yoga Roller Bundle

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StackSocial prices subject to change.

If you’re running a business, running to the gym isn’t always in the cards. That’s where the GoBalance Sport App-Enabled Balance Board & Yoga Roller Bundle can be of service. Designed for busy professionals who want to stay fit without rearranging their entire day, this portable training system brings challenging, full-body workouts right into your home or office. And now it’s $20 off with code GOSPORT.

Unlike a standard balance board, GoBalance Sport pairs with an app to track your posture, monitor your progress, and guide your workouts in real time. Whether you’re in plank position before your first Zoom call or squeezing in a balance session between client meetings, you’ll get instant feedback to make every minute count.

With four posture modes (Balance, Plank, Boat, Bridge), adjustable difficulty, and 12+ free games to keep things interesting, you can target strength, coordination, and flexibility without ever feeling like you’re stuck in a repetitive routine. The included yoga roller adds a recovery boost, perfect for stretching and muscle relief after long workdays.

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https://www.entrepreneur.com/living/strengthen-while-you-strategize-with-this-balance-board/495805




Your Brand Deserves Better Images, So Get Them for $20 with This Photo-Editing App

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

When you’re running a business, every photo you put out into the world is part of your brand story. Whether it’s a product image on your website, a team photo for LinkedIn, or a behind-the-scenes Instagram shot, visual quality matters—and it can mean the difference between “just scrolling” and “click to buy.”

Luminar Mobile makes pro-level photo editing accessible, affordable, and ridiculously easy. For a one-time $19.99 payment, you’ll have lifetime access to an AI-powered editing toolkit that can replace skies, relight scenes, retouch portraits, and even remove that random coffee cup from your product flat lay. And yes, it works seamlessly on your iOS or Android device—so you can edit from anywhere.

For entrepreneurs, marketers, real estate agents, content creators, and small-business owners, this is the kind of tool that pays for itself fast. Need to polish product shots before uploading them to your eCommerce site? Want to make sure your LinkedIn headshot looks confident and approachable? Launching a social media campaign that requires cohesive, high-quality visuals? Luminar Mobile puts all that power in your pocket.

With features like EnhanceAI to instantly boost color and clarity, SkinAI to refine portraits, and Erase to remove distractions, you can produce client-ready visuals in minutes—without expensive software or outsourcing. In today’s market, where attention spans are short and competition is fierce, looking polished isn’t optional.

Luminar Mobile makes it effortless.

Get lifetime access to one of the following versions:

StackSocial prices subject to change.

When you’re running a business, every photo you put out into the world is part of your brand story. Whether it’s a product image on your website, a team photo for LinkedIn, or a behind-the-scenes Instagram shot, visual quality matters—and it can mean the difference between “just scrolling” and “click to buy.”

Luminar Mobile makes pro-level photo editing accessible, affordable, and ridiculously easy. For a one-time $19.99 payment, you’ll have lifetime access to an AI-powered editing toolkit that can replace skies, relight scenes, retouch portraits, and even remove that random coffee cup from your product flat lay. And yes, it works seamlessly on your iOS or Android device—so you can edit from anywhere.

For entrepreneurs, marketers, real estate agents, content creators, and small-business owners, this is the kind of tool that pays for itself fast. Need to polish product shots before uploading them to your eCommerce site? Want to make sure your LinkedIn headshot looks confident and approachable? Launching a social media campaign that requires cohesive, high-quality visuals? Luminar Mobile puts all that power in your pocket.

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Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/your-brand-deserves-better-images-so-get-them-for-20-with/495872




5 Tips You Need to Know Before Entering a Growth Industry — From Someone Who’s Doing It

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

For the ambitious entrepreneur, there is an ever-growing list of exciting new sector opportunities to explore. Many of these, especially those with billion to trillion-dollar valuations, belong to growth industries, which are defined as sectors of the global economy that experience higher-than-average growth rate. These sectors host a high volume of new products and services that entice consumer demand, and many of them are often new or pioneer industries that were non-existent in the past decades.

From the rise of services and products enhanced by generative AI technologies to the attractive growth projections reported in sectors such as the Internet of Things, cybersecurity, robotics and even space technologies, growth industries have the potential to shape the future we will live in. A McKinsey report on future growth industries said that around 18 sectors are deemed to be transformative, with the potential to reshape the global economy, making revenues worth between $29 trillion and $48 trillion by 2040.

Take the longevity industry, which I operate in through Seveno Capital, for instance, which has taken a bold stance to meaningfully extend the human health span through holistic and scientific measures. This emerging sector, which has been projected to be worth trillions by 2030, has been grabbing headlines in 2025. This growth industry’s impressive projections is thanks to a realisation that a significant proportion of the current ageing population has a strong desire to live longer, fuller and healthier lives.

Visionary entrepreneurs are often keen to be early starters in these arenas, a strategic position which could result in significant market share capture and resulting revenue in the coming years. As an entrepreneur and investor who recently entered a high-growth industry myself, I would like to share five useful tips that entrepreneurs need to know about before they make the bold step forward.

Related: 5 Ways to Spot Trends Before They Explode — and Turn Them Into Growth

1. Know your industry

Entrepreneurs entering a growth industry should know the ins and outs of the sector and target regions, from the movement of the regulatory landscape to trends to discussions around ethics and social effects, especially where new technologies are involved.

Keeping up to date with reports on growth industry challenges and opportunities, such as ones produced by the likes of BCG and McKinsey, should be a high-priority item on the entrepreneur’s list of daily tasks.

More importantly, networking with other players within the industry through online forums, conferences and roundtable meetings is key to getting to know your sector.

To help you better understand the prospect of a growth industry, analyze past and present trends across multiple timeframes. See the big picture. Make sure that the highly valued stocks and sky-high valuations are part of a wider trajectory rather than being results of a short-term microtrend.

2. Future-proof your company

There is always risk involved when entrepreneurs enter a growth industry for the first time, so to prepare for this, you need to build a resilient ship that can withstand any storms in the form of market fluctuations and black swan events.

A few factors are important to do this. You have to create flexible business operations that could adapt and change to changes in the wider landscape, for example, if you were previously set only on working in an office, think again and prepare for a digital interface that could run all operations and keep your team collaborating smoothly.

Entering a growth industry usually requires entrepreneurs to be familiar with new technologies. Invest in continuous learning and upskilling across the board so you can be in a good position to stand out among competitors and continue innovating when trends change in the future.

Related: 7 Tips to Enter a New Market and Experience Rapid Growth

3. Build the A-team

The key to success in a highly competitive sector, especially one that is emerging, is finding the right talent for the job. This requires thorough research and analysis, including identifying the type of skillset future competitors within the industry are prioritizing.

This can definitely be a daunting task, as brand presence is required to attract top talent in the first place. This is where it is important for the business to promote its unique business culture on innovative platforms, especially those utilised by younger generations, which require little to no marketing budget.

Since newer industries can be more challenging to hire for, focus on both the relevant skills the business needs and any transferable skills from previous experience that could prove to be valuable in a new growth market.

Once you attract the right talent, foster a progressive business culture and offer attractive perks and flexibility where possible, to encourage them to trust your company and stay. A collaborative approach used to communicate between management and employees will also increase feelings of loyalty to the company and the brand, keeping turnover low to zero.

4. Focus on personalized services

Growth industries are so tech-focused that sometimes, companies can seem impersonal to their customers. Do not make this mistake. In a world where automation is removing even customer service helplines, building a service-oriented company would help your business stand out from the crowd.

Utilize the power of AI technologies to support your business in a way that enables it to then focus on creating more personalized customer interactions and services. Finding the right balance between technology and the human touch will be crucial in attracting your customer base and building brand loyalty.

Related: 5 Innovative Ways to Give Your Customers the Personalized Experiences They Want

5. It’s a race — keep up with the speed

One thing you cannot afford to do when entering a growth industry is to rest on your laurels. The speed of innovation in industries like these can be overwhelming, so entrepreneurs need to be prepared to do their homework and keep up to speed with changes, which can sometimes occur daily, in a sector like the video game industry, for example. “It would be like if Martin Scorsese had to relearn how to use a camera every time he went to make a new movie,” Electronic Arts Chief Strategy Officer Mihir Vaidya has described the rate of change technologies undergo within a growth industry.

For the ambitious entrepreneur, there is an ever-growing list of exciting new sector opportunities to explore. Many of these, especially those with billion to trillion-dollar valuations, belong to growth industries, which are defined as sectors of the global economy that experience higher-than-average growth rate. These sectors host a high volume of new products and services that entice consumer demand, and many of them are often new or pioneer industries that were non-existent in the past decades.

From the rise of services and products enhanced by generative AI technologies to the attractive growth projections reported in sectors such as the Internet of Things, cybersecurity, robotics and even space technologies, growth industries have the potential to shape the future we will live in. A McKinsey report on future growth industries said that around 18 sectors are deemed to be transformative, with the potential to reshape the global economy, making revenues worth between $29 trillion and $48 trillion by 2040.

Take the longevity industry, which I operate in through Seveno Capital, for instance, which has taken a bold stance to meaningfully extend the human health span through holistic and scientific measures. This emerging sector, which has been projected to be worth trillions by 2030, has been grabbing headlines in 2025. This growth industry’s impressive projections is thanks to a realisation that a significant proportion of the current ageing population has a strong desire to live longer, fuller and healthier lives.

The rest of this article is locked.

Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/5-tips-you-need-to-know-before-entering-a-growth-industry/494171