March 2025 – Page 11

This Is the Hidden Investment Opportunity That Could Make You Serious Money

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In the ever-expanding concrete jungles of metropolitan cities, space is a luxury — a commodity sought after with relentless fervor. Yet, amid towering skyscrapers and sprawling developments lie overlooked gems: small urban spaces with untapped potential to yield extraordinary financial returns. With innovative strategies and entrepreneurial ingenuity, these modest pockets of land can be transformed into thriving economic engines, benefiting not only their developers but also entire communities.

Maximizing returns through innovation

For entrepreneurs, innovation is the cornerstone of unlocking financial prosperity in compact urban spaces. Micro-businesses, co-working spaces and pop-up ventures have revolutionized how we perceive and utilize small spaces. Parking lots, for example, are no longer just static vehicles for income but can double as event spaces, electric vehicle charging hubs or even seasonal markets.

From my time working with smart cities solutions provider companies like Roker and other parking technology and operations enablers, I’ve witnessed firsthand how reimagining parking infrastructure can yield multifaceted revenue streams. In one initiative, underutilized parking areas were repurposed into EV charging stations, generating a 25% increase in annual revenue while supporting green energy initiatives. Similarly, partnerships with local businesses to host pop-up retail stores in unused parking bays created a vibrant community hub, attracting foot traffic and increasing local business sales by over 40%.

Financial viability: Is it worth the investment?

For any entrepreneur, the burning question is: What’s the ROI? Let’s break it down with numbers:

EV charging stations: Reports suggest that urban EV stations can generate significant monthly revenue per charger in high-demand areas.
Pop-up shops: Short-term retail spaces in busy locations have been known to command monthly rental rates ranging from $500 to $5,000, depending on foot traffic and location.
Community events: Repurposing a parking lot into an event venue can net substantial revenue per event, depending on scale and sponsorship.

Such financial insights show that with modest initial investments, overlooked spaces can yield exponential returns, making them highly lucrative for entrepreneurs willing to think outside the box.

Lessons from global transformations

Across my career, I’ve had the privilege of working in regions like the United States, Australia, the U.K., Singapore, Malaysia, the Gulf countries and Canada, each offering unique lessons in urban transformation.

In the U.S. and Canada, adaptive reuse projects have been pivotal. From transforming disused warehouses into tech hubs to repurposing parking lots for food truck parks, these regions demonstrate how innovative thinking can turn underutilized spaces into thriving economic zones
In Asian cities, limited land availability has led to the rise of vertical farming and rooftop gardens. One notable project is the transformation of urban spaces into thriving urban farms, promoting sustainability and generating significant annual revenues.
The Gulf countries excel in maximizing utility, with parking areas hosting pop-up markets during festivals, generating substantial revenue while fostering community engagement.

These global examples demonstrate that the entrepreneurial possibilities for small spaces are boundless, especially when aligned with local market needs and cultural nuances.

Sustainability and community impact

The potential of small urban spaces isn’t limited to financial returns; they’re a vehicle for fostering sustainability and enhancing community connections. Repurposing areas for urban farming, green roofs and eco-friendly initiatives attracts investors and builds goodwill and loyalty within communities. For instance, transforming an underutilized parking lot into an urban garden can increase surrounding property values by up to 15%, benefiting the local economy while promoting green living.

In my experience at working with multiple parking companies and with many parking operations, we successfully introduced community-centric events in urban lots, from farmer’s markets to fitness classes, which revitalized neighborhoods and brought in consistent revenue streams. These initiatives bridged the gap between profit-making and community-building, proving that entrepreneurs can achieve both.

To unlock the hidden financial potential of small urban spaces, entrepreneurs need a strategic framework:

1. Assess the space: Identify overlooked spaces with high foot traffic or strategic value.

Conduct a thorough spatial analysis using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) tools like Google Maps to identify overlooked areas with high foot traffic or strategic advantages.
Evaluate zoning regulations, accessibility and proximity to key amenities or transportation hubs.

2. Innovate the use: Think beyond conventional uses — what unmet needs can this space fulfill?

Identify unmet community needs. For instance, in urban areas with limited green space, consider creating micro-parks or urban gardens.
Incorporate multi-functional designs — transform parking lots into EV charging stations, Amazon Lockers, etc., during weekdays and food truck hubs on weekends.

3. Calculate ROI: Conduct feasibility studies to evaluate potential returns versus investment.

Use financial modeling to compare potential revenue streams against investment costs. For example, forecast revenue from hosting pop-up shops or EV charging fees and balance it with setup and maintenance expenses.
Include potential tax benefits and subsidies for sustainable or community-focused initiatives.

4. Engage the community: Foster local support by aligning projects with community interests.

Host public consultations or surveys to gather insights and build support. Projects aligned with local interests — like farmer’s markets or fitness classes — often see higher adoption rates and long-term success.
Collaborate with local businesses and organizations to share resources and costs, creating mutual benefits.

5. Sustain and scale: Develop models that are scalable and sustainable in the long run.

Implement modular designs that can be expanded or adapted based on demand. For example, start with a few EV chargers and scale up as adoption grows.
Focus on sustainability by integrating renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and promoting environmentally friendly practices.

Conclusion

The financial opportunities hidden within small urban spaces are vast and waiting to be seized. By harnessing creativity, leveraging global best practices and focusing on sustainability, entrepreneurs can transform these overlooked areas into engines of economic growth and community vitality. With the right mindset and approach, the smallest of spaces can yield the largest returns — proving that in the world of urban innovation, size truly doesn’t matter.

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6 Ways to Spot and Capitalize on Emerging Social Media Trends

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Currently, 84% of all consumers check out a brand’s social media page before making a purchase, resulting in about 20% of all sales coming directly through links from social media. For this reason, entrepreneurs often prioritize getting as much visibility on social media as possible. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is by creating viral content and taking advantage of emerging trends.

The challenge with trends is that they only create a very short window of opportunity, lasting just a few days or weeks. These trends can be difficult to spot when they are just warming up. Most brands that try to capitalize on trends do so when the trend is fizzling out and don’t get the most benefit. Companies that can jump on the leading edge of a trend can significantly improve their ability to be prioritized by the social media platform’s algorithm and gain massive momentum from going viral. This can result in thousands, if not millions, of additional views to your post or social media profile. A single viral post can completely change the trajectory of your business’s long-term success.

1. Leverage social listening

Catching the beginning of a new trend can be challenging. While these trends appear to come out of nowhere, they often start with subtle rumblings across social media. Leveraging a social listening strategy can help your company identify topics or terms that are becoming increasingly popular across social media and online forums. By recognizing these early indicators, you can more accurately predict what themes are primed to explode across social media. There are numerous social listening tools that companies can use to quickly and effectively analyze online discussions to spot potential trends.

You also want to pay attention to what’s happening in pop culture or with industry leaders. Influencers and industry leaders in the space can often stimulate widespread discussions of a specific topic, especially when they are controversial. When they speak, people listen.

2. Copy the trend, but be original

One of the biggest challenges with social media today is that brands prioritize participating in a trend over the quality of their content. Because trends don’t last long, many companies sacrifice creativity in exchange for speed. This often results in boring replicas of posts made by other creators. While you might get some additional traffic from joining the trend, social media users are more likely to scroll past your post if it’s just a regurgitation of thousands of other similar posts. Instead, focus on bringing a fresh take on the trend to your brand and tailor it to your specific target audience. This will improve the chances of your post going viral.

3. Understand the trend and align with your brand

Many trends come with an underlying cultural meaning for very specific demographics. For this reason, it’s important to understand the context of a trend. Misinterpreting a trend can lead to major PR issues and damage your brand’s reputation. It’s best to try and avoid sensitive or controversial topics unless you feel confident navigating these waters. It’s always best to err on the side of caution rather than risk damaging your brand reputation by posting something that creates negative publicity.

Not every trend is a good fit for your brand. It’s best not to force it. If a trend doesn’t align with your overall brand strategy, it might be better to let it pass and look for the next opportunity.

4. Platform-specific design

Each social media platform is different. Identifying a trend will only get you so far. You’ll need to make sure you craft content that is appealing to the type of audience on that specific social media platform. For example, Instagram tends to favor video and visual content, while success on Twitter may rely more on a solid hashtag strategy. You may need to customize your social media posts for each platform individually.

5. Use hashtags thoughtfully

Hashtags are a great way to tie your social media posts to trending topics. However, you want to be thoughtful about how you use hashtags. Using hashtags that are not relevant to your post can cause your social media account to be penalized by some social media algorithms. In addition, adding a bunch of irrelevant hashtags can make your post appear spammy to end users.

6. Know when to call it quits

Trends can disappear just as quickly as they emerge. While you do want to jump aggressively on trends that you want to pursue, you also need to know when it’s time to move on. Continuing to post on trends that have passed can make your brand appear out of touch or outdated. In many cases, it may be best to remove old trend-inspired posts once the traffic begins to taper off, as it might cause more harm than good keeping them up.

Trendjacking has the potential to create online success for any small business if done correctly. This can be a very challenging strategy to master. A study by Stanford University found that the probability of a social media post going viral is one in a million, so don’t feel discouraged if your first attempts don’t launch your brand into the stratosphere. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches and find out what works best for your business.

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Self-Made Millionaire Says Successful People Share 1 Quality

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Business growth expert and investor Candy Valentino was born to teenage parents in small-town Pennsylvania. Her family lived in a trailer park and relied on welfare and government assistance for much of Valentino’s life, and when her father lost his job as a mechanic, he had just $200 to his name. When Valentino was five years old, her father negotiated a deal to start his own small business in a basement garage.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Candy Valentino}

“From [that] time until I was 16, I got dropped off at that little auto mechanic shop every day while my dad fixed cars and welded metal and did all of the things that you do in a greasy, grimy garage,” Valentino tells Entrepreneur. “Instead of learning dance or soccer, I learned about small business. I answered the phones, typed on the typewriter and interacted with clients. I grew up inside a small business.”

So Valentino was well-equipped to handle the day-to-day of entrepreneurship when she decided to start her own business at age 19. Although Valentino had considered being the first in her family to attend college, she read a book that said she didn’t have to pursue an expensive education to be successful — and make a lot of money.

“I wish I could say [my initial motivation was] super inspiring,” Valentino says, “but the only reason I wanted to start a business when I was younger was because I didn’t want to be poor. I wanted to have a different environment. I wanted to have nice things, a beautiful house, all the stuff that you see on TV.”

It was the late ’90s, and the Small Business Administration was looking to fund women entrepreneurs. In the decade leading up to that point, women in business had experienced quite a turnaround: Until 1988, women couldn’t receive a business loan without a signature from a male relative.

Valentino’s very first business idea? A spa, inspired by her first visit to one on a trip to New York after high school graduation (her first time out of the state). Someone had given her a gift card. Not only was the spa a relaxing, nice-smelling place to be, but it also appeared to be good business, attracting a steady stream of customers. Wouldn’t women everywhere love this? Valentino thought. I should bring this back to my small town.

Valentino pitched her idea to the SBA, and the panel, which included five women out of its six members, decided to give her a loan. “ I often think that was a little bit of a divine moment,” Valentino says, “because they had experienced all of these [barriers in business] that I didn’t, and they gave me a loan.” Valentino had 45 days to get the business up and running; she had just enough money to open the doors and hire some people.

The spa was a success, and Valentino continued to pioneer in the space, laying the foundation for an impressive business career spanning more than two decades. To date, the self-made millionaire has started and sold two companies, helped build businesses across industries, founded the nonprofit Heal Animal Rescue and established a cash-flowing real estate portfolio. She is also the host of The Candy Valentino Show and a bestselling author, most recently of The 9% Edge: The Life-Changing Secrets to Create More Revenue for Your Business and More Freedom for Yourself.

“ I basically became the CFO inside of my company without a degree.”

One of the most important keys to so much growth and success, according to Valentino? Being willing to work harder than anyone else, especially in the early days.

“Even when you don’t have all the right answers, even if you don’t know what to do in the beginning, to be successful at anything, we have to have the courage to commit and the fortitude to continue,” Valentino says. “We have to care more about our dreams than the opinions of other people.”

However, launching a business is one thing, but sustaining it — to avoid becoming one of the many that fail — is another. Maintaining a business’s momentum requires an entirely different skill set, Valentino says.

“ Grit is what got me started,” Valentino explains, “but financial acumen is what got me to continue. And it’s the only thing that got me to exit twice. The one thing that will separate you from everyone else is your ability to lead the company as it relates to revenue and profitability.”

Lack of revenue, funding and profit is why the vast majority of businesses fail, Valentino adds. Fortunately, Valentino loved math and digging into her business’s finances: accounting, taxes and P&Ls — “all of the boring stuff that nobody else wanted to do.” So, she tackled those tasks and hired employees for everything else.

“ I basically became the CFO inside of my company without a degree,” Valentino says. “I developed the habit [of considering], What do I need to pay attention to? What numbers inside of my business are talking to me? What data and metrics do I need to learn? That shifted everything. That’s when we went from just a small business that was successful to scaling and setting ourselves up to exit.”

“She became a real-life example of what it’s like to be bold [and] lead in a male-dominated space.”

Valentino has also learned a lot about leadership over the years — inspired, in part, by several women leaders. Like many girls growing up in the late ’90s, Valentino says she heard an all-too-common career question: “Do you want to be a teacher or a nurse?” That’s when she started looking up to women leaders like Mary Kay Ash, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Oprah. She recalls printing out quotes from them and taping them up in her bedroom.

As Valentino entered the business world herself, one of her most significant personal mentors was a woman named Anne Degre.

“She became a real-life example of what it’s like to be bold [and] lead in a male-dominated space,” Valentino says. “She was in manufacturing, which I later got into, and even though our stories were very different — she was born into a very big company, and I had to build it — it was still eye-opening to see how she navigated spaces that men sometimes didn’t want her to be in.”

Since Valentino started her first business at 19, her early leadership style primarily involved following the “golden rule,” treating others as she wished to be treated. However, as the teams Valentino led grew from 20 employees to 30, 50 and beyond, she saw the value in another kind of leadership: being kind and strong.

“Both can exist,” Valentino says, “the ‘and’ is what’s important — being kind, understanding and expecting greatness. Most people who work for me would say that I expect greatness not just from them but from us and the entire organization. When we [accept] mediocrity, the company is not going to achieve what it can. Seeing people for who they are, even when they don’t see it themselves, is critically important — [as is] calling them up into that higher version of themselves.”

“ I knew exactly what I was talking about so that nobody could rattle me.”

As a woman in business, one of the biggest challenges has often been — and still is — getting people to take her seriously from the start. If she walks into the room with a man, it’s not uncommon for people to assume that she’s in a supportive role, she says. When Valentino was younger, the assumption bothered her more. Then, she started to see it as a “superpower,” an opportunity to come prepared and set the tone.

“ I knew exactly what I was talking about so that nobody could rattle me,” Valentino says, “and within one conversation, they knew who was in charge. It made me better. It made me sharper than some of the men that I interacted with because they had the advantage of just walking into the room and everybody assuming that they’re the boss and they’re going to do whatever they say. And sometimes, they weren’t as prepared as me.”

There’s still a lot of room for growth when it comes to supporting women in business, Valentino says. She notes the need for more women professionals in finance, venture capital and private equity. If a woman is interested in breaking into those fields, it’s time to double down and understand she’s more than capable, according to Valentino.

“[It’s about] knowing that you have done some of the hardest things in your life,” Valentino explains. “Figuring out finances in your business is really nothing [compared to] having a baby handed to you that you have to walk out of the hospital and raise. Let’s be real: That’s way more difficult.

“Sometimes women underestimate their power because they think, Oh, I didn’t have this experience, or They’re not taking me seriously,” she continues. “But it’s us not taking ourselves seriously enough to command the rooms that we walk into — that’s where the greatest level of growth still lives for women today.”

This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

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Reddit Rival Digg Is Making a Comeback, Using AI to Moderate

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Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, 41, has joined forces with former rival Kevin Rose, 48, to revive Digg, a social and link-sharing website Rose founded in 2004 — it was divided up and sold for parts to Betaworks, LinkedIn, and The Washington Post in 2012. The two intend to infuse the new Digg with AI content moderators, a move not yet implemented by Reddit.

The Digg of 2004 allowed users to share links that others could “digg” and upvote or “bury” and downvote, creating a place for trending news. Users could comment on links too, with the most popular content ending up on the homepage.

In its heyday, Digg attracted 40 million monthly unique users, but after a 2010 update removed the “bury” button, users revolted and left the site in droves, leading to its demise.

Ohanian and Rose announced on Wednesday that they are relaunching Digg as a mobile-first platform, with invites to the new Digg rolling out to users in the coming weeks. The webpage for Digg’s reboot shows that over 175,000 people have signed up to get early access to it at the time of writing.

According to Bloomberg, Justin Mezzell, a product designer who previously worked at Code School and RevenueCat, will be Digg’s new CEO. Ohanian and Rose will serve on the board of directors.

The team bought Digg’s domain and assets from Money Group for an undisclosed sum, and have received investments from Ohanian-founded venture capital (VC) firm Seven Seven Six, as well as True Ventures, a VC firm where Rose is a partner. They declined to disclose how much they had raised, per Bloomberg.

^{Alexis Ohanian. Photo by Patrick Smith/Athlos/Getty Images for Athlos}

Plans to revive Digg started when Rose reached out to Ohanian last year with the idea of a new Digg that could use AI to help fight spam and moderate content. According to The New York Times, Rose determined where AI could help Digg by spending thousands of dollars on targeted ads on Reddit, a comparable platform, to ask moderators about their biggest challenges.

“These moderators are pouring their lives into this,” he told The Times. “We think we can do it better.”

Rose told The Verge that he envisions Digg using AI for “everything from an AI agent that converts your entire sub-community into Klingon,” a fictional language in the Star Trek universe, “to another one where you don’t allow a certain type of profanity and that’s automatically auto-moderated.”

Ohanian, who served on Reddit’s board until 2020, stated in a press release that AI will take on the background “grunt work” of fighting spam and filtering through content on Digg while human moderators focus on “building real connections.”

“I’m all in on this chapter,” Ohanian stated.

Digg is a direct competitor to Reddit, a $30 billion company with 101.7 million daily active unique users as of its February earnings report. Reddit has made AI a priority, signing a $60 million deal with Google in February 2024 that allowed the tech giant to train its AI on Reddit content and following up with a similar deal with OpenAI in May 2024.

Reddit has a built-in moderation system called AutoModerator that automatically goes through posts to check to see if they violate community policies. Though the platform introduced an AI-powered safety feature in March 2024 to detect online harassment, it does not yet have AI agents working as moderators and has not stated if it is working on implementing them, per Business Insider.

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Black Women Are Using Side Hustles to Mitigate the Pay Gap. Is It Helping or Hurting Them?

Blog / Richard

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

As of 2023, one in three Americans had a side hustle. From picking up an extra job in the gig economy to igniting an exciting entrepreneurial venture, millions of people started side hustles, and Black women were part of that wave. One cause of the side hustle boom was the rising cost of living and the need to counter the effects of inflation. Nearly one in four Americans depended on their side hustle earnings for their everyday expenses.

While side hustles have helped many people get by with their everyday needs, they’ve also helped build Black wealth, especially amongst Black women, who have been one of the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs in recent years. Nearly one in three Black women have taken up part-time work or a side hustle alongside their full-time job — and this is (in part) a result of the pay disparity. While pursuing a side hustle, many people of color have suffered from a lack of work-life balance, or work-life blend, as I often say in my diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultancy. Ultimately, are side hustles helping or hurting Black women in their pursuit of entrepreneurship and fair pay? I’d say it’s a mixed bag.

Black women aren’t expected to achieve equal pay until the year 2227

According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Black women earn only $0.61 for every dollar earned by a man, and it’s estimated Black women won’t reach pay equity until the year 2227. You read that right — over 200 years from now. Their research is linked to the low job quality options that Black women are afforded. But they’re not the only group still struggling for equal pay. Asian-American women earn $0.85 for every dollar a man earns, Native-American women earn just $0.58, and Latinas earn only $0.53. The numbers are shocking. But what’s not surprising is the need for women to supplement their income with side hustles.

Barriers to equal pay for Black women

One of the biggest hurdles for pay equity is related to pay discrimination. Many Black women face pay discrimination in the workplace because of unconscious bias and their employers’ perceptions of their capabilities based on race and gender. Consequently, Black women are often paid less for the same work done by a white and/or male counterpart. Another barrier is the secretive nature of salary transparency, which prevents workers from discussing their earnings and comparing and contrasting pay differences.

There’s also a devaluation of what’s been called “women’s work,” or occupations dominated by female workers, such as child care. In general, “women’s work” has been devalued across the economy for centuries, with women consistently earning less than their male counterparts in more traditionally male-dominated professions.

Occupational segregation plays a huge role as well. Black women carry an additional burden of living at the intersection of gender and race. As a result, they’re highly underrepresented in male-dominated fields like construction and manufacturing and in high-earning professions like chief executive, physician or finance. Currently, only 1.4% of Black women occupy C-suite positions in industries like these.

Black women are turning to side hustles to pay themselves a fairer wage

There are numerous examples of minority business owners who have not only started side hustles to earn a few extra dollars every month but have effectively scaled their side hustles to full-time roles. For example, Cassiy Johnson started a print-on-demand business through Etsy and scaled it to $800,000 in annual revenue in 2020.

What’s even more powerful is the impact that minority-owned businesses have on the overall economy. Black business owners in the United States reportedly own 3.5 million businesses and employ more than 1.2 million people. Therefore, Black-owned businesses have helped employ more people than previously thought. Its ripple effects have helped individuals who may have faced various types of systemic racism in the workforce to focus on building wealth for their own families instead of building wealth for a large company. For many people, starting a side hustle that turned into a sustainable business has elevated their family’s wealth trajectory in meaningful ways.

Unequal pay has harmed the mental wellbeing of Black women

Like with all new businesses, working around the clock can cause many people to experience higher stress, increased risk of burnout and potential mental health challenges. Black women entrepreneurs are just as affected by mental health challenges as anyone else. Unfortunately, one report has shown that people of color, in general, experienced worsening mental health because of the pandemic and disproportionate barriers to mental health resources. In addition, the fear of failure and imposter syndrome can also hold entrepreneurs back from achieving their business goals and create roadblocks for their mental wellbeing. On top of wearing multiple hats in their businesses, Black entrepreneurs, in particular, were denied loans nearly twice as often as white business owners. All that said, starting a side hustle while working a full-time job — and trying to scale with loans and other capital — can be a mental and emotional challenge for entrepreneurs, especially Black women.

Final thoughts

While side hustles have had a powerful positive impact on Black women, they’ve also had their drawbacks. The median net worth of Black households increased by 60% between 2019 and 2022, and other promising trends were found in Latino, Asian and immigrant communities partially because of side hustles. Building wealth has become even more accessible for Black women than in previous decades. Side hustles have helped in that regard. But with the toll taken on mental health and the stress of not acquiring the capital necessary to scale, not everyone has been able to thrive in their side hustle. The rise of Black woman-owned businesses is only increasing. However, the more we can pay Black women a fair wage in their pursuits, the better our economy and communities will be.

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4 Ways to Boost Your Business’s Efficiency

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Every CEO is familiar with the saying, “Time is money,” and the philosophy that wasted time impacts the bottom line. With this in mind, business owners often strive for maximum efficiency, evaluating every wasted minute, every redundant task and every distraction that hinders growth.

The problem is that most strategies that aim to increase efficiency neglect one critical aspect: that people are humans, not robots.

The best productivity approach doesn’t simply optimize time and speed — it works with human nature. That is, our natural tendencies to get distracted, be forgetful and feel unmotivated.

Time blocking and automation tools help, but they aren’t the full solution. Here are some human-focused processes to increase your productivity that actually work.

1. Set your goalposts

Tasks can feel demotivating if they aren’t tied to a tangible, meaningful outcome. Setting goalposts for what you’re looking to accomplish, in what timeframe and for what reason will help you stay motivated to achieve the end result.

Think about it: Your New Year’s resolution to work out more likely wasn’t driven by a desire to clock in at the gym but to achieve your goal weight, feel healthier, reduce pain, etc. Similarly, the work tasks on your to-do list likely emerged with the thought of achieving specific goals in your business.

To improve productivity, tie each of your activities to a desired outcome, whether that’s generating new business, reducing overhead costs, saving time, improving product quality, etc. Then, any task that isn’t tied to a tangible outcome may be a viable candidate to be cut from your list of priorities.

2. Create a distraction-free zone

There are many reputable studies that analyze the correlation between work environment and productivity. For instance, a study conducted by researcher Miikka Palvalin found that changes in work environment can negatively affect one’s ability to focus and be productive.

On the flip side, a distraction-free workspace helps facilitate focus, productivity and better time management.

Now, whether you work from home, at remote locations or at an office, there are likely a few ways that you create a distraction-free zone. Even small adjustments — like minimizing clutter, controlling noise or setting boundaries with coworkers and/or family — can have a substantial impact on your ability to perform at your best.

It can be helpful to create a designated work area (especially if working from home) to signal to your brain that it’s time to focus. Opting for an ergonomically sound setup can help mitigate physical discomfort, which can also be distracting. Also, some studies suggest that plants and natural lighting can improve mood and focus!

3. Get honest about repetitive time wasters

A significant source of stress for entrepreneurs is not using time efficiently and then running out of time to complete the tasks that matter. We’re all vulnerable to getting caught up in “busy work” — repetitive, time-wasting tasks that add little value and distract us from our bigger goals.

The key to overcoming this challenge is recognizing where your time is being wasted and taking deliberate steps to eliminate, delegate or automate those tasks.

First, do an “audit” of your time, tracking your daily activities and how long they take to complete. I like using a tool like Toggl to log my time throughout the day. You’ll be surprised how much time is spent on miscellaneous tasks, unnecessary meetings and checking emails.

Next, take stock of which tasks are consuming the most time, whether these tasks move you closer to your goals (or not) and whether they are better off being delegated or automated.

This ties into the Pareto Principle, wherein you identify the 20% of tasks that drive 80% of your results — and then cut out the rest. If a task doesn’t require your direct involvement or input, it may be delegated to someone else on your team, batched and automated or eliminated completely.

4. Don’t overcomplicate, automate

Today’s business owners have more tools than we know what to do with when it comes to streamlining business processes, automating tasks and freeing up time. While it may require some ramp-up time to put the system in place, doing so will save you loads of time in the future.

If you’re not a process person, I highly recommend tasking someone on your team (or hiring a consultant) to build the system for you. It’s well worth the investment.

You first need to determine what can (and should be) automated. Map out your current workflows, identifying the tasks required, the tools or team members required and any inefficiencies in the process. It can be helpful to create a visual flowchart of each process in your organization.

For example, say you want to streamline the lead intake process, which previously relied on the manual effort of your sales team (to call, record and follow up with leads). A new, automated process might look like:

A visitor lands on your website and fills out a contact form
This triggers an automatic lead capture in your CRM
The system assigns a lead score and segments the prospect
This sends a personalized follow-up email
Your sales team is notified if the lead meets high-value criteria

In this way, you all but eliminate the need for manual effort by you or your team, all lead information is effectively captured, and no opportunities slip through the cracks.

There are many ways to reduce stress and increase efficiency in your business, just so long as you identify the gaps, set realistic goals and depend on the strength of your team. This gives you more time to focus on the work that matters and strike that enviable work-life balance.

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Michael Bloomberg Tops List of American Philanthropists

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Michael Bloomberg, 83, topped the list of Americans who donated the most money to nonprofits last year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50 list for 2024. It was the second year in a row that Bloomberg led the list.

Bloomberg gave $3.7 billion to charitable causes in 2024 in support of the arts, education, public health groups, and city government improvement programs. He made his contributions directly and through his charitable organization Bloomberg Philanthropies.

One sizable donation Bloomberg made was a $1 billion grant to Johns Hopkins University in July 2024 to cover the cost of medical school for students.

“I’ve never understood people who wait until they die to give away their wealth,” Bloomberg told the Chronicle in an email. “Why deny yourself the satisfaction? I’ve been very lucky, and I’m determined to do what I can to open doors for others and to leave a better world for my children and grandchildren.”

^{Michael Bloomberg. Photographer: Lionel Ng/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

Five other individual donors or couples joined Bloomberg in giving away $1 billion or more last year. They were: Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin (second on the list), Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and his wife Susan Dell (third), Warren Buffett (fourth), Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan (fifth), and retired pediatrics professor Ruth Gottesman (sixth).

The bulk of the donations went to funds that supported causes like scientific research and education. Gottesman made a move similar to Bloomberg’s by donating $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York in February to make the medical school tuition-free as of August 2024.

The top 50 donors on the list gave a collective $16.2 billion for philanthropic causes in 2024. The median amount they gave was $100 million.

Paychex founder Thomas Golisano was the eighth most generous donor on the list, giving away $500 million in 2024. Most of his donations, or about $400 million, were no-strings-attached contributions to over 100 nonprofits in New York and Florida. One of his areas of focus is organizations that support people with disabilities.

Former investment banker K. Lisa Yang (wife of Broadcom CEO Hock E. Tan) was the 34th donor on the list. She gave away $74.5 million this year, mostly to MIT and Cornell University. In February, Yang gave $35 million to Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Center to support wildlife conservation.

Venture capital investor Michele Kang (No. 28) donated $84 million in 2024, giving $4 million to the USA Women’s Rugby team.

The Philanthropy 50 ranking has been running for 25 years. In that span of time, Buffett has been the biggest donor, giving away $49.4 billion.

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates were second overall, giving $34 billion together, while Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk were third, fourth, and fifth respectively in overall charitable contributions.

Bezos committed $10 billion in 2021 to the Bezos Earth Fund to protect nature and fight climate change while Musk has donated around $7 billion since 2020 to his organization, The Musk Foundation, which supports renewable energy research and science and engineering education.

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Why Trump Is Imposing Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China

Blog / Richard

President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada went into effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of tariffs on some Chinese imports to 20%.

In response, Canada imposed 25% tariffs on nearly $100 billion of imported U.S. goods on Tuesday, including machinery, auto parts, and alcohol, and Ontario is enacting a 25% tariff on its energy export — the province powers 1.5 million homes in Minnesota, New York, and Michigan, per Bloomberg.

China also enacted tariffs on Tuesday — 10% to 15% on U.S. agricultural products and filed a lawsuit against the new tariffs with the World Trade Organization.

Mexico will announce its countermeasures on Sunday.

Canada and Mexico have had essentially tariff-free trading agreements with the U.S. for three decades, per USA Today. However, China and the U.S. have engaged in tit-for-tat tariffs since 2018.

So far, the news has rattled stocks.

Here’s what we know about the tariffs and how they could affect consumers and businesses in the U.S.

Why is Trump implementing tariffs?

In an executive order signed on Monday, Trump stated the tariffs are meant to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and fight the ongoing fentanyl crisis.

Trump has stated that he is implementing tariffs to pressure Canada, Mexico, and China into stopping drugs like fentanyl from entering the U.S., per Fox Business. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, nearly 70% of the 107,000 deaths from drug overdoses in 2023 involved opioids such as fentanyl.

Trump wrote in the executive order that China’s “failure” to “blunt the sustained influx of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl” presented “an unusual and extraordinary threat” and that he would increase tariffs in response.

The Trump administration says it is also using tariffs as a way to secure the border and stop the flow of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Canada.

In a post on Truth Social in November, Trump said that the tariffs on goods would “remain in effect” until “Drugs, in particular, Fentanyl” and “all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

What are tariffs and what will they mean for consumers?

Tariffs are taxes placed on goods imported from other countries. For example, a 20% tariff on Chinese goods means a $10 product would have a $2 tax added to the price. The importer would have to pay the tax to U.S. Customs and Border Protection when the product crosses the border.

Companies can absorb the additional charge or pass it on to customers in the form of increased prices.

The CEOs of Target and Best Buy have already indicated the companies will raise prices for consumers in response to the tariffs.

Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC Tuesday that produce prices would increase over the next few days as tariffs take effect. Cornell noted that Target depends on produce from Mexico in the winter, so shoppers could see prices rise for fruits and vegetables like strawberries and avocados.

Also on Tuesday, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said on the company’s earnings call that American consumers were “highly likely” to see price increases in response to the tariffs. Best Buy sources about 55% of its products from China and 20% from Mexico, Barry stated.

However, Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright told NBC on Sunday that the company intends to absorb the costs of tariffs and only raise prices if elevated costs turn out to be significant.

How is the stock market reacting to the tariff news?

U.S. stocks fell in response to the tariffs news, with the Dow industrials, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all falling over 1% on Tuesday, per The Wall Street Journal.

In midmorning trading on Tuesday, the Dow lost 1.8% or more than 770 points, while the S&P and the Nasdaq each dropped more than 1.5%, per NPR.

The VIX volatility index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, hit its highest level yet this year on Tuesday, climbing to 24.35 at the time of writing after closing at 22.78 on Monday. The VIX average closing value this year was 16.86.

What are the benefits of tariffs?

The U.S. imported $1.2 trillion more goods and services in 2024 than it exported. Over 40% of imports overall came from China, Canada, and Mexico.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, tariffs benefit domestic producers by raising the U.S. prices of foreign goods relative to comparable goods produced domestically. Domestic companies also do not have to pay tariffs on the goods they produce and sell within the country.

Trump underscored this point on Truth Social on Tuesday: “If companies move to the United States, there are no tariffs!!!”

Tariffs can also increase government revenue. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization, estimated that 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico would increase government revenue by $110 billion across the rest of the year. If the tariffs are made permanent, they would raise $1.3 trillion in revenue in the next ten years.

Still, experts at the Peterson Insitute for Internal Economics, an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan research organization say that tariffs won’t shrink the trade deficit.

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Texas Politican Wants to Rename New York Strip Steaks

Blog / Richard

The Gulf of Mexico was renamed the Gulf of America. Denali was re-re-named Mount McKinley. And now name changers have turned their attention to food.

The New York Times reports that Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is working with the State Senate on a resolution to officially rename the New York Strip cut of meat to the “Texas Strip.”

?????: Factoid: Texas has about 12.2 million head of cattle, the most in America. I met with the Texas Cattle Feeders and Cattle Raisers this week.
Out of curiosity, I asked each of them their favorite cut of meat. A few said New York Strip. I asked why we didn’t call it a…
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) February 28, 2025

Citing stats that Texas has over 12 million head of cattle and New York has “mostly dairy cows,” Patrick tweeted, “The Texas Senate will file a concurrent resolution to officially change the name of the New York Strip to the ‘Texas Strip’ in the Lone Star State.”

He continued his reasoning for the rebrand, stating, “Liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers,” concluding that after the summer session of Congress ends, “I might take a short cruise across the Gulf of America and have a juicy medium-rare Texas Strip.”

As many steak lovers know, the New York Strip is cut from a boneless strip loin known for its marbled and tender consistency. Per The Times, it is believed that it got its Big Apple moniker at Delmonico’s, a legendary New York City steakhouse founded in 1827 that says it is “the first fine dining restaurant in America.”

It’s hard to think of states that boast more fiercely proud residents than New York and Texas, so this butcher battle could get bloody. But in this reporter’s opinion, the name of the steak doesn’t matter — just don’t overcook it. If it is cooked anything other than medium rare, you might as well feed it to your dog.

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10 Highest-Paying, ‘Little-to-No-Experience’ Side Hustles

Blog / Richard

Side hustles remain a popular way for Americans to earn extra income and work toward financial freedom outside of their 9-5 jobs.

More than one-third third of U.S. adults — nearly half of Gen Z and millennials — have a supplemental gig, according to Bankrate’s research.

Whether someone is looking to pay off bills or debt, save for a vacation or retirement, or just have some more spending money, starting a side hustle can be a flexible, low-commitment way to do that — especially if it’s one that doesn’t require extensive experience.

What do those high-paying, ready-to-start side hustles look like in 2025?

Financial services company NetCredit dug into thousands of publicly available job ads to find the hourly gigs that pay the most and “that require little-to-no experience” for success.

The best-paying side hustle that meets that criteria, according to the research? That would be participating in focus groups, which pays $28 an hour, on average.

Working as a virtual assistant, website tester, dog walker and nanny round out the top five lucrative side hustles, per the data, with rates averaging $21-$26 an hour.

“Some of the best among these are gigs where the buyer just needs a ‘regular person,’ and lack of experience is actually an advantage,” the report said, noting that “no experience” side hustles often capitalize on backgrounds or skills that “you may not have considered for their value.”

Read on for NetCredit’s full list of the 10 highest-paying, “little experience”-necessary side hustles in the U.S.:

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of NetCredit}

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