Richard

Repetitive tasks are everywhere — think report generation, email sorting and system checks — but they are still daunting for most businesses. Unfortunately, even though 90% of businesses recognize the apparent benefits of automation, 70% remain bogged down by the misconception that it is complex and hard to adopt.

At the same time, the C-suite is under pressure to drive results amid protracted inflation, supply chain disruptions, market volatility and recession fears. This pressure pushes them to trim costs and boost efficiency. Throughout it all, the imperative of providing better customer and employee experiences always remains at the top of my mind.

With all these challenges, it’s time to cut through the myths and focus on the fact that automation isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a productivity must.

Related: Why Automation is Crucial for all Small Business Owners

Beyond the buzzwords of automation

Automation is more than just a trend for companies that have truly embraced it and rely on it to be a strategic asset. Today, 91% of organizations have dedicated teams focused on IT automation. Even small to mid-size businesses view automation as a game changer.

In fact, 88% of SMB owners believe automation allows them to go head-to-head with larger players by empowering these businesses to scale smarter, respond faster and better optimize the limited resources they have while remaining competitive.

The potential of automation goes far beyond routine maintenance tasks. Yes, it can handle system updates, data backup, user provisioning, and so on, as well as filling in for the IT teams in their daily tasks. However, automation also plays a crucial role in areas that cannot afford risks and errors like network security, access management and patch management.

In these cases, real-time monitoring tools can identify any potential risks or unusual activity the moment they arise, giving IT teams a heads-up to act before minor issues escalate. Automating these critical areas could mean tighter security, fewer human errors, and a faster response to evolving threats.

Furthermore, in high-stakes environments, automation becomes a compliance ally, creating audit-ready logs and adapting quickly to regulatory shifts without extra legwork. For executives, the benefits are clear and measurable. They believe that automation could increase their workforce capacity, equivalent to adding 2.4 million extra full-time employees.

Related: How Connecting With the Right Audience Drives Long-Term Business Success

Five things to look for when bringing automation to the table

Automation can transform the way businesses work, but making it count means being smart about where and how it’s applied. Here’s what to keep in mind as you get started.

1. Focus on high-impact areas to apply automation. Automation applied to an inefficient operation will only magnify the inefficiency. So, start small by analyzing daily workflows and pinpointing repetitive tasks that take up time. Prioritizing these tasks for automation can yield quick productivity gains. Establish clear success metrics to ensure that the automation performs as intended and delivers meaningful results.

2. Opt for platforms that seamlessly fit your stack. For an automation tool to truly add value, it must fit smoothly within the existing tech stack. Yet, 30% of users report that their automation tools lack full integration with cloud and SaaS technologies, creating expensive gaps. To avoid these catches, prioritize platforms that can integrate easily with core IT tools. Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solutions could be effective here, connecting diverse applications, data sources, and both on-premises and cloud systems into a unified framework for IT automation.

3. Go for scalable platforms that can grow with you. Choose platforms that can scale and evolve with your company, adding advanced features as your needs grow. A modular automation approach, for instance, provides the flexibility to initially automate basic workflows and later integrate advanced analytics or AI-driven decision-making modules. A truly scalable IT automation platform adapts to your growth trajectory while supporting an agile environment that keeps pace with evolving needs

4. Prioritize platforms that have security and compliance built in. With loads of data handled and tasks autonomously executed without human intervention, it’s imperative to look for platforms that embed robust security measures, like end-to-end encryption and automated compliance checks. These features safeguard sensitive information, block unauthorized access and keep us aligned with industry regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

5. Seek flexible platforms that adapt to your needs. Choose platforms that allow you to customize configurations unique to your business needs. This flexibility can include setting up detailed audit trails to track system changes or implementing industry-specific workflows such as supply chain logistics or patient record management in healthcare. This flexibility ensures that your automation solution isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach but is tailored to align with your organization’s structure.

Related: 5 Ways Automation Can Help Your Business

Unlock automation’s full potential

Even with advanced automation tools in place, automating certain tasks may still remain just out of reach. That’s where custom scripts come in, providing the last-mile coverage that allows IT admins to design solutions tailored to unique business needs. However, deploying scripts across endpoints comes with its own challenges, especially with validation and timing. Implementing them at the right moment is often the hardest part.

Unified Endpoint Management platforms could simplify this process by assisting IT admins with the generation, validation and scheduling of scripts for timely deployments. And with AI now in the mix, automation has leveled up, creating opportunities limited only by the imagination of those designing the workflows.

Ultimately, making the most out of automation is not just about implementing the right tools. It’s more of a piecemeal process, requiring thorough evaluation, refinement, and maintenance. Just as important is training employees who work closely with these tools, empowering them to fully capitalize on the platform’s potential. By strategically aligning automation strategies with their unique needs and size, businesses can position themselves to stay ahead of the game.

Communicating complex information effectively is critical when managing large-scale projects, brainstorming solutions, or organizing workflows. Whether you’re a business professional, a designer, or a project manager, having the right tools to create clear, impactful visuals can save time and eliminate confusion.

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No design skills needed

When you’re dealing with complex workflows or data-heavy projects, clarity is key. Microsoft Visio makes it simple to present detailed concepts, workflows, and structures through professional-grade diagrams. With dozens of pre-made templates and access to over 250,000 customizable shapes, you can build everything from flowcharts and org charts to network diagrams and floor plans. Whether you’re designing a workspace layout, illustrating a process, or mapping out organizational hierarchies, Visio helps turn raw information into visuals that everyone can understand.

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Kevin O’Leary says that firing someone is the most challenging aspect of leadership. Luckily the “Shark Tank” star and multimillionaire entrepreneur has some tips for firing effectively.

In a social media clip posted to Instagram on Thursday, O’Leary outlined how he thinks about firing someone and how he goes through with it. The clip appears to be a repost of O’Leary’s remarks at the iCONIC: Seattle conference in April 2016.

First, O’Leary said that the moment to fire someone is when you realize they aren’t right for the job. Delaying the firing isn’t fair to them.

“It’s not about you,” O’Leary said. “It’s not fair to them and to the people they are working with and the team that they’re part of.”

Related: Kevin O’Leary Says This Is the One Skill He Looks For in a Leader — But It’s ‘Almost Impossible to Find’

When the firing is taking place, the most important element is explaining why it is happening to the person.

“I do that myself,” O’Leary said. “It’s the hardest thing to do.”

This part is necessary though, O’Leary explained, because otherwise, the person won’t learn anything from it.

After the termination, O’Leary makes sure that the affected employee gets a “fantastic package,” counseling, and everything they need to find another job — as long as the job isn’t with his company.

Related: Kevin O’Leary Is Launching a New Agency With the Founder of Shazam — Here’s Why He Says It’s a Game Changer

Despite the mixed emotions that come with letting an employee go, O’Leary says firing is a necessary part of leadership. If you can’t make cuts to your team, “you’re the wrong leader” for the organization, he said in the video.

O’Leary was fired once, too. As a teenager, he worked at a mall scooping ice cream. He refused to scrape gum off of the floor, stating that it wasn’t part of his job description, and was fired for it.

O’Leary credits that moment as the start of his entrepreneurial journey — on that day, he swore he would never work for anyone else.

“That was the beginning of my journey,” he said in an interview that aired in 2013.

Related: How Kevin O’Leary Overcame 6 Formative Failures

At WIRED’s “The Big Interview” event earlier this month, Cost Plus Drugs founder and “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban was asked why he doesn’t make more profit at his low-price drug company.

“You’re pretty clear that you are not doing this for altruistic reasons — you’re running a business,” noted the event moderator.

“Well, I could make more money,” Cuban said, to laughs in the crowd. “We’re a public benefit corporation. But how much f—ing money do I need?”

“I’m not trying to go to Mars,” he added, with an obvious dig at his billionaire rival Elon Musk.

Related: Mark Cuban’s Startup Is Sending Its First Batch of Essential Meds to Hospitals Facing Shortages

What Is Cost Plus Drugs?

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. is an online pharmacy co-founded by Cuban and radiologist Alex Oshmyansky to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry and lower drug costs. It launched in January 2022 and offers more than 2,300 prescription medications and delivery.

How Does Cost Plus Drugs Price Its Medications?

On the company website, Cuban outlines how the price structure works: Cost Plus marks the base price up by 15%, and then adds on the actual cost that the pharmacy charges them to prepare the medication.

So a drug like Albendazole, for example, which treats ringworm and costs around $113 elsewhere, according to Drugs.com, is $35, as per the letter. (Cuban wrote that the company paid $26.08.)

“Many people are spending crazy amounts of money each month just to stay healthy,” Cuban wrote. “No American should have to suffer or worse – because they can’t afford basic prescription medications.”

Related: How Mark Cuban Forced the Biggest U.S. Pharmacy to Upend Its Business

What Is a Public Benefit Corporation?

A benefit corporation—also known as a B Corporation—has shareholders who own the company, unlike a non-profit. So making money is the point, just not the whole point.

While non-profits (or not-for-profits) serve a public benefit and don’t make any profits, benefit corporations want to make money while still serving a greater purpose than itself “and a desire for the corporation to help make the world a better place,” according to Rick Bell of Harvard Business Services.

Hi, I’m Dima, the bootstrapped solo founder of PitchBob — a tool designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life.

I want to start with a disclaimer: My entrepreneurial journey isn’t my first. I’ve had significant experience building businesses in the past, and my choices with PitchBob are deliberate. Whether bootstrapping or going solo, these were calculated decisions, not mere accidents.

Yet, despite this experience, I can’t count how many times I’ve wrestled with the urge to quit — whether it’s freezing progress, pivoting or walking away entirely. These thoughts come even as PitchBob remains the central focus of my attention, time and financial resources over the past two years.

As the year ends, I find myself reflecting on deadlines — self-imposed checkpoints to evaluate whether PitchBob has “taken off” or if it’s time to face hard truths. The concept of success for a startup often remains fluid, and that ambiguity can create a space for internal negotiations: Should I persist, or is it time to move on?

Related: I Want to Throw in the Towel and Quit My Business — Here’s How to Know When to Stick With or Let Go of Your Business

The takeoff analogy: Evaluating progress

I often compare new ideas to an airplane racing down a runway. The engines are roaring, the plane is gathering speed, and the wings are twitching — but it hasn’t yet lifted off the ground. In such moments, the captain feels in control … except for one thing: the finite length of the runway.

As a founder, your job is to assess this runway — your available time, resources and market opportunity. Is there enough momentum for takeoff? Should you push forward, or is it time to pull the brakes and pivot?

This analogy serves as a framework for one of the most challenging questions entrepreneurs face: When is it time to quit, and when should you double down? It’s a universal dilemma, epitomized in that famous image of a miner walking away just inches from striking gold.

Is entrepreneurship a form of addiction?

There’s a thin line between passion and obsession. Entrepreneurship can sometimes resemble an addiction — an insatiable drive to build, create and succeed, even when faced with mounting evidence that things aren’t working. Blind faith in your vision, ignoring harsh market feedback or stubbornly pushing forward despite red flags often leads to failure.

Worse, the emotional highs and lows of running a startup can mirror the cycle of addiction. The exhilaration of launching a product, closing a deal or securing funding can quickly be followed by crushing lows when things don’t go as planned.

So, how do you know when you’re pushing too hard?

How can you avoid the trap of throwing good money, time and energy after bad?

To address this, let’s examine eight key signs that help founders determine whether to persevere or let go.

When to let go

1. Lack of progress despite effort

If months (or even years) of focused effort have yielded little to no progress, consider whether the problem lies in market demand rather than execution.

2. Consistent negative feedback

If customers, partners or investors consistently resist, it’s time to revisit your assumptions. Sometimes, the market simply isn’t ready or interested.

3. Personal well-being is declining

If your startup is harming your health, finances or relationships, it’s a red flag. No business idea is worth personal destruction.

4. The runway is gone

If you’ve depleted your financial, emotional and temporal resources, it might be better to land the plane than risk a crash.

Related: 7 Signs It’s Time to Quit Your Business

When to persevere

1. You’re seeing traction

Even minor signs of customer or user engagement can signal that your idea has potential. Sometimes, a few tweaks can unlock significant growth.

2. A clear path forward exists

If you’ve identified actionable next steps that could move the needle, it’s worth staying the course.

3. External validation

Support from credible investors, partners or advisors can reaffirm your belief in the venture and provide critical resources to continue.

4. Your passion still burns bright

Passion can be the fuel that powers persistence. It might be worth pushing through if you’re still excited about solving the problem.

Balancing grit and realism

Entrepreneurship often glorifies grit — “Never give up” is a mantra we’ve all heard. But the reality is more nuanced. While perseverance is critical, so is the ability to evaluate when a venture has reached its natural conclusion.

The key is honest self-reflection. By evaluating your runway, understanding market feedback and knowing your personal limits, you can make balanced decisions about when to double down and when to pivot.

Related: How to Know When to Give Up, When to Pivot and When to Persist

The road to success

Success isn’t linear. Sometimes, the best decision is to pivot, start fresh or even walk away entirely. Knowing when to quit can be just as important as knowing when to persevere.

Failure, after all, isn’t the opposite of success — it’s often a step toward it.

For founders facing this decision, remember that seeking outside perspectives can help. Whether it’s a mentor, fellow entrepreneur or trusted advisor, they might provide the clarity you need to evaluate your runway and determine your next steps.

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New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) out Wednesday showed that consumers paid 2.7% more for essentials like shelter, food, and energy in November compared to the same time last year.

The Bureau reported that the consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation and price changes, rose by 0.3% from October to November. That’s more than the 0.2% that the CPI rose from September to October.

The key driver of the increase was the 0.3% monthly uptick in shelter costs, which BLS stated comprised close to 40% of the monthly increase for all items.

Related: ‘Gradual Recalibration:’ The Fed Cuts Rates By 0.25%, Just as Economists Predicted

Over the past year, the food category increased by 2.4% while energy decreased by 3.2%. The core CPI reading, or the prices for all items without including food and energy, increased by 3.3% over the past year.

“Under the surface, you have core goods prices still deflating year-over-year and core services prices increasing at their slowest pace since early 2022,” Elyse Ausenbaugh, head of investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, told Entrepreneur in an emailed statement. “It’s also encouraging to see shelter price pressures cool, given that they are still accounting for a sizeable chunk of the core reading.”

What does the CPI report mean for Fed interest rate cuts?

The CPI report is one data point that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) uses to determine how to adjust the federal funds rate, or the rate at which banks borrow from one another. One FOMC meeting is coming up from December 17 to 18.

“We believe economic fundamentals of gently decelerating labor market momentum, strong productivity growth and disinflationary under-currents would support a further 25bps fed funds rate cut at the upcoming FOMC meeting,” EY Chief Economist Gregory Daco and EY Senior Economist Lydia Boussour told Entrepreneur in a joint emailed statement.

Related: ‘Confidence and Commitment’ or ‘Old Demons?’ Experts Are Divided Over the Fed’s Decision to Cut Interest Rates

A rate cut of 25bps or 0.25% could ripple out to lower borrowing rates for consumer-facing loans, like mortgages and credit cards.

Ausenbaugh also agrees that the Fed will cut rates at “a steady, 25bps-per-meeting pace.”

“We think the Fed will deliver a cut at next week’s December meeting, with market expectations giving them ‘permission’ to do so,” she said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time workers spent an average of 8.49 hours per day at work in 2023.

For those looking for companies with the best work-life balance, a new study conducted by Hennessey Digital examined Glassdoor data in the U.S. to find top employers. The researchers narrowed down employers to those with more than 5,000 global employees, at least 1,000 U.S. reviews, and more than 3.5 stars out of 5 on Glassdoor.

Then they ranked the employers by average work-life rating, as shown by employee feedback on Glassdoor.

The best company for work-life balance was LinkedIn, with an average rating of 4.32 out of 5. Employees gave the job search platform an average score of 4.46 for its culture and values and 4.39 for compensation and benefits.

Related: These 5 Companies Were Rated Best for Work-Life Balance. Is Yours Anything Like Them?

No. 2 was Indeed, another work-related platform, with a work-life balance rating of 4.29 on Glassdoor. Over three in four current or former employees responded that they’d recommend working at Indeed to a friend.

“It’s encouraging to see so many companies prioritizing employee well-being,” a spokesperson for Hennessey Digital said in an emailed statement. “We hope these findings spark meaningful conversations among employers across all sectors to continue improving work-life balance for their teams.”

Midway through the list, at No. 5, HubSpot received a work-life balance rating of 4.24, and nearly nine out of 10 HubSpot employees (88.5%) would recommend working there.

Related: This Is the Worst City in the World for Work-Life Balance — and No, It’s Not NYC

Northside Hospital and Google were tied for No. 8 while Zillow and Paylocity were tied for No. 9.

Here are the top 10 companies currently offering the best work-life balance for employees, according to the report.

1. LinkedIn

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.32

2. Indeed

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.29

3. Docusign

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.27

4. Slalom

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.26

5. HubSpot

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.24

6. Intuit

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.23

7. Smile Brands

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.19

8. Northside Hospital

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.17

8. Google

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.17

9. Zillow

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.16

9. Paylocity

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.16

10. Adobe

Work-life balance rating on Glassdoor: 4.15

AI can do incredible things. Microsoft’s Copilot can create leadership decks in seconds while synthesizing the two leadership decks you forgot to read. Notebook LM can create custom podcasts from full books or articles. And ChatGPT… well, we all know ChatGPT.

But hype and promise often misalign, and AI is no exception. John Werner, an MIT Senior Fellow and Managing Director at Link Ventures, said, “sometimes the promotional language doesn’t match the results that you see from a new advancement in IT. Experts talk about a “hype cycle” for new technologies that affect how they are perceived and how they are used, when they’re brand new. AI is not immune, and it’s undergoing its own hype cycle right now.”

Amid all of this, you understand that you need AI (or at least a strategy for it), but how can you stand out from your competitors and bring your vision to fruition?

In this article, I’ll show you how leading entrepreneurs and executives are leveraging fractional AI experts to bring their strategies to life.

Related: How to Effectively Integrate AI into Your Organizational Strategy

The problem: Companies don’t know where to look for leadership-level AI talent

We all know that good leadership is crucial. A team without a strong leader is like a rowboat without a captain. Everyone may keep rowing but lack direction, adjustment and motivation. In business, poor leadership leads to wasted time, money and opportunities.

I’ve observed a similar issue with AI strategies. Instead of appointing a strong leader to manage, execute and cultivate AI success, companies often settle for the wrong talent or simply hold back. When this happens, it is common for claims of financial issues or simply not being the right person. When companies settle, they hire someone who falsely claims to be an expert in AI without checking if the individual has a background in computer science, deep learning, statistical modeling, or neural networks. More often than not, this results in stagnation and wasted resources. This can make those you hired in leadership positions lose trust in your company and doubt your faith in utilizing AI.

In the context of AI, both hesitation and settling are akin to algorithms without the right input data. No matter how impressive the presentation, strategy, or press release may seem, the desired outcomes are rarely achieved without the right data (much like strong leadership). The issue isn’t a lack of talent or that talent is too expensive or difficult to find. The real problem is that companies are searching in the wrong places.

Related: The Future of Work: Solving Problems Through a Flexible Workforce

The solution: Fractional experts

There’s a third strategy that bridges the gap between holding and settling: fractional AI experts. These executive-level independent freelancers can deliver the same results as top executives but at a fraction of the cost. Rather than committing full-time to a single company, fractional experts typically work with two to five clients, dedicating 10-30 hours per week to each.

The concept of fractional isn’t new. The term “interim executive” is widely understood and is seeing high growth. According to a Business Talent Group report, “the need for interim leadership rose 116 percent year over year at all levels throughout organizations, with the demand for such help in the C-suite rising by 78 percent.” The distinction between fractional and interim roles is often just a matter of terminology.

Fractional is one aspect of the flexible workforce, and what’s unique about today’s fractional experts is that they choose and plan to stay full-time fractional. Recent data makes this clear, as individuals choosing full-time independence have doubled since 2020. Amidst a trying 2023 and 2024, growth persisted to the point that 27.7 million Americans choose to be independent today, with a 5.5% higher compound annual growth rate of individuals deciding to be more independent than the general non-farm workforce.

Fractional executives can do everything that a full-time executive can. They can identify problem areas that are ideal for AI, create roadmaps, go to market and workback plans to go from ideation to product market fit. They can even build and manage large teams. The only thing fractional experts can’t do is technically be solely employed by you. Oftentimes, this isn’t necessary.

Related: 3 Reasons Your Small Business Needs Flexible Talent

Get started by finding a fractional platform

Where there’s flexible talent, there’s a talent platform to help you find, onboard, manage, pay and scale your flexible workforce. There are 29 fractional-focused platforms on Human Cloud’s Industry Landscape. Toptal is a well-known developer platform, while Tribe.AI specializes specifically in AI.

Platforms can also focus on specific regions. For instance, Malt, Europe’s largest freelance platform, adopts a country-by-country strategy where each nation offers a tailored client experience. Other platforms like Flexer.AI specializes in Southeast Asian fractional marketing talent, Talent Alpha specializes in IT talent in Poland and Dojo Talent focuses on gaming talent in Turkey.

Think beyond AI

While AI is great, use cases can be industry or skill-set-specific. For example, rather than an AI expert, a supply chain expert on supply chain-focused talent platform NatQuest, paired with an AI expert on Arc might be best. Or potentially, a fractional CFO on finance-focused talent platform Paro paired with an AI expert might be best.

Akhil Seth, UST’s Freelance Program leader, learned this when combining multiple freelancers for a website build rather than trying to find one Unicorn talent that understood both advanced mathematics and a specific Python library. They found two freelancers. One understood advanced mathematics. The other understood the Python library and could teach UST’s internal team how to develop with it. The result is that they finished the website in 3 weeks, saving $2 million worth of revenue.

What experts can you pair to take your first step into realizing your potential in AI?

Related: A Game Plan for Introducing Flexible Talent

Let your flexible talent strategy unlock growth and innovation

Once you embrace flexible talent, you’ll quickly learn that top talent is always only a couple of days away. You’ll realize this is more than a “plug the hole” staffing solution. Flexible talent is a leadership strategy that drives growth and innovation across your company.

Take the next step by scaling your flexible workforce. Don’t stop at collaborating with only one individual. Build a pool of 20 to 100 freelancers, then 1,000 freelancers, and watch your company go from bureaucratic and slow to agile and effective.

Running a small business often means juggling multiple responsibilities, from managing cash flow to staying ahead of market trends. For business owners who are looking to diversify revenue streams or strengthen their financial acumen, understanding the stock market is a powerful tool.

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