Richard

A franchise is only as strong as the people running it and the best ones don’t just manage a location, they own the neighborhood. At Boardroom, we’ve seen firsthand how local entrepreneurship makes or breaks the client experience. Our most successful franchisees aren’t just following a playbook, they’re building relationships, embedding themselves in their communities and demonstrating ownership that can’t be taught in a manual. You can’t outsource that kind of leadership.

Here are 4 reasons that local entrepreneurship is the secret weapon of successful franchises.

Related: Considering franchise ownership? Get started now to find your personalized list of franchises that match your lifestyle, interests and budget.

1. Franchising works best when it’s personal

The beauty of the franchise model is that it allows for scale without losing soul. But only if you get the right people in the room.

The most effective franchisees don’t just want to grow a business, they want to serve their community. They sponsor youth sports teams. They show up at local events, usually in a branded vehicle with a logo on their shirt. They remember your name, your go-to stylist and how you take your coffee.

Paul and Caren Wolf, who operate the highest-producing franchise location in our system, are a perfect example. They’re so well-known in their community they are like honorary mayors. Their leadership extends far beyond the walls of their lounge — if a client stops them at Costco on Saturday or at church on Sunday, the Wolfs are ready to represent our Boardroom. It’s no surprise they are so successful.

This isn’t just good for connection, it’s good for business. When clients feel like a place knows them, they come back. When employees feel seen by their leaders, they stay. And, in this industry, retention is everything.

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

2. Playing off script, not just following it

Yes, we can give franchisees a roadmap, but the best ones don’t just follow instructions, they read the room.

The best franchisees tweak the timing of a promotion based on their community’s event calendar. They recognize which offerings are not resonating locally, then adjust their material to highlight the services that their community prefers. That’s not just smart business, it’s local intuition at work.

It’s easy to assume that franchisees just “run the play.” But the reality is, success often comes from knowing when to pivot and when to go all-in. And no one can do that better than an entrepreneur building relationships in their community every day.

Related: Setting the Standard — When Disaster Strikes, This Top Franchise Is Making a Difference

3. Local entrepreneurs push the brand

One of the biggest misconceptions in franchising is that innovation only flows top-down. In reality, some of the most impactful ideas start in a single local market and scale up from there. I saw this firsthand during my time at Planet Fitness. Major changes to the Planet Fitness model began as franchisee innovations: the 30 Minute Circuit, prospect call phone scripts, pricing strategies, these were tested locally, proven effective and then adopted systemwide. That lesson stuck with me: the people closest to the customer often have the clearest view of what needs to change. And smart franchisors listen.

At Boardroom, we welcome that kind of partnership. When franchisees bring forward smart, locally informed ideas, whether it’s an evolution of our service offerings or a better way to retain our professionals, we pay attention. Because when one location gets better, the whole system benefits. The best franchise relationships aren’t rigid. They’re collaborative. And that’s how great brands are built: together.

Related: ‘Send a Man Next Time’: How an Entrepreneur and Her Daughters Built a $2.5 Million Franchise in a Male-Dominated Field

4. Scaling Doesn’t Mean Disconnection

As brands grow, we should work hard to stay close to the field because we know that’s where the real business lives. Local entrepreneurs don’t just represent your brand; they shape it in every city you enter. When you empower the right people locally, you’re not just adding locations, you’re building trust at scale.

And that’s the difference between a franchise network and a true community.

Related: Fried, Fast And Franchised — These Are The Top 10 Chicken Franchises in 2025

Success comes from relationships

Franchise success doesn’t come from corporate. It comes from the corner of Main Street and hard-earned relationships. It comes from entrepreneurial owners like Paul and Caren Wolf, who know their neighborhoods, lead with care and who don’t just run our playbook, they evolve it. That’s who we look for. That’s who we bet on to join us.

Because at the end of the day, a great franchise is just a great local business that’s repeated, supported and elevated across the country.

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

As a former NFL player and lifelong high performer, Todd Anderson was obsessed with optimization. He’d tried every hack, supplement, and tool he could find. But when he began taking a closer look at sleep, he noticed a glaring gap in the wellness conversation.

That shift started when he began working with Dr. Jennifer Martin, a leading sleep researcher at UCLA. After learning he had mild sleep apnea, he began taping his mouth shut at night to encourage nasal breathing. The results, he said, “were life-changing.”

What began as a personal breakthrough soon turned into a mission. After experiencing the effects of nasal breathing firsthand, Anderson launched Dream Performance & Recovery, which enhances sleep through products such as mouth tape and nasal strips. He joined me on the One Day with Jon Bier podcast to talk about how he built the brand from scratch.

Learn on the fly

Anderson had no background in business, just a personal breakthrough and a drive to build. But that was just fine.

“I think if I had all the funding in the world, I probably would’ve done it the wrong way. Instead, we had to figure it out, build slowly, and then scale once we knew it worked,” he said.

With no outside funding, Anderson bootstrapped every step of the way. “We were writing checks every month, paying for all this stuff,” he said. “Because of that, I think it allowed us to learn at a really rapid pace.”

He points to a quote from Spanx founder Sara Blakely as his guiding principle: “Start small, dream big, and scale fast.”

The result was Dream Mouth Tape, then Second Wind Nasal Strips. One product keeps your mouth closed for improved oxygen uptake, and the second maximizes airflow into your nose.

Related: 5 Lessons I Wish I Didn’t Learn the Hard Way During My 20 Years in Business

Let the product speak for itself

In the early days, the team leaned heavily on Anderson’s own social following and podcast appearances. He accepted every opportunity he could: “I said yes to every event, every speaking thing, every podcast, and it ended up paying off.”

Awareness happened organically. On a 46-mile run through the Grand Canyon, Anderson brought the first prototypes of his nasal strips to the event. “Everyone tried them and they were blown away.”

That approach helped build a customer base that spread the word on its own. “When people do buy into it and they start sleeping better, and it does change their life… they tell everybody,” Anderson said.

Focus on retention

A major turning point came when Anderson moved manufacturing from overseas to the U.S. The goal wasn’t just faster shipping—it was better quality. “Our product got exponentially better,” he said.

In a low-trust category like wellness, consistency matters more than hype. “We had no choice but to get it right,” Anderson said. “If people didn’t come back, the business wouldn’t work.”

Related: 5 New Tech Products Worth Showing Off to Houseguests

Find the right partners

Eventually, Anderson found some heavy-hitting investors who believed in the product and could offer valuable branding expertise. “We brought on Sara Blakely and Jesse Itzler as pretty substantial partners,” he said. “They own a good chunk of the business.”

Blakely is the founder of Spanx and one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in history. Her husband, Jesse Itzler, is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, and part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks.

“Their values are lined up exactly how I would want to have my values lined up. And so knowing that’s how they operate, and then getting advice through that lens, I don’t think we could ask for anything better.”

Anderson is starting to see the cultural shift he hoped for. What once felt like a niche message is now gaining traction. “I think people realize it’s not about having the most hours in the day,” he said. “It’s about having the best hours in the day.”

Related: A Bad Business Partner Could Cost You Millions — Here’s How to Avoid a Toxic Partnership

They say timing is everything — and that’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way.

Today, I’m building a startup I truly believe in. But the truth is, this journey didn’t start last year. It began more than 20 years ago — with a big idea, the wrong timing and some painful but necessary lessons that would shape everything I’m doing now.

How it started

In 2007, inspired by platforms like Craigslist and LinkedIn, I set out to bring a new kind of online platform to life. I had a strong concept, but not the technical skills to build it alone. So I partnered with a close friend who could fill that gap.

At first, we were excited. But over time, cracks formed — our visions didn’t align, our strategies drifted, and financial pressure mounted. Eventually, we had to walk away.

It was disappointing, even devastating. But I never stopped believing in the core idea. Instead, I paused to reflect on what went wrong, what I’d learned, and what I needed to do differently next time.

That reflection helped shape both who I am and how I operate today.

Related: When My Startup Failed, I Was Hopeless and Left in Tears. Here Are the Lessons That Helped Me Restart and Launch Three Successful Companies.

What I learned (the first time around)

• Learning never stops: Your best insights often come from others. Lean into your network — mentors, peers, even critics. Learning from others and sharing your own experience creates a powerful loop of growth.
• Be willing to adapt: Even with a great idea, you have to stay flexible. Whether you’re launching or scaling, being able to pivot when needed isn’t a weakness — it’s a survival skill.

Getting it right the second time

• Start with clarity: A shared vision is critical. Before launching, make sure you and your co-founder(s) are aligned on goals, roles, and long-term expectations. Misalignment early on will cost you later.
• Be honest with yourself and your team: Ask the hard questions up front: Why are we doing this? What problem are we solving? Who are we solving it for? If your answers don’t match, it’s time to regroup.
• Culture matters as much as code: Yes, you need technical talent. But you also need people who share your values, collaborate well, and grow with the company. Don’t underestimate cultural fit — it makes or breaks teams.

If you build it, will they come?

This time around, I approached things differently. I didn’t just assume the idea was good — I tested it. I asked:

Are we solving a real problem?
Does the market need this now?
What’s our unique value proposition (UVP)?
Why would anyone choose us?

Customer-first thinking became the foundation. Instead of building what we thought was valuable, we built what the market actually needed — and made sure our solution stayed relevant.

Getting tactical: what every founder needs to consider

• Do your homework: Understand your industry, track trends, study user behavior and know your competition.
• Create a strategy: Write a business plan. Forecast your finances. Know your funding options.
• Formalize the business: Register your company, get your EIN, licenses, permits, and build your legal foundation properly.
• Build the right team: Use your network to find people who align with your mission and culture.
• Sell the vision: Know your customer, refine your message and create a product or service they actually want.

Related: 10 Lessons I Learned From Failing My First Acquisition

Final thoughts

Be both sales-driven and market-aware. Know your audience — where they get information, what problems they face, what resonates with them. Your customer acquisition strategy should be informed by real data, not just instinct.

And most importantly, keep an open mind. Inspiration can come from anywhere — a conversation, a failure, a new connection. The more you listen, the more likely you are to spot those game-changing ideas.

Building something meaningful takes time. For me, it took over 20 years. But every setback, misstep and restart has made this journey — and this version of the startup — infinitely more grounded and more real.

Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.

Let’s cut to the chase: If you’re still clinging to marketing strategies from two years ago, you’re not just behind — you’re invisible.

Welcome to 2025. Algorithms have shifted, audiences have evolved and that old playbook? It’s a liability. After 25 years in the marketing trenches — leading campaigns that have scaled brands across industries — I can confidently say this: If your current strategy feels “safe,” it’s probably killing your growth.

It’s time to evolve. Here’s what’s working in 2025, what’s falling flat, and how to build a marketing strategy that survives today’s brutal digital battlefield.

The brutal truth about organic content: it’s not enough anymore

Meta’s organic reach on Facebook and Instagram? On life support. Blaming the algorithm won’t help. These platforms have gone full pay-to-play — your content needs backup.

Enter the Organic Plus approach: high-quality organic content amplified with paid media — not to sell, but to spark engagement. Visibility first. Then conversion. If you’re still in the “I don’t pay for ads” camp, expect your digital presence to flatline.

Good content without reach is like shouting into a void. Organic Plus hands your brand the microphone.

Related: 5 Telltale Signs These Outdated Strategies Are Killing Your Business (and How to Get With the Times)

AI fatigue? You’re going to miss the revolution

I get it. There’s a lot of noise around AI. But dismissing it because of one bad ChatGPT session? That’s like quitting the gym after a single burpee.

AI isn’t here to replace your marketing team — it’s here to equip them. From predictive analytics to customized content and streamlined workflows, AI is the ultimate assistant when trained right.

Clients have boosted performance by aligning AI tools with brand voice and business goals. Stop treating AI like a gimmick. It’s the smartest intern you’ll ever hire.

Video content is mandatory, not optional

TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts: short-form video is the internet’s dominant language. Still posting static graphics and long captions? You’re speaking Morse code in a TikTok world.

Here’s the kicker: it’s not about perfection. It’s about the point of view. Audiences crave authenticity — thought-provoking takes, behind-the-scenes grit and genuine personality. Filters and corporate scripts won’t cut it.

Especially on LinkedIn, where B2B audiences want relatable, human content. Sales pitches? No one’s watching. Real voices win.

TikTok is a goldmine — with landmines

TikTok can explode your brand awareness — but only if you play by its rules. Too many brands waste time and money throwing ads at users without a native content strategy.

Newsflash: TikTok users sniff out sales pitches faster than you can say “influencer collab.” If you’re not building community alongside paid strategy, you’re throwing money away.

Be authentic. Be fast. Be culturally fluent — or get ignored.

Email marketing isn’t dead. Yours just needs a lifeline

If your email campaigns aren’t delivering, the problem isn’t the medium—it’s you.

Email is quietly thriving. My agency generated over $47,000 from a single email campaign in 2024. No gimmicks. Just smart segmentation, compelling copy, and respect for inboxes.

In 2025, inboxes are sacred. Earn your place with value. Not spam. Not fluff. Not “just checking in.”

LinkedIn: still the B2B powerhouse — if you get real

If you’re still pitching cold, posting lifeless updates, or running buzzword bingo on LinkedIn, you’re done. Today’s LinkedIn is about genuine thought leadership—not TED Talks or ten-paragraph manifestos.

Real stories. Specific insights. A little vulnerability. That’s how you build trust and visibility where buyers pay attention. One client boosted outreach response rates to 75% just by ditching corporate speak and having real conversations. Try it.

Related: 5 Telltale Signs These Outdated Strategies Are Killing Your Business (and How to Get With the Times)

What needs to end in 2025

Here’s what I’m personally canceling this year:

• Spray-and-pray content: no strategy, no shot.
• Fake followers and vanity metrics: everyone can tell.
• AI-generated fluff masquerading as thought leadership: the world wants real POVs, not SEO soup.
• Obsession with likes over leads: impressions don’t pay bills. ROI rules.

The trends that actually matter

What’s worth your time and budget in 2025?

• Organic Plus: marrying visibility with ROI.
• Marketing automation: beyond emails into full-funnel personalization.
• LinkedIn content: that connects, not just converts.
• Video marketing: that makes people stop scrolling.
• Smart AI use: for audience insights, content repurposing, and scaling efficiently.

The final word: stop waiting for the algorithm to save you

If you’re clinging to old strategies, hoping for one more good quarter before you change, let me be the one to break it to you: that moment is gone.

2025 is not the year to play it safe. It’s the year to sharpen your edge, evolve your tactics, and take your message seriously.

Be human. Be strategic. Be relentless. Your brand’s survival depends on it.

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

The question of ‘next trends’ isn’t whether a trend exists, but whether you’ll be the first to spot it. Interest in trends across search engines and social media can grow by 65% to 143% over five years, with some driving exponential sales growth within months.

In response, 75% of business leaders have increased their focus on innovation, recognising that speed and smart trend selection set market leaders apart.

Here are five principles to help you cut through the noise, test ideas fast and turn the right trends into growth.

1. Catch the signal before everyone else

Early responses to emerging trends can boost sales by 15–20% and increase customer loyalty. One of the first signs of a growing trend is a surge in search queries — the sweet spot is acting while interest is rising, but before the market gets crowded.

Use tools like Google Trends, Wordstat, Ahrefs, SEMrush or Exploding Topics for regular keyword monitoring. Watch for 5–10x spikes in search volume over one to two months, but don’t stop at raw numbers.

Pay attention to velocity, long-tail queries and unusual seasonal patterns that may signal changing consumer priorities. In 2024 and early 2025, online searches for Dubai chocolate spiked after viral TikTok videos. Sensing the momentum, retailers like Marks & Spencer and Waitrose introduced limited-edition products recreating the aesthetic and flavour of the original. It’s a clear example of how microtrends can leap from niche content into mainstream retail almost overnight.

2. Test trend viability — is it built to last?

More and more trends hold consumer interest for months or even years. What sets them apart? A stabilisation phase after the initial spike and a ripple effect across related categories.

A single burst of attention isn’t enough: a viable trend should show consistent interest for two to three months, signalling durable demand. Track trends over time in a simple table using Excel or Notion. Update data every two to four weeks and compare growth. Check if related products or adjacent search terms gain traction too — that’s often where long-term potential lies.

Amazon treated sustainability as a long-term shift, not a seasonal campaign. With 74% of U.S. consumers looking to shop more sustainably, and 68% willing to pay more, it launched a Sustainable Products Programme and “Climate Pledge Friendly” labels, boosting eco-conscious sales and brand reputation.

Related: How to Move Fast and Not Break Things — 5 Lessons in Innovation From an Industry With Zero Room for Error

3. Test fast, spend small

Trending products often start with spikes in searches and social buzz: top categories can grow quarterly sales by anywhere from several hundred to more than 6,000%. But many trends are short-lived, making big investments risky.

Treat every trend as a hypothesis: Will it convert, scale and fit your business model? Instead of going all in, run quick tests to explore the idea. Start with a simple MVP, like an SEO-optimized landing page, and track key signals such as CTR, add-to-cart actions and retention. If it performs, scale it up; if not, move on quickly with minimal cost. This flexible, data-led approach turns trend-chasing into a controlled, low-risk practice.

Hiut Denim, a Welsh jeans maker, tapped into the barrel fit jeans trend, which saw a 500% surge in interest. The brand ran multi-channel digital campaigns and achieved a 600% increase in paid social sales with lower acquisition costs. Last year, they leaned into SEO with optimised category pages, boosting organic traffic and brand visibility.

4. Bring trends to life through cross-team collaboration

Without cross-team alignment, even the best trend insights go nowhere. While 75% of employers say collaboration is key to success, 39% of employees feel their companies aren’t effective enough. Moreover, 86% of employees and executives agree that poor teamwork causes most project failures.

You can’t bring a trend to market alone. Success depends on fast, coordinated action across teams, allowing companies to make the most of trend-driven opportunities.

Set up a clear, step-by-step process for managing trends: capture new signals, conduct a quick analysis, then hold regular team discussions to evaluate their potential value and fit. From there, decide whether to run a test or set the idea aside. Working in the gifting industry, our team monitors trends across key markets every two weeks. We also build a shortlist of two to three hypotheses and commit to testing at least one. This structured approach helps avoid chaotic trend-chasing and keeps focus on the most promising opportunities.

Nuuly, a fashion rental brand, grew its subscriber base by 51% by betting on the rise of sustainable fashion and circular shopping. While marketing tracked growing interest, product and logistics teams built relevant collections and accelerated delivery. The tech team improved personalisation and UX, raising conversions and retention, leading to double-digit revenue growth.

Related: Are You Chasing Trends or Building a Lasting Business?

5. Don’t chase every trend

By the end of 2024, 67% of consumers reported marketing fatigue, especially when brands jumped on every trend. 33% view this approach as inauthentic or even “embarrassing,” and only 27% believe it’s effective in the short term.

Not every trend is worth pursuing. Some ideas simply aren’t right for your brand, even if they’re generating a lot of noise. Learning to say no is just as important as knowing when to move fast. Ask yourself: does this trend align with your brand values, audience, production and logistics? Do the average order value, margin and LTV make sense?

Talk to marketing and PR: could this hurt your brand image? Run small-scale tests before you commit. In 2025, several beauty brands tried to ride TikTok trends with viral ingredients and nearly identical product releases. Instead of a boost, they got a sales decline. According to Beauty Independent, consumers now prefer minimalism, science-backed formulas and brand authenticity. If a trend doesn’t align with your DNA, it’s better to walk away.

Trends aren’t just about fashion — they’re signals of changing behaviors and needs. Rather than guessing, they help businesses understand where the market is headed. The key is to look beyond the noise and use trends as a tool to test your strategy, identify growth opportunities and adapt to what’s next.

Goldman Sachs is planning to ask junior analysts to verify every three months that they don’t have a job lined up elsewhere, in a periodic pledge of loyalty, Bloomberg reports.

The loyalty oaths are meant to get ahead of private equity firms, which can offer candidates jobs up to two years before a potential start date. These firms have been extending offers to junior bankers at the start of their job training at Goldman Sachs, or before they even begin training, in a process known as on-cycle recruitment.

Related: Here Are the Odds of Landing a Summer Internship at Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan

Goldman Sachs isn’t the only bank on Wall Street to crack down on poaching from private equity firms. Last month, JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S. with $3.9 trillion in assets, warned incoming analysts in a leaked email that they would be fired if they accepted a future-dated job offer before joining the bank or within the first 18 months of their employment.

JPMorgan said that the policy was meant to prevent any possible conflicts of interest.

^{Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Photographer: Naina Helén Jåma/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, 69, previously said that the practice of losing talent to private equity was “unethical.” At a talk at Georgetown University in September, Dimon said that moving to private equity puts JPMorgan “in a conflicted position” because staff are already pledged to another firm while they handle confidential information at JPMorgan.

“I think that’s unethical,” Dimon said at the talk. “I don’t like it.”

Major private equity firm Apollo Global Management announced last month that it would not conduct formal interviews or extend job offers to the class of 2027 in response to criticism about the private equity hiring process beginning too early.

Related: Goldman Sachs Asks Some Managers to Move From Major Hubs Like New York City to Emerging Regions Like Dallas — Or Quit

Apollo CEO Marc Rowan told Bloomberg in an emailed statement last month that “asking students to make career decisions before they truly understand their options doesn’t serve them or our industry.”

Apollo and Goldman Sachs offer comparable compensation packages. According to federal filings pulled by Business Insider, Apollo pays analysts a base salary of $115,000 to $150,000. Associates make anywhere from $125,000 to $200,000.

In comparison, Goldman Sachs pays first-year analysts $110,000 and first-year associates $150,000. Second-year analysts make $125,000.

Fresh out of an unfulfilling finance career, Neil Hershman was looking for something different — something he could build with his own hands. That search led him to 16 Handles, a New York-based froyo brand he frequented as a customer.

Astrophysics degree in one hand, finance resume in the other, Hershman found himself behind the counter of his first 16 Handles franchise, sleeves rolled up and running the store from open to close.

What started as a side project quickly spiraled into something bigger. “Open and close, every single shift I was working,” Hershman says. “I was able to advance the business [and] bring in additional revenue to the point where the profit was so great that I decided to leave all my other projects and just focus on 16 Handles.”

At a time when other entrepreneurs were retreating, Hershman expanded. He started building new stores across New York City during Covid-19, when retail leases were cheap and competitors were shuttering. “Instead of getting scared, I was the one coming in and building,” he says.

Related: He Started a Business and Ended Up on the Brink of Bankruptcy. He Fixed His Mistakes – and Now Teaches Entrepreneurs What He Wishes He Knew When Starting Out.

Soon, he wasn’t just running locations. He was leading the entire company.

Since acquiring the brand from founder Solomon Choi in 2022, Hershman has led a nationwide expansion of the froyo chain from 30 to 150-plus locations. His unexpected journey from customer to franchisee to CEO gives him a unique edge in today’s crowded dessert market.

Hershman is behind some of the brand’s wildest flavors, ranging from Harry Potter references to “french fry frozen yogurt” (a play on McDonald’s frequently broken ice cream machines). “I am part of the customer base,” he says. “My family, my friends, everyone is part of the customer base. So it’s just ideas that we have.”

The results speak for themselves. “Our sales growth has been phenomenal, like when we launched french fry, or the Squid Games-inspired flavor, or the butter beer out of Harry Potter,” he says. “Our sales are up like 30-40% the week that we launched compared to prior years. So it really does make a difference.”

But building a thriving brand takes more than flavor. It takes trust, consistency and loyalty — not just from customers, but from the team. That’s why the first person Hershman hired was Lisa Mallon, who co-owned the Fairfield, Connecticut, location with her husband for 13 years.

“Who knows the brand better and believes in the brand more than people who have been successful with the brand?” Hershman says. “Somebody who’s got 13 years of running a store open to close and knows customer interactions and [what] customers want, how to make the best bang for your buck on this business.”

Related: Her Show Was Canceled – But the Setback Taught Busy Philipps a Powerful Lesson for Creators and Entrepreneurs

This strategy helps the brand stay consistent, which are the callouts Hershman appreciates most in customer reviews.

“We used to have one girl who ordered every single day, and it would always come through around the same time, to the point where when you heard the printer printing at that time, we knew it was her order and what to do,” he says.

One day, she left a five-star review with a picture of her froyo on her coffee table. “Love this place, great chocolate,” she wrote.

For Hershman, these few words were a source of encouragement. “Even though it feels monotonous that we’re packing the same order every single day, there’s somebody at the other end who all day is probably looking forward to this moment of opening up this bag,” he says.

Hershman stressed the importance of paying close attention to reviews, whether positive or critical.

“[Loyal customers] know what to look for best,” he says. “Those are really important for us as a franchisor to know what’s going on with our locations, and for store operators to know what’s going on in the customer’s mind.”

Related: This Local Bakery Has Lines Out the Door. Here Are the Secrets to Its Success.

Hershman and his team keep a close eye on review platforms like Yelp to help refine operations and build trust while keeping in mind that not every critique is a call to action.

For example, one of the challenges Hershman identified is not getting the full picture of a customer’s experience based on their review. “You just get the edges, so it makes it a little hard to use those reviews as a long-term decision maker,” he says.

Nevertheless, critical reviews can provide clarity, and good reviews can build credibility. Both are opportunities to grow as a business.

Hershman’s story is about seeing potential where others see plateaus and making truly special moments for customers, who will return for the consistent experience again and again.

After taking over as CEO and reimagining 16 Handles for a new generation, Hershman’s advice to entrepreneurs is simple but powerful:

• Obsess over the customer experience. From staple products to add-on services, everything can be improved to build trust and cultivate repeat business.
• Build customer loyalty at every turn. Reading and responding to customer feedback lets customers know their voices are heard.
• Innovate with purpose. Not every business idea will see the light of day, but focusing on constant improvement will keep your business competitive.
• See your business through the eyes of a customer. Spending time on the front lines can give you a fresh perspective on what’s working and what needs to be improved.

Listen to the episode to hear directly from Neil Hershman, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Tuesday.

Editorial contributions by Jiah Choe and Kristi Lindahl

Nvidia has flown past Microsoft and Apple to hit a record $4 trillion in market value, the latest sign of the AI boom.

On Wednesday morning, the AI chipmaker became the world’s first company to be worth $4 trillion, ahead of the previous $3.9 trillion market value record set by Apple in December. (Though it has come down from its $4 trillion high, its share price was $163.25 for a market cap of $3.97 trillion at the time of writing.) Nvidia shares soared by as much as 2.5% on Wednesday to an intraday high of $164.42.

Related: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Will Make Nearly $1 Billion This Year Just from Selling Stock

Nvidia stock is up over 21% year-to-date, and up more than 1,450% over the past five years.

CNBC notes that two years ago, Nvidia was worth $500 billion. Since then, the AI chipmaker reached $1 trillion in value in June 2023, $2 trillion in February 2024, and $3 trillion in June 2024.

Tech analyst Dan Ives posted on X on Wednesday that Nvidia reaching a $4 trillion market cap, even momentarily, marked a “huge historical moment for [the] U.S. tech sector.” In a research note last month, Ives wrote, “There is one company in the world that is the foundation for the AI Revolution and that is Nvidia.”

The Godfather of AI Jensen and Nvidia hit $4 trillion market cap. AI Revolution and huge historical moment for US Tech sector ????

— Dan Ives (@DivesTech) July 9, 2025

Nvidia’s record market value is due to its unique position as the leading provider of AI chips; the company commands 70% to 95% of the market. Tech giants, including Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, are using Nvidia’s chips to power their AI offerings (and spending billions of dollars in the process).

Nvidia’s revenue has skyrocketed in response. In a recent May earnings report for the first quarter of the year, Nvidia recorded that quarterly revenue was $44.1 billion, up 69% from a year ago and ahead of Wall Street expectations. Nvidia expects another $45 billion in revenue in the current quarter.

“Global demand for Nvidia’s AI infrastructure is incredibly strong,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement accompanying the earnings report. “Countries around the world are recognizing AI as essential infrastructure — just like electricity and the internet — and Nvidia stands at the center of this profound transformation.”

Nvidia first surpassed Microsoft in mid-June as the most valuable public company in the world, a position it still holds. In April, Nvidia announced plans to build AI chips and supercomputers in the U.S. for the first time.

Related: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says ChatGPT Needs ‘100 Times More’ of His Company’s AI Chips

I’ve seen thousands of impressive resumes over the years, and one important lesson I’ve learned is that smarts and brainpower without emotional intelligence are worse than unproductive. Give me the sharpest investment analyst or portfolio manager in town, but if they can’t hold a calm conversation when a client is panicked or concerned or can’t read the room, they’re more of a liability than an asset.

My wake-up call was letting go of our brilliant portfolio analyst, whose zero-empathy style turned status update calls into cage matches of who is smarter. Showing that intellectual talent the way out the door definitely was difficult, but the damage they would’ve kept causing would’ve been worse. That realization pushed emotional intelligence — or emotional quotient — to the top of my hiring checklist. If you’re building a company and still betting on raw intellect alone, you’re quietly inviting trouble inside the culture of your organization.

Related: ‘Seeing People I Helped Succeed Is My Greatest Thrill’: Baseball Star Dexter Fowler and Restaurateur Michael Tanha Outline a Playbook for Success

The reflexes that keep a deal from dying

Running a small business is more like a street market at rush hour. Things move fast, and emotional intelligence matters a lot. When a deadline jumps from next week to tomorrow, you need teammates who keep their heads high, read the room and steady the ship. High-EQ people do exactly that.

They notice a teammate’s shoulders tense and ask what’s up before the blow-up. They catch a client’s hesitation in the first five seconds and course-correct. They think before they fire off the snarky Slack or Teams reply. Those reflexes keep collaboration flowing. Minus them, tension multiplies faster than any spreadsheet can track — and the smartest ideas drown in the noise.

The ROI of prioritizing EQ

Stress is part of the founder’s job description, so the real question is who you want beside you when things go sideways. I’ve watched high-EQ employees turn a Friday meltdown into a Monday morning win simply by listening first, framing the options and keeping everyone’s dignity intact. It’s important to note that talent is only part of the equation.

Regardless of how “genius” they may be, a teammate with a low EQ can flip the script on a project’s success. They become a bottleneck for progress and drain the team with unnecessary conflict. Lost clients, burnt-out teams, endless mediation calls: that hidden overhead will sink margins faster than any market downturn. Once you tally those silent costs, betting on EQ looks less like a soft option and more like bulletproof risk management for your business.

Related: 5 Reasons Why Emotional Intelligence Is the Future of Work

Hire for EQ, train for skill

Don’t get me wrong, I still want smart people on the payroll. I’m still running a company. But here’s the hard lesson you should learn from my experience: hard skills sit on the lowest shelf because they’re easy to reach. Let’s say a motivated new hire can easily binge-watch tutorials at twice the speed, shadow a colleague for a sprint and hit baseline proficiency even before the quarter closes.

On the contrary, EQ lives on a higher shelf. It’s forged over the years from handling feedback that stings, defusing tension at the exact moment it peaks and communicating bad news without lighting a fuse. Those instincts come from experience and an honest self-audit, not from a two-day certification. For example, I can easily walk someone through our CRM logic, but I can never walk them through the emotional mechanics of pausing before they speak when a client’s tone turns frosty. That muscle either shows up toned or it doesn’t.

So when a candidate walks in already steady under pressure, I’ll gladly sponsor any technical training they need. Any entrepreneur can spend the money on a coding boot camp, a finance master class or a niche compliance seminar just because that’s a fixed, predictable cost. But if you try reversing the equation where you pour months into coaching someone who bristles at basic feedback, you’ll discover the bill never stops growing, and neither does the headache.

Related: 6 Steps to Building a Strong Company Culture

How to screen for EQ from the job post to the first 90 days

Making EQ the north star starts before a single resume lands in your inbox. Write job posts that clearly outline collaboration efforts, adaptability and client care right next to the technical asks. Be extremely clear so you attract (and detract) the right people.

When interview time rolls around, refrain from asking questions as if they’re trivia quizzes. Ask about the last time a project blew up in their face and how they kept the team together. Listen for ownership, empathy and a game plan — not finger-pointing. Run multiple rounds so the mask slips (not that we’re setting them up for failure, just that fatigue is a great truth serum).

Call references and skip the polite small talk. Ask how the candidate handled tension and whether their previous employer would rehire them when the chips were down. After the offer, give your new hires a culture buddy and real-time feedback in the first ninety days. See how they handle the small storms before you put them in front of your biggest accounts.

No line item captures the relief of ending a tough call with a client who says, “Thanks for getting where I’m coming from.” That’s EQ paying dividends, and the compound interest is wild. When you make emotional intelligence the first filter, you’ll spend less time refereeing squabbles and more time building something worth the late nights. Hire humans who can handle humans, and the numbers will take care of themselves.

Canola oil, a seed oil made by crushing canola seeds, is used in several Starbucks food items in the U.S., from the popular egg white and roasted red pepper bites to its sandwiches. But that may soon change.

Bloomberg is reporting that the coffeehouse is exploring how to remove seed oils, including canola, from its lineup. A Starbucks spokesperson told the outlet that the company is also adding a new egg bite option to its menu made with avocado oil.

Related: Starbucks Is Hiring a ‘Global Content Creator’ to Travel, Drink Coffee, and Get Paid Six Figures

Last month, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol met with the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to discuss health and the company’s menu. Seed oils are a top talking point for Kennedy, which he says are ultra-processed and linked to chronic diseases. His administration suggests using beef tallow, or rendered beef fat, instead of seed oils.

Salad chain Sweetgreen and burger chain Steak ‘n Shake have already made the switch.

“We have made a commitment to remove seed oils from our restaurants,” Steak ‘n Shake wrote on its website. “Our fries, onion rings and chicken tenders are now cooked in 100% beef tallow in our restaurants.”

Yesterday, I met with @Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who shared the company’s plans to further MAHA its menu. I was pleased to learn that Starbucks’ food and beverages already avoid artificial dyes, artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and other… pic.twitter.com/F2O9wHpVFW

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 18, 2025

Still, scientists say seed oils are safe for consumption in moderation, and the FDA says that when substituted for fats or oils high in saturated fat, like beef tallow, using canola oil may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

There have also been a number of analyses that indicate seed oils do not impact inflammation, Bloomberg notes.

Related: It’s Pay-to-Stay at Starbucks as the Coffeehouse Reverses Open Door Policy