In my years of building startups and working with founders, one expectation remains constant: unrealistic product development cycles. Far too often, companies find themselves bogged down in time-consuming development processes, forced agile development flows and the resulting wasted resources and missed opportunities. Great operators know that building software isn’t a commodity. You can’t snap your fingers and call something “done.” It’s more of an art than science. And typically, building something interesting and valuable “takes as long as it takes.” So, my co-founders and I decided to adopt a new way of thinking: the six-week sprint. This isn’t just a product development strategy; it’s an approach to building and scaling businesses rapidly in an unpredictable landscape.

Rather than adhering to traditional, force-fit cycles, we focus on what we can achieve in six weeks. It’s a more realistic approach to building things at the early stage of a business. The “agile development” approach has created the idea that you should organize your work in two-week cycles. The result is a weird cadence that trivializes design, de-incentives more foundational product improvements and ignores feedback. Just because your JIRA ticket is marked as “complete” doesn’t mean you’ve shipped something people care about.

The power of a “release twice” approach

The foundation of the six-week sprint model lies in what we call a “release twice” methodology. A six-week cycle doesn’t mean there are no releases within that six weeks. It just means you have six weeks to prove your release is valuable or you’ve likely failed. As a result, you’ll need to release quickly to get the feedback you need to prove your feature meets expectations.

What we’ve found is that getting it there often requires a second release of the same feature set. If you can prove it in three weeks, you get a gold star, and it’s likely a positive indicator of how well you’re listening to customers or how tuned in you are to the problem space. Six weeks allows us to set real objectives and spend meaningful time getting an initiative right.

At my current venture, Bread, we help businesses get to market quickly with a well-designed, well-built foundation to set them up for future success. Many of these businesses are still in the idea stage of their product. A two-week sprint makes no sense in this context. For one customer, the first thing we needed to build and prove was a real-time voting mechanism. The initial concept required using SMS to vote. The first release took four weeks. We spent a week testing and iterating to learn that people wanted to wait until the last second to respond. Small delays in SMS delivery could prevent their vote from counting, and we had no access to when they initially cast their vote if their message was delayed. So we added the ability to vote in the UI. It resolved user concerns and we could mark the feature as released. Trying to fit that process into a two-week release cycle would have been silly. It took four weeks to build but five weeks to get it right.

One of the biggest advantages of this approach is that it prevents shipping the wrong thing and leaving it in your product. By validating features, designs and strategies through a fluid process, you can avoid the pitfall of product bloat. If something doesn’t work, you’ll figure it out quickly and you can pivot without losing momentum or wasting valuable resources. If you were to move on to the next thing, it just sits there.

This philosophy isn’t just limited to product development — it should be woven into your entire business strategy. From market expansion to operations, you should think about everything in terms of these mid-sized bets on progress, not features. It allows you to experiment, learn and adapt continuously.

Related: This Is the Framework to Make Your Product a Smash Success

Eliminating the backlog: A counterintuitive advantage

A key element of six-week cycles is eliminating backlogs. This may seem counterintuitive to those who have spent years working within the traditional framework of software development, where backlogs are a standard part of the process. But I’ve found that maintaining a backlog is essentially collecting a list of bad ideas and technical debt. Unless you’re an established business with a statistically relevant set of users, backlogs aren’t going to help you decide what to build next.

Backlogs tend to accumulate stale ideas that often never get addressed, leading to distraction and disorganization. Instead of keeping a list of deferred features and suggestions, you should focus solely on what is most important right now. This way, you align all your efforts toward immediate priorities, ensuring that your team is always focused on the present rather than what could be done in the distant future. As a result, you stay agile, responsive and forward-moving.

Additionally, with the release twice methodology, if you’ve proved what you’ve released quickly, you have the time to clean up your mess and resolve technical debt accrual.

Iterate quickly, minimize risk

The six-week cycle is still short enough to help avoid large, risky product launches. In a traditional product cycle, the emphasis is often on building something big over several months or even years. But the problem with this approach is that by the time a product is finally ready to launch, market conditions may have changed, customer needs may have shifted, or competition may have surpassed your offering.

An example of this is the dreaded “re-design.” More often than not, redesigns have horrible receptions. They take a long time if the surface area of your product is large and people don’t have to relearn a product they already invested time in learning.

In contrast, by working in mid-sized sprints, you have the time to release incremental redesigns, validate them with users and iterate quickly. This rapid feedback loop enables you to stay in tune with market demands and refine your products more efficiently, all while reducing the risk of launching something that misses the mark.

Related: How to Design and Produce Products from Scratch — A Step-by-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs

Applying the six-week method beyond product development

What makes the six-week methodology truly powerful is that it’s not confined to product development alone. You can apply the same framework to virtually every aspect of your business, from team-building to public relations to client management and even growth strategy.

For example, when my team considered expanding beyond mid-market accounts, we first experimented on a smaller scale. We gave our go-to-market team six weeks to craft a plan, design marketing collateral and build any prototypes required to close a deal. At the end of six weeks, they had to present their market signal. We analyzed the results and decided if we wanted to continue with the investment.

It took two, six-week sprints to make a decision to postpone market expansion. Not only was the traction lacking, but the feedback we got from the market indicated that we weren’t going to have the resources to meet their demand.

This approach has fostered a culture of experimentation among my colleagues, allowing us to respond quickly to new opportunities without being overwhelmed by the fear of failure.

The challenges of adopting a new mindset

As with any significant shift in process, adopting the six-week methodology comes with its own set of challenges. For one, working in these short sprints can create pressure. Deadlines are always just around the corner, and the compressed timeline demands that teams make decisions faster than they might be accustomed to. Also, without careful oversight, there’s a risk of becoming too focused on the immediate and losing sight of the broader, long-term vision.

It also requires a cultural shift. Teams that are used to long development cycles and backlogs may find it difficult to adjust to the new pace and focus. It requires buy-in from leadership and commitment at every level of the company to truly embrace this way of thinking.

But importantly, by taking small, calculated risks and continuously refining your process, you’ll be able to build a team that thrives on agility. Rather than being weighed down by extensive planning, pointless standups or development backlogs, you’re always moving, always testing and always improving.

Related: Why Slowing Down Will Get You Farther

A new framework for growth and innovation

In the end, successful startups aren’t determined by who has the most resources or the grandest plans. It’s about who can adapt the fastest, respond to changing market conditions and deliver consistent value. The six-week startup methodology provides a framework that allows companies to remain nimble in an increasingly competitive environment.

I believe this approach is the future of business growth and innovation. It challenges the traditional long-term development cycles and emphasizes the importance of quick, iterative progress. While it requires a significant mindset shift, the rewards are substantial: faster iteration, smarter resource use and, ultimately, greater success in a market that’s always changing.

As we head into February 2025, it may come as no surprise that many who set out with ambitious resolutions have already fallen short. In fact, according to a recent USA Today article, “Quitters Day” (January 10) which is less than two weeks from the start of the year has already long passed. So why do so many fall short so quickly?

Frequently, people tend to come up with vague, audacious goals — lose weight, become an entrepreneur, start a new business, etc.. The problem with this type of goal setting is that the goals are daunting and nebulous, so people give up. So what’s the solution? I bet you already have some ideas.

I’m not reinventing the wheel here — suggesting you break big goals down into digestible chunks is nothing new. However, knowing what those small steps should be may feel a little muddled. If your goal for this year is to move closer to becoming an entrepreneur, then you may be motivated by the rewards of business ownership. I call these the Four Horsemen motivators: Autonomy, Time Freedom, Purpose and Financial Freedom.

These life goals are pipe dreams without actions attached, so I’ve compiled a list of four things you can do this year that don’t require a lot of time or money, but can get you in the right frame of mind to figure out if entrepreneurship is the right fit for you.

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

Read a book about entrepreneurship

Before I started my own business, I read. And read. And read. It may not be sexy, but reading is valuable. Before I jumped into the world of franchising, I had three toddlers at home and a to-do list about a mile long. I found that early morning reading while the kids were asleep was my time to explore entrepreneurship. It was in these early morning reading sessions that I researched business opportunities, learned how to create a website, publish a book and so much more that has been invaluable during my journey.

Good news for you? In the years since I started, technology has improved enabling easier access to this information. Consider getting a Kindle Unlimited subscription or buying a few books on Audible, or even listening for free on Spotify. Find books that speak to you — search for books on side hustles, franchising, starting a business, etc. Listening to this content is convenient and can be done while completing other tasks.

Related: Here’s how we determined the annual Franchise 500 ranking — and what we learned from the data.

Speak with someone you admire

If your goal is to change your circumstances, you have to put yourself in the way of those who are on a similar path to our goals. Seek out business owners who are living the lifestyle you want to emulate and pick their brain. Meet them for coffee, ask about their journey, take notes and start to think about how some of their big “ah-ha” moments and points of transition could be mapped onto your life.

How do you find these people? Network with other parents at your kid’s school or sports team. Attend city events and chamber of commerce meetings. If you have friends who are professionals – especially attorneys, bankers and accountants — then they are all working with entrepreneurs. Take them out to lunch and ask them about clients they have and their success stories — find a common thread.

Another option is to visit a business you already frequent and ask to speak with the owner. Most every small business owner is going to be willing to talk with a customer. Additionally, you may find it valuable to get in contact with someone like a consultant who specializes in the transition into entrepreneurship.

Related: The One Factor the Top Franchises of 2025 Have in Common

Use social media

This one is easy to do – it’s research, but it’s lightweight. If you follow sports or other passive topics on social media, then you’re already doing this. Next time you’re scrolling, direct your social media to follow entrepreneurs.

As a franchise consultant, I’ve come to learn that many candidates I have worked with started out as people who followed my content – often for years. My content gave them the courage to take the next step. Follow the content — it’s going to give you confidence and important know-how.

Related: Explore the full 2025 Franchise 500 list, complete with category rankings.

Adjust your mindset

Misery loves company — don’t fall into becoming a complainer or someone who “life happens to.” That’s a scarcity mindset talking, and you need to shut that kind of thinking down NOW. Focus your efforts on shifting to an abundance mindset. Adopt the mantra “if there is a will there’s a way.” Read the philosophy of the Stoics — you can’t control your environment but you can always control your response. Every perceived obstacle can be an opportunity.

Look, chances are that just because you’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug doesn’t mean your friends and family will be as excited at the prospect. After all, people who care about you won’t want to see you get hurt. Having a support system is a great thing, but make sure you aren’t surrounding yourself with people who are only bringing doubts to the conversation.

It can sound a little “woo-woo” but trust me, I’ve seen time and time again candidates who surprise me and achieve great things when they surround themselves with positive voices. Mindset is fundamental for entrepreneurship. Even if it feels cheesy – put positivity in the way of your routine.

Entrepreneurship isn’t easy. If you aren’t willing to invest a little time upfront to even determine whether entrepreneurship is the right fit, then you have your answer. If, on the other hand, you are eager to get started, block some time on your schedule and plan to take one small action each week to move closer to your goal. These small gains will snowball quickly.

Related: After Decades of Hard Work, This Couple Is Living the Entrepreneurial Dream. Here’s How They Achieved Generational Wealth

Meta has started performance-based layoffs affecting 5% of its 72,000-person workforce or around 3,600 global employees.

Laid-off U.S.-based Meta employees were notified on Monday, February 10 at 5 a.m. PT via an email sent to their work and personal email addresses. Employees in Europe and Asia were notified the day prior.

The Information reports that laid-off employees lost access to Meta’s internal systems within an hour and learned about their severance packages via email. Two sources told Business Insider that U.S. workers received a severance package that includes 16 weeks of pay, plus two weeks for each year at the company. The package is identical to the one received by Google employees in January 2023 when Google eliminated 12,000 positions.

Related: Meta Informs Staff that Layoffs Will Begin Monday Morning in a Now-Leaked Internal Memo

How Does Meta Identify ‘Low Performers’

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the layoffs through an internal memo in January, stating that the cuts would target “low performers.”

Meta’s layoffs target employees who received low scores in their performance reviews after only meeting some or none of their job goals. BI reports that Meta managers have to give 12% to 15% of their team lower rankings and, in some cases, are forced to place team members into lower categories to meet the target.

It’s unclear who was laid off and from which departments.

“Mark is creating fear,” one Meta employee told BI. “He’s creating a culture where you have to be loyal to him or else.”

One Meta employee told BI that labeling the layoffs performance-based could damage the reputations of affected employees.

“Now people have to go back out into the job market with a label that is incredibly unfair,” they stated.

Related: Meta Reminds Staff of Its Strict No-Leaks Policy — That Has Since Been Leaked to the Press

One employee impacted by the layoffs, Brittney Ball, took to X to share the news. She explained that she was let go after five years at Meta and outlined six reasons why companies should hire her, including that she had helped over 3,000 people break into tech.

Justin Allen, a senior user experience designer at Oculus Studios, posted on LinkedIn on Monday that he was impacted by the layoffs while Meta technical recruiter Carl Wheatley posted on the same platform that he knew recruiters and product designers who were let go too.

Unfortunately, after 5 years, I was impacted by the Meta layoffs today. However, here are some reasons why you should hire me:

– Helped over 3,000 individuals break into tech
– Organized the Black Tech Gala with over ten Bay Area tech companies, attracting over 3,500… pic.twitter.com/08jg6OXNaK

— Brii (she/her) ????✊??? (@Brii_toe_knee) February 10, 2025

Airbnb announced a Live and Work Anywhere remote work policy in April 2022, which allows the company’s global employees to work from home from any location — as long as they meet up in person regularly for team gatherings.

Now Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is clarifying for the first time what he means by “regular” meetups.

“I have a simple rule: we basically ask people to come to San Francisco one week a month,” Chesky told host Bob Safian on a recent episode of the Masters of Scale Rapid Response podcast. “Some people come for just two or three days. Some people come for the full week.”

^{Brian Chesky. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for WIRED}

Chesky calls the return-to-office week a “gathering week” when Airbnb coordinates everyone being together in San Francisco. The focus is on collaboration, not on getting people to work harder by having them show up to the office, he says.

“I have not found a huge value in people being in the office all the time,” Chesky said, adding, “What I want is, for the most part, people coming to the San Francisco office, but I can’t get everyone to move here to San Francisco, and I can’t get them to fly here every week.”

Most Airbnb employees are based in San Francisco, Chesky says. Airbnb flies out-of-state or out-of-country employees to the San Francisco office once a month for in-person meetups. Chesky says that the cost is worth it and more affordable than thousands of people coming to work in person five days per week. Even if it was more expensive, he says it would still be worth it.

Related: Airbnb’s New ‘Icons’ Cost Less Than $100 Per Night, Including the House from ‘Up’ and Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’

“I think the output for us is superior,” Chesky said.

Since Airbnb introduced its Live and Work Anywhere, about 20% of employees have relocated to states within the U.S. or abroad. According to Forbes, Airbnb has 6,907 employees.

Chesky also stated in the interview that the way to make a team work harder wasn’t by forcing them to work in person from the office but by setting rigorous milestones.

“If you want a team to work harder, don’t make them come to the office, give them a crazy deadline and check on their progress every week,” Chesky said. “That’s how you get them to work harder, not by being in the office.”

Related: Airbnb Side Hustlers Are Making Thousands of Dollars Every Month. Here Are 10 Things to Know to Turn Your Extra Space Into Cash.

Several large companies have issued return-to-office mandates recently. JPMorgan, for example, announced a mandate last month directing its 300,000-person workforce to work from the office every weekday beginning in March. Gap stated a goal earlier this month of having its corporate employees back in the office five days a week by the fall.

No matter what field you operate in as an entrepreneur, business manager or marketing executive, it is perfectly normal to feel like we are walking into a “whole new world” which is a little upside down and sideways with a line of vision akin to a being inside a well-shaken snow globe. Add more chaos every time we read that laws are changing to support a new political agenda and that another company has dropped its DEI and/or ESG policies and departments or changed its rules for just being kind to people in general. Yes, even Starbucks has reversed its rule that anyone can hang in their stores and use their bathrooms even if they don’t buy anything.

It’s true. Governing around values takes energy and money, which cuts into profits — but not for much longer. Meta and other corporate giants like Ford, McDonald’s and Walmart are canceling their key diversity, equity and inclusion programs now that the White House is canceling these programs across the Federal government.

So now the big question. Can small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs change their values and corresponding actions toward humanity, the environment and civility and thrive just like big box brands doing so seem to be doing?

Quick answer. A hard no. Never.

Amazon, Ford, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Toyota, Lowe’s and even Molson Coors and others announcing “values” changes will survive when pulling out of social celebrations like Pride Parades, end participation with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index, and axe departments and programs organized around ESG practices. Their brands have stood the test of time, and their sales revenues have remained and will continue to be. But a small company forging through the jungles of whatever industry they seek to break into needs more than a machete to succeed. Small businesses need to appeal to consumers on many levels to capture attention, trial and sales. According to research and consulting firms like PWC and Edelman, a company’s values associated with ESG issues — Environmental, Social and Governance — still matter to consumers.

According to one report, consumers are placing increased importance on ESG compliance when selecting brands in 2025 despite what big brands are doing or what a new administration might do to environmental and social laws serving as guardrails for safety and civility in the world we knew just yesterday.

Here are just three reasons why brand values should still and always be at the top of any entrepreneur’s operational priorities and every marketer’s agenda.

Related: Why Aligning Your Values and Virtues Leads to Entrepreneurial Success

1. Consumers care

Gen Z, Gen X and millenials, in large numbers, care to do business with brands that reflect their own values when it comes to environmental and social issues, and this does not look to change anytime soon. Research shows these consumers are heavily influenced by the values a brand presents and acts upon — for example, Edelman’s 2024 reports state that Gen Z, who make up 40% of consumers worldwide, will even go so far as to judge a person’s social values by the brands they patronize. Businesses in all sectors take note. This is the consumer group spending the most money. Various studies show that Gen Z’s spending power will reach around $12 trillion by 2030, while Gen X and Millenials will represent $6.4 trillion and $8.3 trillion, respectively.

So, while some consumers might begrudgingly go to Lowe’s despite their canceling support for social programs when they need that plunger in a hurry, they are not likely to become lifetime loyalists or advocates, both of which are important for any business. Defining ESG values, acting on them and communicating your impact will set you up to attract and retain the most powerful consumers in the market now and over the next few decades.

Related: Holding True to Your Values Is an Essential Decision-Making Metric

2. Investors remain green

According to Bloomberg Media’s Sustainable Future Study, ESG assets will hit the $50 trillion mark by 2025, showing strong sustainability in “sustainable” investing. This same report shows this trend continuing through at least 2030. Morninsgstar’s report, Emerging Trends in Global Sustainable Funds, shows a surge in EST investing in 2025 as well. Pension fund and asset managers still plan to make ESG investments to help mitigate risks and create sustainable value. Some investors report that companies with high ESG scores are more successful than those with low ESG scores and, therefore, present less risk and more opportunity for portfolio growth.

Regardless of where you are with your funding goals, pay attention. Funding is hard to get in uncertain markets, which will likely continue. Defining and executing ESG values and sustainability programs will help you compete for investment to further product development, staffing, capitalization, and GTM initiatives that can help you grow in any market.

3. Authentic accountability

Brands are constantly tooting their horns about something, but how often is that toot grounded in verifiable results and aligned with meaningful outcomes for others beyond the brand itself? Companies that act on policies for ESG sustainability, employee protocols, responsible sourcing practices and so on have powerful stories to tell. Reporting on how your ESG practices impact environments, elevate social justice for diverse populations, and govern your employees shows your promises and commitments are authentic, not just attempts to align with the times or politics when you really don’t care about the values you project. We are seeing a lack of authenticity for past social justice actions aligned with many brands now dropping support across social spectrums. Customers now and in the future will continue to seek out brands that authentically care to be accountable for promises made.

While the next few years seem to promise many changes across society, some welcome, some not, one thing remains steady for small businesses: values. You need them, you need to act on them and you need to report on how your values impact others, not just you.

More insights and ideas for implementing ESG and other value in your business operations can be found in Entrepreneur’s book, “Market Your Business – Your DIY Guide to Marketing,” released September 2024.

While many tasks associated with running a small business can be outsourced, some can be expensive, such as creating a website. Fortunately, it’s now possible for you to create a business website easily and quickly, even if you have no tech experience, with MaxiBlocks No-Code Webpage Builder. Best of all, new users can get a lifetime subscription to the Pro Plan with three licenses for just $59 right now.

The program was designed specifically to let people with no coding expertise build and customize high-quality WordPress sites. MaxiBlocks has extensive tools, including over 280-page templates and more than 2,300 block patterns, to help you create a website for your business quickly and efficiently. It also has a library of more than 17,000 assets you can use.

Using MaxiBlocks is so easy. Once you install the program’s plugin, you simply choose a Style Card and template, then customize your content using drag-and-drop with the intuitive interface. This is a full version of the program, so no features are limited.

There are 18 foundation blocks with design options that are advanced enough to create genuinely unique layouts and responsive designs that look wonderful on any device. You can create unlimited websites and have unlimited downloads.

MaxiBlocks is fully integrated with Gutenberg to provide you with a smooth WordPress experience. New templates are regularly added so you can consistently maintain a professionally polished image. You also get a lifetime of free updates.

Get a lifetime subscription to the MaxiBlocks No-Code Webpage Builder Pro Plan with 3 licenses for just $59.

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Few activities can cause as much frustration and waste as much time as dealing with PDF files. Fortunately, PDF Reader Pro can crush all those issues with ease, so you’ll never again struggle with those complicated docs.

So saving money on software that will save you time is definitely win-win, and there’s no better example than a Windows PDF Reader Pro lifetime license available for $49.99, a 68% discount off the regular price of $159.

It has a built-in converter to turn your PDF files DOCX, TXT and PNG. Add, delete, rotate and rearrange pages. Merge multiple PDF files into one or split a large PDF file into several small PDF documents.

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned from running businesses in incredibly competitive spaces, it’s this: Standing out is non-negotiable. Success isn’t handed to you; it’s earned through smart strategies and unique value. Marketing can be one of the hardest things to do when launching a new business but it can be so rewarding — and fun.

Here’s how I’ve navigated some of the most competitive markets (and how you can, too).

Know thy market

First things first, before you even think about opening your metaphorical business doors, ask yourself, “What do I bring to the table that’s different?” Competition is everywhere, but I promise you, there’s always a way to carve out your niche.

When I launched Tonia in Vegas, I knew the travel and hotel booking industry was highly saturated. Every other app or platform was competing to offer travelers the same stock-standard deals. Instead of blending in, I got hyper-focused on saving people real money on discounted hotels — because, honestly, who doesn’t want to spend less and experience more?

Do your homework. Conduct thorough market research. Watch — I mean, analyze — your competitors. What are they doing? More importantly, what are they not doing? That’s where you’ll shine.

Related: The Best Strategy to Stand Out in Today’s Competitive Market May Not Be What You Think

Be extra (and proud of it)

You’ve got to bring something extra to the table. Plain and simple. Customers aren’t looking for “just another business.” They want an experience or service that fills their needs in a way no one else does.

At Tonia in Vegas, we decided to take it one step further and offer not just discounted hotels, but exclusive deals on activities and experiences that were tailored specifically for our users. This extra touch set us apart from the competition and created a loyal customer base.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and push boundaries. Be creative and innovative in how you provide value to your customers. This will make your business stand out and attract attention.

Build relationships (and leverage them)

In competitive markets, it’s all about who you know. Building relationships with other businesses or influencers can give you a leg up when it comes to marketing your product or service. Partnering with complementary businesses or influencers can help expand your reach and attract new customers.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of customer relationships. Building a strong rapport with your customers creates loyalty and encourages them to spread the word about your business. Utilize social media and other platforms to engage with your audience and show appreciation for their support.

Stay relevant (and stay ahead)

The world is constantly changing, and so are consumer needs and preferences. It’s important to stay up-to-date on industry trends and adapt accordingly. This may mean regularly updating your services or offerings or even pivoting entirely if necessary.

Innovation is your best frenemy

If you think you’ve nailed a solid idea, great! Now make sure it stays fresh. Because in today’s business world, nothing is worse than falling behind. Competitors will always be updating their practices, strategies and offerings. How do you stay ahead? Innovation.

For my company, that means constantly exploring partnerships, renegotiating deals with hotels and finding new ways to add perks that are irresistible to travelers.

Niche markets are goldmines

Here’s a little insider tip that’s made all the difference in my businesses — find your niche and own it. Broad marketplaces can be overwhelming and incredibly tough to break into, but when you identify a specific audience and dominate that space, you set yourself up for success.

For example, instead of trying to compete with massive online booking sites that cater to everyone, Tonia in Vegas focuses specifically on travelers headed to Las Vegas. By narrowing my target, I’ve been able to create tailored offerings and build trust with a loyal customer base.

Think of it like this — being everything to everyone will leave you exhausted and invisible, but being the go-to for a specific something? That’s where the gold is.

The pop culture style toolkit for action-takers

Okay, time to get practical. Here are your fast and fun steps to dominate your market:

1. Do your research. Know your competitors. Spot gaps. Then create your own killer story.
2. Add your flavor. Be unforgettable — whether it’s through a unique product offering, stellar service or just plain you.
3. Stay adaptable. Tweaks and innovations can make a good product into a great one.
4. Go niche. Find your tribe and make them feel understood and celebrated.
5. Engage your base. Whether it’s through social media, post-purchase follow-ups or offering a killer subscription deal — talk to your audience. Be real.

Related: Don’t Sit Around and Wait to Be Noticed — Follow These 4 Ways to Be a Standout in Business

Final thoughts

Market competition can be fierce, but guess what? That’s where the fun begins. It’s the ultimate game where innovation and differentiation are the keys to leveling up. Whether you’re breaking into real estate, SEO or discounted luxury travel, remember — it’s all about understanding your customers and delivering what they need better than anyone else can.

If you’re in business or dreaming about starting one, take that first bold step. Do the research, figure out what makes you different and hit the ground running. It won’t just set you apart from the competition; it’ll help you build something truly meaningful.

Almost 60% of entrepreneurs worked in the corporate world before starting their own businesses, according to data from accounting software company Xero. So they are probably used to working with Microsoft Office programs. It’s always easier working with familiar programs, but a Microsoft 365 subscription is fairly pricey. Fortunately, for a limited time, you can get a great deal on the top eight MS Office programs with a lifetime license for MS Office Professional 2021 priced at $59.97.

With a lifetime license for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Access, Outlook, Publisher and OneNote, you’ll find everything a professional needs in one suite of programs, Microsoft Office 2021 Professional. It’s the perfect choice for anyone who needs to handle documents and data. It has so many new features that will help you become more productive in tasks from processing documents to designing presentations from scratch.

Users will appreciate the familiar ribbon-based interface that makes all the available features, customizations and tools so easily accessible. Quickly customize a wide variety of details, including layout, font, indentation size in documents and much more. You also won’t need to sacrifice work-related functions such as creating presentations or formatting emails just to make your documents more aesthetically pleasing.

This one-time purchase includes an MS Office Pro 2021 license for a single PC with Windows 10 or 11 installed that you can use at work or at home. Please note that the license will be connected to the device on which it’s installed and NOT to your Microsoft account.

You’ll receive your download links instantly by email as soon as you complete your purchase and access your software license keys immediately. Free customer service is also included, so you’ll have the best support.

Get a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows while the price has been dropped to $59.97 through 11:59 p.m. PT February 23.

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License – $59.97

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For many entrepreneurs and other professionals, travel is essential for business growth, networking, and expanding opportunities. However, the rising cost of airfare makes it more difficult to justify frequent trips. Instead of wasting hours hunting for discounts, Matt’s Flights Premium Plan does the work for you—scanning airlines daily for mistake fares, exclusive flash sales, and the lowest ticket prices available.

With a lifetime subscription for just $79.99 when you use code SAVE10, professionals, entrepreneurs, and frequent travelers can book flights at up to 90% off, making both business and personal trips significantly more affordable.

The best part is that once you’re a premium member, these incredible deals land directly in your inbox, eliminating the stress of price tracking and last-minute searches.

It’s sort of like having a personal travel expert at your disposal whenever you need to book a flight. Matt’s Flights takes this to another level, providing unlimited custom search requests that tailor airfare recommendations based on your specific needs.

Whether you have an upcoming conference, an investor meeting, or an overseas client visit, you can request the best flight options and receive hand-picked deals without lifting a finger.

Beyond just savings, convenience is what sets Matt’s Flights apart. Premium members get personalized travel support and five times more deal alerts than free users. When unexpected travel plans pop up, having direct access to real-time airfare intelligence means you’ll always secure the best possible price—no matter the destination.

With major airports across the U.S. and Canada covered, plus the ability to request flight deals from anywhere in the world, there’s no limit to where you can go or how much you can save.

Get lifetime access to Matt’s Flights Premium Plan for just $79.99 when you use code SAVE10 at checkout.

Matt’s Flights Premium Plan (Lifetime Subscription) – Save up to 90% on Domestic & International flights – $89.99

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StackSocial prices subject to change.