3 Steps to determine if a pivot is right for your startup

5 Ways brands can play to win on TikTok

8 October, 2021

Contributed by Evan Horowitz, an EO Los Angeles member and a recent guest on EO Wonder podcast. Evan is the CEO and co-founder of Movers+Shakers, a creative agency with a mission to “spread joy by connecting brands to culture.” We asked Evan how brands can leverage the TikTok platform. Here’s what he shared:

There’s no denying that TikTok is one of the fastest-growing and most widely used apps today. In fact, TikTok was the most downloaded and highest grossing non-game app globally in the first half of 2021. What’s exciting for brands is that there isn’t a single right way to approach TikTok, and as TikTok expands its capabilities and offerings, brands enjoy even more options to help them grow online.

Here are five primary ways brands can play on TikTok today.

1. Create your own brand channel

Creating a brand channel is a great way to establish your presence on TikTok. We recognize that creating content for TikTok may seem intimidating at first, since the raw and unpolished nature of the platform is vastly different from the curated and highly polished content brands typically create.

One way to “get into the flow” of TikTok (and grow your brand channel quickly) is to get involved in trends. Every week, new trends blaze through TikTok—music, skits, jokes, dances. The value of joining in is twofold. First, TikTok’s algorithm boosts the exposure of videos participating in what’s trending, giving you a boost in viewership. And second, your brand benefits from the “cool factor” from the trend, showing that you’re tuned in.

Brands that are serious about TikTok post content daily, while others choose to test the water with fewer posts. While most posts may not get a ton of traction, the occasional post can go viral. The more content you post, the greater the chances for it to go viral.

Skeptical about the branding power of TikTok? Read 3 Reasons to Reconsider the Branding Power of TikTok, From a Gen-X Skeptic on EO’s Inc.com platform.

Categories: Best Practices BUSINESS GROWTH PR/MARKETING

Tags: #eyeslipsface eo los angeles EO Wonder Evan Horowitz Movers+Shakers TikTok

How my 15-year side hustle became my lifelong dream

6 October, 2021

Contributed by Maurice Thomas, an EO South Florida member who is one of the Champions of the new EO OneWorld initiative, a membership platform affiliated with EO’s New York chapter which believes that a diverse EO is a stronger EO. EO OneWorld will add value to EO by attracting more EO members from the Black, Hispanic/Latino(a)(x), Asian and LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurial communities. Maurice is also the founder and president of Thomas Services, Inc. a solutions-based, logistics and supply chain service company.

Are entrepreneurs born or made? As I examine my path to entrepreneurship, I suspect it’s a little of both, or at least it is in my case. Here’s the story of how I came to run my own company.

Back in the early 1990s, I was a married father of two very young children working as an investment banker in a small, boutique firm. Our firm’s owner and CEO was a very experienced businessman—a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word. Having previously worked in some of the largest companies in the world and earned an MBA from a prestigious university, I had no idea what I signed up for, but it didn’t take me long to realize that working there was the best professional decision of my life. We were small and very entrepreneurial in our approach. I was required to learn very quickly, and I was given increased responsibilities no sooner than I showed the capacity to handle them.

My first entrepreneurial opportunity

One day in early 1993, I was having lunch with one of our clients, who also was a true entrepreneur. He began to describe his latest business acquisition and—suddenly!— the conversation morphed into a discussion around the opportunity for me to start a business designed to service HIS new business. A few months later, I was the owner of a modest, three-employee operation. And so, my entrepreneurial journey began.

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey general Inspirational members

Tags: eo new york EO OneWorld EO Soul EO South Florida LGBTQIA+ Maurice Thomas

Why some leaders deny reality with return-to-office strategies amid Delta surge

29 September, 2021

Contributed by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, an internationally-renowned thought leader in future-proofing and cognitive bias risk management and an EO 360° podcast guest. We asked Dr. Tsipursky to explain how normalcy bias and other cognitive biases impact entrepreneurs in determining return-to-office scenarios. Here’s what he shared:

As the efficiency rate of vaccines against the Delta variant slides to 39%, company leaders who implement a normal office return are denying reality. The threat is now indisputable: Delta variant infections and deaths have reached an alarming rate in just a few months. No wonder the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone—including those who are fully vaccinated—wear masks and has begun to recommend booster shots for at-risk groups.

Still, many companies, from large ones to start-ups, and even the US federal government, are pressing on with the return to the office, despite employee resistance. Of those who worked remotely during the peak of the pandemic, over a third have already returned. Most of the remainder are required to do so by mid-autumn. In addition, as schools resume in-person learning, Delta variant cases and hospitalizations are increasing at alarming levels.

Employees’ stance on work arrangements

Results of in-depth surveys on employee preferences around return-to-office plans clearly showed a reluctance for a normal office return even before the Delta surge. Approximately half say they will quit if their preferred work arrangements are not approved. A quarter to a third of employees favored full-time remote work, while more than half preferred a hybrid schedule of a day or two in the office.

Numerous employees have already quit in response to the compulsive plans of their employers to get them back to the office. The Delta surge will lead to more resignations among employees who don’t wish to risk their health with breakthrough infections.

Categories: Best Practices Crisis HEALTH STRATEGY

Tags: behavioral science cognitive bias delta plus variant Delta variant Disaster Avoidance Experts Gleb Tsipursky Great Resignation mu variant return-to-work transition

THE EO BLOG

INSIGHTS FROM

LEADING ENTREPRENEURS

Categories

Search