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Tagged: COVID-19

Should entrepreneurs be worried about the new COVID strains?

3 February, 2021

Contributed by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts.

Should entrepreneurs be worried about the new COVID strains originating in the UK, South Africa and recently identified in the US and their implications on business?

The media, medical experts, and government officials have focused on doubts about vaccine effectiveness. While some legitimate concerns exist that our vaccines might be 10–20 percenmt less effective against the new strains, this small difference shouldn’t make you too worried.

Another aspect of these new strains, however, should make you very worried indeed: They’re much more infectious. Unfortunately, the implications of their infectiousness has received little news coverage. Some officials claim there’s no cause for alarm about the new COVID strains.

Such complacency recalls our sleepwalking in the pandemic’s early stages, despite clear and early warnings from medical experts and risk management experts, leading us to fail to plan and adapt successfully.

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH Crisis HEALTH PEOPLE/STAFF STRATEGY

Tags: coronavirus Covid strains COVID-19 Gleb Tsipursky

Knowing what you know now, how would you have prepared for COVID-19?

30 September, 2020

If nothing else, the 2020 pandemic has shown everybody—particularly business owners and entrepreneurs—the value of being prepared and ready to pivot.

We asked members of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization what they would have done differently knowing what they know now.

Declutter. Declutter. Declutter.

Andrea Grisdale, founder and CEO at IC Bellagio

Had I known back then what I know today, I would:

Declutter all aspects of my life and lead a much leaner life both professionally and personally
Appreciate the simple things in life and appreciate the difference they can make to the day
Take more time to fully think things through
Juggle fewer balls
Remove the “fat” from all aspects of my business

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH INNOVATION LEADERSHIP STRATEGY WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION

Tags: Andrea Grisdale COVID-19 Daniel Dickson david fastuca jamie skella keith roberts kym huynh pandemic Raymond Chou

The world can’t afford entrepreneurial extinction

17 September, 2020

Contributed by Pam Kosanke, global marketing leader for EOS Worldwide.

We’ve seen more than our share of changes in the last six months, but one of the most disturbing has been the rapid disappearance of small businesses. While large corporations consolidate their power (and the stock market rises in response), entrepreneurs are becoming an endangered species. This has widespread implications for our economic future and the health of our world, and we need all hands on deck to reverse the trend.

Most people have no idea how much value entrepreneurs bring to the US economy. Before the pandemic hit, 44 percent of economic activity in the US came from smaller businesses. Since the pandemic, 42 percent of small business owners have reported shuttered operations.

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH INNOVATION LEADERSHIP STARTUP

Tags: COVID-19 EOS Worldwide Pam Kosanke pandemic small business

4 Reasons to Be Optimistic Today

15 July, 2020

Contributed by Greg DeLine, president and CEO of DeLine Holdings.

COVID-19 was the stealthy rival no one saw coming. As entrepreneurs, we face challenges throughout our careers, but we don’t spend a lot of time planning what we’ll do during and after a global pandemic. Yet here we are.

In recent months, small business leaders around the world have faced the toughest decisions of their careers. Nearly 40 percent of respondents in a National Small Business Association poll said they were worried about staying afloat much longer after losing income and customers due to COVID-19.

I understand their concerns. Nevertheless, I’m a firm believer that this is not just a turning point for businesses, but a learning point, too.

Why the optimism? We’ve been given a chance to learn and grow. We’ve been forced to slow down and notice those bright spots that sometimes get pushed aside. For example, families are staying home together. And that’s been an opportunity to cut out after-school activities and drop the commutes. Parents and children are reconnecting.

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH HEALTH LEADERSHIP PEOPLE/STAFF STARTUP

Tags: coronavirus COVID-19 DeLine Holdings Greg DeLine opportunity optimism philanthropy

Answers to 5 Common Return-to-Work Questions

5 June, 2020

Contributed by Tina Hamilton, an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hamilton is the founder and CEO of myHR Partner, a human resources outsourcing firm that manages HR for small- and medium-sized businesses. The following was adapted from an article in The Morning Call.

As organizations plan their return to work after statewide shutdowns or work-from-home orders, there is much to consider—for both employees and employers.

I’ve answered some of the most common questions related to the return-to-work transition.

1. How do we best address the needs of our employees as part of planning for reopening and managing the new federally mandated leave options and still operate our business?

Prepare your office space or building. If your workplace has been unoccupied for more than a week, a routine cleaning works. Still, consider a deep cleaning for employees’ peace of mind.

Categories: Coaching PEOPLE/STAFF STRATEGY WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION

Tags: coronavirus COVID-19 myHR Partner OSHA return-to-work transition The Morning Call. Tina Hamilton

What the New Normal Looks Like in Three Industries and Three Countries

13 May, 2020

At Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), our mission remains engaging business owners at every stage with the tools, education and community necessary to learn and grow to new levels of leadership, in business and beyond. As businesses begin to implement new ways of working in the new landscape, we asked three EO members—from three industries and three countries—to share how they are moving forward.

1. Carlos Melendez, Wovenware, EO Puerto Rico

Carlos Melendez is the co-founder and COO of Wovenware, a nearshore software services firm focused on chatbots and AI. As a member of EO Puerto, he’s also seen the company through the 2017 hurricane Maria. His organization has continued to work remotely.

Like businesses everywhere, Wovenware has had to drastically change the way we live, work and interact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, being based in Puerto Rico, we’ve learned a lesson or two from Hurricane Maria about how to adapt to volatile situations that are out of our control.

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH HEALTH INNOVATION LEADERSHIP PR/MARKETING

Tags: Brera Serviced Apartments Carlos Meléndez coronavirus COVID-19 EO Puerto Rico EO South Florida Eric Hoffer Hoffer Pest Solutions Matteo Ghedini pandemic Wovenware

Finding North In a New World

11 May, 2020

Contributed by Ross Drakes, an entrepreneur and creative director based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the founder of Nicework, which helps companies to define their purpose and then deliver on it. He joined the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) in 2013.

His firm compiled insights on factors surrounding COVID-19 and made the report available for free. Called “Finding North (Again),” it explores emerging trends and how to create opportunity from this period of chaos.

The last few months have been like nothing I have ever experienced.

I went from having a solid strategy, a decent pipeline and a great team to execute on it to being forced to stay in my house with my wife and son, my team working remotely (with our new shiny office sitting empty), and every project we were working on being cancelled or postponed.

Every plan or idea I had about this year was suddenly shattered. The efforts we had been toiling away at no longer seemed relevant. For the first time in a long time, I had no clarity.

The one thing that I am clear on is that lots of things are shifting. Whether it’s the markets collapsing or the measures put in place to contain the virus, people are behaving in radically different ways.

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH INNOVATION LEADERSHIP STRATEGY

Tags: coronavirus COVID-19 eo south africa Finding North (Again) Nicework Rich Mulholland Ross Drakes

Confronting the Uncertainty: Leading with Your Head and Heart

8 May, 2020

Written by Larry Prince, CEO of PrinceLeadership^TM. A version of this article originally appeared in New Jersey Business magazine.

The COVID-19 crisis is testing our leadership mettle in ways we have never experienced. We’re pressed to confront harsh business realities—how to keep the doors open, how to pay the bills, how to address staffing issues. But most importantly, how to make tough business decisions tempered with compassion for our people.

So, let’s take a look at key considerations when leading our business with our head and leading our people with our heart.

Our People

The journey forward begins by recognizing that our employees are our lifeline.

Categories: LEADERSHIP PEOPLE/STAFF

Tags: coronavirus COVID-19 crisis employees Larry Prince pandemic

Advice from Warren Rustand: Put Your Head Down and Walk Into the Storm

6 May, 2020

Written for EO by Kalika Yap, an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member in Los Angeles. Yap is a thriving serial entrepreneur whose businesses include Citrus Studios, Luxe Link, and the Orange & Bergamot.

She recently attended a Facebook Live stream interview between EO Global Board Director Winnie Hart and Warren Rustand, co-founder of EO’s Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C. The conversation addressed the global pandemic, with EO members asking questions and Rustand providing insights on clarity of vision and certainty of intent.

Kalika Yap shares highlights from the presentation.

You’ve got this.

That’s the message about COVID-19 from Warren Rustand. Rustand has run more than a dozen companies during this career, most recently Providence Service Corp., a publicly-traded social service and transportation firm. He’s taken at least one through bankruptcy, and he’s lived through every crisis in the past 70 years.

In his office in Tucson, Arizona, he has a bronze sculpture of a cowboy in a long rain coat, head down, that Rustand looks to for inspiration. He bought it during that bankruptcy.

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH HEALTH INNOVATION Inspirational LEADERSHIP STRATEGY WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION

Tags: Citrus Studios coronavirus COVID-19 eo los angeles EO Wonder Kalika Yap Warren Rustand

The Good News You Need Today

4 May, 2020

With the majority of today’s headlines being negative, we are proud to showcase the very best of innovation and charity from the global community of entrepreneurs.

Check out our last “good news” article to see even more ways that our amazing members are making an #EOImpact.

• Andrea Herrera is the founder and president of Amazing Edibles Catering and an EO Chicago member. When the events industry paused in her area, Andrea’s company shifted focus to provide tasty dishes for families and first responders at hospitals, police stations, and fire stations as well as meals to those who are food insecure in their community at homeless shelters. In just 10 days, they provided more than 500 meals!

Categories: Best Practices Company Culture INNOVATION

Tags: #EOTogether Amazing Edibles Catering Andrea Herrera coronavirus COVID-19 EO Chicago EO London EO St. Louis Michael Korn Tamara Keefe