Leading Through Leaders: Lessons Learned from Hiring & Managing Successful Interns

Leading Through Leaders: Lessons Learned from Hiring & Managing Successful Interns

August 10, 2021 – Ariadna Quiles

Looking to hire new faces into your company? Don’t know how to manage third parties? Keep reading for some hiring-well practices! Plus, get to know how managing innovative & creative leaders has helped us reach success!

Leading through Leaders

In startups, finding the first few employees is critical to the success of your business. Putting it into context, a good workforce can either lead to the success (see Amazon’s story after hiring creative people) or the absolute failure of your company, especially at the beginning. Starting to hire and trusting a stranger to help you execute the vision you represent best is not an easy task. With it being so hard at times, you are likely looking to spotlight those candidates with leadership skills that are capable of finding ways to thrive in the entrepreneurial world. Lucky for you, we have a great variety of leaders all around! It is only a matter of finding the right match.
If you are looking for guidance in the onboarding process and are ready to start hiring in your startup, contact the Perspectivas Globales team here or become a member today! We are ready to help you succeed.
Related: Take our Leadership Type Quiz and find out what type of leader you are!

Finding the Right Leaders

Here is a newsflash: there is no such thing as “right leaders.” Your team can only be best composed with people who have the same vision as you, the same values as you, and the same drive as you. This is not very complicated. Identifying if your potential candidate and you are on the same track of mind is something you can figure out through preliminary resume reviews, behavioral questions in interviews, and their body language.

“Okay, that sounds great… But how do I find the candidates with those characteristics without knowing them?”

The possibilities are endless! Nowadays, we live in a networked world and finding the right characteristics in potential candidates is easier than ever before. From just having newspaper callouts and “Help Wanted” flyers posted, we now have a new set of alternatives to discover, like:

Using LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a great tool to look for potential acquisitions. The alternative of Talent Solutions exposes you as a recruiter to many qualified candidates. You can also eavesdrop on people’s profiles (for job purposes) to look at what other people have seen as an aptitude in your prospects.

Asking for Recommendations in your Network.

You can always feel free to reach out to your support network (investors, stakeholders, mentors, partners, etc.) and ask to see if they know anyone with the characteristics you are looking for. Always approach with confidence and complete clarity of what you are looking for in your future team. Someone almost always knows someone else.

Here is some Advice... Leader to Leader

On a personal note, I have been in this program since day one, and as I have seen interns come and go, I only have a few pieces of advice for entrepreneurs managing their first few sets of employees.

Guiding instead of Managing

There is a world of differences between guiding and managing that is often overlooked. As a team leader, I have chosen to serve as someone that shows the way and walks with my team, instead of telling them to walk down a road that I do not know. So far, it has helped me create transparency and across-the-board equality with my teams. Even if good leaders are independent and can work through ambiguity (which is important when starting a business), walking with them and making sure you are facing the right uncertainties will save you loads of headaches.
Some leaders are very creative. Allowing your team to fully express themselves and have your doors open to new ideas will create new levels of trust and passion for the common vision.  As long as their idea gets you closer to your overall strategic goal as a company, there is value in listening and adapting the ideas.

Appreciation goes a long way

People work better when they know that their work is being recognized and appreciated (research source). There are various ways to let your leaders know that they are doing great and that you appreciate their efforts! Here are some of my favorites:
1. Detail-oriented feedback with gratitude for the work they accomplished.
This lets them know you are looking for their success even in the smallest things and that you are grateful as their guiding leader. Telling employees they are doing something well motivates them to keep doing what they are doing. This happens because there is assurance that they’re doing a good job! 
On the other hand, if they did not do something in your definition of “right,” using the first-person format is crucial. Never approach high-performers with a second-person perspective (“You are doing this wrong!” or “We are behind schedule because of you!”)– instead, go for “I noticed that you are having some trouble with…,” “Is everything okay with X project? I think we can…” and so on. 
Ending your message with a simple “I appreciate the work and time you put into this,” gets them going after any feedback session and gives them the motivation to start as soon as possible to apply the feedback.
2. Staying Human.
Easier said than done, for sure, but staying human is a big factor in appreciation. There can be times where employees may not be executing to your expectations. Going straightforward and judging them is not the way you work with leaders–instead, try to sit down and seek-to-understand. High performers not achieving expectations can come from a miscommunicated message, personal mishaps and worries, or general dissatisfaction. Find the root cause and come up with a solution as human beings, not machines.
Looking-into-the-Future: Tip: As your workforce grows, look into creating employee recognition programs & implementing rewards. These can help keep motivation thriving in the masses.
Some free employee recognition programs examples are Assembly, Guusto & Nectar. They all have reward systems!

Challenge Them.

There is no getting better if there is no challenge to be better. Getting to know your employees strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities will help you get a head start in what their next challenge should be. Just like when you start going to the gym, once you develop a muscle with a certain weight in dumbbells, you need to look for a heavier weight so your muscle can be further developed. It is important to keep in mind that you should be SMART when challenging your team (read more about the SMART method in this blog). You cannot ask a fish to climb a tree.
We hope this information can help you work with your resources and great leaders to achieve your common goals better through motivation, appreciation, and challenges! Do you have any pointers for managing interns? Feel free to share them with the team through [email protected]. You should also check out our blogs on How to Build a Successful Team & How to Set & Achieve Goals for your Business.

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Instagram Pages to Boost Your Entrepreneurship: Branding and Content Related

Instagram Pages to Boost Your Entrepreneurship: Branding and Content Related

August 3, 2021 – Jesús Rodríguez

The Start

Real talk: If your business does not have social media, you are depriving yourself of being seen by many people. Specifically, on Instagram Business that there are over 200 million business accounts that people visit everyday. It’s highly recommended to showcase your work or your product in this platform due to its social media essence and audience in order to reach any generation after Gen Y (picture/video-description grid layer). 
Facts: According to a SocialMediaToday blog post on February 28 of this year, Instagram is the second social media with the most monthly active users with 1.16 billion accounts. Instagram is currently breaking the number letting business being seen with over 130 millions monthly clicks on commercials posts.
Tip: If you are a fan of numbers and graphics, you should visit OMNICORE.
With these four Instagram pages personally picked, you should be able to learn how to boost your online presence, whether it is on a website or on social media. At least, it will make you curious about it or let you know efficient ways to start.

@dainwalker – Branding Strategist

Meet Dain Walker, an Australian fellow obsessed with Branding, a designer who jumped the fence to finally help businesses to nail their engagement with people. He’s founder of Rivyl, the fastest-growing branding agency in Australia, and they focus on innovation, branding, marketing and being disruptive. Their clients reach New York, London, Japan, Los Angeles, Sydney, among others.
Besides his agency, his Instagram page (@dainwalker) can be helpful because of its huge amount of content for every type of business. There, you can learn how to do branding and marketing for your own venture, how to engage effectively with different types of clients, tips and strategies to boost up your business, and a lot more cool and educational content.
Dain Walker has more to show: Courses, Podcast, Youtube and Blog.

@morajdal – Brand Designer and Content Creator

Meet Moncef Arajdal, from Morocco, who started as a logo designer and now keeps his work improving visual identities of businesses by designing and crafting logos. He is also a content creator and branding designer. His latest projects on branding includes the Smart Solution Water Company (SSWB) and HeartFelt Clothing.
Arajdal’s Instagram page (@morajdal) offers helpful tips on how to match colors for your website and logo,  “Do’s and Don’ts” in common scenarios, also explain in some posts how to create a clean Product Design and help you with many posts to increase your brand awareness through social media.
Check out his Project Portfolio.

@design.gems – UI / UX / Product Design

Unlike the previous two Instagram pages that talk more about branding concepts, this one (@design.gems) shows plenty of Design Thinking. This page has multiple people working together in order to create rich content for its Instagram audience. They come up with posts talking (and showing) how to manage different clients, how to use User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), fonts and colors in favor of your business, clean and neat Product Design, and other interesting topics.
Furthermore, their posts have unique approaches so you can catch the Design Thinking, UI, UX, Fonts, Colors and Product Design concepts. They put things together and have different perspectives of web and product designing. You can learn about how to choose the right color or the right font for your brand. Also they talk about how to manage different clients, inclusive and accessibility designing and how to design a job interview.

@satisfied_user - UI / UX / IxD

UI, UX and…IxD? Yes! There is another: Interaction Design. This title is under the umbrella of the User Experience (UX) job, but with a different focus. A user experience designer shapes and designs the experience of using a product, nevertheless an interaction designer has to focus on creating engaging web interfaces using logical and thought out behaviors and actions.
This means that User Interaction Designer’s job is to enhance the user experience in that particular moment using the 5 Dimensions Framework: 1D: Words, 2D: Visual Representation, 3D: Physical Objects or Space, 4D: Time, 5D: Behavior.
Cool, right? This page uses a lot of IxD that would be super helpful for elevating your engagement with your current audience and to attract new audiences.

BONUS ALERT!

@lustrengththerapy - Stress / Muscle Pain

Surprise! I know you are wondering what an exercise page has to do with boosting my business. Well, it has too much to do with it. If you’re too stressed or you are in any muscle pain, your thinking and performance is not where you would want it to be. Be aware of your body, listen to it and take care of it: @lustrengththerapy.
An entrepreneur has either plenty of time behind their computer or too much time standing up, which is why it is important to have a page that will show you very simple and effective videos of exercises and stretches with few equipment needed or no equipment at all. You can find a lot of exercises posted there, but my favorites are those which work with the neck, traps and back stiffness and pain.
Stretch, stretch, and stretch! Your muscles will thank you in the long term.

The End

My partners have written curious and interesting posts in our Blog that talk about how you can improve your abilities as an entrepreneur in multiple ways and areas. I invite you to subscribe to our blog or go to check out Our Top 5 Platforms To Elevate Your Business, listen to this 5 Entrepreneurial Podcast, and learn How to Develop Your Brand’s Mission, Vision and Values.

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Keeping Employees Happy: An HR Guide for Managers

Keeping Employees Happy: An HR Guide for Managers

July 27, 2021 – Kelsia Melendez

Large and small businesses are equally impacted by dissatisfied workers. In fact, over 46% of people in the United States have reported being unhappy with their jobs. Job dissatisfaction can be caused by a multitude of factors including unclear communication, poor work-life balance, limited career growth opportunities and more. As a manager or business owner, creating an environment that promotes worker satisfaction can make or break your business. Employee satisfaction plays a major role in retention and can even reduce company health costs due to less stressed and healthier employees. More satisfied employees are not only happier, but also more engaged, more productive, and less prone to absenteeism.
Continue reading to learn more about key ways in which you can promote a more productive and satisfying workplace.

Open Communication

Poor communication in the workplace can lead to a tense work environment. Workers can become frustrated and confused when expectations are unclear. As stress increases, morale can decrease and productivity can plummet.
Many managers have adopted an open-door policy, however, this is not always enough to guarantee open communication among staff and management. While it is very important to be available to your employees when problems arise, communication needs to go both ways. Reach out to your employees to ask their opinions on activities within the workplace whether those are issues, new projects or something else. By respecting and seeking input from your staff, you can prove that they are valuable to your business and promote engagement.
Addressing someone in a position of authority can be intimidating. Consider engaging with your employees on a regular basis on a more personal level. This could be as simple as asking your staff about their day or saying “Good morning” at the beginning of the day. Show your workers that you are a human being that values your employees as individuals. If you need ideas on what to talk about, try out the FORD approach.

Work-Life Balance

Poor work-life balance can be incredibly taxing and stressful. Workers in environments that offer little to no balance between work and their personal lives experience increased fatigue and illness ultimately leading to burnout, decreased productivity and increased absenteeism.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more workplaces have begun to offer remote or flexible work options. If your business can support this working style, it is worth considering. A study found that 51% of workers were more productive working from home.
Some additional tips to improve work-life balance include altering your focus on evaluating productivity from looking at employee hours to instead viewing employee accomplishments. Some tasks may require a full work day, while other tasks require less time. Ultimately, the long work days and shorter work days will balance each other out. You may also consider reevaluating employee workloads. Have any of your employees been assigned too many tasks? Decreasing stress by minimizing what is on their plate could lead to not only increased productivity, but also increased quality of work.

Active Employee Engagement

Employee disengagement can seriously affect morale. Engaged employees are key in building a productive and creative work environment. Even if some employees are satisfied and engaged with their jobs, the negative attitudes of dissatisfied and disengaged employees can impact the entirety of the workplace culture by spreading negative attitudes, stress and toxic workplace activities such as gossip.
A common but effective way to promote employee engagement is to recognize and reward workers for their achievements. Consider incorporating an employee recognition program into your organization. Websites such as Nectar or Assembly could be great platforms to help get you started.
Of course, there are less direct ways to promote employee engagement. Build an environment that encourages growth and belonging. This can be done by offering one-on-one feedback sessions, team building activities, or even something as simple as a workplace lunch or party.

Positive Work Culture

A poor work-culture can lead to toxic habits amongst employees such as gossiping and overcompetition. A negative environment also leads to poor engagement, decreased empathy and high turnover.
In order to develop a positive workplace culture, be sure to define and promote clear organizational values and goals. In doing so, you can provide your employees with a clear sense of purpose.
Another way to promote a positive culture is by prioritizing diversity and inclusion. By supporting a staff made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds, you can cultivate a sense of belonging in your workplace.
Employee satisfaction plays an important role in workplace productivity and retention. By creating open and clear communication, promoting work-life balance, engaging employees, and building a positive work environment, you can cultivate a happier, more productive and more satisfied workforce.
If you want to learn more tips and tricks to improving your work environment, check out other posts on our blog!

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Developing Software Through Open Source Libraries for Beginners

Developing Software Through Open Source Libraries for Beginners

July 20, 2021 – José Vazquez

Being a software engineer and/or a computer scientist both are top-grossing positions in the business environment (Top 100 Highest-Paying Jobs, The 20 Highest-Paying Jobs in the World, a diversity of software- and computer-related positions rank among the highest-paying jobs in the world), so it isn’t surprising that there is a boom in computer scientists and software engineers becoming entrepreneurs lately. As an entrepreneur, you are a risk-taker, but it will surprise you to know that there is excellent FREE open source software for you to develop new software and technologies!
Open-source software is any type of software to which its source code (the code the programmers wrote to develop the software) has been made publicly and freely available (source code tends to be private as it may contain company secrets or trademark content); this type of software has no, or very limited, copyright restrictions, giving you, the entrepreneur, the opportunity to develop, distribute, and commercialize your software applications.
In this blog post, I share what I consider to be the best open-source libraries and tools for beginners to develop all kinds of software:

1. TensorFlow

Top Use: Machine learning capabilities for your applications.
As artificial intelligence and machine learning have become one of the technologies with the most demand these past few years, the first recommendation is TensorFlow. TensorFlow is a Python-friendly open-source library that in itself contains tons of libraries and tools to make machine learning faster and easier.
To give you an idea, some of the most notable TensorFlow-powered projects are capable of “Helping doctors detect respiratory diseases with machine learning”, “Categorizing Airbnb listing photos”, or “Enabling medical staff to prescribe the right antibiotic”. But what I think is perfect for an entrepreneur like you is that TensorFlow is beginner-friendly.
Visit their official website here.

2. OpenCV

Top use: Computer vision technology capabilities for your applications.
An open-source software implementing computer vision. A library originally made in C++, but it has an implementation in Python (a more beginner-friendly programming language). Computer vision is a field of artificial intelligence (AI) that takes information from digital imagery, analyzes that imagery, and can understand it.
Good examples of computer vision technology include face recognition, body/hand detection, eye tracking, object detection, and a lot more. With OpenCV, you can use this technology to develop your applications and the possibilities are virtually limitless. OpenCV is also beginner-friendly as they offer a variety of courses for beginners to learn to use the library. Examples of applications that use OpenCV are: surveillance cameras with face detection/recognition or weapon detection capabilities, background removal apps, an app for text and information extraction from an image, even some robotic projects that use OpenCV, and a variety of other applications and possibilities out there.
Visit their official website here.

3. Android Studio

Top use: Environment for Android phone application development.
Another field with high demand is mobile applications. Android Studio is Android’s official Integrated Development Environment (IDE, a software application with tools to program or develop other software), thus arguably the safest option out there to develop your android app.  Although Android Studio has a steep learning curve since it has an ample API (it has lots of libraries) and it requires some familiarity with Java, having such a powerful API is not necessarily bad. Android Studio’s ample API presents the user with diverse options to develop diverse android applications: from a simple map app, online shopping app, calculator app, restaurant menu display app, messaging app, to even a video game app (although developing video games in Android Studio is not too practical), and many others!
Visit their official website here.

4. Apache Cordova (previously PhoneGap)

Top use: Develop cross-platform apps with HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
Apache Cordova (previously known as PhoneGap), is a cross-platform application development framework. It is a framework for building cross-platform (be it an Android phone, Apple phone, or web) applications with HTML, CSS, and Javascript, so if you are aiming to become a full-stack developer, Apache Cordova will be straight-forward for you
Not only because of its versatility, but also Cordova’s stability makes it a great tool for developing cross-platform mobile applications. Although Cordova may be on the average side of the curve of app development, it gives enough accessibility for a beginner to start their project since Cordova’s learning curve is gentler than many other tools out there. With Cordova, you can develop apps such as a chess game app, pet-finder app, personal workout trainer app, and many more!
Visit their official website here.

5. Node.JS

Top use: Runtime environment to develop a robust web application.
Node.JS is a cross-platform, back-end Javascript runtime environment (compared to perhaps more familiar runtime environments such as Java Runtime Environment (JRE), Common Language Runtime (CLR) for .NET framework). Node.JS is a great tool when developing web applications, with features that help you develop a more robust web application. Since Javascript is listed as one of the best languages for beginners to learn, you should not have a hard time learning it if needed.
Considered one of the best tools for real-time web apps, Node.JS stands its ground with features that let developers handle databases, handle files on the server, collect form data and generate the dynamic page content. It is also a great tool for entrepreneurs to start their web application projects! Furthermore, since Node.JS is widely used, there are abundant tutorials and courses for you to take and expand your abilities as a web developer, like Codecademy, Udemy, or W3schools, and a diversity of Youtube content. Some applications examples that use Node.JS are streaming applications (Netflix uses Node.JS), E-learning platforms, social networking apps, online stores and marketplaces, and many more!
Visit their official website here.

6. Google Web Designer

Top use: Designing ad banners and responsive web components.
Sometimes you need to be versatile when creating your webpage, and sometimes even develop your designs. Google Web Designer can help you do just that. This open-source platform will help you create interactive HTML websites features and ad banners. Although it is famously known for making ad banners, there are a variety of other website components like clickable buttons and images, 360° gallery (for example: to display a car or a dress you’re selling that needs a 360° view), components to display audio and/or video, labels, sliders and many more! Although Google Web Designer leans towards average when it comes to creating a fully functional website, it will help you design most web components and create new responsive animations, and all of this while being free to use and you keep full propriety of your design (which is awesome).
Visit their official website here.
Open-source software is the perfect solution to creating new web applications and starting your own business not only because you will take full authority over your design, but as the blog has shown, most open-source software is greatly designed and can do wonders for your new company. As an entrepreneur, you are a risk-taker! However, you do not need to spend big bucks on a super platform, when there’s open-source software as good as what we have shown in this blog post! You can use your free resources to develop a great software or application that can give your new business the success it deserves!
Let us know what you think of this list and if you know of any other open-source libraries! Have you used any of these? Share your experience and tag us on our social media with #ReplyingPG.

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Taking Care Of The Mental And Emotional Health In The Workplace

Taking Care Of The Mental And Emotional Health In The Workplace

July 13, 2021 – Angely Toro

I dare to say, taking care of your mental and emotional health is one of the most important tasks of an entrepreneur, and it is often underestimated. Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) 1 in 5 US adults experience mental illness each year. Your mental health is part of your life as it impacts your thoughts, behaviors and emotions. Is also related to your physical health. A study done on the Effects of Mental Health on Physical Health concluded that positive mental health significantly retards irreversible midlife decline in physical health. One factor that can affect emotional and mental health is high levels of stress. As an entrepreneur, you might feel overwhelmed with all of the work that running a business has, feeling pushed to the brink, and some may feel anxious as you are constantly engaged.

Your Pathway to Mental Health

The first step in taking care of your mental health is identifying what causes you stress. Once you have done that, the next step is finding a solution. Here are a few common stress factors to help you identify what is affecting your mental health and a few tips to relieve stress.

Competition

You have decided to enter the entrepreneurship world where other businesses are trying to solve the same or similar problem for their customers. As an upcoming entrepreneur, your focus will be on what the competition is doing, how many customers they have, and what you can do to differentiate yourself from them. However, spending every moment thinking about the competition can only do so much. Instead, focus on what can be done to solve the problem in your own way for your specific audience. Change your focus from how to be better to how to be different.

Doing it all alone

All great businesses are made up of a great team of people, not just by the greatness of one person. Companies like Google, The Walt Disney Company and Microsoft were developed by a great team of people. Just because you had the idea to create and develop a business does not mean you have the skills or experience to do everything, and not every entrepreneur understands this. Delegating can help you focus on other important tasks. Hiring candidates with diverse experiences will lead to better outcomes on the things you do not know. Trust them, they are here to help your business be successful.

Unrealistic goals

Entrepreneurs do not limit themselves to how big they can dream. They find a problem and creating a solution for it is  the main goal. As a creative person you will come up with multiple solutions to the same problem. Make sure you have the resources to make it happen, because when your goal requires more skills, energy, knowledge, time, and other resources than those you have available, it becomes unrealistic in certain timeframes. This does not mean you cannot have big goals, in fact, dream big. Just make sure you have the resources and time to achieve it, that is what makes those dreams achievable.

Being held accountable

Being an entrepreneur means you are the face of a company. Decision making lies on your shoulders. Your business will have its ups and downs and your team will look at you for solutions. Taking responsibility for your actions, saying no when events do not benefit your business and having mentors that can help your decision making will help you succeed as an entrepreneur. Focus on the solutions rather than the problems and ask for help from your mentors when you need it.

Financial stress and uncertainty

Startup money is different for every business. Some will develop easily with little investment while others might need millions before they see income. The problem comes when there is not enough startup capital and a need arises to borrow from friends or family. Be sure to evaluate the capital needed to start your business and set aside more capital for any unforeseen circumstances.

So, what do we do when we are stressed? Here are some tips from the PG team!

Journaling

Journaling your emotions can reduce stress by transferring your negative thoughts and emotions from your mind onto paper. Find a time that suits your schedule and create a routine. Write about what is bothering you and reflect upon it. It also helps with problem solving. Writing down the problem will inspire you to reflect on it and the solutions for it. Journaling helps you keep perspective of your goals. Write down your goals for that day or week and the steps that you need to take in order to achieve your ultimate goal. You will feel more organized and satisfied when you achieve those goals.

Exercise

Did you know that exercise can help your physical and mental health? Research done in  Stanford University School of Medicine mentions that exercise and physical activity alleviate symptoms associated with mild-to-moderate depression, improves self concept and confidence, and reduces symptoms of anxiety. Working out also reduces the negative effects of stress. The repetitive motions involved in exercise promote a focus on your body rather than your mind. As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you stay calm, clear, and focused in everything you do. Take a walk or find an exercise routine and keep your mind and body healthy. You do not have to sign up for a gym to start today!

Finding a Hobby

Hobbies can be the relaxing time you need between  your busy routine. Think about all of the fun activities you used to do when you were younger. Even if you are older now, that does not mean the fun needs to stop. Find something you enjoy doing and make time for it. Simple things like watching a movie, reading a book, or going for a walk are the perfect escape for challenging times.

Work-life balance

Being an entrepreneur can become a 24/7 job causing you to spend less time with family and friends. Spending time with loved ones improves psychological well-being and helps you cope with stress. Talking about your problems with people who will listen and care about you can be the medicine that you need. The amount of time you will be able to spend with them is going to be less than before but once in a while it is important to make time for them. They can become the energy burst to continue your journey.

Connect with other entrepreneurs!

Sometimes you just need someone who can understand what you are struggling with. Connecting with other entrepreneurs can help you feel like you are not alone. If possible, find an experienced mentor who has been around long enough to see the bigger picture. Surround yourself with people who will understand and help you. Here are a few free platforms that can help you connect with other entrepreneurs Eprenz, Linkedin, Meetup and Common Connect. You can also connect with other entrepreneurs in our new Facebook Group: Emprendedores de Puerto Rico.
As an entrepreneur, you will find many situations that can affect your mental and emotional health. Try maintaining a positive attitude, focus on the solutions and not the problems. Take time for yourself and do something you love to do. Most importantly, talk about your problems, whether it is with a friend, a mentor, or on a piece of paper, what matters is not letting it stay in your mind.
We want to know how you take care of your mental health. Share your experience with other entrepreneurs and help them take care of their mental health.

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How To Stay True To Yourself In A Professional Environment

How To Stay True To Yourself In A Professional Environment

July 6, 2021 – Yalanis Velez Gonzalez

Isn’t it satisfying to be good at what you do? If you’re a person with a job or a goal, chances are you want to be successful at it. That can be a challenge if you are not aware of how you feel, how you think, and how you act.
Self-help conversations often include concepts like awareness, identities, strategies, and behavior modification, which all meet the idea of bias. If you haven’t watched B4B or Sesgos para el Éxito seminars, here at Perspectivas Globales we define bias as “the tendency of acting or thinking in a certain way when there are other alternatives.” You can find out more about the Bias for Business seminar here. As humans, from the moment we are born, we are exposed to varied information causing each of us to have unique experiences that we can use to learn, go about our lives, and make sense of the world. We propose that being aware of how we think, act, and feel helps us elaborate a strategy to manage our biases and behavior so we can be comfortable and satisfied with our efforts.
Perspectivas Globales presents the Gaining Perspective (GP) and Human Systems Interconnection (HSI) models (diagrams below) as tools that can guide the process of understanding how we learn, make decisions and perform all kinds of activities. The GP model shows how outside information interacts with our body, previous knowledge, and feelings to formulate a prediction about our surroundings. It shows how we gain perspective, how it changes over time, and how we unconsciously and automatically develop a very specific point of view.
The HSI model, on the other hand, reveals human behavior to be a combination of communication processes relaying through different layers that make up the human system: media layers (environment and body), mini-modules (subconscious mind), and host layers (consciousness mind) to produce and/or respond to events. Both models can and have been used to learn about one’s potential and harnessing biases to work alongside goals.
Of course, this journey is easier said than done, and in PG, we know this. As a personal note, I’ve been learning about my biases for a year and while I’ve been able to work through certain biases, others feel impossible to modify. As an example, here is my experience with fruits and nail-biting…

Since I was a child, I would not tolerate the feeling of fruit in my mouth. I grew up to become an impressive fruit detector, biased to regard their smell, taste, or texture as disgusting. As I entered college, my despise for fruits was unusual and I started feeling guilty for not appreciating the food as others did. During the first four years of college, I made zero progress. Even if I would make an effort to try a variety of fruits, I couldn’t get myself to enjoy any of them. Similarly, with the nail-biting, I tried to stop in different ways but always felt like it was out of my control. I would paint my nails weekly up until college when I realized I had been a slave to my nails for years and nothing had improved. Nevertheless, when I was introduced to the GP and HSI models, I felt I could tackle these problems by creating a strategy that worked for my lifestyle and the biases that encompass. Gaining conscious awareness of how my body was feeling and the thoughts I was having when exposed to fruits or when impulsively biting my nails, gave me the insight I needed to better analyze both situations and pinpoint specific triggers. I still bite my nails before a big event, but now at least I don’t have chopped nails for weeks and it might sound weird, but having this framework also helped me develop a new interaction with fruits. I now see them as an exciting challenge, something to learn and explore. Also, I can say I enjoy apples, melons, berries, oranges, and certain mangoes; but most importantly, I can say I am willing to try any fruit before judging it.

So how does all this have to do with staying true to ourselves in professional settings?

If we are not adequately equipped, balancing our desires and responsibilities while trying to be a happy successful person becomes overwhelming pretty quickly. No matter how hard we try or how much willpower we have, we will never be “in control” of ourselves and that is fine; that is part of how humans work. Feelings and emotions are also part of how humans work, they practically guide much of what we do, and that is fine as well. Learning about ourselves, our surroundings and using that information to our advantage is the most “in control” we can be. The HSI and GP models help us make sense of the information we gather and figure out how to use it. In my experience, the models helped me explore my mind and deal with risk. I feel more comfortable, capable, and informed when taking chances, sharing my thoughts and trying new things because I know myself. I know what I need and how certain things can make me feel. I think about how something might influence my behavior and be prepared for it. I accept that I am unique and I should not try to be anything else because that just makes things more complicated. However, it is quite a challenge. Similarities between people are generally perceived as unifying, while differences are regarded as distancing factors, and thus, to maintain peace, people often aim to reduce variability. I found this led to a biased consideration of my individuality and others’. It seems the automated approach I took when thinking about myself and my surroundings possibly harmed my ability to recognize the ways people are different, how I am different, and how I could use that information conveniently. I realized that succeeding was a lot easier when I would be myself, which is why I decided to learn to do so. 
How exactly am I doing that? With practice. Well, I practice conscious observation and noticing things without any pressure of doing anything or having to judge them, just acknowledging they exist. 
Then I turn inward, to my mind and body, to identify the source of the driving force behind my thoughts and actions. More often than not, I will forget to do this and check up on my learning progress. Be that as it may, the HSI and GP models support the statement that consistency and time lead to increased automated engagement, reducing the effort required. Time and consistency have allowed me to learn, experiment, and try again. This way I can use what I learned about myself to develop strategies that encourage self-confidence in my professional environments.
These are some of them:

1. Simple thinking

Even though we often talk about thinking, we don’t think about it. We don’t think about thinking. Most of us relate thinking to a tedious kind of mental exercise that can burn our brains or give us a headache. What we don’t realize is that thinking doesn’t have to be complicated. It is easy to confuse or get overwhelmed by our thoughts, and it’s also okay when it happens. The HSI model presents a layered organization of our minds. Minds. Yes, in plural because the model shows our brain as having a two-part arrangement, our subconscious and conscious minds being separated, but in close communication with each other. Our subconscious works automatically and indefinitely, while our consciousness is limited in capacity. This causes us to be aware of only a fraction of all that goes on around us and all our minds do for each one of us to be who we are and do what we do. No wonder we tend to get overwhelmed, there is a lot going on, even if we don’t know it. If our subconscious suddenly stopped working for some reason we would die. We cannot consciously pump our blood or make all the calculations needed to walk while we are walking. Our consciousness can only focus our body budget on a small number of activities at once, it is not a good multitasker. Since we lack control of exactly what we are aware of, I found that simple and accessible thinking made it easier for me to think clearly and sincerely communicate with others while sticking to my goals. Emotions tend to complicate thoughts, situations, tasks, even our actions, so trying not to overwhelm our conscious thoughts by keeping them straight to the point helps me interpret complex information more efficiently and enhances my creativity.

2. Flexibility

Because our subconscious works so much and so fast, the information that reaches our conscious mind changes in a matter of seconds, causing us to have different thoughts that only stay in our minds for brief periods. This is easy to notice when we try to concentrate on a specific thought or task. We will find that it is very hard, if not practically impossible to be consistent within a train of thought because our minds will drift off. It is certainly frustrating when we feel we cannot concentrate on something, but it’s not like our minds can do anything else. The best we can do is bring back our thoughts whenever we realize they’ve drifted. With practice, you will find that consistency and time will guide this process automatically. Flexibility is also important when we feel out of control or overwhelmed. We already know how humans work and that we are not robots, so it would be weird to expect everyone to do or want the same things, in the same way. A more accurate prediction is that we will be out of control and we will feel overwhelmed. If that is so, what do we do? What do we do when we have a million things on our to-do list and no willpower to concentrate? Strategize. We can gather the information we need and elaborate a simple plan to feel comfortable enough to tackle some items on the list. Being flexible can help us identify other ways we can meet our goals and be okay even though our plans might have changed. Being strict or hard on ourselves, on the other hand, might deplete our energy and probably won’t help the fact that we feel overwhelmed. For me, flexibility has been key to finding balance and allowing myself to be comfortable outside of my comfort zone.

3. Thinking activities

Is all thinking the same kind of thinking? How do you feel when you think? Does your view of thinking influence your thinking experience, how? 
These are all personal questions with different answers for each person. We can consider these and many more to find out about ourselves and how we work best. If we know details about our thinking, as an activity, we can set up thinking activities to meet our specific needs. I enjoy going to the beach whenever I’m going to read and/or write something, but hiking is best for analyzing and decision making. Driving, doing the dishes, painting, cleaning, and jogging are activities that are often regarded as daily life thinking spaces, but each person should identify their own. This way everyone can personalize their thinking activity, be satisfied with their efforts, and enjoy it. Identifying a thinking space that fits your requirements eases the process of self-reflection, promotes consistency and commitment. The approach we take when thinking about ourselves might be making it complicated from the start.

4. Share your thoughts

The fact that each of us is a unique individual human being implies that no other person will ever share our exact perspective or ideas so we are all different but highly valuable. Considering the GP model and keeping in mind how distinct we can be from each other is a good way to begin enriching and stimulating our thoughts. Once we understand that we only think and speak from what we experience and that it may be very different for everyone else, it is easier to have an open mind, to be flexible. Talking with others and paying attention to their goals is a great way to begin to practice exploring different alternatives. Sharing our thoughts and asking or giving authentic feedback can greatly improve our learning curve and give us a wider perspective to come up with innovative ideas. Communicating our thoughts can be harder than we think, it is through practice that we can best acquire the skill of expressing ourselves genuinely and accurately.

5. Embrace the differences

Although the concepts are used interchangeably, knowing who we are doesn’t have to be the same as being aware of who we are. There seems to be a greater distance between awareness than knowledge of “who I am”. If we look at it from the HSI model we see that our capacity for awareness is limited and what we are aware of changes depending on our thoughts and surroundings. Awareness makes sure we have a perception, we’ve perceived that we are something. Whereas knowledge can mean we have a deeper understanding of that idea. Noting that distinction can make thinking about oneself a lot easier, reducing it to paying attention and acknowledging ourselves as unique, different from all other people. Moments of genuine introspection can provide authentic insight about ourselves and help us figure out whenever we are driven towards something from external factors, or from within because it is personally rewarding.
Accepting individuality, knowing where you lack knowledge and experience, being yourself, and looking for authenticity in others is a useful way to approach your professional interactions and learn from them. If you feel distant from others because of your differences, consider finding a way to expose yourself to that which can make you feel even a little closer. Interest in others and enhancing the distinctions can help cultivate teamwork and productivity. It makes sense that awareness and appreciation of our own and other’s uniqueness should promote positive development for all, so why not try looking at our differences differently?
Now, being aware of or knowing who we are, does not mean we are making use of that information. For that, we are to do something different: we are to change because of the newfound knowledge about ourselves. We would have to change our actions. While strategies that lead to behavior modification are certainly attractive, they might give us a false sense of control. It’s unrealistic to think having a strategy guarantees your goal will be met, but it helps ensure you engage in activities that will bring you closer to it. Flexible strategies are tailorable and can foster hope in ourselves and our progress. The more we find out about ourselves the better we can use our surroundings in our favor and the easier it can be to reach our optimal potential. Building a successful team, Developing your brand’s mission, vision and values, and recognizing The importance of self-confidence are opportunities to consider how humans work best so you can rethink your strategic approach and naturally set yourself up for success.

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The Importance of Self-Confidence In The Entrepreneurial World

The Importance of Self-Confidence In The Entrepreneurial World

June 29, 2021 – Aleanis Ramos

Self-confidence is one of the most important qualities that you can possess as an entrepreneur. Nobody is born with self-confidence. Rather, it is something that is learned through experience. Before you can master anything, you first have to practice it. If lack of confidence is holding you back from achieving success, it’s time to start flexing your confidence muscles.
Are you ready to learn 5 ways to boost your self-confidence so that you can catapult your business to new heights?

Confidence is something that you develop

When it comes to building a business, the perception that you have of yourself and your abilities affects everything that you do. In my opinion, you can be a highly intelligent business person but still be held back by feelings of not being deserving of success. This is a recipe for disaster. Without self-confidence, you won’t get far.
Anyone who has ever built a business knows what a roller coaster ride it can be. It’s easy to feel super confident when things are going well. However, in the business world, you cannot expect to stay on top all the time. There will be times when you will find yourself fighting against your fears. That is the moment where we develop a type of maturity that allows us to revalue. And how do we revalue? Looking where we are, where we want to go, and how we will go for it. This murky moment should be seen as a moment of opportunity, to experience other ways of doing things without changing your goal. Perhaps in the first instance, we do not understand the context of the circumstances, but then, in the course of it, we observed that it was the best thing that could have happened. These previous expressions can be the impulse to build self-confidence.
Similarly, you may question whether or not you’ve got what it takes to keep going. It’s OK to have moments of self-doubt. However, if you allow your fears to take over every decision that you make, they will become a massive obstacle between you and success. This mindset only becomes a breeding ground for low self-confidence.
The Importance of Self-Confidence in the Entrepreneurial World

Let's talk about 5 ways that you can boost your self-confidence

1. Monitor Your Self-Talk

Do you talk to yourself like you would to someone that you love and respect? If not, it’s time to start reprogramming your mind for success. Your self-talk can have a huge impact on your sense of self-worth. It can affect your relationships, your health, and your business. When you talk negatively about yourself, it destroys your self-confidence.n entrepreneur can do almost everything, they could do almost everything poorly. Just like any other person, an entrepreneur has one or two natural talents. As an entrepreneur, it is your job to identify those talents and focus on them to your fullest. Surround yourself with people who are strong where your talents are weakest. Great companies are built on the foundation of exploiting a few strengths, not on trying to be masters of everything.
Luckily, you have the power to control your inner dialogue by consciously choosing to think positive and empowering thoughts. Successful entrepreneurs know that a positive attitude goes a long way in business. Not only does positive self-talk allow you to better cope with the ups and downs of your business, but it also helps you master your emotions. Make an effort to become your own best cheerleader instead of your own worst critic. If you don’t believe in yourself,  then how do you expect anyone to believe in you?

2. Stop Waiting to Feel Confident

You’ve got to stop waiting to feel confident and just start acting “as if” you already are. Your mind will always try to play tricks on you. It will try to tell you all of the reasons why you aren’t confident. Don’t buy into these lies. This mindset will only keep you stuck in one place. I think we can all agree that self-doubt is no fun. The moment that you start second-guessing yourself, your brain jumps on board and starts working against you.
You can feel tired of waiting for self-confidence to knock at your door, deciding to replace hesitation with action. The moment that you realized that you could take action despite feeling scared beyond belief, was the moment that you started to develop your confidence muscles. Instead of waiting for your fear to dissolve, you learned how to make friends with it by stepping outside of your comfort zone. It is possible to do everything that you think you cannot do.
If you feel uneasy about doing something, go for it. Look for tools, educate yourself about it, look for people who are experts in what you want to do so much, look for the necessary resources, create a plan and habit, among many other ways to give direction to what you want to do so much. But go for it, do not let anything stop you because, in the end, you will see that it was the best you could have done.

3. Be Clear on Your Purpose

If you feel unclear about what your purpose is, then you will always struggle to achieve success. Having a clear “why” is the fuel that propels you to take action. If you don’t know why you should do something, you are going to lack commitment. This is when self-doubt creeps into play.
In the beginning stages, the world of entrepreneurship can feel like an arduous journey. This is why you have to have a purpose. By getting crystal clear on why you want to build a business, you will have a solid vision in place for how to get there. When you align who you are with the work that you do, you are on your way to where you want to be. If you do not know where you are going, how do you expect that you will ever get there? When your business goals are backed by your purpose in life, you will believe in yourself and your work; which will make others believe in you and your work, too.

4. Get Over Your Fear of Failure

In the business world, you can’t hide from fear. There is a common misconception that all successful entrepreneurs have zero fears. Wrong! Just like anyone else, we have fears about failing. However, we just choose to act despite them. Failure is the stepping stone to success in life. It allows you to experiment and learn from your mistakes. Having the opportunity to learn from failure can turn it into a positive experience if the brain has a chance to learn from its mistakes.
I have personally failed thousands of times in my business and I guarantee that I will fail more. However, the reason why you don’t get affected by failure is that I view it as an opportunity to reevaluate where I currently am. Doing so allows me to make better decisions in my business. One of the best ways to get over the fear of failure is to be more afraid of not taking action and settling for an existence that is far below what you deserve. You don’t become successful in business by not taking any risks. What will you lose by not taking a risk? Let that be your driving force.

5. Exercise Confidence

Confidence is just like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. Self-confidence can be learned, practiced, and mastered,  just like any other skill. Once you master it, everything in your life will change for the better.t’s not for the money. People are driven to serve an important purpose, in addition to getting a paycheck. Many businesses never define their real purpose for existence, and continually attract a mix of employees who are seeking success in different ways. Clarify your company’s purpose, beyond just making money, and you set the stage for attracting like-minded employees. A team focused on the same goal is a very powerful force.
Instead of only using your confidence when it’s most needed, practice being confident all of the time. This may mean that you need to fake it until you feel it. Do whatever it takes to show up as the best version of yourself every single day. Doing so will inspire others to act in the same way.
Build healthy habits into your daily routine that will give you the self-esteem boost that you’ve been looking for. Recite positive affirmations, create a meditation practice, or start journaling as a way to align with your inner voice. At the end of the day, it comes down to self-love. If you are consistent with these rituals, soon enough, you will develop unshakeable confidence.

This is how to develop self-confidence…

At the end of the day, confidence will be the driver of your business success which is why you want to master this quality. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have bad days where your self-doubt creeps in. A lot of people suffer from a lack of confidence at some point in their lives. However, if you make self-confidence a daily practice, I promise that you will be better able to identify your triggers so that you can stop them dead in their tracks.
When you have a healthy level of confidence, you can be at your best, which in turn, will allow your business to soar. You are amazing. Don’t ever forget it. Are you ready to start flexing your confidence muscles?
You can start educating yourself with 5 Entrepreneurial Podcasts You Should Start Listening To and 3 Must-Reads for Every Entrepreneur. Also, you can start to see How To Set & Achieve Goals For Your Business In 6 Steps to avoid The 10 Biggest Mistakes Made by Small Business Owners. Lots of education and feedback you can find on our website.

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A Step-by-Step Guide on Diversity and Inclusion in Startups

A Step-by-Step Guide on Diversity and Inclusion in Startups

June 22, 2021 – Loriel Chung

Have you ever asked yourself what is Diversity and Inclusion? Diversity and Inclusion are similar concepts- but do not have the same meaning. Diversity is the representation of different people in working teams. Inclusion, on the other hand, is the reassurance that every person in the team has equal opportunity to contribute in every aspect of the workplace. Now, why are they important for your startup? Research shows that some of the benefits of having a diverse and inclusive team are: 
  • Eagerness to innovate
  • Revenue growth
  • 5.4 times higher employee retention
Lately, we’ve been seeing more and more interest in topics such as Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) thanks to this generation’s outspoken views on movements like BlackLivesMatter, Metoo, StopAsianHate, among many other movements that combat social injustices. Now more than ever, Startups are taking a look at their business structure and how D&I practices can benefit their overall company culture.
How can I foster an open, communicative environment in my startup? How can I celebrate diverse people and ideas? How can I prioritize social events where my team can partake in?
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you keep track of D&I practices that provide an equitable and inclusive work environment.

First, let’s reflect

The first thing you should start with is conducting a team reflection on what Diversity and Inclusion means to your startup & your team. Come up with your definition of each word and reflect on what it means for each member of your team.
Take your time on this first step, as this will serve as a basis for any D&I practice in your startup.
Once you’ve established the meaning of the words Diversity and Inclusion you can continue to reflect on why D&I is important for your startup.
Do you think it will help your business grow? Will it help promote a more diverse thinking process? Is it going to empower your team to innovate? Whatever the importance Diversity and Inclusion have in your startup make sure to document it and have a clear version written on paper so you can have it present every time you make an important decision.
Think about how that meaning and importance ties with your startup’s mission. If you haven’t thought of a mission statement for your startup this is the perfect time to do so. A mission statement is one of the most, if not the most, crucial part of your startup’s success regarding D&I. The mission statement encompasses the essence of your business; from who your customers are, to what products and services your business offers.
Make sure to include D&I objectives in your statement and share them with everyone. Yes, we do mean everyone. On social media, in the office, to your team, to your clients– share your mission statement everywhere you can as it is one of the first impressions of your business to the outside world.

Now, let’s act up

Start evaluating your current team and see how diverse it is. Keeping track of your diverse talent pool will help you evaluate your progress when incorporating D&I practices in your startup.
How diverse is your current team in terms of gender, race, disability, LGBT+, age, and ethnicity? Are they from similar backgrounds or circumstances? If you detect numerous similarities this is a great starting point for you to fill in those areas of improvement.
  • Take accountability for the D&I efforts in your startup. Put in the work to ensure a more diverse team that feels included in every milestone of the business. Take action to educate your team and yourself on this topic and seek advice from external sources and experts. Most importantly, hold your team accountable every day, have open forums discussions on these topics and invest in D&I programs in your startup; you might be surprised by the Return on Investment (ROI). 
  • Diversify your network and talk to people with different perspectives. This will help with your D&I journey in your startup. Encourage the participation of events that are organized or hosted by minority groups. Take your time to meet people different from you, as it is a great way to learn different cultures, hear different points of view and change conscious and unconscious biases. 
  • Challenge everyday unconscious bias by exposing you and your team to material about the different biases people tend to have and how to change them. You can evaluate your team’s progress before and after you present the material to ensure the message goes beyond the initial information. Be consistent in challenging biases and expose your team to these discussions every other month, as new biases can come up within your team constantly. 
Don’t know where to start? Here are some videos from our previous PG Students with Perspectives Team where they explain what bias is and how you can overcome them. 
The fact that you took your time to read this article shows that you have a genuine interest in being a beacon of change and are willing to put in the work to ensure a more inclusive workforce. It is people like you who are committed to making sure D&I efforts are not only being talked about but also acted upon! Nevertheless, this is not something that happens overnight. Consistency is key in your startup’s D&I journey.
Perspectivas Globales would love to have you on our network. Contact us @pgmayaguez in all of our social media and let’s cultivate an inclusive community together.   

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How To Build A Successful Team

How To Build A Successful Team

June 15, 2021 – Aleanis Ramos

Effective teamwork is essential to success. The organizations need teams that are high-performing and can communicate clearly. As a supervisor or manager, you can contribute by cultivating strong teams and encouraging teamwork. In this blog, we discuss the key characteristics of a successful team and how to build your own.
What are the characteristics of a successful team?
Successful teams encourage team members to share ideas, consider solutions and solve problems together. Mindset teams benefit individual members by offering added support and opportunities for development.  There is a line between quantity and quality, no matter how big or small a team is, its quality is not defined by quantity. There are several small groups that have climbed magnificently, thanks to good team building regardless of their size, as well as Perspectivas Globales. Successful teams typically have the following characteristics:
  • Goal-oriented mindset: The most effective teams set, implement, and track goals together to increase efficiency and improve productivity.
  • Commitment to their roles: Individuals working in roles based on their strengths and expertise are often highly motivated.
  • Open to learning: Some teams may adjust roles and responsibilities due to the needs of a project or task. Team members who are interested in challenging their skills and learning to complete new individual tasks encourage professional growth.
  • Diverse perspectives and experiences: Since diversity tends to encourage creativity and innovation, teams with the largest spectrum of experiences and opinions have the potential to perform at their best.
  • Shared culture: Whether it is a company culture or group culture, teams who are united by a singular mission or set of values are often more motivated.
  • Responsibility and accountability: When teams share a set of values and goals, each team member can be held to the same standard.
  • Clear communication: Good teams brainstorm solutions, provide status updates, and complete tasks.
  • An effective leader: Leaders who provide clear direction and encourage team members to succeed are typically managing successful teams.
How to build an effective team? To build a strong team, consider these eight steps:
  • Set SMART goals.
  • Perform well-defined roles.
  • Experiment regularly.
  • Embrace diversity.
  • Share a common culture.
  • Be accountable to the team.
  • Communicate effectively.
  • Welcome strong leadership.

Set SMART Goals

Your team can prioritize SMART goals by choosing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based objectives. For example, you may want to exceed your quarterly quota by 10% by the end of the second quarter.
After implementing these objectives, track progress regularly. Since every member shares the same team-specific metrics, your team can monitor advancement and celebrate accomplishments. Measuring progress with a single metric rather than applying their definitions of success helps individual team members more accurately understand their progress.

Perform Well-defined Roles

Teams tend to work best when each member is responsible for contributing something specific. When team members have well-defined roles, they can focus on accomplishing individual tasks and following specific workflows rather than devoting energy to identifying their place. For example, you can assign some team members to take charge of leading different project types, while others may conduct research, perform analysis, or recommend solutions.
In some cases, teams may achieve even more when members have opportunities to contribute more and advance into new roles. To make these changes as effective as possible, think about assigning new roles when beginning new projects or when taking on new responsibilities.

Experiment Regularly

Although teams are often most productive when they have well-defined roles, consider experimenting with new ideas. The most successful teams tend to accommodate informed risk-taking and allow ample opportunities for learning, especially if these experiments have the potential to generate better results.
To introduce experimentation into your standard workflows, try making time for brainstorming before starting a project. During this thoughtful exercise, team members can contribute ideas for conducting research, structuring a project, or collecting and analyzing results.

Embrace Diversity

The most effective teams embrace different skill sets, experience levels, and professional backgrounds. You should include members who have dissimilar opinions and encourage different ways of thinking. By welcoming members with diverse views, your team may consider different approaches or goals.
If you want to learn more about embracing diversity, stay tuned to our website for upcoming blogs. Our blogs are varied according to the different areas of entrepreneurship, always with the mission of educating and empowering.

Share Common Culture

Despite differences, the most successful teams share a common culture, such as a company or group culture. Your team might create and agree on these shared behaviors unconsciously, as they are likely to reflect preferred working or communication styles. However, your team is likely to be more productive when it has guidelines to follow. As the leader, you should gather input from members to establish a cultural values framework.
For many teams, shared values start with a cohesive mission. You should establish a singular team mission by reflecting on the organization’s mission statement and the ways your team contributes to this overarching goal.

Be Accountable to the Team

To build a successful team, each member should maintain accountability. When each member is held accountable, they typically do their best work. You can establish this type of accountability by setting a good example with your work, encouraging your team members to discuss ways to improve, and making a point of implementing feedback. By encouraging group accountability, your team members can find a sense of belonging and purpose.

Communicate Effectively

To work together seamlessly, teams need clear lines of communication. To streamline communication, your team should clarify each member’s roles and responsibilities. This will show who is in charge of what and what to do when an issue arises or a problem needs to be solved.
Also, your team should decide how project updates will be communicated; be it email, messaging platforms, or project management applications like the ones we recommended previously in our blog.

Welcome Strong Leadership

To ensure that teams reach their goals, work together smoothly and perform at their best, they need strong leadership. You can demonstrate effective leadership by being committed, accountable, and responsible for your work. To be a strong leader, you should also cultivate adaptability, welcome feedback, and motivate team members to do their best work.
Select a leadership style that best fits the type of team you’re managing to discover how to best facilitate communication, mediate discussion and conflicts, and ensure continuous improvement.

There you go!

If you are interested in learning more about ways to improve your business, check out our other articles on our blog. If you would like to read more about how to build a successful team, check out the article How To Brainstorm Effectively In A Group: 5 Techniques and 10 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know About HR.

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Our Top 5 Platforms To Elevate Your Business

Our Top 5 Platforms To Elevate Your Business

June 8, 2021 – Aleanis Ramos

Entrepreneurship is full of challenges and opportunities. Even if starting your own business is not an easy task, driven entrepreneurs make wonderful things happen through passion and hard work. In addition to a great idea, you need perseverance, planning, and organization. Fortunately for you, we live in the digital age, where technology makes life easier and offers very useful platforms for those who are starting a business.
Whether you’ve just started to develop your idea or already have a well-established startup, you can take advantage of the following online tools designed to help you improve organization and productivity in your work routines. All with just a couple of clicks!

1. Trello

Trello is one of the simplest and most intuitive project management platforms. It is configured as a board where you can organize projects in lists. Each list has cards with the ideas, tasks, or elements that make up your project. Imagine a cork box, in digital format, in which you place and organize virtual post-its.
In each card you can add all of the relevant content to the task: add comments, upload files from your computer or services such as Google Drive, create checklists, set an expiration date, among others. You can use this software for free in your browser or download the application for mobile devices.
In our program, Perspectivas Globales, we use the Trello platform. As a work team, we serve different administrative areas and projects, this platform makes it easier for us as a team to stay connected, organized and synchronized. Being able to put your objectives and goals in a platform, being able to visualize them graphically and categorized, increases your productivity and performance.

2. Canva

Canva is the ideal platform for creating magnificent images in a few seconds without the need for technical or vast marketing knowledge. Its interface is designed as a website builder, with WYSIWYG software which stands for “What You See Is What You Get”.
The best feature of this type of software is the “drag and drop” function, with which you can select an element and add it to the image only by clicking and dragging it to where you want to place it. You can add items like text, photos, graphics, icons, grids, shapes, and even upload your images, like your logo, for example.
In Canva you have at your disposal different templates that allow you to create high-quality visual content such as infographics, presentations, images for social networks, invitations, banners, and much more. Fact: The free version of Canva is extremely broad and comprehensive, which allows for complete marketing with this version.
In our program, Perspectivas Globales, we use the Canva platform and it has helped all of our interns be better at what they do. This platform allows us to manage our marketing area simultaneously since this platform allows you to create work teams. Through the Canva team, different team members can execute, verify, and approve designs to be published, and we keep that group feedback for future occasions.

3. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management platform with features to help with planning, scheduling, and syndicating social posts. Key features include automatic scheduling, social media monitoring, performance reporting, basic task management, and more.
Hootsuite can save you time with your social media marketing. Instead of logging into each network and posting there one at a time, you can manage Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest all from one place. Its streams feature can help you stay on top of relevant conversations as they’re happening. Again, you can monitor conversions on different networks from a single dashboard. Hootsuite also has a helpful analytics feature for in-depth social media performance reporting. If you run an agency, you know that reporting the ROI of social media can be tricky. Hootsuite’s analytics feature helps you show off your deliverables in easy-to-understand formats.
Hootsuite offers different plans, including the free plan or the professional plan, which we highly encourage our readers to check out. Being able to program the content of social networks of your business encourages better time management and dedication to the marketing area, facilitating this process and ensuring the activity and interactivity of social media, as we do in Perspectivas Globales.

4. Gmail Professional

Gmail Professional is made up of a series of applications designed to increase the productivity and efficiency of companies of any size. It is a communication, organization, and storage platform. In addition to allowing you to use Gmail email with your domain name provides you with solutions to manage your agenda, documents, forms, and more
Some of the applications that are included in the Gmail Professional package, in addition to email with 30 GB of storage, are the following:
  • Hangouts: Stay in touch with your team through this service for voice calls, text chat, and video conferencing. One of the main advantages is that you can make presentations by sharing your screen with up to 15 people.
  • Calendar: Efficiently organize your time with your online agenda integrated with that of your team. You can check the availability of people to organize meetings quickly.
  • Google Docs: Create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations to share with your team and work collaboratively.
  • Google Drive: Save your files in the cloud to access them from any device, keep them safe and share them with your team.
In addition to all these services, Gmail Professional allows access to the applications from anywhere, through your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Gmail Professional plans start as low as $6.00 per user per month for Business Starter, $12.00 per user per month for Business Standard, and $18.00 per user per month for Business Plus. The most popular plan is Business Standard, which includes: custom and secure business email, 150 participant video meetings + recording, 2 TB cloud storage per user, security and management controls, and standard support, which is the standard need for entrepreneurs. However, if you need more than that, consult the Google page and find the best plan that suits your company.
Having a platform that allows you to have everything in one place, optimizes operations and the time invested in them. It is important to document and store important information about our business and keep operations connected for better internal management. When we start a business idea… we don’t spend money, we invest in future profits.

5. FreshBooks

Freshbooks is a cloud accounting software specially designed for entrepreneurs and freelancers. With it, you can manage your business accounting without having to be an expert on the subject.
The purpose of this online platform is to offer a complete solution for you to keep track of business expenses and send invoices to your clients. You can create invoices, track expenses, send follow-up emails, and manage sales taxes. In addition, financial reports can be generated, essential to obtain information on how your business is doing and how it can grow.
The platform also allows you to automate various tasks such as organizational expenses and follow-up time in the collection process. This will allow you to spend less time on these activities and invest the surplus in serving your customers and formulating new strategies.

Choose yours wisely!

We hope these online platforms help you take your business to heights. What did you think of these platforms? Do you already use any in your business?  If you want to elevate your business, even more, take a look at How To Set & Achieve Goals For Your Business In 6 Steps and How to Develop your Brand’s Mission, Vision, and Values.

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