Business

How to Master Mental Clarity and Find Your Focus

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In today’s fast-paced world, the constant flow of information and opinions can overwhelm even the most resilient minds. While the pursuit of knowledge is essential for growth, it is equally important to create mental space for clarity and focus.

Without setting boundaries, this noise can drown out our ability to think critically and make informed decisions. Here are a few strategies to clear your mind and foster both personal and business growth.

1. Be more selective

There are many influencers and marketing ploys that are vying for your attention. This can impact your ability to be authentic due to the pressure to say yes. How you appear as a professional is part of your brand and allows others to know if they can relate to or trust you. You will also feel relieved the more you push back against toxic pressures and can show up in the world with devotion and purpose.

Remember that you can only take in so much at one time. While you may be ambitious to consume information, you need to balance that drive with managing your business operations and dealing with the unknowns of the day. Try to process information in a compartmentalized way. Designing a tempo for how you take in data can give your mind the clarity it needs to learn.

Try designating your mornings as the time to take in news or your jog on the treadmill as a chance to study new methods or marketing tips. I like to make my travel time “Nancy University,” where I absorb as many podcasts as I can about topics I am interested in. While I am jumping from articles to videos, I focus my learning on solving a problem or question in my life. This makes absorbing the content easier to digest even in large quantities.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed with so many voices trying to share the spotlight. When consuming information, it is important to consider the source. Verify that the writer is in alignment with your values and do your research before you commit. On one hand, you want to be objective in understanding whether the learning can benefit you, instead of being distracted by its delivery. At the same time, you want to be inquisitive and vet if a resource is genuine or self-serving, which can leave you feeling taken advantage of.

The way you quiet the noise of opinions and advice is to choose content that resonates positively with you and your beliefs. I like to seek referrals from my social circle and feel more trust and confidence in learning from a person who they align with. I also know that in this busy world, a genuine public review about a company or product speaks volumes. The key is to vet your potential purchases or partnerships before taking the leap and investing time and money.

2. Navigate social pressures

You might find people asking you where you stand politically. Perhaps you are constantly questioned about your career or personal life, always feeling the need to be achieving. This societal noise can cause you to feel overwhelmed by the need to please others or match their points of view.

The best way to not feel loaded down is to be honest. Rather than struggling to find common ground, try to converse from a place of authenticity. It is okay not to have the answers to everything and simply say, “That’s interesting, I will look into it.” If someone is prying into your personal life, there is nothing wrong in saying, “All is good, thank you for caring about me.” However, keep in mind that choosing not to engage means you may be missing out on an opportunity to grow.

In that moment of conversation, you can also lean into sharing and potentially receive tips or advice from a person who views your life circumstance differently. The goal is to strike a balance between the information you take in and having outlets to express yourself.

As a keynote speaker, I am always telling stories to illustrate a point. While my intention is to give the audience valuable coaching, I find that working through an experience in my life and finding the silver lining is therapeutic for me. My point of view tends to be honest in my convictions that I am still learning, and we are all students in the school of life.

When someone asks you questions and you are unclear on how to answer mainly because you do not know enough about the topic, try turning the tables. Rather than needing to have on-the-spot answers, redirect the question to ask what makes the topic important to them. While it may feel like you are dodging the situation, this approach allows them to express their views or share about their lives. Oftentimes, when you are asked a question, the person is longing for you to ask it back because they have things to share as well.

While I run in many social circles where many have conflicting political or spiritual points of view, I find my greatest tool is not falling into the need to debate, but to listen. The way to release the pressure to appease others is by letting them share their views. Consider asking thoughtful, open-ended questions that prompt them to relate deeply about a topic. You may need to research and develop some strategies, but you will truly feel a sense of relief, and maybe learn new insights at the same time.

In a world overloaded with distractions, it is easy to get lost in the noise, but remember that true growth stems from clarity and authenticity. By being selective about what you consume and setting boundaries with external pressures, you can create the mental space needed to thrive both personally and professionally. The key is to not just absorb more information but to engage with content that truly resonates with your values and goals.

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Business

Tackle Decision Fatigue With This CEO-Worthy AI Tool

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

It feels like entrepreneurs can make more than 1,000 decisions a day on everything from business to teams to strategies. If you could use some help with some of those, let SkillWee, the AI-Powered Decision-Making App, assist you.

SkillWee helps you make smarter, data-backed decisions. And right now, a lifetime subscription can be yours for just $49.99 (reg. $299.99).

Save time and avoid making mistakes with this AI-powered tool

Decision fatigue is real — especially when you’re an entrepreneur. Think of SkillWee as your very own AI-powered assistant ready to help you make data-driven decisions. It lets you test business strategies totally risk free, analyze any potential outcomes and get real-time insights before you take action.

Need some advice on whether you should hire more people? What about tips on how to secure funding? SkillWee provides AI-powered recommendations on these kinds of topics with answers based on data-driven insights.

SkillWee was built for entrepreneurs and professionals, and is designed to help you think like a CEO and strengthen your decision-making skills. It’s a great way to weigh your options before deciding things, helping you avoid expensive mistakes in the future.

Since SkillWee is powered by AI, it will adapt to your unique learning style and goals as you go. It can also offer personalized feedback, so you can learn as you go. There are game-like scenarios that even make it fun.

Aside from helping you in your day to day, SkillWee can also help you build some essential soft skills. Choose from decision-making, leadership, communication, and more to sharpen your professional skills as you use this tool.

Take advantage of this lifetime subscription to SkillWee AI-Powered Decision-Making App, now only $49.99 (reg. $299.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

SkillWee helps you make smarter, data-backed decisions. And right now, a lifetime subscription can be yours for just $49.99 (reg. $299.99).

Save time and avoid making mistakes with this AI-powered tool

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Business

How to Turn Bad Reviews Into Great News For Your Business

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

No matter how robust your brand’s customer service is, you can’t avoid negative feedback — noise that can block out all the great things your business offers and does. Social media is rife with videos highlighting incidents where customers feel wronged and the torrent of negative comments that follow. Reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Open Table, TripAdvisor and other platforms are filled with dissatisfied customers, and that can upend a business’s good standing.

Sometimes, there are missteps, and the reviews and feedback reflect a breakdown in service or product delivery. Other times, people are venting or trolling with no cause. You can’t take it personally, but don’t ignore what they say. Customers rely on reviews when discovering or purchasing products and services. Bad reviews can turn them away and cause a reputational crisis for your business.

Your online business reputation depends on a proactive, strategic approach for identifying, monitoring, managing and responding to negative reviews. You’ll seize opportunities to build trust, improve customer service and enhance customer relations.

Table of Contents

Identifying customer issues

If a negative or bad comment appears on social media or one of the consumer review platforms, take a breath and figure out what’s behind the review. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes to see if the review or comment was justified. Go beyond the words and anger to determine where things went wrong. Then respond — genuinely and professionally.

Monitoring online reviews

You won’t know customer dissatisfaction exists without monitoring your online reviews. There are various tools and strategies available to do so. For example, you can use Google Alerts or ReviewTrackers to provide you with real-time alerts when new reviews are posted on platforms like Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor and Google.

Also, ensure your business is claimed and verified on the major platforms so you can respond to reviews and receive notifications of activities. Optimize your business profiles. You want potential customers to find accurate, useful information when they are looking up reviews about your brand. Make sure photos, location, hours and business description are up to date.

Managing online reviews

Designate a “review response” team or personnel to respond to reviews. Share these tips with the individual or team responsible for handling reviews:

Don’t let emotions come into play when crafting responses to negative comments.
Thank customers for their feedback and let them know your intention to do better.
If the customer is justifiably dissatisfied, apologize and show empathy without overdoing it.
Make things right if possible. For example, offer an opportunity to revisit your restaurant with dessert on the house. Send out a replacement product that got lost in the mail at no cost. Offer a discount on a future product.
If all goes well, encourage the customer to modify the comment with an updated review so others can see your good-faith efforts. When you acknowledge customer dissatisfaction and do what you can to turn things around, you’ll find that these consumers will become your biggest champions and cheerleaders.

In some cases, contact reviewers offline to discuss their experience. During the conversation, ask the customers to update their reviews. If they choose not to update the comment, you can respond online that the issue was resolved.

Go beyond the negative, highlight the positive

In dealing with bad reviews, in addition to responding and turning dissatisfied customers into advocates for your business, beefing up your online reputation with positive comments and reviews is equally critical. Positive reviews influence buying behavior and help win people over, even if there is the occasional bad comment.

When asking for a positive review, timing is everything. Encourage reviews at the point of purchase, following an event or fulfilling a service. For example, send a quick text or email saying, “Happy you had a great experience. Would you mind leaving us a quick review?” Make it easy for your customers to leave a comment with a link to the review page.

Make getting positive reviews part of your brand strategy

Train your staff to ask for reviews in their communication. For example, recently, my colleague had an issue with a product that was delivered to the wrong house. It was the delivery service and not the retailer that made the error. The delivery service would not rectify the situation; however, the retailer was happy to send a replacement product. My colleague received an email with an invoice ($0) listing the products reshipped to her home and a gentle nudge to leave a review about the service and resolution. She was more than happy to do so and spread the word.

Respond to positive reviews, too. This shows you care about your customers’ feelings and helps build trust with future reviewers. Don’t be shy about sharing great reviews as testimonials on your website and social media platforms. Other satisfied customers on social will chime in and reinforce the great experience your brand delivers, further boosting your online reputation.

Getting some negative reviews is not all bad. They help you pinpoint areas that need improvement. In addition, they help create a balanced, authentic brand profile. While you want most of your feedback to be positive, having occasional negative comments and responding to them builds trust and credibility.

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Business

This $180 Chromebook Offers Flexibility and Performance for On-the-Go Entrepreneurs

Almost half of entrepreneurs rely on their laptops daily, according to data from global market research firm Ipsos. That’s not a huge shock, considering these portable computers let you get work done anywhere. As an entrepreneur, you’re used to bringing work home… and on vacation. And right now, you can get a super versatile device, an ASUS Chromebook CM30, for just $179.99 (reg. $329.99).

This Chromebook is durable, versatile, and ready for your busy schedule

Entrepreneurs have to be flexible, and the ASUS Chromebook CM30 can keep up with everything a workday throws at you. It can even go from laptop to tablet, thanks to a detachable 10.5-inch touchscreen. There’s also a garaged push-pop stylus with fast-charging technology that you can use to jot down notes, graphs, and more.

This 2-in-1 device lets you tackle anything anywhere, with a MediaTek Kompanio 520 processor that lets you do all the multitasking required of an entrepreneur. You’ll also be working on the Chrome OS, so you’ll have access to all the cloud-based apps you’re already using.

8GB of RAM and 128GB eMMC storage ensure you have sufficient space to download your favorite apps and save important files locally. Dual 5MP cameras are available on the front and rear, letting you take pictures, video chat, and more.

If you’re hard on your devices, the ASUS Chromebook will be a great fit for you. It’s made from a military-grade, durable aluminum chassis so that it can withstand heavy handling. You’ll also be able to get a full workday in and more, thanks to the 12 hours of battery life.

This particular model is an open box device, which means it was likely excess inventory from store shelves. It will be verified to be in new condition and placed in clean packaging before it arrives at your doorstep.

Bring home an ASUS Chromebook CM30 for just $179.99 (reg. $329.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.