AvatarScott Gerber

Scott Gerber

Scott Gerber is the founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Recent Articles Published by Scott Gerber

planning

How to Finance Your Startup: Advice from 10 Entrepreneurs

One of the most important decisions a new business owner can make is how they're going to finance their venture. To help you better understand your choices — and learn how others have tackled the challenge — we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members the following questions: Read more »

planning

12 Ways to Stay on Top of Your Business Finances

However, it can be difficult to find room on your to-do list for this tedious but important task. To find out more about how actual business owners approach monitoring their financials, we asked Young Entrepreneur Council members this question: Read more »

managing

9 Ways to Thank Your Favorite Customers

How do you plan on showing your customers that you appreciate them this holiday season? Here are some great strategies to remind your customers how much you value their business. Read more »

managing

10 Easy Ways to Evaluate an Employee’s Performance

If your employees are not “salespeople,” it's hard to track their performance. What are the most important metrics to look at when evaluating an employee? Read more »

starting

Don\’t Make These Common Mistakes When Raising Business Funding

When raising your first round of capital, there are a few common mistakes many entrepreneurs make. To help you become a savvy founder we asked 9 successful entrepreneurs how to avoid them. Read more »

managing

13 Ways to Maintain a Strong Company Culture as You Grow

Half the fun of starting your own business was creating your ideal work culture. But as you grow and scale, this can be hard to maintain. So how do you make sure your awesome culture grows with your company? To find out, we asked 13 successful founders from the YEC how they managed to do so with... Read more »

managing

12 Signs You Need to Hire a Manager

When first starting your business you do it all—you oversee every aspect of your company. But as things grow, you eventually have to admit that trying to do everything yourself is no longer effective. However, it’s hard to let go. We asked 12 founders from the YEC to share with us when they knew it was time... Read more »

managing

15 Tips for Dealing with a Client Who Won’t Pay

You aren’t the IRS, but sometimes collecting money becomes an entrepreneur’s job. That’s why we asked 15 entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) what steps they take before going to a collections agency for customers who just won’t pay up. 1. Call daily I had this issue with a deadbeat client. I called them daily and... Read more »

starting

9 Pieces of Technology Every Entrepreneur Should Invest In

The technology world is moving fast. While not every new piece of equipment or software can speed up your business, you should stay up to date. That’s why we asked nine entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) what will help them transform their startup this year. 1. An internal chat platform Many companies still rely on... Read more »

managing

9 Tips for Making Your Offline Advertisements Super Effective

Sure, customers may click on ads when they’re all over their browser windows, but in the age of digital, how can you make sure that your offline campaigns are gaining as much traction? To find out, we asked nine entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) what strategies have worked best. 1. Include a call to action... Read more »

managing

15 Surprising Perks Employees Love

A happy team leads to a good product, so keeping your employees positive should make the top of your to-do list. Below, 15 founders from Young Entrepreneur Council share the surprising perks your employees might really care about. 1. Lunch I never realized how much our employees loved and appreciated lunch until we skipped it for a... Read more »

managing

16 PR Strategies Every Small Business Should Stop Using Right Now

PR can do wonders for your startup or small business, but not all strategies have proven to be effective. Below, 16 entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council share the one PR strategy they think all startups and small businesses should stop using, and why. 1. Over-the-top self-promotion Press releases are a tool for getting your company’s name out there—one... Read more »

managing

10 Ways to Develop Your Leadership Team

Leadership development is an employee perk many don’t outright recognize, or greatly appreciate. We asked 10 entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to explain how they provide their executive team with coaching to help them grow personally and professionally. 1. Split the Cost of a Business Coach The wonderful thing about coaching is that it improves... Read more »

planning

14 Ingredients for Innovation

To succeed, companies—especially startups—need to have innovative approaches to solving everyday challenges. But not every company has this skill. To find out what businesses should do to improve upon this, we asked founders from YEC ingredients for innovation most companies are lacking. Their answers are below. 1. True Collaboration Most companies need to shift somewhat from their original... Read more »

funding

7 Things to Consider When Raising Money from Family or Friends

It’s tempting to ask friends and family to invest in your work when first starting a company. Money is tight and they want to help. However, soliciting money from loved ones can be a risky venture. To help mitigate this risk, we asked seven entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council what rules one should always have in place before raising money from family... Read more »

managing

13 Ways to Make Your Online Business an Attractive Purchase

There’s a lot to think about when you’re looking to sell. From keeping your operations smooth to scouting potential buyers, getting ready to pass along your business takes a lot of work. However, this process is easier if your company is an attractive option for potential buyers. To find out how successful founders had managed... Read more »

managing

9 Metrics Every Entrepreneur Should Know about Their Business Offhand

There’s no excuse for not knowing how much money you are taking in, or how many people have purchased your product. Yet you might be surprised how easily business owners are stumped by questions like these. That’s why we asked nine members from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) what metrics all founders should be aware of—always. Here’s what they had to say: 1. Cash on... Read more »

planning

5 Ways to Survey Your Customers Without Annoying Them

Sure, you could email customers after every transaction to evaluate their experience. But that seems clunky and time consuming. In order to figure out the best ways to get the information you need without the hassle, we asked five entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) what methods or tools they recommend for surveying customers. Here’s what they had to say:   1. Wufoo... Read more »

planning

12 Ways to Get Your New Product into a Major Retail Chain

What is one tip you have for getting a brand-new product into major retail chains? Getting a new, untried product into the market is tough. Major retail chains may not want to gamble on something brand new. To learn how other entrepreneurs managed to get their shiny new products into major chains around the country,... Read more »

planning

Thinking About Buying a Franchise? Consider These Pros and Cons

Like any other business, there’s a lot to consider when purchasing a franchise. Does starting your own business yield more long-term rewards, or is buying a franchise a better choice? To find out, we asked eight founders from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) their thoughts on the subject. Here are their answers are below. Q: I’m thinking about buying a franchise.... Read more »