Jon Troutman and Nate Scherotter, co-founders of new direct-to-consumer winery Empathy Wines, share the details on how they started the business with renowned entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. The worlds of fine wine and digital marketing may seem far apart, but one of the most prominent and successful marketers, Gary Vaynerchuk, got his start by blending the two to create Wine Library TV in 2006. With a motto of “Empathy for the Farmer, Empathy for You,” the winery aims to cut out the middlemen to save consumers money on wine, while also trying to create more of a connection between consumers and the farmers in Northern California who supply the grapes for these wines. That means attracting both budget-conscious wine drinkers who might be looking to try something a little bit more high-end, as well as wine enthusiasts who might otherwise purchase a $40 bottle but are happy to spend less if they can do so with Empathy Wines.

Cross-selling is still instrumental in attaining a negative churn rate, but companies might tweak it in different ways: The SaaS companies in this McKinsey report for example that had the lowest churn rate were those that cross-sold multiple products to around one-third of their customers. By offering more products that solve customers’ problems, you’ll increase your own customer retention. Its team prioritizes customer success so strongly that it's filled top managerial roles with former customers to ensure that everyone clearly understands exactly what customers need so the company is performing at its best." Customer success at utilizing your product or service happens when those customers have reached measurable, value-based outcomes prescribed by both parties.

As a result of the Single Convention, cannabis was listed in Schedule IV alongside substances such as heroin (notably, opium, cocaine, fentanyl and similar substances were listed in lesser schedules). The 1971 Convention Schedules list the most “dangerous” substances in Schedule I (like the Controlled Substances Act) and least dangerous in Schedule IV, and placed isomers of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Schedule I alongside the likes of LSD and MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly). The UN’s Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 (the 1988 Convention) reinforced the Single Convention and Psychotropic Substances Convention and provided further coordination on reducing international trafficking of listed substances. The ECDD also observed that “inclusion of cannabis and cannabis resin in Schedule IV may not appear to be consistent with the criteria for Schedule IV.” The ECDD also noted that, “of the six THC isomers [identified in the schedules], the abuse potential of only two of these isomers have been evaluated in a few human studies.

This interview is with Richard Fong, founder and CEO of Bliss Drive, a digital marketing, SEO, and lead generation agency. Richard Fong: I’ve been dancing salsa and bachata for almost 10 years. Richard Fong: Like most businesses starting out, I relied on word of mouth and networking. Richard Fong: “Bliss Drive” is a legacy I want to leave behind.

Here's how to unleash the power of funny. These great tips and more can be found in Market Like You Mean It.

In 2018, the New York Times reported that the already small proportion of women leading the largest companies had become even smaller -- 25 percent smaller. Never stop learning: Regardless of what line of business they're in, or rung in the corporate ladder they're on, women need to continue learning as much as possible. Companies can implement actions right now to plug these pipeline leaks and help bridge the gender gap even before women reach the C-suite level. In order to help bridge the gap, companies must do their part to ensure they hire, cultivate and promote women in order to create a more diverse, stronger and more balanced workforce.

Here are some of the most common obstacles career changers face, whether before or during their career transition, and how you can overcome each one of them. Let’s look at some of the most common obstacles career changers face, whether before or during their career transition, and how you can overcome each one of them. This has to be mentioned right at the top -- almost everyone I talk to who is thinking of changing careers but feels stuck is focusing on all the things they do not know how to do, or on all the resources they don’t have. Most career changers don’t have enough information to make an informed decision -- this is why you need to research and test possible professions and business ideas to gain real knowledge of what they are really like before committing to a new career.

In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Brian Tracy discusses how to let an underperforming employee go. Click the video to hear all of Brian Tracy's steps for letting an employee go. Entrepreneur Network is a premium video network providing entertainment, education and inspiration from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Watch video from our network partners on demand on Roku, Apple TV and the Entrepreneur App available on iOS and Android devices.

After joining forces to provide free oral health care to people without access or means in the Bahamas, Lenny Kravitz and brothers Julian and Cody Levine co-founded Twice, which bills itself as "the first toothpaste on a mission, the only toothpaste that will unlock the power of the world’s smiles."So that's where the whole thing came about Twice. It's the same thing in business. The goal is to make something that is elevated and clean, something that will get people excited to use in their homes twice a day, something that will make people excited to take better care of their health.

But from my time at Dartmouth to my career at Google and my subsequent experience in Silicon Valley, I soon realized that the conventional approach to building an inclusive tech workforce was essentially backward: Indeed, only 3 percent of tech startups today are founded by women. This is especially true for young women seeking female role models in a tech industry crowded with males. DigiGirlz High Tech Camps give young women firsthand experience developing websites and other cutting-edge technologies, through a series of workshops and demonstrations. Getting more women into tech is no exception.

True, an unnamed organization had apparently offered to buy the startup; but Meta founder and CEO Meron Gribetz said that his company's sale wouldn't generate enough capital to cover the company’s debts. Thousands of merger and acquisition deals were finalized last year, and based on my experience in buying and selling companies, I'd wager that a relatively small fraction of those deals went exactly as planned. Related: Planning to Sell Your Company in a Few Years?If you’re a tech company, there’s a good chance that many of the organizations interested in an acquisition will be non-tech companies.

Gates reads an average of 50 books per year, and he credits reading as “the main way I learn new things and test my understanding.” When a Nebraska State student asked Buffet what superpower he would choose, Buffet selected speed reading. If you’re not sure what topics interest you the most, a subscription to Scribd helps you explore through access to thousands of books, articles, newspapers, and magazine. You can rack up your reading hours on Scribd anytime and anywhere from your web browser or Scribd’s mobile app. The program crafts lists of personalized recommendations to help you find your new favorite book and expert-curated reading lists will encourage you to step outside of your reading comfort zone.

Harvest Health & Recreation is set to acquire Verano Holdings for the jaw-dropping price tag of $850 million, the largest single acquisition in cannabis history and the next step in Harvest’s vision of becoming the most valuable cannabis company in the world.“In this case, Harvest is the publicly traded company and Verano is private, so Harvest would be looking very closely at Verano because they haven’t been a recording company.”Since Harvest and Verano both have branded cannabis products in similar categories, it’s unclear what will happen to Verano’s brand identities, but White said he’s found the two companies’ assets to be complementary. Changes in Harvest’s executive leadership have not been announced, but White said the company plans to utilize acquired infrastructure as an East Coast hub for Harvest and continue operation of Verano’s nine Zen Leaf locations.

Just when everyone told me it was over -- that I should get a job -- was when I realized that the very leadership rules that were drilled into me in the SEAL teams were the exact ones that would help me and my fledgling startup succeed. To make this trinity of controllable things work for us requires focus.1 job is helping your team focus their energies on the things that matter in moving the company forward. And if your team is focused, they too will build an unstoppable mindset for success.

In this video from Entrepreneur Network partner Business Rockstars speaks with Keith Krach, the Chairman of DocuSign. Entrepreneur Network is a premium video network providing entertainment, education and inspiration from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Watch video from our network partners on demand on Roku, Apple TV and the Entrepreneur App available on iOS and Android devices. Click here to become a part of this growing video network.

We make cottage cheese lasagna, cottage cheese smoothies, cottage cheese baked ziti. According to market research company Mintel, yogurt outsold cottage cheese in 2017 by a factor of eight to one, and only 20 percent of Americans said they ate cottage cheese more than once a month. Its best-selling products are its classic cottage cheese, pineapple cottage cheese and strawberry cottage cheese. That comes down a lot to sampling, either convincing people that Good Culture's product is different that the one they're used to, or introducing cottage cheese to new consumers.

So, if you ready to work and grow your business, here are three simple ways to create consistent income online. One way to create consistent income is by starting the business portion of your day by doing things that will lead to money. Then, the entire month before, your content should point towards what you have coming up the next month. You’re also creating consistent because you’re promoting each month and making money.

Whether you regard legal weed as medicine or a vice, it's a great business in good times and a good business in hard times. Having learned about all components of the business from the ground up, I firmly believe the cannabis industry is uniquely positioned to thrive even in a national economy that many predict is due for a correction or recession. Last year, the Pew Research Center shared that 62 percent of all Americans supported legalizing marijuana, while a 2018 Gallup poll showed that, for the first time, a majority of Republicans supported marijuana legalization. Related: John Boehner Succeeded in Politics Opposing Marijuana but in Retirement Has Joined the Medical Marijuana Industry

Before transitioning a team to remote work, it’s important to outline expectations, share them with everyone on the team, and update them regularly. Whether a company is building a remote workforce from scratch or transitioning to hiring remote employees only, managers will need to revise any hiring strategies to reflect remote work expectations and responsibilities. How do remote managers know if their remote employees are really working?The demand for remote work isn’t going away, and team leaders that don’t trust their employees will find transitioning to remote work difficult.

We commuted to work in the brand-new Urus to see what it's like behind the wheel of the world's fastest SUV. There's a non-scientific statistic that nine out of 10 entrepreneurs had a Lamborghini poster on their bedroom wall as kids. Entrepreneur was given a Urus to drive for the weekend -- yes, the experience was as incredible as it sounds -- to determine whether or not the groundbreaking ride lives up to our childhood fantasies. Then we gave the SUV, which tops out at $250,000 when fully loaded, the ultimate test: a Monday-morning commute from Harlem to our midtown Manhattan office.

The beauty of gamification is that the difficulty of a task (or how dreary it may seem) can be offset if you feel rewarded for completing it. Gamification works because it creates a feeling of being rewarded each time we complete a task -- however small it may be. At its core, gamification is a motivational technique to help people engage, feel motivated and stay on task. When you break it down, gamification can spur innovation by creating unique ways for people to be more invested in their performance and feel more motivated and focused on their goals.

A solid credit history leads to solid credit scores. Business credit cards are an awesome way to build a business credit history. The fact that I was building a solid credit history along the way meant that I could apply to other lenders with increasing success, and I eventually had a total of $500,000 available to me across a spectrum of business credit cards and lines of credit, all before I was 30 years old. Apply for a business credit card, use it aggressively to grow your business, and never, ever miss a payment.

It’s hard to stand out from the competition with all of the options available from hundreds of vendors, but Sunday Scaries has created a line of CBD Gummies that’s targeted at chasing Sunday blues (and hangovers) away. The co-founders of Sunday Scaries, Mike Sill and Beau Schmitt, are two bar owners turned CBD advocates. They decided to create their own gummy-infused CBD supplement, aptly titled “Sunday Scaries.”Sunday Scaries CBD Gummies are a reliable, fun introduction to the world of CBD.

Entrepreneur and business school professor Chris Haroun will teach you everything from basic business accounting to complex financial modeling. The Introduction to Finance, Accounting, Modeling and Valuation course will help you gain functional business finance knowledge to keep your current and future earnings in check. This course is led by entrepreneur and business school professor Chris Haroun, a former Goldman Sachs employee who knows a few things about cash flow management. Haroun takes you through basic business accounting, like income statement analysis and balance sheets, to create a sturdy foundation for your business finance know-how.

Editors' note: In this video, Hoge says, "There's no scientific evidence that football causes CTE, hockey causes CTE, concussions cause CTE ... it's not even scientific yet. While the CDC admits that understanding among researchers about the causes of CTE is currently limited, it does state, "The research to date suggests that CTE is caused in part by repeated traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, and repeated hits to the head, called subconcussive head impacts."The CDC further states, "Subconcussive head impacts are bumps, blows, or jolts to the head. Unlike concussions, which cause symptoms, subconcussive head impacts do not cause symptoms.

Hemp has been called a “carbon sink,” because it can store up to 9.82 tons of carbon dioxide per acre, which greatly offsets the carbon impact of producing hemp fabrics. That’s where hemp can help. Typically made from hemp seeds, hemp soap is full of polyunsaturated fatty acids like Omega 6 and 3. Because hemp naturally possesses anti-bacterial properties, most hemp soaps are also free of harmful additives like triclosan, which dries out the skin.

Creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the best way for entrepreneurs to validate their assumptions about the viability of their business model.A manual-first strategy for MVP solves this issue and makes the MVP really cost-effective. The manual-first MVP, also called the Wizard of Oz MVP, relies on your MVP appearing to have all the functionalities of a fully-featured product while in reality, your team is present behind the scenes, pulling on the strings manually. After the success of MVP, the actions physically performed can be emulated for coding and automation before the final product is ready for use.

Nootropics are a great way to quickly boost brain performance, reduce stress, heighten focus and improve memory. Want to become unstoppable in business and in life?Entrepreneur Network is a premium video network providing entertainment, education and inspiration from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Watch video from our network partners on demand on Roku, Apple TV and the Entrepreneur App available on iOS and Android devices.

On Friday, the company closed at $264.53 -- a 25.8 percent drop in just three and a half months. Analyst Jeff Osborne lowered his forecast for Model 3 deliveries by 13.6 percent (from 55,000 to 47,500. and his forecast for Model S and Model X deliveries by 14.0 percent (from 21,500 to 18,000., based on data from government and third-party sources. The Entrepreneur Index™ was down 2.12 percent on the day, and only eight stocks out of 60 posted gains. Some of the biggest losers on the day included Netflix (-4.46 percent) and Cintas Corp. (-6.52 percent).

Decentralized (i.e., open finance) is commonly defined as an interoperable financial system where the core beliefs revolve around increased accessibility, transparency, standardization and financial inclusion. Parallel with the emergence of cryptocurrencies is the emphasis on open financial tools, either built directly on blockchains as open protocols or hybrid services for digital assets offered by commercial entities ingratiated with legacy systems. The future landscape of an open financial system built on open protocols and hybrid financial services is an exciting proposition.A hybrid system of open financial instruments and cryptocurrencies creates an environment where the billions of unbanked in the world can enter into the modern digital economy with monetary and data sovereignty on their side.

It's a lesson that people may take away from her latest film, EGG, as well. As a new mom, you quickly learn people have a lot of opinions -- even those who aren't parents themselves. But that's why Reiner has dedicated herself -- through both her producing and her parenting -- to showing people that the best thing you can do for yourself, your work and your family is to find your own truth and stop judging other people's choices. She hopes the film inspires people to have more honest conversations with themselves and the people around them.

So, "good press" has become more important than ever to both your business image and your bottom line. Reason: There are a number of strategies that you can actively pursue (like those listed below), to get your business positive attention and ... good press. So, if you consider implementing the following actions, and positive media attention results, that attention will not only help boost your image but also your bottom line. And, as you make efforts to gain more positive media mentions, you can shape your company's image, which in turn will come back to you in all kinds of positive ways.

Cannabis software is a necessity for weed businesses navigating the complex regulations surrounding legalization. Seed-to-sale tracking is exactly what the term implies -- complex cannabis laws mandate that weed businesses track their wares literally from seed to sale to prove they are not selling black market weed. But this goes beyond having a ledger of where a product has been: cannabis software for seed-to-sale tracking typically includes the following elements, among many others, real-time tracking for regulators; state approval at various steps; and lab test results. This cannabis software helps businesses follow regulations while providing actionable business analytics by enabling cultivators to track their harvests through every step, including charting crop yields.

Cybersecurity is key to any successful business. Here are three basic tips for getting started. Always turn on two-factor authentication, which incorporates texts and emails into the login process. You can find more cybersecurity tips in The Business Owner's Guide to Financial Freedom.

Fortunately, the shift in recent years toward health and fitness and the recognition of how that directly impacts performance in the business world has fomented positive change, but a lot of leaders still underestimate how health and fitness can be their greatest asset for growing a business, leading it through challenges more effectively and living a more fulfilled life. When I asked Tobias how busy leaders and entrepreneurs can increase their performance, he responded with no hesitation. And, as an entrepreneur and business leader, it was easy to make sleep a non-priority."It’s something that makes you more effective and increases your ability to get more done.” Certainly, you don’t have to train like a professional athlete, but you should make your workouts and fitness a priority the way professional athletes do.

Over the years in my field of competitive intelligence, I published seven business books. Once you have the new idea – a model, a theory, a lesson learned or in essence, a new perspective on familiar territory - you can develop the book around it. John Paul DeJoria, founder of John Paul Mitchell hair products, started by selling from the trunk of his car, and famously said, “You have to be able to knock on door number 100 and be just as enthusiastic at that door as you were on the first 100 doors that were slammed in your face.” In my case, it was knocking on 423 literary agents and publishers’ doors and getting rejection from 422. When I eventually found a small indie publisher that loved the book, I realized the most important lesson I learned: Tenacity matters.

This is the story of how theChive. com got started. Brothers John Resig and Leo Resig founded Chive Media Group and its flagship site, theChive. com, in November 2008, with no capital and a lot of hustle. Leo was living in Chicago (the "CHI" in "CHIVE"), and John was living in Venice (the "VE"). With backgrounds in digital publishing and the financial backing from partner Doug Schaaf, the Resigs were able to turn a three-man project into the nationwide, 170-employee entertainment digital media company that Chive Media Group is today.

Massachusetts-based Curaleaf has inked a deal with the CVS pharmacy chain to begin selling hemp products at 800 stores in 10 states. Curaleaf's fourth-quarter revenue totaled $32 million, up from $6.3 million for the same period a year earlier, while full-year sales nearly tripled year-over-year to $77 million. Net losses totaled $16.5 million for the fourth quarter and $61.8 million for full year 2018. Curaleaf said this week that it plans to buy Nevada-based Acres Cannabis for $70 million in a cash and stock deal.

In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Phil Town discusses how people in the middle class often have only $1,000 in savings and piles of debt. Entrepreneur Network is a premium video network providing entertainment, ewitducation and inspiration from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Watch video from our network partners on demand on Roku, Apple TV and the Entrepreneur App available on iOS and Android devices. Click here to become a part of this growing video network.

It looks as though Facebook is in hot water once again today as it has been revealed up to 600 million Facebook users had their passwords stored in plain text on the social network's internal servers as far back as 2012. Scott Renfro, an engineer at Facebook, has confirmed to Krebs that Facebook users will be informed of what happened today, but that, "We've not found any cases so far in our investigations where someone was looking intentionally for passwords, nor have we found signs of misuse of this data."Facebook has known about the plain text passwords since January when a review carried out by security engineers noticed the passwords being logged.A written statement from Facebook sent to Krebs states that notifications will be sent to, "hundreds of millions of Facebook light users, tens of millions of other Facebook users, and tens of thousands of Instagram users."

Concierge programs are a perk that working parents actually want, because these benefits can genuinely help negotiate the overwhelming blur between office and home. Parents with this benefit can watch their personal task lists shrink and find more time in the day for both life and work. Day after day, a working parent’s greatest need is more time. Every benefit should be a tool for life empowerment, and the latest concierge and errand-running benefits help give parents that sense of freedom to focus at work and feel more accomplished in the day.

The key is customer experience: as technology gets increasingly sophisticated, companies actually need to work harder and find unique ways to leverage tools, gadgets, and strategies to meet customer's needs. Companies that fail to do so lose customers and business: in fact, 89 percent of customers will switch businesses after a bad experience with a brand. Beyond just transactional experience, companies look for an emotional experience or a unique memory — making customer experience the differentiator for successful businesses of the future. If you're looking for more guidance, check out this Turn Customers Into Fans In the First 100 Days with Joey Coleman course — it helps you take advantage of the massively important first few weeks of the customer relationship, helping you exceed customer expectations for both future and current customers.

Jordan Gaspar is a Managing Partner of AccelFoods, an early-stage venture fund investing in consumer products. AccelFoods invests in high-growth packaged food and beverage companies, with the goal of creating the next generation of enduring brands. Gaspar takes partnerships to the next level, once inviting a company founder to bring their children to the AccelFoods office when they were unable to find a babysitter. In our candid interview, Gaspar shares intimate details on how she, along with her co-founder Lauren Jupiter, were able to grow AccelFoods from a home office to a fund with $90 AUM and a portfolio of 37 companies.

The NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal is joining the Papa John's board of directors and is investing in nine locations in the Atlanta area, the company said Friday."We are thrilled to partner with Shaquille and welcome him to the Papa John's board," Jeff Smith, the Papa John's chairman, said in the press release.A month later, Papa John's settled its dispute with its founder, John Schnatter, who agreed to drop a lawsuit and resign as an independent director. Papa John's is seeking to reshape its image after Schnatter's exit from the company's operations.

Plus, Rent the Runway is breaking into the home decor space, and a startup called Doorport is going to make your apartment smarter. Rent the Runway is breaking into the home decor space by announcing its partnership with West Elm.A startup called Doorport is going to make your apartment smarter!Entrepreneur Network is a premium video network providing entertainment, education and inspiration from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders.

The easier the goal-setting system is to understand, the more likely it is that most of your employees will start using it."Objectives and Key Results: The Book" says that “OKRs, on a personal, team and company level, make up a system that shows how everything one person does connects to the work of others. If an employee knows that not meeting his goals makes achievements harder for people in other departments, they will want to try harder. It will save you time, make your employees more engaged and turn your company into a desirable place to work.

Think through your relationship with your clients, what works and what doesn't, before a bad one does damage. Although I had set working responsive hours for my business, having a client that demanded that I respond to them whenever they messaged me became a prison. It’s true, every client is different and every client will have their quirks. Related: 4 Types of Clients Your Growing Business Can't Afford to Work With

As it stands, the Canadian industry measures quality assurance by testing the chemical makeup of the product, including cannabinoids and terpenes, and screens for contaminants such as mould, heavy metals and pesticides. Cannabis producers are not currently required to test or disclose publicly the entire chemical composition of their cultivars. Testing only the basic chemical makeup of a product fails to distinguish each particular cultivar and the individualized impact it may have on a consumer's endocannabinoid system (ECS). Testing only the chemical makeup of cultivars fails to determine its true genetic composition.

However, considering that we get interrupted every 11 minutes and it takes 25 minutes for our brains to refocus on the original task -- workplace distractions should be avoided as much as possible."Switching from task to task, you think you're actually paying attention to everything around you at the same time. Time is lost because people are pulled away from their work and then forced to sit in a meeting for an hour -- even though they don’t have to be in attendance. Another option is to set aside one day per week when meetings are not scheduled, such as the famous “No Meeting Wednesday.” Having a day with no meetings each week allows everyone to work on their most important tasks without being interrupted.