As I have noted before, the Roman historian Sallust concluded that the decline of the Roman Republic truly began once Rome had eliminated its external enemies—Carthage, Corinth, and Macedonia among them. With no foreign foe left to unite against, the Romans turned inward and tore themselves apart in bitter factional strife. That observation applies with striking force to our present political crisis. The United States, Europe, Canada, and parts of Asia and the Middle East have fractured into Left versus Right, and no shared sense of unity remains—no loyalty to country or people that transcends the divide. Each side wages…
Author: Staff Writer
Self-reliance is a virtue that is drilled into most of us from an early age. After all, most of the work you’re asked to do in school from kindergarten onward through college is done individually. Group work is done sparingly. When a student does ask for help, teachers are reluctant to give answers away. They often answer cagily at best, and so many students will stop asking for assistance. These habits are so deeply ingrained that they are likely to persist well into your work life. As a result, when you get to the point where you do need significant…
There is one economic indicator governments consistently underestimate because they cannot control it with legislation or manipulate it with an interest-rate announcement: confidence. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index collapsed 6.7 points in September to 81.9, the lowest reading since April 2014. Economists expected 89.2. This was not some marginal statistical miss. Americans are becoming increasingly pessimistic about their jobs, their purchasing power, and what they see coming over the next six months. This is how an economy changes direction. People do not wake up one morning because the government announces a recession and suddenly stop spending. They begin changing…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Start with your target customer. Research your target market and validate demand before investing heavily in inventory. Calculate the potential profit margin, evaluate the wholesale supplier, look beyond price when comparing products, and consider inventory and storage requirements Test products before scaling, think about your product mix (not just individual products), assess whether the product can support your brand, and review the supplier before making a long-term commitment. Picking the right wholesale products might be the single most consequential decision you make as a retailer. A product can rack up…
Switzerland built its reputation over generations on one simple principle: NEUTRALITY. It survived two world wars without joining either side, became a diplomatic meeting ground precisely because it was outside the military alliances surrounding it, and turned that independence into an enormous economic advantage. Capital trusted Switzerland because Switzerland was supposed to stay out of everyone else’s wars. Now even that definition is changing. Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected an initiative that would have written a much stricter form of neutrality into the constitution. The proposal was defeated by 70.15% to 29.85%, with every single district voting against it and turnout…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Practice, don’t just read. Certification exams test judgment in realistic scenarios, so work through every practice question you can find and study the ones you get wrong. Put it on your calendar. “No time” is a decision, not a scheduling problem. Block a specific, recurring time to study; even 20 focused minutes a day adds up If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s fail. It took me three tries to pass a career-defining certification, and only then did I understand that failing was part of how I’d…
Zelensky now says Ukraine needs to mobilize 50,000 to 60,000 people EVERY MONTH simply to keep pace with Russia. Stop for a moment and think about what that number actually means. At 50,000 per month, that is 600,000 people per year. At 60,000, it becomes 720,000. Zelensky is talking about finding a population roughly equivalent to a substantial European city every single year to feed into a war that has already been grinding on since 2022. Where are these people supposed to come from? That is the question nobody wants to confront because Ukraine does not possess an unlimited reservoir…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways If I could do one thing differently, it would be to begin to figure out who I was as a leader before I actually stepped into the role. If you run your business for a long time, things are going to change. The market will change, your team will change and even your approach may change. What should remain fixed throughout will be your values. The moment you make your first hire, something happens: You become a leader. The question you have to answer for yourself is what kind of…
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways For years, local businesses relied on a predictable formula: polished promotional photos, stock graphics and a directive to buy. But feed-fatigued consumers have built total immunity to traditional advertising. When every local post looks like an ad, audiences scroll past instantly. Today’s digital consumers ignore corporate polish in favor of authenticity, behind-the-scenes access, human personality and immediate value — rendering the old “broadcast and call-to-action” playbook entirely obsolete. Local businesses treated social media exactly the same for the past decade. An auto dealership, a local health clinic and even a…
Key Takeaways Lance Trenary has worked at Golden Corral, the all-you-can-eat buffet chain, for 41 years, stepping into the CEO role in 2015. He said it’s important to have a personal relationship with everyone working at the restaurants, from franchisees to employees, for helpful feedback. Trenary added that “staying close to the customer” is a “critically important” habit he will “never break.” Golden Corral’s president and CEO, Lance Trenary, has been working at the buffet chain in some capacity for over four decades. The executive held positions like senior vice president of company operations before becoming CEO in 2015. Trenary…