Business

How This Successful Entrepreneur Spent his 35th Birthday

Published

7 years ago

July 6, 2019

Over the weekend I was going through my Twitter feed. Rather than seeing a ton of political “artistry” and random gifs, I stumbled across this incredible set of non-obvious business strategies (or better known as tweets) that maybe some of the largest pieces of gold someone can read when they want to start a business.

Twitter has received its fair share of opinions within the past year, but it’s safe to say that if used correctly; it’s the most powerful social network on the planet.

Scott Gerber, a New York-based entrepreneur, best selling author, father, and straight-up badass, celebrated his birthday in an unconventional way. The “Super Connector” took to Twitter to grace us with 35 “non-obvious business strategies and lessons” that he has learned over the past decade in business. Below are his tweets directly quoted from his Twitter feed. If you care to follow Scott, you can do so at @scottgerber.

Lessons From Scott Gerber

1. Beware of “boss metrics”

Macro trends are great IF they are based on the right micro trends. Macro trends can easily be manipulated to show a rosy picture while making major micro issues seem smaller or irrelevant. Ensure your KPIs align with your true performance.

2. Optionality is your lifeblood

Your job is to maximize optionality every day in everything you do. There should never only be one path. In fact, try never to only have two potential paths. Always have a variety of obvious and non-obvious traditional and non-traditional options.

3. Bad Decisions

Bad decisions are due to failures to ask the right people the right questions. Don’t be “surface level”. Ask follow up questions. Don’t mistakenly believe what you want to hear. Instead, probe deeper on what you actually hear.

4. Two rules

Two rules if your goal is to one day sell your business. 1) Be a revenue multiple companies. 2) If you aren’t a revenue multiple companies, see rule #1.

5. Anecdotal evidence

Never allow your team to use “anecdotal evidence”. First, anecdotes are not evidence of anything nor are they based in facts, science or statistical relevance. It’s simply opinions on top of gut feelings and emotions. Poor decisions come from this sort of “evidence”.

6. Train with fake fires.

Train with fake fires. Your company needs a good fire drill once in a while. What happens if you don’t raise money? What happens if your biggest client fires you? Get smart people in the room. Figure out how you would disrupt your own business and solve the issue.

7. Never give a “definitive yes”…

Never give a “definitive yes” to a contractual term without reviewing it in its proper context. A one-line term can easily become 100 lines or be defined by 100 terms that you never agreed to. It can also mess up other terms if everything is not contemplated as a whole

8. Don’t just listen

Don’t just listen to what’s being said–listen to what is not being said. More importantly, listen to what’s not being said on purpose. People that try to sell you something are often experts in the art of mindful editing.

9. Automating

Automating humans out of a process still takes lots of humans. Don’t be fooled by the concept of “automating a system”. It often takes more man-hours, money, time and technologies than the task itself is worth. Look at the full picture before you invest time or treasure.

10. Follow the bonus.

Follow the bonus. If you help others hit their financial goals, they are more likely to become an ambassador of your BD efforts with their colleagues. Building a partnership with someone who is top-line revenue based versus quota-based is different. Align incentives.

11. Never partner with adulterers or known cheaters.

11. Never partner with adulterers or known cheaters. If they are willing to screw over their spouse, they will have no problem screwing you tenfold if it suits their needs.

12. Sell with a “2-for-1” mentality.

Sell with a “2-for-1” mentality. Many companies get one big client name and are happy with that. BUT they forget the big client has dozens of divisions. One client could actually become 2 or 3 clients once you open the right doors. Don’t stop after the hardest one!

13. The 3rd party

Don’t let a 3rd party control your destiny, cash flow or your decisions. Whether you need an investment, a platform or a vendor, if a 3rd party becomes a vital piece of your plan you are taking a bet. Calculated bets can be smart, but don’t kid yourself. You’re making a bet.

14. Don’t be a conventional scheduler.

Don’t be a conventional scheduler. We’ve been taught to think in blocks of time (ie 30 minutes). Why have a 12-minute meeting, then burn 18? Think in smaller chunks like 2 or 5 minutes. When you adapt to this, you’re capacity and efficiency will dramatically increase.

15. The Final Offer

Know the final offer you’d take before the first offer. Before you do any deal, know your absolute last stand deal–the absolute worst terms you are willing to accept. Having that thought out beforehand will stop you from making bad deals that aren’t in your best interests.

16. About Acceptance

Don’t ram your model into new industries and assume the other side will understand it (or accept it). Engineer your model to adapt to the lingo, structures, and terms of the industry. Make the numbers work using the financial standards of that industry.

17. Always be the first salesperson.

Always be the first salesperson. If you don’t know how to sell your product, no one will! Even if you aren’t a professionally trained salesperson—or the tech guy!!—you need to learn to articulate your value proposition and see what people really need.

18. About Department Heads

Have your department heads always do every task in their department before they are allowed to assign it to anyone else. This will ensure that they know what success and failure look like beforehand.

19. About Sales Meetings

In sales meetings, always ask more questions than you answer. Answer questions with follow up questions until you have the most amount of detail possible before you fully answer. Most prospects will TELL YOU what they need and how they want it. You just need to ask and listen

20. Know your team’s real capacity.

Know your team’s real capacity. Break down your staff’s tasks into units and total task costs. You would be shocked to see how “busyness” and real-time communication gives the false impression of full capacity.

21. “Layer”

“Layer” your business over time, not all at once. Layering new revenue centers is certainly smart, just don’t try to do it all today.

22. Buying into passion and enthusiasm can be a disaster.

Buying into passion and enthusiasm can be a disaster. Don’t get caught up in hype and sexiness (or a good salesperson’s spin!). Never make instant yes decisions no matter how good you feel. Even if they feel right, you should still do your diligence.

23. Train your brain

Train your brain to think about what is wrong, not right. What could go badly, not well? And why something won’t work, not will. Your love for your idea, your process or your product can be your worst enemies.

24. Invest in the right systems BEFORE you scale.

Invest in the right systems BEFORE you scale. Failing to create the processes and systems needed when things are manageable will become incredibly costly longer-term—and more time consuming and tedious.

25. Rules of the DM

Expect that anything you send via email or send via DM to anyone about anything will get out there and will be made public at some point. It will. Don’t be an idiot.

26. Surprise Yourself

No matter how “conservative” you believe your internal projections or goals are—LOWER THEM AGAIN. Surprise yourself, don’t be surprised.

27. Sell your way out of financial trouble

Sell your way out of financial trouble. The idea of “raising money” or “raising debt” is not a good mindset to be in if you find your company in a cash crunched position. You might end up getting financing, but relying on it is a fool’s errand. Sell! Sell! Sell!

28. Are your customers asking the same question twice?

If customers ask you the same question twice, you’ve failed them. When customers ask a new question, write it down, formalize an answer, and find ways to promote that answer (eg FAQs, call center scripts, website, etc.) so that another customer will never need to ask again.

29. Never blindly listen

Never blindly listen to someone who doesn’t have to live with the consequences of the decision. Advisors are great but you must make final decisions. Getting an “I’m sorry it didn’t work out” from an advisor without any downside won’t won’t make you feel better in the end.

30. Unlock your entrepreneurial mind.

Unlock your entrepreneurial mind With everything that happens around you, go beyond the surface and ask “why”, “how”, “is it the best”, “what’s better”, and “how would I do it.” Feed on curiosity and your ability to ask great questions will be sharp when you need it.

31. User adoption isn’t simple or guaranteed.

User adoption isn’t simple or guaranteed. Changing user behavior is not easy. Remember: everyone is busy (life, family, work) and you want to add yet another thing. Remove as much friction as you can. Save as much time as you can.

32. Shut up after yes

Once you’ve got a ‘yes’ shut up and stop trying to further sell. You can’t go further than a win, so shut up. I’ve met more than my fair share of people that lost deals because they kept selling past the ‘yes’.

33. Everyone always has an angle.

Everyone always has an angle. Know the angle before you react to the situation. Don’t end up a pawn on someone else’s chessboard.

34. Community is crucial.

Community is crucial. The power of association and coalition is more powerful than being a lone wolf. Build one. Be a big part of many. Give more than you take (and don’t be a taker or a sleepy networker!).

35. A Quote to End Them All

Live by this quote from one of my mentors and you’ll be better for it: “You can’t cheat real-time. And real relationships take real-time.” With my addition: “But your job is to find ways to cheat your time to create more real-time.”

Here’s to liven out that last quote. Thanks for the free advice Scott and Happy Birthday.

Business

Here’s How You Can Scale Your Business Beyond a 7-Figure Revenue

Published

9 hours ago

January 22, 2026

Jeffrey Davidson

With the right attitude, courage, and determination, many business owners have proven that achieving a 7-figure revenue is more than possible. However, they can also tell you that going beyond that is where the difficulties start. Here are seven steps to help you scale your business:

1. Leverage Your Unique Selling Point

Ask any seasoned entrepreneur, and they’ll tell you that establishing a unique selling point is essential. It is what will make you cut through all the noise and make your business more agreeable to consumers. Having made the 7-figure mark can mean that you already have this.

What you can do is improve on it. Better product development or superb customer service may be the keys, but it’s more than that. With so many competing for customers’ attention, it pays to have a specialization that can target a smaller market but can pay off so much more in loyalty.

2. Optimize, Optimize, Optimize

A big part of how to scale your business beyond the 7-figure mark is by optimizing every aspect of it as much as you can. This does not necessarily mean gathering more resources or spending more on advertising. The operative word here is optimization.

Take your website to the highest level by optimizing it. Take a closer look at your lead generation strategies and optimize them. Get insights for your sales conversion and create marketing strategies never tried before.

3. Focus on Lead Generation

While maintaining a certain quality level for your business is important, lead generation should always be on your top to-do list. Never take it for granted, and use every available means to generate more. Whether it’s outbound or inbound marketing, make sure that you focus on generating new leads.

Ensure that potential customers get sufficient information about your brand to have them think of you when the need arises. Better yet, create strategies that would make them want and need your services even before this need comes.

4. Get the Most From Sales Conversions

Take a deeper look at your sales conversions and study what happens down the funnel. This way, you can determine what’s working and what’s not. You can then adjust your conversion strategies accordingly. This will help boost lead generation and customer conversions without increasing your acquisition expenses.

While many think that lead generation is the only way to increase revenues, finding out what causes conversions to happen can be crucial. Knowing what stops a customer from buying allows you to nip it in the bud and find ways to purchase.

5. Know Your Customers’ Worth

Provide value to your customers by knowing their worth. This will help you understand what you need to do, acquire, and spend time on. Don’t just focus on bringing in the new customers, aim your attention at your loyal customers.

You can always look at opportunities for upselling, down-selling, and even cross-selling. These are very useful if you want to increase your customers’ lifetime value.

6. Get Busy with Triple-Win Partnerships

Business-to-business plays are advantageous, so use them when you can. Build relationships with companies that you work with. The following are what you can reap when you enter into these triple-win partnerships:

New customers
The partners get commissions
The referred person receives a discount, bonus, or benefit

7. Have a Referral Program in Place

If you still don’t have one, create a referral program for your business. This will make selling easier and faster for you without spending a ton of extra cash. Let your fans and customers do it by offering them perks when they get referrals.

You can set up a system that gets those who refer incentives such as cash, discounts, gifts, and many more. This will get you new solid leads as the referrals come from customers who like your products or services.

Business

Know These Logo Statistics and Facts to Grow Your Business

Published

16 hours ago

January 22, 2026

Kaytie Cayton

A logo is more than just a visual sign for your business. It’s the symbol of your brand’s vision and identity, and carries the weight of your credibility. In 2026, when brands are competing ever so fiercely for the audience’s attention, it has become a crucial part of earning the customers’ trust and loyalty.

Here are a few facts and statistics related to logos to help you make data-driven decisions when it comes to the visual asset that represents your brand, especially now, in a digital-first world.

Brand Recognition

Did you know that 94% of the population can recognize the iconic Coca-Cola logo? Apart from being a huge and long-standing brand, they were able to use the classic red color and the Spencerian script to their advantage. Even if they tweak their logos over the years, they maintain their signature design elements, making it easier for people to identify the brand.

What does this mean for your logo?

There’s nothing wrong with redesigning your logo, most especially if you want to make it relevant and timely. But as much as possible, keep your prominent design elements. Otherwise, the market might be confused.

Cost of Logos

Photo by Roman Pohorecki from Pexels

Most people undervalue the work needed to create a compelling logo. Sure, you can get affordable ones online. But the question is, will it represent your brand’s vision and mission?

This is precisely the reason why you need to hire a professional graphic designer. They don’t just create logos based on visual appeal. There is science behind every stroke and color.

Data tells us that the average logo price sits around $800, with high-end lgoo designs costing up to $1,500. That’s not entirely bad news. However, this shows the need for more business owners to understand that logo is an investment.

But let’s make it clear. Paying a huge fee isn’t a guarantee that you will have a good business logo. It still depends on the skills of your designer and how clearly you provided the instructions. Take note that some of the biggest brands like Google and Nike started with cheap and even free logos. So you cannot base the effectiveness of your logo on its cost.

Graphic Designers for Logos

Since there are more than 500,000 freelance graphic designers online, the prices of logos can be extremely low. This is due to the high competition. Yet again, among the 500,000 designers, only a few can deliver superior output.

To be honest, looking for the perfect one can be tedious and time-consuming. We would encourage you to work with on-demand graphic design services as they have already selected the best graphic designers for your logo. Take a look at Penji’s business model, where you only pay a fixed fee every month for unlimited graphic design requests. This includes your logo.

Colors in Your Logo

Photo by L Ǝ N S I Q from Pexels

At first, you might get too excited to design your logo. You would probably ask your designers to go all out and crazy in terms of colors. But remember that the most effective logos only contain one or two colors.

In fact, 81.6% of the largest enterprises in the world use one or two colors in its logo. Looking at the data, they clearly have something in common. And as a startup and medium-sized business, it wouldn’t hurt if you follow their lead.

In addition, the choice of color is important too. Let’s use Starbucks as an example. They use green to symbolize mother earth and universal love. Lo and beyond, it has become a universal drink. This is where color psychology takes place.

Now, you might want to use gradient, but the fact is, only 34 companies in the Fortune 500 use the style. It might be too risky to follow that path.

Symmetrical vs Asymmetrical Designs

According to studies, people perceive asymmetrical logos as an exciting brand. You can see that transition when Burger King changed their logo. If you are about to build one, you might want to stay away from the plain font view and tilt your text, if possible.

Using Hidden Messages on Logos

Photo by Kelly from Pexels

Many logos have hidden messages. This includes Baskin-Robbins, FedEx, and Tostitos. There are two major reasons for doing it. One, this sends a subliminal message to your audience. Another is that it pays tribute to your company’s legacy. Either way, people love solving hidden messages.

Animated Logo Designs are on the Rise

Photo by AS Photography from Pexels

Since many people have their own gadgets, animating a brand’s logo seems to be the trend. Just take, for example, Google and Netflix. But this takes a different level of expertise. Too much animation can also be a distraction, so you have to use this technique with caution.

Just a quick trivia. This isn’t a new style. Remember MGM Studios’ classic lion? Yet again, it is only recently that companies have taken the approach.

When to Rebrand Your Logo

Photo by Han from Pexels

We’ve already mentioned the possibility of rebranding. But take note that you shouldn’t change your logo just because you feel like it. There should be a strong reason why you would alter the design elements. You need to make sure that corresponding marketing will take place to reintroduce your logo to the market. Here are a few reasons why you might need to rebrand your logo.

There’s a change in leadership
Business expansion or mergers
Outdated logo design
Recovery from a controversy

You have to be careful when you are about to redesign your logo. According to logo statistics, those who are highly committed to your brand will take the change negatively compared to those who are not highly engaged. This means you have to watch out for your loyal pool of customers when you plan to change your logo.

Cost of a Poor Logo Design on Your Business

In case you are still not convinced about the role of logos in your business, this data might change your perspective.

Data says 60% of consumers don’t support ventures with poorly-designed logos.

Isn’t that counterproductive and impractical?

Conclusion

Learning these logo statistics could help you brainstorm a design that will work best for your company. We also want to enlighten you on how important it is to choose the right graphic designer. If you are to start your logo design project, go back to knowing more about logo statistics and use it as a reference.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by George Milton from Pexels

Business

What’s the Best Design Agency in Las Vegas?

Published

1 day ago

January 22, 2026

Scarlett Holiday

TLDR: Looking for great design in Las Vegas? Penji graphic design service provider does not get better. Penji is scalable, reliable, and budget-friendly. With unlimited revisions and fast turnarounds, everything marketing managers dream of for high-velocity graphic design queries is here.

Searching for a new branding launch, scanning up your advertising graphics, or a daily operational partner for all your graphic design queries? The Best Graphic Design Service Provider you could want is right here. In this article, we provide you with a complete overview of the Top Graphic Design Service Providers in Las Vegas. We include subscription-based, unlimited services, digital agencies that do it all. Here’s everything you need to know to get your hands on the creative partner that’s right for you.

1. Penji

Looking for the Best Graphic Design Service Provider? Something you can rely on and that moves at your pace? Penji is the best graphic design service provider, going above and beyond what other graphic design agency offer.

Penji graphic design service provider has the answers to all your needs. You do not have time to waste with a flyer that takes weeks to print or a partner with surprise hourly fees. With Penji, request as many designs as you need for a single flat monthly fee. Forget about hiring that pesky human resources team and the operational fuss of a full design team.

Pros:

Scalability: You can upgrade or downgrade your plan instantly based on your seasonal workload.
Cost-Efficiency: A flat monthly rate means predictable budgeting, no matter how many revisions you request.
Speed: fast turnaround times ensure you never miss a market opportunity.
Versatility: Covers over 120 design categories, including print, digital, UX/UI, and illustrations.
Risk-Free: Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Cons:

Remote-First: While highly efficient, you won’t have in-person coffee meetings (though our platform communication is seamless).
Not for One-Offs: The subscription model is built for companies with recurring design needs, not just a single flyer.

2. Art Version

If UX and digital storytelling pique your interest, Art Version might just be the Best Design Agency in Las Vegas. They focus on aesthetics but prioritize “experiential design.”

Art Version collaborates with their brand partners to completely transform their digital presence. They focus on more than just how things look. Making sure the UX and usability work well is their forte.

Pros:

Strategic Depth: Excellent for full brand re-launches and complex UI/UX projects.
Cross-Industry Experience: They have a strong portfolio across finance, healthcare, and technology.
Full-Service: capable of handling strategy, design, and development under one roof.

Cons:

Cost: Likely requires a significant budget suited for enterprise-level projects.
Speed: Traditional agency workflows can be slower compared to on-demand models.
Project-Based: Usually involves contracts and scopes rather than a flexible subscription.

3. Chudovo OÜ

Chudovo OÜ might be far-flung in name only. They have solid roots in the Las Vegas market. They work in spaces where high-level design meets complex technology in the business world. This is no graphic design agency. Chudovo OÜ are full-cycle software developers who place priority on high-end designs.

If your business requires more than just great design and is looking for ways to use a standout design in proprietary software, then Chudovo OÜ is the graphic design agency you need.

Pros:

Technical Expertise: Unmatched ability to implement designs into complex, working software.
Industry Knowledge: Deep experience in healthcare, finance, and logistics.
Transparency: Known for clear visibility on work progress and budget.

Cons:

Not “Creative-First”: May lack the marketing flair needed for advertising or brand awareness campaigns.
Scope: Best suited for large-scale development projects, not day-to-day graphic design needs.
Complexity: Their processes are designed for software builds, which is heavy for simple design tasks.

4. JG Digital Agency

Last but not least is JG Digital Agency. They view design as performance marketing. If you are looking for a Best Design Agency in Las Vegas to help design graphics to generate leads and sales, then JG’s focus and modus operandi speak to you. This agency is a digital marketing agency focused on performance marketing and improving conversion rates. They work primarily on B2B and B2C growth, focusing on what visuals can do to grab attention and drive traffic.

Pros:

Results-Oriented: Design decisions are backed by data and performance metrics.
Integrated Services: They can handle the ad spend and the creative, ensuring alignment.
Google Partners: Recognized expertise in advertising platforms.

Cons:

Design Limitations: Creative work is focused on ads and performance, potentially lacking in broader branding capabilities.
Ad-Centric: If you aren’t running paid campaigns, their value proposition decreases.
Boutique Scale: A smaller team might struggle with massive volume compared to scalable platforms.

Credit for Cover Image: Photo by Antoni Shkraba