Short-Term Rental Educator and YouTuber Sean Rakidzich Explains How Airbnb Changed Course with Search Algorithm Overhaul

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December 15, 2022

If you’ve been renting out a sofa, bedroom, guesthouse, or investment property on Airbnb, the world’s number one short-term rental expert, YouTuber, and influencer, Sean Rakidzich, has advice for you.

Airbnb community insiders have been buzzing, thanks to a quietly launched new customer service algorithm introduced last month. Usually, these incorporations leave travelers in a worse situation, but this time, the changes focus on traveler satisfaction as a means of customer retention.

“They are moving away from their former model and are now putting customer satisfaction first. This is a big deal,” said Rakidzich, an Airbnb host with over $10 million in revenue and Founder of Airbnb Automated. “They changed the way that hosts are showing up in searches. You can use this for market research and to target certain demographics of customers in a way that’s never been possible before.”

YouTube’s top rental arbitrage creator was not surprised that the new algorithm update puts guest satisfaction first as he believes Airbnb has been eyeing to steal market shares from hotels since its inception in 2008-09.. But it can help property owners, too, with a little strategic and cognitive thinking.

“Every time Airbnb makes a change, it’s much like any other market force. It’s an opportunity for some hosts to respond and make real-time adjustments to continue to perform well in the space,” said Rakidzich. “I have nearly 1000 students, and we conduct weekly strategy and coaching calls, so we became aware of this change before the more general community. That allowed us to get ahead of other hosts in searches and outperform those hosts for a significant period of time.”

Thankfully, the world’s top mind in short-term rentals has some advice for understanding and harnessing the power of this newly adjusted algorithm.

Research the Market

You can use the new adjustments to conduct market research, but it needs to be done from a computer, not mobile, warned Rakidzich.

He noted that users will now notice new tags on some listings, such as ‘long stay,’ ‘group stay,’ ‘weekend trip,’ and similar entries. “This was the first hint that the algorithm changed,” he said.

“You can use this to find out what other people are making on the long stays, and use that info to take the average from multiple listings and determine what your prices should be,” he said.

To get started, head to Airbnb and search for reservations for a five or six-week stay in five to six months. Next, select an Airbnb listing with a robust number of reviews and scroll down to the reviews section, and you’ll see ‘long stay’ next to some of the top reviews. That’s something new.

Now, search for a reservation just a few months into the future, but for a group of 14-15 people. Look at the reviews again and notice that some of the first page results are labeled ‘group stay.’

“So now Airbnb is not just looking at interest metrics, they are incorporating and this may compound or back-data and market fit to set guests up with the best possible host for their specific kind of stay,” said Rakidzich.

You can use the long trip and group trip algorithm changes to figure out what other hosts are making on certain stays in certain areas. This applies directly to the midterm rentals — when people book for a month or longer – that are becoming more and more popular as well as lucrative.

Understand How Data is Used

So, now Airbnb is using back data to help the guest, in addition to the standalone info they have always used. “The thinking is, ‘This person is searching for a monthly stay. Who do we know that had a good monthly stay and gave a five-star review?’ It’s putting the listings best suited to the customer first, where previously their algorithm was primed for adoption” explained Rakidzich. “This led them to populate search on which listings seemed most interesting in real time. This is why Airbnb has always said, even to this day, that their algorithm is an ‘interest algorithm’. But I think this is something they’ve quietly changed.”

These properties might not get a lot of interest, high occupancy rates, or even a lot of views, but they do provide great long-term stays or excellent group hosting — exactly what the customer is looking for.

“They’re making these changes for satisfaction. So that guests will come back and continue using the platform,” said Rakidzich.

Reach for First Page Status

What you do for specific types of guests — families, travelers with pets, couples, or people who love hot tubs, for example — is what gets you on the first page of Airbnb search results now. It’s all based on what the customers are searching for.

So, if this theory proves true, you will no longer have to be booked all the time to get on the first page of Airbnb; you just have to be a good host.

Rakidzich says that astute hosts that use this information to improve their listings and search result placement will be in a good position since many hosts — for whom Airbnb is a side hustle, not their main income source — don’t keep up with these sorts of changes at all or have interest in continued education in the space.

With his advice and keen insights, we’ll be looking a lot closer at our Airbnb search results.

About Sean Rakidzich

With over $10 million in revenue generated as an Airbnb host, Sean Rakidzich (previously of Airbnb Automated) is the leading expert, entrepreneur and influencer in short-term rental education and operations on the Internet. He will soon be expanding his teachings beyond just Airbnb to include Peerspace, Turo, VRBO, Booking.com, and more. For more information, please visit rakidzich.com/

SAAK Insurance Group’s Andrew Davis and Kiana Johnson Share Their Top 5 Reasons to Consider Buying Life Insurance

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Zachary Draeger

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December 15, 2022

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Buying life insurance is something that many people put off for another day, perhaps because they don’t have time to do the research to find the right policy, don’t want to spend the money, or simply don’t like thinking about the demise of themselves or their loved ones.

It’s understandable, but Andrew Davis and Kiana Johnson, co-owners of SAAK Insurance Group, encourage everyone to buy a policy that will keep their loved ones safe in the event that something happens to them.

SAAK Insurance Group offers a multitude of insurance options: burial, final expense, term, whole life, and many more. They also have affordable rates, a recommendation from the Better Business Bureau, and are recent winners of The Plato Award.

The co-founders think of their products as protection with a purpose. “The purpose of life insurance — in all its forms — is to provide peace of mind to you and your family should something unforeseen occur,” said Davis.

The partners deeply believe that life matters and that belief is at the core of all that they do. “That is truly at the core of our company culture, and we put it into each policy we write. Our company values commitment, respect, and honesty, both between us and our clients and our clients and their families,” said Johnson.

The pair regularly urge people to make sure they are taking responsibility for their own lives and remind even the youngest of policyholders that their life insurance decisions affect every member of their family too.

Here are their top five reasons that you should have a life insurance policy.

The Option for Dividends

Many people don’t realize that certain life insurance policies can pay dividends to their policyholders. Whole life insurance policies can award holders dividends that can be sent to you in cash — or used to pay your premiums.

“Another option for your dividends is to use them to increase your policy coverage, and having more coverage is always better — especially when you don’t need to lay out cash for it,” explained Johnson.

Peace of Mind Protection

Most of us have people that depend on us financially — a spouse, children, parents, and even extended family members. Always remember that your life insurance policy is really a gift to them and yourself. It provides everyone with peace of mind and assures that they will be taken care of, no matter what.

Think of it as a monetary safety net that always lies below your bank accounts, trusts, inheritances, and investments. It means that your loved ones will be sent a lump-sum amount when they need it most.

Growing Value

A life insurance policy is one investment that always builds in value. The more you put in, over time, the more your family can benefit, should the need arise to cash in the policy.

With each premium you pay, your life insurance policy grows in its cash value and is tax-deferred. With that ever-growing value, you can rest easy knowing that your assets are safe, your family will have an emergency fund, and all of your other family financial goals can still be met.

Replace Your Income

When you pass on, your income abruptly stops, and everyone that depends on you might be left uncared for. You can choose to avert this possible disaster by choosing a policy that offers income replacement instead of a lump sum payout.

This replacement makes it easier on your loved ones if you have many installment loans and higher monthly spending. It can be applied to mortgage and car payments, healthcare and medical insurance premiums, childcare, tuition, college funds, and more.

Consider Add-on Riders

“Life insurance policies can be adjusted and made bespoke for every policyholder — and we are happy to walk through every option with our clients,” said Davis.

Add-on protections usually don’t require additional underwriting and can offer options for a payout if you become disabled or face a chronic illness diagnosis. People often don’t realize that life insurance can compensate for these circumstances.

Considering these reasons for buying life insurance, there are very few good reasons to keep putting off buying that policy that will protect your family for life.

About Andrew Davis and Kiana Johnson

Andrew Davis and Kiana Johnson, co-owners of SAAK Insurance Group, provide affordable burial insurance, final expense, term, whole life, and more. SAAK Insurance Group has been recommended by the Better Business Bureau and the couple has recently won The Plato Award. For more information about protecting yourself and your family, please visit www.saakinsurancegroup.com/

How to Have a Successful Business Without Burnout: Tips for Business and Personal Success by the Founder of ‘She’s Making an Impact’, Rachel Ngom

By

Victor Brink

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December 12, 2022

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Rachel Ngom, the Founder of ‘She’s Making an Impact’

Starting a business can feel exciting and, if it’s successful, can absolutely change one’s life. However, most entrepreneurs end up leaving the rat race to create an even more stressful job for themselves, working 24/7. They sought to become an entrepreneur with freedom, but are anything but. Financial independence can make you time-rich as well as cash-rich, according to Rachel Ngom.

If you continue down the path of hustle, you face the real risk of burnout, with your kids resenting your business, feeling exhausted and miserable.

Make an Impact

As the founder of She’s Making an Impact, Ngom is dedicated to helping women in business unleash their God-given potential without sacrificing their health or time with their families in the process. Ngom understands the internal struggles that come with burnout. And the best ways for entrepreneurs to avoid putting too much of themselves into a project.

Ngom first entered the entrepreneurial sphere as a network marketer when she was 23, after struggling to find a job despite completing a master degree in social work. Before long, the ambitious but unfocused young woman was pregnant, in debt, and living off food stamps. She knew that something had to change.

Deciding to take control of her life, Ngom knew she had to learn how to build up her business properly.

“I realized that, up until that point, I literally had no idea what I was doing. But I knew I could work it out and began studying the best way to market my offers and regain my independence, financially and personally,” Ngom explained.

Making it Big

Galvanized by what she learned studying successful entrepreneurs, Ngom turned her small business into a hugely successful world-wide operation, transforming the once-flailing entrepreneur into a millionaire – all by the time she was 34.

Determined to give back to society, and specifically young women like herself who had difficulty building a company, Ngom established a new business, becoming the go-to expert, detailing her Pinterest strategies and how to make it big in the online space.

“I am super passionate about passing on everything I have learned over the last few years to other entrepreneurs, who are determined to improve themselves and the world around them. And by using the simple, logical steps that were so helpful to me, they can create their own online strategy tailor-made for their online business,” she shared.

To help you learn from her experiences, here are Ngom’s favorite tips for avoiding burnout while building your business.

Build With Vision

It is vital to know where you are and where you are going. Breaking down your goals and creating target points on your journey means you have a road map for your success.

However, it is just as important to build in time for rest, exercise, and family time to maintain the essential ‘you’ and avoid exhaustion. We often schedule our business priorities and try to squeeze in family wherever we can. If we started by creating the vision of what we wanted for our family life, then building the business from there, first you need to know what you want and create it.

In Ngom’s signature ‘Secrets to the 20-Hour Work Week’, she details how to create a million-dollar, freedom-based business where one can put their family first. The campaign takes a personal approach, highlighting her daily routine and her key growth priorities, as well as key ‘time-wasters’ she always avoids, and how to stop hustling and prioritize family and sanity.

Additionally, take a look at a simple spreadsheet she created for an idea of how to keep track of the hours you have worked to ensure you don’t miss your kid’s baseball game, or find yourself canceling a long weekend with your loved ones for the sake of your business.

Productivity, Not Overworking

Ngom suggests setting daily and weekly goals, and no matter what, making sure you hit them. For example, set aside days where you will concentrate only on business pitch emails and send four well-constructed emails instead of just one haphazard one.

Going further, you can break the week down into themed days. For instance, you could dedicate Wednesdays (or whichever day you prefer) to taking calls and Zoom meetings.

Outsource Talent

Take a look at your team and analyze the areas that need bolstering. Who do you need on your team? By hiring the right people in the right roles, you can delegate responsibility to an expert in the field, whether a head coach, social media manager, or sales director.

Figure out the areas of your business where you excel. Then make sure you, and only you, are responsible for those tasks. Doing this will help maintain joy and excitement in your daily life and provide confidence when you most need it.

Create standard operating procedures (SOPs): Make a list of everything you do in your business and create SOPs around them, which can be passed to a team member with minimal time spent on instruction. You can even make videos that complement the SOPs to free up even more time.

Minimize Commitments

Keep everything as simple as possible. You don’t need endless freebies or offers to generate interest. Create offers that don’t require trading time for money.

Try and think differently. If you have an important call with a client but need to be on the move, suggest communication over more flexible platforms, such as the business walkie-talkie app, Voxer. Or even try using messaging apps to record messages that an employee can translate later. You could also try free resources by sticking the audio into a dedicated transcription app, like Otter.ai, for more flexibility.

With Ngom as a guide, we can all take some steps to avoid burnout and become better, more productive entrepreneurs, while prioritizing what matters most.

About Rachel Ngom

Rachel Ngom is the founder of She’s Making an Impact, where she is helping purpose-driven entrepreneurs create multiple income streams, financial freedom, and generational wealth that will serve their families without sacrificing what matters most. She offers guidance to anyone on their entrepreneurial journey to scale without burnout with her online courses, coaching, and the She’s Making an Impact podcast, all while working just 20 hours each week. In January of 2023, she is launching a new course, Success Without Stress. For more information, or to make an impact with her, please visit rachelngom.com/

DataMilk Founder Peter Szalontay Reveals 5 Ways to Boost Ecommerce Sales Without Compromising User Privacy

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Melinda Luce

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December 9, 2022

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Datamilk CEO and Founder Peter Szalontay launched his career at Google, where he incorporated AI in ad writing that made — and continues to make — the mega-company billions of dollars.

But that wasn’t the apex of the data aficionado’s career. He ultimately left Google to create his own company, Datamilk. It uses data and AI to create software that improves UX instantly after integration and creates guaranteed significant financial uplift.

DataMilk utilizes attention data, which is first-party data of each of a user’s interaction with an online store, whether swiping, scrolling or lingering on a product. Not only does it address the third-party data going away and users’ privacy concerns that are surely on the rise, but also it is highly effective to create predictive AI-driven online experiences as the AI has the information about where the user is focusing in the moment, and how they react to each item and product they see.

Peter is focusing on financial results. All of DataMilk’s AI-backed UX components are delivering a stable increase in performance like conversion rate and also financial metrics like AOV, revenue and profit, that our customers daily view on their dashboard charts. But also, an important contribution to customers profitability is the quickness of integration. Instead of months of data loading and building and customizing models, DataMilk starts working right away, learning the behavior of your users against your interface and products on its own, without occupying any of your staff.

DataMilk’s Smart Components can predict site users’ steps toward buying without having to sacrifice privacy. This is because the attention data collected from user behaviors on DataMilk client’s sites, where people are usually good with the site’s first-party data. Additionally, it is non-PII as well, so real-time action data, like clicks, scrolls, swipes and lingering are the determining factors. At the same time, attention data is powerful and extremely helpful in making predictions based on what the AI observes in user behaviors, similar to an emphatic sales person in a brick-and-mortar store.

“People and companies are more privacy aware than ever. Countless surveys show high numbers of respondents being concerned about how their personal data is handled,” said Szalontay. “Most of that data shouldn’t even be connected. There’s so much opportunity in anonymous user experiences.”

Recent legislature backs up Szalontay’s statement. Globally, industry leaders — including Apple, Firefox, and Brave — are listening to users’ concerns and have blocked third-party cookies. Google will join them in 2024.

Here are Szalontay’s top six ways to boost e-commerce profit and engagement while protecting users’ digital privacy.

Power Navigation for Better Search and Discovery

In the age of effortless experiences, navigation and so called burger menus give a great deal of work to the users. While they are used to scanning everything, users have to read through all the category titles. It’s even worse on mobile, navigation is a source of misclicks and churn because of smaller screen sizes, shorter attention spans, and the ‘fat finger’ effect.

Smart navigation and customized content help the user get to the products they want with minimum cognitive effort. Serving as an in-store UI element, or a carousel, smart navigation offers real-time, custom content, which is pulled by AI collections and items that are relevant to the user. This speeds up the discovery of generating products that the specific user may like.

Users are comfortable with frictionless experiences when they are not required to research for a product. Instead, they find the experience more enjoyable when it is for something plain, clear and on the surface.

“We’ve learned to create custom content from customers’ attention signals while interacting with a store: when they swipe without clicking, browse sizes and colors, or linger over a product and scroll back to it,” he said.

Social Signals to Overcome Hesitation

As seen on many modern fashion sites, ‘smart FOMO’ provides automatic, real-time tags that can be added to any product. These indicate a limited supply or that the item is selling fast and experiencing a high sales volume.

The benefits of FOMO and social proof, which offer a ‘little push’ to shoppers created in real-time when they are hesitating on making a purchase. Online shopping creates a feeling that you can always go back and buy a product at any moment, so there’s a great temptation to delay purchasing. With consumer procrastination, online retailers lose a lot of sales, and customers suffer too, because they end up unable to get that product, as it is either sold out by the time they return, or they simply can’t return as the store is buried deep in the memory of countless shops the user recently visited. So it is important to convey scarcity and urgency, two factors that are highly effective at overcoming buyer hesitation.

A technique related to ‘smart FOMO,’ smart social proof includes tags that can be added to any product to show the number of recent purchases and views, updated in real-time.

Tags and labels are typically thrown all across the online store and can result in ‘banner blindness’, which will lead to a lack of trust. FOMO tags should be triggered for each particular user separately. What sets DataMilk’s FOMO apart from the competition is that it is based on the shopper’s historical and expressed behaviors, and the AI identifies that in the moment. When the tag appears at just the right moment, or when the user is interested in the product but needs a little motivation, FOMO becomes effective and leads to an increase in sales.

Suggest Related Searches

These useful phrases populate a search bar or similar space containing a block of suggested words and terms for searches related to what you’ve viewed. Users can essentially search without typing by merely clicking on a suggested search chip.

These invite customers to go ‘down a rabbit hole’ into a category and explore lots of variations while providing helpful additional context about the items on the page and the catalog.

Sometimes people search pictures and use a specific keyword, typically when they have a product in mind. This is where related search comes in. The AI identifies the intent and suggests related searches based on patterns performed by other users. A block of related searches can appear in the feed after much scrolling and not finding the right product too, which is effective.

Help Discover More

The handy section that often populates the bottom of a page contains items similar to what you are shopping for.

They are often placed using widgets inserted into the middle or bottom of the page to show a set of related content to explore. ‘Discover More’ sections create variation and interest on a page and provide a way to navigate to more content without needing to scroll up to the menu.

To learn more about these smart components and what they can do for your e-commerce site, visit https://www.datamilk.ai/smart-components.

About DataMilk

DataMilk is an end-to-end solution for e-commerce UX optimization, from AI and data infrastructure to ready-to-implement optimizations. DataMilk is built on attention data: signals showing every user interaction on your store like click, scroll, view, and more and know exactly where customers are focused in real time delivering the most relevant experiences for the customers — and increasing sales for e-commerce retailers. For more information on how to join and build the next generation of UX, please visit https://www.datamilk.ai/

Advice on Creating Great Sales Scripts with Closers.io CEO Cole Gordon

By

Zachary Draeger

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December 1, 2022

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Cole Gordon, CEO of Closers.io, is constantly asked about the best sales scripts. From being questioned about which sales guru’s scripts to follow to queries about how to write their own high-closing rate scripts, salespeople around the country never get tired of talking about scripts.

Of course, they don’t.

Scripts help them to make a lot of money.

“The truth is that almost all sales scripts work, and they work for the fundamentally same reason. They have the same underlying mechanics,” said Gordon.

His company has projected sales of over $30 million this year, and more than 10,000 salespeople are currently using his lessons, drawing comparisons between Gordon and sales superstars such as Grant Cardone, and his reputation is only growing.

He founded Closers.io to cater to entrepreneurs who dream of building unstoppable internal sales teams with valuable skills that run themselves. The founder has consulted with over 1,000 sales teams and has more than a half-million Instagram followers. Sales pros around the country watch his reels to pick up tips on closing, scripting, handling objections, and more.

Helping Newbies to Pros

Gordon prides himself on creating content that serves both newly minted sales reps trying to close their first deal and seasoned industry veterans looking for hacks to tweak their income and take it to the next level.

However, the sales wunderkind was not always on the track to success. Before making it big, Gordon was a bartender. Through willpower, he battled his way to success as a closer, and eventually became a business owner.

After becoming an eight-figure earning salesperson, he realized that he wanted to share what he had learned and founded Closers.io, a place to teach his sales secrets to anyone who wants to learn.

“The easiest way to encapsulate why we started the company is because I was a high-performing sales rep but left to get into sales coaching and training. I was always asked, ‘Where do you find good sales reps?’ At the end of the day, good salespeople know other good salespeople — which is really the key to recruiting good salespeople. Leverage them, their network, and find referrals. We started that business purely from that demand,” Cole explained.

Questions about sales scripts are still among the most common topics he encounters. Below are his thoughts on which scripts to use, how, and why.

Beliefs and Sales Scripts

From Gordon’s research, he has found seven beliefs (with related limiting beliefs) that every prospect needs to have to buy from you. The most skilled salespeople he’s seen break each of these down during the pitch by asking the right questions.

Using this technique, the prospect will have already discarded each objection that keeps them from buying before the salesperson even transitions to the closing.

“So, instead of hard-closing the prospect or doing some jiu-jitsu, the prospect will essentially close themselves — and they will do it thinking you’re a leader, not a salesperson.”

Objectionless Closing

“If you can break down, through your questions, the prospect’s limiting beliefs and reinstall the empowering beliefs that make them move forward before you transition to the close, you’ll be setting yourself up for an objectionless close,” explained Gordon.

This is the rare holy grail in the sales world where a prospect, after hearing your pitch, simply signs on the dotted line.

“If you’ve ever been on a sales call that feels effortless, like a downhill ride, and the prospect is asking how to move forward, it’s because they held seven certain beliefs. If they raised serious objections, they didn’t have the seven beliefs, and you didn’t convince them,” said Gordon.

The Seven Beliefs

Gordon has identified the seven beliefs that all prospects need to have in order to confidently buy what you’re selling.

He calls pain the first belief, and breaks it down by calling it the gap between where they are and where they want to be. The second is doubt; or their inability to fix the problem on their own. The third is cost; and believing that not using your solution will cost them more time and money than using it.

The fourth belief is desire; they have to want to try what you’re selling. The fifth is money; and whether or not they have the resources to consent. The sixth is support; and whether they need your support to get their spouse, business partner, or team on board. The final belief is trust; they need to believe in your solution and think it is superior to others on the market.

According to Gordon, if you use a script designed to confirm these beliefs and quiet objections before losing, you will likely come out of your call as a success.

Gordon provides information like this and much more through Closers.io, an integrated solution for entrepreneurs looking to build internal sales teams that run themselves.

About Cole Gordon

Cole Gordon is the CEO of Closers.io, the leading sales and marketing education and training company that fulfills companies’ needs for talented sales teams. Gordon is an 8-figure entrepreneur, investor, and sales trainer who has sold over $10 million worth of online coaching, consulting, and agency services. For more information about Gordon, please visit https://www.instagram.com/colethomasgordon/?hl=en and for more about Closers.io, visit https://closers.io/

Eugene Pallisco Shares What Entrepreneurs Should Do to Keep Stress Under Control

By

Derek Ford

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November 30, 2022

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Entrepreneurs often work long hours while facing the potential consequences of failure. As a result, high levels of stress are common among business owners.

Dallas-based fitness professional Eugene Pallisco wants entrepreneurs to understand just how damaging stress can be and learn three things they can do to keep it in check.

Understanding Stress

To know how to best handle lifestyle stress, it’s important to understand what stress is and how it works. And it all starts with cortisol.

Cortisol is often known as the “stress hormone” because your body releases it during times of stress. It affects nearly every system in your body, including your:

Immune system
Nervous system
Respiratory system
Reproductive system
Cardiovascular system
Musculoskeletal system
Integumentary system

The hormone impacts your metabolism, ability to suppress inflammation, blood pressure, sleep cycles, and the release of glucose from your liver.

Pallisco recommends consulting with your medical provider, but he takes a tripartite approach to manage cortisol, and the adverse effects stress can have.

An Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Anti-inflammatory foods help reduce cortisol levels in the body. Foods that reduce inflammation directly affect lowering total cortisol levels and preventing problematic spikes.

Vitamin B

Foods that contain high amounts of B vitamins, especially B12, can help your body metabolize cortisol. Some of these include:

Chicken
Eggs
Beef
Organ meats
Nutritional yeast
Certain fortified cereals

B12 and other B vitamins promote a healthy nervous system. When your nervous system is functioning properly, your body doesn’t produce as much cortisol.

Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are also excellent for reducing inflammation and keeping your cortisol levels under control. Some popular omega-3-rich foods are:

Avocados
Seeds, such as flax and chia seeds
Olive oil
Seafood like mackerel, oysters, salmon, and tuna
Nuts

Another convenient way to supplement omega-3 in your body is to consume fish oil capsules.

A Well-Regulated Sleep Schedule

Cortisol can also affect your rest, making falling or staying asleep difficult.

Your body’s melatonin (the hormone that makes you sleepy) and cortisol levels usually follow a regulated 24-hour pattern known as the circadian rhythm. High levels of cortisol and stress can derail your sleep patterns, resulting in:

Fatigue
Irritation
Moodiness
Weight gain
Brain fog
Decreased ability to concentrate

To fight the effects of cortisol, you should commit to a solid sleep routine, which includes going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, putting electronic devices away an hour before bed, and keeping your bedroom cool and dark.

Consistent Exercise

A dedicated exercise routine is one of the best ways to combat stress and cortisol.

Exercise not only reduces cortisol levels in your body but also stimulates your body to produce endorphins. Endorphin production can help foster relaxation, helping you feel better physically and mentally while promoting better sleep.

Managing Stress with Eugene Pallisco

Eugene Pallisco has an insider’s perspective into the stressful lives of entrepreneurs because he’s one himself. As a fitness instructor and certified trainer in Dallas, Texas, Pallisco has had to learn the hard way how to regulate stress for improved health.

Since working with inspirational fitness mentors in high school, Pallisco has spent years refining his training philosophy for the betterment of others. After starting as a group fitness instructor, he expanded his experience by working directly with gym members as a personal trainer before launching his private training business in the fitness industry.

Whether through high-intensity, cardio, weightlifting, or sports-specific training, Eugene is committed to helping people find joy and freedom in movement.

Dr. Kent Ingle, President of Southeastern University, is Making Waves and Leading Change

By

Jeannie Contreras

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November 23, 2022

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Dr. Kent Ingle has a different mindset from most other university presidents. He embraces change, looks for innovative ways to help his students, and engages with everyone on campus as often as possible.

He’s not a career academic, and maybe that’s what makes him such an educational disruptor. In fact, Dr. Ingle is probably best known for his decades spent as a TV sportscaster.

The former Southern California sports anchor has led the sports desks at broadcasting powerhouses, including NBC and CBS. He’s led TV interviews with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pete Rose, Muhammad Ali, and Carl Lewis that have been viewed by millions and are still used as classic sporting journalism examples today.

After spending years at the apex of the broadcasting field, he realized that it was not his ultimate path or career goal. “Inside, I knew I was designed for something more. So when I laid my broadcast career down to follow God’s calling, I found out who I really was meant to be,” Dr. Ingle explained.

After a mid-career field change a few decades ago, he has been making waves in the university and faith-led educational fields, often quoted in newspapers, magazines, and journals for his revolutionary new ideas on topics from education financing to leadership.

“People thought I was crazy when I changed careers, but I had quickly realized that sportscasting and educational leadership have something in common: both let me tell stories that teach by inspiration,” he said.

He’s thriving in his role as the President of Southeastern University, a new kind of faith-based college education offering. From his very first day on the Lakeland campus, he knew he was precisely where he needed to be — on the ground, amongst the next generation of movers and shakers, helping them to build the foundations that will allow them to lead the world to something greater.

A New Perspective

Perhaps it’s Dr. Ingle’s varied life experiences that have made him more open to taking a new approach to parts of the American higher educational experience that many educators take for granted.

“At SEU, we are working to create communicational impact and begin new conversations about what higher education can and should be — including affordability and accessibility,” he said.

As leader of one of the country’s fastest-growing universities, he loves knowing that he can start his day with the objective of having a positive impact on thousands of people by the time he clocks out.

Money Matters

One of the biggest areas that Dr. Ingle hopes to affect change in is the complicated, frustrating world of paying for college.

“Higher education in America represents the idea of eventually landing one’s dream job, but the costs should not be staggering in order to achieve a college degree,” said Dr. Ingle. “The need to innovate how future generations garner higher education and how much they will have to pay for it is a necessity.”

To that end, the President is on a mission to reimagine traditional financing for education. He knows it is a large chunk of an educational leader’s job to ensure that students enter the workforce smoothly after graduation. And that, when they do, they are not mired in debt and worried about how they are going to pay it off.

Dr. Ingle realizes that these burdens — both economic and mental — are impairments to young people who need to focus on careers that will bring necessary change to society.

Conversation Starter

Dr. Ingle also knows that affecting change and helping students isn’t a guessing game. To collect the right information to create policies and initiatives, you need to talk to the people directly affected by these rules: the students.

“Ultimately, that’s what university presidents should do; we are here to help them become what they are destined to become. That’s what drives me,” he said.

That’s why he makes it a part of his day — every day — to walk through campus and talk to the students. He asks them what’s on their mind, what issues they are facing, what would make their lives as students better. This is what truly makes him a revolutionary educator, far removed from the college presidents that are more often found at board meetings, gala luncheons, or on the golf course.

As the leader of one of the country’s fastest growing faith-led universities, we look forward to hearing more of Dr. Ingle’s fascinating takes on the future of education.

About Dr. Kent Ingle

Dr. Kent Ingle is the President of Southeastern University, public speaker and recognized thought leader. Ingle is passionate about creating lasting change in higher education and setting up organizations for success. He is the author of The Modern Guide to College and host of the popular Framework Leadership podcast. For more information about Dr. Kent Ingle, please visit www.kentingle.com

YouTube Automation Founder Caleb Boxx Says ‘Find Enjoyment in Chasing Your Dreams, Not Achieving Them’

By

Monica Abbott

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November 22, 2022

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“I thought the cars, mansions, jets, and millions in the bank would make me happy. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed that my life would be fulfilling and I’d have a sense of ‘I made it’ when I achieved these milestones. But it wasn’t quite true,” said Caleb Caleb Boxx, the seven-figure-making Founder of YouTube Automation.⁣

He learned the hard lesson that lots of entrepreneurs and millionaires learn — money, on its own, really doesn’t buy happiness.

After crafting his first website at 11 years old, taking paying web design clients as a preteen, and becoming a YouTube phenomenon as a teen, money and success came fairly easily to the gifted high school dropout.

“The life I’m living today I didn’t think would be possible until I was at least 30. Now I’m doing it at 22. But what I’ve learned is that once I got the money and material things, I felt empty. My purpose was missing,” said the entrepreneur, who teaches content creators how to automate their videos, create more content, and generate more revenue in less time.

Saying that his business is a success is an understatement. He has a staff of over 200, and his content-creating clients have a combined subscribership of over one billion on YouTube.

Here, he offers thoughts on focusing on the journey to achieving your dreams, not just the goals.

Fighting Depression ⁣and Complacency

One of the side effects that Boxx never imagined would come from reaching his dreams at an early age was a deep and profound sadness, even a sense of loss.

He didn’t feel happy, and having reached his goals, he was left with nothing to strive for.

“You see, what was happening when I was happy was that I worked all the time on projects I loved. I spent my non-working time dreaming about my goals: making a boatload of cash, meeting my dream girl, buying the cars I loved, etc. That’s what motivated me for my entire come-up,” he explained. ⁣

But once he got it, it wasn’t enough. He fell into a situational depression without a goal or purpose. It took him some time to recognize what was happening and a bit more time to realize how to fix it. He saw that he was always going to need to have a new purpose and goal and that the beauty of the success experience is truly in the journey.

“I learned over the last year that life is actually about the people you meet, the experiences with them, the challenges and businesses you build and overcome, and the lives you inspire and impact through it all,” he said. “That’s something that will never end.”

Staying Motivated

Along Boxx’s journey, he began questioning lots of things. He noticed people working for decades, with the motivation being the time to retire and relax. He’s not sure that model is one that leads to happiness. At least, not for him and entrepreneurs like him.

“People want to retire, but do they really? Or is that just your motivation, and once you achieve that status, you’ll realize the entire enjoyment was chasing, not actually achieving?” he asked.

While many people do find happiness in retirement — enjoying endless rounds of golf, world travel, or afternoons with the grandkids — just as many find themselves at a loss. Without a purpose or goal, they may become depressed like Boxx.

To him, it’s a question of motivation. If nothing is motivating you, you won’t be happy. This might mean setting post-retirement goals such as setting up a new small business, competing in a new sport, or finally winning a prize for that family recipe peach pie.

For Boxx, he realized that he needed a new goal, and that goal is to get as many people as possible financially free through YouTube Automation, and so far, he’s doing a great job.

Driven to Help

His company, which is the top YouTube automation agency worldwide, offers three levels of automation training, a Mastermind group, and more.

Though he works less than one full day per week, he knows he is truly helping some of the world’s most creative people reach the peak of their fields.

As a creator himself, he knew how badly his peers struggled from burnout. They may be brimming with new ideas for videos that their audiences will love, but instead, each clip kept them behind the screen, editing and tweaking for hours.

By automating their videos, they have more time to produce more content. This makes for happier creators and followers.

“YouTube Automation is taking a business approach to the platform,” Boxx said, “Yes, people get into creating videos because they love it. But, when a channel relies on your face for years and years, it gets tiring. Even Logan Paul had to finally shift away from being the face of his own channel. It’s challenging to show up daily and film your life and your face. I’ve found a way to solve that pain point for YouTube creators,” he explained.

Hopefully, with this advice from Boxx, more entrepreneurs can avoid the depression that may come with reaching goals and remain dream-chasers for life.

About Caleb Boxx

Caleb Boxx is a founder of YouTube Automation, a business model that allows people to automate their YouTube channels creating passive income. Boxx has helped hundreds of content creators. To learn more about Caleb Boxx, please visit automatechannels.com

‘Get Real Philosophy’: Identifying Leadership Gaps with Kelly Kubicek, Fulcrum HR Consulting CEO

By

Jeannie Contreras

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November 22, 2022

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Almost every system has gaps, and they are nothing to be afraid of. In fact, gaps in systems give users ongoing opportunities to improve the system until it is finally flawless.

This is true for most HR gaps as well, according to thought leader Kelly Kubicek, CEO of Fulcrum HR Consulting, which focuses on human resources management and people strategy.

However, there’s beauty in finding those gaps and closing them to reveal a more seamless, inclusive, and holistic organization.

“There are gaps everywhere. If we know where our gaps are, we can fill them with strengths later, said Kubicek.

Getting to Root Issues

When Kubicek onboards clients for HR consulting, she tries to drill down and identify exactly what the client is looking for to improve their team. This is how Fulcrum HR finds what each client really needs from them. And it’s surprising how often the client has not identified the same root issues as Kubicek and her team found during their fact-finding.

They call this signature process their ‘Get Real Philosophy.’

“One thing we commonly see is companies that are blinded to the things they see every day — how colleagues talk to each other, workflows, and interactions that have become commonplace on teams,” said Kubicek.

She offered an example from two senior executive clients she recently worked with. After having them answer the initial questions, she also spoke to the employees before performing a deeper analysis of the HR issues at the company. The clients were shocked at what she came back with.

“When they saw their results of the Get Real Philosophy analysis to see where they should start and what their actions should be, the biggest feedback was that the tension between the two of them was the biggest stressor for the team. The employees could always hear them arguing, making it difficult to concentrate and remain relaxed. I’ve never heard a room so silent as when I delivered that news,” she said.

What is The Get Real Philosophy?

“Because of not being able to initially see our blindspots — or gaps — the Get Real Philosophy helps us identify where those gaps are on a team,” said the CEO, who is considered an expert at solving management and operational blockages.

Get Real is an acronym for a workplace philosophy. The first part isolates and identifies Gaps, Evaluates their impact, and Translates a way to solve them.

This portion of the intelligence-gathering stage identifies the problem, for example, between leadership and mid-level management. From there, it’s easy to evaluate that there is a lot at stake if these two groups can’t get along. As far as a way to solve them, their communication would have to be improved, and they need more opportunities to interact openly.

The ‘real’ part can be broken down to Real recognizes real, Expectations, Accountability, and Leadership.

In this portion of information collecting, Kubicek and her team often learn that the people closest to these issues don’t realize they exist. “Teams are blind to their potential and their own glass ceiling, and we identify that in the philosophy,” she shared.

And, far from being angry with her for pointing out the flaws in their ways, her clients often welcome her advice. After all, most companies won’t bankroll a consultant who shows up and tells them, ‘everything’s fine.’

‘Get Real Philosophy’ in Action

Self-aware organizations will get the most out of the ‘Get Real Philosophy’ since it does employ a measure of self-awareness and introspection. It’s also not for the faint of heart since it often reveals issues organizations would prefer not to deal with.

But, to be truly people-centric, organizations have to take good, long looks at their gaps, problems, and issues.

“These conversations are part of the process and are not warm and fuzzy. These are cold, prickly moments. They don’t feel great, but they are a necessity to growth, and it’s honorable when clients own their shortcomings and gaps and embrace a sense of vulnerability with their team that they may have never done before,” she said.

With these forward-thinking ideas surrounding gaps and solutions, Kubicek is helping HR departments in the country’s top companies become stronger, more united, and more human.

About Kelly Kubicek

Kelly Kubicek, CEO of Fulcrum HR Consulting, is on a mission to make HR more transparent. Fulcrum HR Consulting boasts vast HR experience, including accomplishments such as consolidating the entirety of over 9000 Nebraska state employees in one system in under 12 months and extensive work in Diversity and Inclusion efforts. To discover how to uplevel your HR Process visit www.fulcrumHRconsulting.com

Leading With Heart: How Maria Santiago and the Home Health Aide Training Institute is Helping Guide the Future of Healthcare Professionals

By

Monica Abbott

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November 17, 2022

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Maria Santiago has always been helping people, stemming back to her childhood when she would assist in daily happenings in her hometown. She has always found joy in doing what is in her power to improve the lives of those around her, prompting her to take the journey to launch her own healthcare training company, Home Health Aide Training Institute (HHATI).

Santiago, the recent recipient of the Presidential Tribute of Excellence Award, has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry and, via HHATI, offers students the best educational courses in the respective healthcare fields that they have aspirations of working in. The lone caveat, however, is that they must take pride and have joy in wanting to help others.

“If I was the designated driver, I would never feel as if people come into my path by chance,” said Santiago. “There is no designation. If you’re designated to meet me and I can help you in some way that helps improve your life, whether you are a student that studies with us or a patient that receives treatment from one of our graduates, then I did my part.”

Aside from her work as the director of HHATI, she is also an advocate for numerous non-profit Go Fund Me campaigns for people suffering with debilitating conditions and serves as a volunteer in her community at functions and events too.

“If we get a call for someone who is sick or suffering and they can’t afford care, we will try to send a volunteer to help,” she stated. “We will typically offer our students the opportunity for real-world experiences and volunteerism to go care for the patient, but of course never placing them in a situation where they are not qualified to do so.”

Home Health Aide Training Institute

The Home Health Aide Training Institute (HHATI) is not only nationally-recognized but also licensed and approved by the New York State Education Department. Students who come through the doors range in age from as young as 17 years old to as high as 65+, proving it is never too late to garner new skills and knowledge in assisting and helping others. In fact, Santiago and her team has seen a staggering 3,000 students come through the doors, graduate and go out into the world to improve the lives of patients, all in just six years of operation.

HHATI currently spotlights five signature pillars in its curriculum, a 40-hour Personal Care Assistance (PCA) course, an 83-hour Home Health Aide (HHA) course, a 125-hour Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course, Coordinator courses and Infection Control training.

The Personal Care Assistance course focuses on healthcare professionals who will be working in patient’s homes and similar environments. They will be dedicating themselves to assisting and serving individuals with their health-related needs and daily activities.

Coordinator courses span over 50 hours of training, including the planning, coordination and scheduling for various home care agencies. The total hours are split with 25 in the classroom, and the other half dedicated to agency work in the field.

Home Health Aide training includes preparing the healthcare professional to assist patients, at their homes, in daily activities and basic tasks that could range from eating, bathing, grooming, moving, exercising, toileting and other basic and daily functions.

The Infection Control courses also include training in COVID-19 treatment for patients. The course helps healthcare professionals identify, potentially prevent or control diseases before they can both occur or spread. Methods in robe and disrobing are included, while practices in safety and proper distance are taught as well.

The final course in the curriculum offers 125 hours of training as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Budding healthcare professionals will garner the necessary knowledge and skills to perform basic aide and nursing duties while serving at either a hospital, nursing home or both.

Santiago and her team also work to place all graduates for employment in their fields while actively contributing to the future of healthcare, one student at a time.

“Everyone has a journey. No one comes into our lives by chance,” said Santiago. “We train our dedicated student body to provide home and nursing care all across the country, whether professionals want to travel to another place or practice in the state where they already live.”

About Maria Santiago

Maria Santiago is the CEO and Director of Home Health Aide Training Institute (HHATI), which trains and certifies home health aides, PCAs and CNAs. She recently won the Presidential Tribute of Excellence Award and her team has taught over 3,000 students to date. For more information about getting involved in home healthcare, please visit www.hhati.com