DALLAS, TEXAS, July 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Although the first wave of COVID-19 may be nearing its end, nothing has returned to normal - nor will it, for a long time. In times like these, entrepreneurs and business owners help each other. Today’s top 30 entrepreneurs and investors are doing the best they can to offer resources, share advice, and feature workable solutions to help one another and the nation. 

WebMetrix Group hosted an online forum for these entrepreneurs and investors to share their best advice to other business owners during this time. Here’s how they are navigating post-COVID times, advising others on how to, or lending a helping hand.

1. Immy Tariq, CEO of WebMetrix Group LLC. Immy Tariq is a digital marketing, SEO, and credibility expert, who has been helping his clients leverage credibility now more than ever. “Now is the time to double down on all markers of credibility and SEO to build trust with your target audience,” said Tariq. “As the economy slowly reopens, consumers only want to invest in people and companies that they trust.” 

2. Rudy Medina, founder of Del Mar Heritage. Medina is in the real estate industry, and foresees the following changes to people’s preferences for where they want to live following the lockdown provisions. These include Privacy, Additional outdoor or flex areas, Room for pets outside of the living area, proximity to entertainment and recreation, and a front yard to socialize with neighbors.

3. Salvatore Buscem, Managing Director at Dandrew Capital Partners. Buscem specializes in managing risk through his real estate investment portfolio, and advises other investors and entrepreneurs to invest in commercial real estate in areas with consistent ROI’s. “By researching an investment and going for commercial real estate, it’s a defensive play. Make decisions right now that have a verifiable ROI that extends far into the future.” 

4. Aimee Tariq CEO Of A Life With Health is a WSJ best selling author and health expert who has had many near death experiences in her decade-long battle with health. With the ever growing global focus on health and well-being, Tariq is helping more people to optimize their health through her new book on the oral microbiome (also known as the ‘second gut’ because of its importance), called Panic! Germs and the Inside of the American Mouth.

5. Matt Young, founder of Realply. As the founder of a LinkedIn direct messaging service, Young knows how effective cold direct message outreach is for sales. “With the emphasis on, ‘How can I help?’, automating direct messaging can spell the difference between life and death for businesses right now,” he said. “A steady stream of new leads can still be automated, which can be the strategy that keeps your business afloat.”

6. Jeremy Miner, founder of 7th Level HQ. An expert on neuro-linguistic programming for sales, Miner is helping salespeople learn sales techniques that assist prospective customers into persuading themselves why they need the product or service. Featuring his breakthrough research and years of testing, his course is a hopeful avenue for salespeople and entrepreneurs who want to help consumers but are potentially anxious about selling right now.

7. Stephane & Shalee Schaifaitel, Co-founders of Success Training Co. and Co-authors of the book, Master Your Mindpower: A User Manual For Your Mind & The Ultimate Guide To Mental Toughness. The Schaifaitels help executives and entrepreneurs resolve mental and emotional barriers through a series of impactful coaching sessions that will maximize your clarity, mental toughness and success. "The truth is, in a time of crisis, the people who have mental toughness and emotional resilience are more likely to succeed," the Schafeitels emphasized. "We developed The BLAH Method to assist you to get through any 'blah' moment or crisis, large and small: 1) Breathe, 2) Look Up, 3) Access a State of Gratitude and 4) Handle it - go do what you need to do toward achieving your Big Effing Goals (BEGs)."

8. Haley Hoffman Smith, author of Her Big Idea and motivational speaker. As a motivational speaker and author, Hoffman Smith is encouraging more young people and female-identifying hopeful founders to consider entrepreneurship and go after their big dreams. Her fund, The Her Big Idea Fund, is in partnership with Brown’s Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship and supports two female-identifying hopeful founders with $500 grants and a year of mentorship. “It’s more important than ever to support the dreams and visions of all people, and let them know they aren’t alone in bringing it to life - there is support and there are people who believe in you and want to invest in you,” she commented.

9. Kimanzi Constable CEO Results Global Impact Consulting. Kimzani helps consultants book corporate gigs with large corporations - and stress that right now, large companies are heavily investing in trainers, coaches, and consultants. “Understand that companies are making strategic pivots right now, and they need the brightest minds to help them get there. Position yourself accordingly, so you can help these businesses thrive while you thrive, too,” they advised. 

10. Sloan Foster, founder of AutoThinkUSA. Foster, who is in the business of providing convenient accommodations for consumers, encourages entrepreneurs to think about how they can get involved and collaborate with essential businesses. “Create a new opportunity in alignment with COVID-19 standards,” she advised.

11. Christine Haas, founder of Haas Media. Haas assists founders and CEO’s in landing TV engagements. “Investing in TV PR is critical for both exposure and creating credibility in your field of expertise -- especially now,” shared Haas. “It can seem ‘exclusive’ or only reserved for certain types of people, but now more than ever, people are home and looking to the TV to learn.” 

12. Kerri Kasem, Founder of Kasem Cares, radio and TV Show Host. Kasem is using her platform to emphasize mental health. “With so much going on in the world that was unforeseen, it’s only natural to experience symptoms akin to anxiety and depression. It’s important to check in with ourselves, or friends, and our family right now and see how we can help,” she encouraged.

13. David Schloss, author of The New MBA. Schloss’ new book helps hopeful entrepreneurs build a clear blueprint for their first businesses. In these uncertain times, he advises, “A market-to-message match is key before turning organic traffic into paid traffic.” He insists that a product and market fit is the foundation for successful businesses when investing in marketing post-COVID.

14. Allison Caddy, CEO & Founder of Active Alie. Caddy believes in finding opportunity in unlikely places.  “My best advice is to take advantage of the times, refinance as much as you can because interest rates are currently low, and buy up more real estate that provides positive cash flow and builds your equity,” she offered.

15. Lauren Tickner, founder of Impact School MBA. Tickner teaches students how to sell through permission-based relationship marketing, in which a product or service is offered conversationally -- optimal for seeing who your business can help right now, without any additional pressure. “The emphasis in selling right now is on seeing if you can actually help your target audience, and through natural messaging conversations, time is saved for the founder and prospects are more likely to buy,” she said.

16. Jeremy Delk, founder of Delk Enterprises. “Recognize the changes that are afoot, and use this time to adapt quickly,” said Delk. “The new mindset will now be on-demand help from our smartphones and tele-health. How can you lean into these shifts and stay relevant?” 

17. Stephanie Burns, founder of Chic CEO. Burns has always encouraged making ‘unreasonable requests’ - in other words, asking people or businesses for something you need that may seem ‘out of bounds’ to even ask, because sometimes the answer is… yes. “I think there may be a tendency to hold back on what we ask from others right now, out of an abundance of caution and empathy,” said Burns. “But remember that unreasonable requests often lead to symbiotic relationships and benefits for both parties. Keep putting yourself out there.”

18. Rohan Seth, Founder of Lydian Accelerator. “I’ve learned that building multiple marketing channels is the best way to sustain and embolden businesses,” said Seth. “Explore different avenues to market through social media and ads, and pay close attention to which of those deliver the highest ROI. 

19. Bobby Dillard, co-founder of Cielo Property Group. Dillard noted that “trying times will always reveal weaknesses in your business that you didn’t know were there. It’s important to remain calm and do all you can to get your business in top shape so that you can take advantage of the opportunities that arise in these situations.” Specifically, he advises entrepreneurs to use this time for personal growth in those areas of weakness.

20. Maggie Berghoff, Founder and CEO of high performance health agency, Celproceo. Berghoff helps entrepreneurs and high achievers biohack and optimize their health for their best performance, and mental health and wellbeing is a critical part of this. “Hone in on decreasing your own stress and working on a positive mindset,” Berghoff encouraged. “It's easy to get sucked into the fear, chaos, and negativity you may see around you, but your top power will be your ability to maintain resilience and strength during this time.”

21. Jose Artiumo, Founder of VIP Media Solutions. Artiumo always emphasizes the importance of gaining media attention, but specifically, sees this time as critical for refining your skill. “Sharpen your ax with your skills so you can retain the attention you get when you get back into the media,” said Artiumo. “Now is the ideal time to invest in yourself and make sure you’re the best at what you do.”

22. Jeff Sekinger, founder of 0percent.com. Sekinger recently launched a partnership program that allows his business’s consulting clients to start financial services businesses such as funding, credit repair and insurance at no cost and virtually no barriers to entry. Specifically, they help entrepreneurs get the lowest business financing possible, so they can leverage business debt -- one of the greatest resources available during these uncertain times.

23. Mcdonald Worley CEO of Mcdonald Worley P.C. Worley shares that after serving 30,000 clients, he feels that the difference between a successful business and a hurting one right now comes down to making sure that your business can give the clients what they need and paying attention to the details. If you go beyond what you can handle as a team, in order to bring more clients into the fold then the work will suffer, which in turn will hurt your reputation and this will cost you way more business than anything else. 

24. Drew Evans, CEO of Caifu Property. To date, Evans has built his personal real estate portfolio to over $10 Million Dollars, and with his business partner, has helped his clients invest in over $1 Billion in property. “There are still many real estate opportunities to build positive cashflow property portfolios and instant equity,” said Evans. “Even if you have never explored real estate before, it continues to be a worthwhile investment for the long run, even in economic downturns in the short run.” 

25. Thomas Graham CEO of Crosswinds PR. “Working as a PR crisis firm, we’ve learned that the best way to navigate crises is to be empathetic and transparent,” said Graham. “As your business faces inevitable crises of differing sizes during this time, make sure you stay genuine and transparent with your audience or customers and always position yourself as someone who can - and who wants to - help.”

26. David Pascht, digital marketing expert. Pascht offered his best advice for running a team, which applies at any time, but is especially pertinent as teams continue to work remotely or shift in the wake of the pandemic. “Although your team is looking to you as the ‘leader,’ make sure to treat them as equals. Invite creative ideas and the open space and encouragement for innovative approaches to the problems your business will face through the turbulent times. These ideas can only come in if your team feels safe to be ‘wrong’ - this is how they will be truly creative.” 

27. Travis Killian, expert in Amazon e-commerce. Killian has created a $10 Million business by selling physical products on Amazon, and recommends that founders with physical products make sure that they’re on Amazon. “Many founders spend 80 percent of their efforts on platforms like Shopify, for only a fraction of the ROI. If you haven’t tried Amazon or doubled down on it, now is a great time to build a presence there,” he advised.

28. Greg Vogel, expert in company exits. There is opportunity in everything that is shifting, too - Vogel noted that “There is no bigger payday than this if you position yourself correctly. Many company exits are in the works, and there are opportunities to buy up companies now and have wildly successful exits later, when the market bounces back.” 

29. Moshe Reuven Sheradsky, WeDu. “Your marketing approach could use some emotional intelligence: work right now to understand your customers’ emotions (as much as they are changing), and work to meet the customer where they are emotionally.” 

30. Iman Shafei, Founder of Keystone Investors. “Many are interested in investment opportunities right now because of the fluctuating market, and I definitely encourage people to follow that interest, if it’s financially feasible at this time,” said Shafei. “Specifically, cryptocurrency may be an interesting investment because of the way the global economy is currently changing.”

31. Jeremy Axel, CEO of Fluent Conveyors. “The most important things during these times is to make sure you communicate very well to your team about the importance of execution. Make sure you hold everyone including yourself accountable for the jobs required that will have a quick impact to revenue and cash flow or if its a long term value add. In essence you need to remain intentional and thoughtful as a leader and make sure your team does the same.”

Shazir Mucklai

CEO

Imperium Group

shazir@imperium-pr.com