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5 Productivity Tactics to Help You Win as a Creative in Your Online Business

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The shift in business has made online entrepreneurship as easy as visiting your local grocery store. The possibilities are endless and the variety is abundant. As creative entrepreneurs, your mind is always powered on flying through hundreds of ideas, thoughts and visions at any given moment. It’s the Jekyll-Hyde of being overwhelmed with too many ideas or a drought of none.

Online business is both a blessing and curse in that, you can reach a wider audience while getting caught up in the noise of your competitors keeping you from being competitive.

Here are the 5 productivity tactics that will help you win in online business as a creative entrepreneur:

1. Create Before You Consume

As a creative, you’re wired to look to the world for inspiration. With social media at our fingertips it makes it easy to get caught up in what our competitors are doing falling victim to comparison syndrome. Start your day off by journaling and using an outlet to release your creativity that’s been bottled up through the night. Only once it’s been released should you then consume the content of others for inspiration. The idea is to only absorb what will help you and not get caught up in the quality of their work to yours.

“Productivity is less about what you do with your time and more about how you run your mind.” – Robin Sharma

2. Silence Your Creativity

The blessing and curse of a creative mindset is our inability to switch it off. We often get so consumed in striving for our goals that we missed all the signs leading us to burnout. We then hit a wall that stalls us for a few days, weeks or even months. Dedicate time every day to doing something non-creative. Go for a walk, meditate, get lost in a book and let your mind relax to refill your creative juice tank.

3. Lean On the Right Support

It’s so easy to get caught up in doing everything on our own. You hold massive visions and goals for your life that others simply won’t understand. The beauty about that is, we all do. Take that first step and reach out to others in your network or invest in a coach or mentor who can keep you from getting deep in your negative thoughts and motivate you to keep pushing through. Support is crucial especially for a creative entrepreneur. You need someone to communicate your vision to and help you create strategies to achieve it.

4. Invest in the Right Tools

Having the right tools can make or break your creative career. Tools don’t have to be a heavy financial investment. Some of the best tools you can use are free. Find the ones that work for you to keep you on track, organized and productive. A hangup many creatives encounter is their ability to lose track of time. The Pomodoro Timer is a lifesaver when it comes to keeping you on track to achieving your goals.

It has three time options, a 25, 10 and 5 minute setting with the 5 and 10 minute settings being used for necessary breaks before restarting the 25 minute timer. Another tool popular among creatives is Trello. It allows you to tap into the Type A personality while still owning your Type B. These are just a few of the many available to you.

“Productivity is never an accident, it’s the results of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning & focused effort.” – Paul Meyer

5. Establish a Healthy System

What makes entrepreneurship fun for creatives is their ability to tap into the world around them for creativity at any given moment. Where this becomes a challenge is they often neglect their own self-care to fulfill their creative big-picture vision. Start by dedicating 30 minutes to yourself every morning to relax, enjoy the calm and ease your mind into the day. This will allow you to create a steady and consistent flow throughout your day instead of jumping right in and burning out quickly.

What do you use that helps your productivity as an entrepreneur? Comment below!

Heidi Kurter is a world traveler currently living in Ulsan, South Korea. She left her corporate Human Resources position 14 months ago to pursue a life of entrepreneurship and travel. She is now an HR, Leadership & Development Coach and Corporate Consultant providing leadership and development strategies for entrepreneurs and organizations across the globe. Heidi combines her passion for HR and Leadership & Development to empower stuck, struggling and overwhelmed individuals into empowered leaders for their life and business. You can find her on Facebook or www.heidilynneco.com

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

Building a Business Empire: Lessons from the World’s Boldest Entrepreneurs

Learn essential lessons, success strategies, and mindset shifts every aspiring entrepreneur needs to overcome challenges and build a thriving business.

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how to build a business empire
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Back in July 2017, I attended a business seminar on entrepreneurship in India. With my appetite for learning and meeting new people, I wanted to explore the latest developments in the entrepreneurial world. (more…)

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Change Your Mindset

Why Ideas Are More Valuable Than Resources for Entrepreneurial Success

Discover why ideas, not resources, are the true driving force behind entrepreneurial success, innovation, and lasting growth.

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Power of ideas in entrepreneurship
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History shows us that the greatest minds, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Stephen King, and countless others, faced failure early on. Yet, instead of seeing failure as the end, they treated it as a comma in their story, not a full stop. (more…)

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