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The leaders of even the leanest startup teams can usually find ways to cut down their work hours and find a better balance for long-term success. Entrepreneurs and their small crews understand and accept the hard work that comes with their decision to start or join a new business. Yet, a constant, long-hours hustle may not be sustainable over time. If a startup's team members regularly burn the candle at both ends, they're likely to burn out—and that spells bad news for the future of the business. While it may be a cliché, "Work smarter, not harder" may well apply here. If an entrepreneur can find ways to use time more productively, they can shorten the number of hours both they and their team members are devoting to work—which helps everyone involved sustain both their health and the health of the business for the long term. To help, the members of Fast Company Executive Board shared 16 steps entrepreneurs and their teams can take to reduce their 60-plus-hour workweeks down to 40 or less.

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Don't let a limited budget stop you from promoting your new business. When budgets are tight, one of the first things many entrepreneurs strike from their list of financial priorities is marketing. However, marketing doesn't have to take a backseat when resources are limited. In fact, there are plenty of ways to continue promoting your company while keeping costs low. DIY public relations can be an inexpensive way to gain attention for your business—if you follow the right strategies and best practices. Below, 14 members of Fast Company Executive Board share some creative, inexpensive ways a new business can drum up good publicity or press mentions.

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When it comes to getting the word out about your business, your own online reputation can be a boon—if you manage it carefully. With more communication channels than ever available for free, right at our fingertips, there are plenty of options for a CEO to broadcast their business. However, as quick and simple as it can be to talk up your business online through your business and personal social media accounts, it's just as easy to make the wrong move—one that can hurt your company's reputation. Indeed, a CEO's reputation can affect how people view their business. In today's marketplace, consumers tend to make personal connections with the businesses they patronize, and they may well choose to buy from (or pass by) a company depending on what they think of its CEO. Company leaders need to devote time and resources to building up a positive public image online. To help, 15 members of Fast Company Executive Board have shared their top personal branding tips for CEOs. Follow their advice to cultivate an online reputation that's a positive for both you and your business.

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No entrepreneur starts their business journey knowing everything, so it helps to have some hints from those who have walked the path before them. Every entrepreneurial journey comes with a learning curve—one that is likely to include both missteps and victories. Experience may be the best teacher, but it doesn't necessarily have to be one's own personal experience. By getting advice from others who have taken the journey before them, entrepreneurs can gain insights that smooth some of the bumps in the road ahead.  Following the right advice can save you from making some of the big mistakes that have cost other entrepreneurs wasted money, time, and energy—and help you make smarter decisions that will shorten your path to success. Below, 16 members of Fast Company Executive Board share the financial advice they wish they’d received prior to starting their businesses.

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When you design systems from the ground up, you understand the interconnectedness of features and end up with a design that fulfills the complexity that our comfort demands.

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Smart professionals know there's always an opportunity to learn more and hone new skills in the business world. Learning a new business skill is always a good idea, whether you’re the company owner or a frontline team member. And in today’s digital age, there’s no shortage of material out there for professionals to peruse, from seminars to online courses to advice from experts.  In fact, these days it’s easier to drift into information overload than to be stymied by a lack of resources. If you’re looking to engage in some professional learning or skills building and are overwhelmed by choice or simply short on time, check out the following smart tips for acquiring a new business skill from the members of Fast Company Executive Board.

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If you want your praise to make a positive impact on your team, you have to be consistent, and you need to spread it around. Employees want to feel appreciated and recognized for their hard work. Many studies have shown the positive impact of praise on employee happiness and productivity. But it’s not enough to only recognize large milestones or focus on the major players in a companywide project. It’s important to find ways both small and large to regularly recognize a job well done. You can learn a lot about your company and team—and give morale a big boost—by looking for positive moments and thoughtful ways to praise. Below, 16 Fast Company Executive Board members reveal effective ways to praise team members for their ongoing great work.

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A conversation with an underperforming employee is a delicate situation that must be handled with care. As a leader, it's important to be able to have tough but necessary conversations with employees. When an employee isn't performing to their full potential, leaders must guide them the best they can and work with them to find the root of the problem. It's certainly a challenge to have these conversations, which can be uncomfortable and awkward for both parties. And if they're not executed properly, your conversation could hurt your relationship with the employee, causing further damage to their morale and performance. To help you have constructive conversations with employees who need some coaching, 16 members of Fast Company Executive Board have shared one thing a leader should never say or do when meeting with an underperforming employee.

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If you want to ensure you and your team have a healthy work-life balance, try these strategies for shortening the amount of time you’re devoting to your desk. While work-life balance has always been important, it hasn’t always gotten much serious attention; but since the COVID-19 pandemic, the human need to step away and recharge has increasingly become a topic of discussion. Many professionals at all levels have reported working even longer hours since moving to remote work arrangements—when the office and home become a single location, stepping away can become even harder.  Whether you and your team are working exclusively from home or showing up to an office building one or more days a week, developing a healthy work-life balance is essential for everyone’s mental and physical health. To help all professionals add a bit more personal time back into their week, 15 members of Fast Company Executive Board have shared ways to structure and make the most of your “work” hours so you can have more time for your personal life.

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Leading a remote team can be challenging, but with the right strategies, you can keep your team aligned and productive no matter where they’re located. Throughout the pandemic, many companies were forced to make an abrupt shift to a fully remote work environment. This, combined with the growth of the gig economy, means that today, many managers rarely if ever meet with their team members in person. The transition was a difficult one for some businesses, and it’s normal for leaders to feel like they’re still learning about and adapting to managing remote team members. The last several months have proven to many businesses that it’s possible to maintain or even improve productivity levels even when some or all team members are working from home—if managers adopt the right leadership strategies. If you’re still learning the ropes when it comes to managing remote and contract workers, check out the following recommendations shared by members of Fast Company Executive Board.