Contributed by Jackie Carrillo, a content coordinator and contributor who writes on technology, marketing, business management and education. SEO is often touted as one of those essential business practices that are simple enough to do yourself. After all, you probably have the power to edit your business’s website, so you can stuff pages with keyword phrases, sprinkle links galore and alter other factors that could improve your performance on the search engine results pages (SERPs). Thus, you could conceivably save tens of thousands of dollars by going the DIY route — unless you run into some SEO trouble.SEO is simple until it isn’t. Unfortunately, SEO can get exceedingly complex exceedingly quickly. To prove the point, here are a four relatively typical SEO problems that tend to be too complex for the average business leader to solve. 21174

 Contributed by Raj Thakkar, founder and CEO, Charter School Business Management Inc.Could you step away from your company unexpectedly for months on end—and know everything would run smoothly?What would you do if you had to step away unexpectedly from your business for four months, just days after you’d landed your biggest client ever?That’s the quandary I faced in July 2019. My company was growing―fast. We had recently signed a client that was 10X larger than our other clients when I got that dreaded phone call: My mother had been diagnosed with stage four cancer, with only months to live.It was an easy decision for me, in that it wasn’t a decision at all. I would travel to her home state (1,500 miles away) and live there to take care of her every need during her final months. And I wouldn’t simultaneously run my company during this time; my focus would be fully on my mother. 21162

Contributed by Rob Dubé, CEO at imageOne. Rob is a member of EO in Detroit, speaker, author and an avid proponent of mindful leadership. If you’re like most business leaders and entrepreneurs, you know what it’s like to be stressed. Those years of nonstop work provide us with exciting dream careers and anxiety-ridden sleepless nights. Stress is simply part of the deal, right?To an extent, sure. Nobody said entrepreneurship was easy. But, if the pressures of leadership are unavoidable, do we have to accept stress and the consequences that come with it?Not by a longshot.Admittedly, it took me years to find a useful life tool—mindfulness and meditation.I know. I know. Sitting alone in silence probably sounds like the worst way for a busy business entrepreneur to spend their precious time. However, this small time investment has paid me back in ways I never could’ve imagined. 21148

Contributed by Frank Hamilton.Starting a business is an exciting adventure. It’s understandable why some people choose to do it with friends. After all, who could be a better partner than your best friend?You might be surprised by the obstacles you could face as friends in business together, though. Here are just seven reasons to think again before you launch a business with your buddy.1. Friendship Doesn’t Equal Business CompatibilityOne of the biggest—and most disappointing—surprises about starting a business with your friends is realizing your friendship doesn’t automatically mean business compatibility. In fact, it is often quite the opposite. If you can’t find a way to manage the business together, you won’t make it far. 21140