Etiquette : The Proper Behavior

Etiquette : The Proper Behavior

Etiquette : The Proper Behavior

 

“Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better thank is absolutely essential.”

Will Cuppy

​Anyone who has ever worked with an overbearing self-promoter knows there is a big difference between a show-off and a superstar. Downplaying your skill set won’t do much for your reputation, either. The key to shining in the office is to find a balance between sharing and bragging and focusing more on being than seeming helpful, encouraging, organized, prepared and genuine.

Here are five ways to step into your spotlight in the office by adopting the proper behavior (without turning everyone off)

Behavior

Make an effort to connect.

There is truth in the saying that people will never forget how you made them feel. Instead of rushing to your desk and putting your head down, make an effort to say good morning/hello to everyone from your receptionist to your boss and ask them how things are going every once in awhile. In doing so, you can help to diffuse any misinformed projections, build relationships with your team that will inevitably boost productivity and set yourself apart from those who only acknowledge those who can help them in some way.

 

 

Start each day with a clear purpose.

Take a few moments each morning to understand what you want the outcome of your day to be. After you have a clear picture, identify the most important tasks to take on in order to achieve it. These are the ones that will bring you to the result you want to achieve and help you stay on track when the inevitable interruptions and social media temptations begin to seep in.

 

Be reliable.

This sounds obvious, but how many people know someone who is always running late, shows up to meetings without notes or always has an excuse for a missed deadline or sloppy work? Try and bring one well thought-out idea to each meeting instead of trying to shoot off five off of the top of your head (or offering none at all) and meet your deadlines with edited work instead of trying to beat them and move to the next thing.

 

 

 

Be proactive.

Give weekly updates and take it upon yourself to lead the charge when it comes to following up on projects (before they are due). Information exchange offers a great benefit to those who are opening the lines of communication. Not only are you showing the work you have done in a non-aggressive way, you are also leading team members who may have needed a reminder or a little guidance as to how to get things done.

 

 

Do your part, but no more.

This doesn’t mean to play the “that is not in my job title” card, but more a reminder to step up and give 100% but don’t take on other people’s duties to show off or play the martyr. You want to share your knowledge and wisdom without stepping on anyone’s toes or disempowering them. Teach them how to fish and hold them accountable the same as you expect them to.

 

If you respect and adopt these simple steps, your behavior ​will change and it will results in the workplace’s harmony where each member’s behavior contribute. All of those steps can be enhanced by Gamification.

A prime example of a company who is taking the gamification world by storm is Skylab Apps. At Skylab, one great use for Gamification is by incorporating it into the workplace. It can be an asset because it can provide employees with further work-related knowledge. This could be in regards to policies, standards, performance expectations, and so forth. Gamification makes learning about these various things actually fun and engaging, which in turn produces more educated and well-versed employees.”

 

Perception in Business

Perception in Business

Perception in Business

 

“We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are”

​Anaïs Nin

 

Perception is a major and old area of study in the field of Psychology. Perception is how we organize, understand and interpret the world around us: what we see, what we hear, what we feel, what we smell, and what we taste. Dependent upon the business you are in, all five senses may play a role or perhaps just one or two. There is the belief that perception alters and may distort our vision of reality, perhaps masking the truth. If people come to a situation with a preconceived notion of what should be, they might tend to see what they expect, not what is there.  So, we tend to bring to a given situation an inherent bias that may color the reality. The point of note here is that in viewing a business situation you need to see what is there, not what you expect to be there based upon previous experience, training, or expectations. That may be difficult to do.

Without a doubt, perception is a complex phenomenon influenced by personal values and/or beliefs, experience, attitude, education and training.  An individual’s level of perception also may have some hereditary basis. Perception operates in all aspects of our life: our personal life; our social life; and, most certainly, our business life.


Specifically, what role is played by perception in business? If one accepts and understands that developing a vision, or predicting where a market will develop, or identifying major trends that impact the basic fabric of society, or determining how best to take advantage of an opportunity, is an essential part of running any business, then you accept perception as a basic ingredient in those processes. Sometimes, that hunch or gut feeling one gets is a form of perception. Remember that perception is how we see things and how we arrange and interpret those things to come to a conclusion or to make a decision.  Consequently, perception is a principal ingredient in the management of a business and it can be a powerful tool in business, if properly recognized and applied.

A new wave of business leaders are doing much to change their perceptions, particularly in the tech industry, which is leading the drive for a more positive future for the human race. At Skylab, CEO&Founder Dean Grey is known in the network marketing industry as one of the most inspirational and charismatic keynote speakers and his perception relies on the idea to help others: “It’s a Reward Within Itself”.


Perception in business is a reality. It is an essential part of one’s package of business skills. It is a core competency. To deny these statements is to deny a basic attribute of entrepreneurship, leadership and decision-making. Perception is basic and integral to how we see and assess opportunities and how we will pursue opportunities. It is how we view our business environment and the elements that make up that environment both internal (staff, resources, equipment, services, products) and external (the market, the customer/client, the competition); and, it is much more.  It is also the identification and understanding of major trends, especially long-term trends, that affect the basic structure of society (aging population, empty-nesters, women returning en masse to the workforce, decline in manufacturing jobs and the increase in service sector jobs, global economics, growth in the health care industry, information technology and the trend to inter-company collaboration).

Peter Drucker, business management sage of the 20th Century, considered perception the skill essential to making bold, creative decisions. In Managing in a Time of Great Change, he said :

“Today, perceptiveness is more important than analysis. In the new society of organizations, you need to be able to recognize patterns to see what is there rather than what you expect to see.”

Peter Drucker

 

Therein lays the key benefit to applying or invoking the right perception. There also is the core problem. We need to see what is there, not what we expect to see. How do we do that? Here are a few suggestions.

Eliminating the ego in decision-making is the major component. The ego is personal baggage based on previous knowledge, previous experience and expectations. It may not be all bad, but, then again, it may. It colors one’s view and may even distort the image that you ought to be seeing.  Clearing one’s mind and taking, as much as possible, an open and simple view of the business environment, to see it as it is and not as one wants it to be is the objective.  The results of eliminating ego, hopefully, are a fresh view and through that fresh view the identification of new business opportunities.


Related to eliminating ego is this: assume nothing. Assumptions must fit reality. That means having a good grasp on your business environment: the existing situation, the opportunities for growth, what the competition is doing what the client wants (always a moving target), to mention a few. So, assume nothing; get the facts; check and re-check and check again.
Acquire a clear and working knowledge of those long-term trends we spoke of in Part One of this Article. These are the trends or shifts in society, existing and emerging, which change the basic structure of society, including the business sector. These long-term trends significantly affect the business decisions we take, or ought to take.
Perception has always been an important part of the business management decision-making process and will always remain so. Perception, appropriately understood and applied, is a key business skill and is the leading edge in recognizing and developing business opportunities.

“This gives us the opportunity to change our environment and thus, change ourselves for the better.”

Dean Grey

To learn more about the environments’ shaping towards success, follow this link 

What do you see on this image ? A rabbit ? Or maybe it’s a duck ! See ! It’s all about perception !

 

 

 

 

You can learn more about perception through the Gamified E-learning System on the Trilogy app. Skylab has worked with Greg Rex to develop this Healthy and Well Being app. 

 

 

How to Create a Movement

How to Create a Movement

It takes three kinds of people to create a movement.

Activists

Artists

Intelectuales

 

Very rarely do we see one individual that is able to embody all three personalities. The ones who do, you already know there names. Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates to name a few. There is a common thread among all three of these unique individuals. The ability to be an artist, activist and intellectual is not something that comes naturally. In fact creativity and critical thinking in the terms of economics come from two very different sides of the brain.

So what are those special attributes that allow a person to rewrite the rules and create a movement?

This day in age, creating a movement can happen fast because information travels with greater velocity every day. This idea of leveraging technology was something that Dean Grey, the CEO and Founder of Skylab Apps understood with crystal clear clarity. Like Zuckerberg and Jobs, Mr. Grey shares the unique ability to be an artist and intelectual who’s politics are driven by a moral code, not political correctives.

 

To create a movement, one must have vision, determination, chops and be a little bit crazy for believing you will be able to pull it off. When Dean founded Skylab Apps, it was about anchoring a decision for him, planting his flag, and then burning the ships so only path was forward. Getting to that decision would require the following steps:

I started to outgrow the community I was a part of. In order to move forward, I had to make the switch from entertaining and educating people around the world to equipping people around the world.

Dean Grey

Erase the Labels

If you are not a trained musician but want to convey a message by composing a tune, don’t let the lack of a formal education stop you. Never let the question ‘Am I trained to do this?’ take root. Carve a path and walk through. This is the only way forward and create a movement

Success Tastes Sweet Only After Bitter Failure

Be mentally prepared to hear ‘No’ before you meet acceptance. Aim for rejection, it is not negative if something substantial comes out of it. Dean Grey himself had to endure failed attempts before he got to the summit. When you stop worrying about rejection, you put in your best effort.

Don’t Lose Focus on the Project’s Integrity

It is easier to fall off the wagon than getting on to it. Most people who come up with brilliant ideas after tasking initial success, lose focus on their goals and get off track. Persistence is the key. Have a small team in place whose responsibility is to assess the course of the project. Anytime they feel that the trajectory is misaligned, corrective steps can be implemented without losing time.

There Should Always Be a Scale For Measurement

Every action and idea must be scalable. When you find yourself thinking of the next big idea or about to create a movement, ask yourself “Will this be applicable to 500 people?” If the answer is no, alter the plan. If yes, improve it to fit a larger perspective.

Keep It Simple

An idea is great only when it is simplified. The more complicated it gets, the lesser acceptance it will receive. People tend to follow only those ideas which they can understand. Breaking down the idea into a simple concept also makes building an emotional connection easier.

During the inception of the idea it is pivotal to keep it centered on a core value. This core will decide if the project will go global or lose momentum.

​Dean Grey is not a lone wolf on his path to creating a movement with Skylab Apps. 

​The Skylab CEO understood that  in order to create a movement he needed to get the right people on the bus. Luckily, like attracts like, and Dean would devise the most incredible team of C-level execs, entrepreneurs and ambassadors that share the same vision that he had.

This team of Artists, Activists and Intellectuals are top performers in their space.

The Intellectuals: ​who’s former associations and employment history stem from globally recognised brands like the UFC, Fanduel, Walt Disney, Success Partners HITACHI and Nike consists of Mike Pine, Tony Chaplin, and Tony Cerqueira to name a few.

The Artists: ​A creative team of world renowned dancers athletes and entertainers that consists of 8-time goldmedalist Apolo Ohno, 5-Time world Dance Champion Jeremy WongAlex and Kyle McCarthy, and other uber talented folks

The Activists: Consisting of some rebel entrepreneurs who dared to think outside the box and chase their own dream of success. Some of
the players are Skylab CTO George Pslek, Digital marketing and sales masters Mike Filsaime along with Steve Wolf and the most cutting edge platform development and design team including Lauren Peters (formally Coca-Cola/ Wells Fargo) Bryan Farris (UC Berkley / Acumen Transit Hero) and Big Data with Sasha Treviso (Amobee).

 

This is how you create a movement.

For more information on how Skylab Apps is creating a digital movement, check out this link

Check out this TED Talks about how to start a movement.

Gamification in the Workplace

Gamification in the Workplace

Gamification in the Workplace

 

Gamification in the workplace uses game mechanics to drive employee performance. Employee performance KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) are measured in real time – like a Fitbit for work – showing where employees are doing better, having them compete with their goals and past achievements. It is made to drive intrinsic motivation, the sense of mastery and control that comes when we know we are doing our job well.

Yet, most people think of workforce gamification as a thin game veneer applied to work, a “video game at work” that attempts to create motivation through points and badges, bells and whistles. And then, almost immediately, they disbelieve gamification. They are right – making work cute or “fun” or “game-like” doesn’t work, but using gamification like a fitness tracker for work works well, changing more than performance and affecting the culture of thinking and talking about employee performance.

“When brought into the context of business, this means that users of these applications are actively engaged in fun ways with other users who they can interact with through chat and messages, all while learning about a given company and their products.”

 

Dean Grey, Founder and CEO of Skylab Apps.

At Skylab Apps, we use our own app to gamify the way people working with us.

Here are five key elements of what workforce gamification really is:

1. Real-Time Performance Management

Performance management is a good idea: set goals and measure their achievement. The problem is that most performance management practices involve setting of annual goals, which soon become stale. In addition, communication with employees about performance is marred by the practice of ranking employee performance – which people (naturally, of course) find threatening, confrontational and discouraging.

So in practice, many companies are eliminating or re-assessing their performance management practices.

Gamification focuses on the here and now. Imagine a basketball coach who skids along the court, following his team as they invest all their body strength and skills to fight off opponents’ scores, and keep up their offensive within the team. The coach throws out his feedback in real-time so his players can fix their mistakes on the spot. If his point guard is taking too many shots in the first quarter, his coach will have him back on the right track by the end of the second.

Gamification brings this dynamic to your employees’ performance. Feedback is given on-the-spot, by showing performance KPIs and personalized benchmarks and goals within the gamification application, so employees can rectify flaws in real-time, instead of thru retroactive feedback that is weeks or months late.

2. Objective and Fair

New management practices are gravitating away from subjective evaluation of employees, and more in the direction of objective and proactive development of employees.

What this brings is a positive process that reflects both to employees and their managers how employees are progressing and which goals are being met, and transparently so. Research about performance management shows that managers are often unaware of the fact that their evaluations are subjective; measuring KPIs in real time can correct this. In this case, there are spillover effects into corporate culture – when evaluation is objective and fair, people feel differently about work and about whether their efforts and performance will be fairly recognized.

Gamification also reflects insights and results to employees (and managers) that effectively enable them to make changes in their work performance. In many cases, in case performance in a certain area is lacking, employees are directed to micro-learning so that they can correct their course and improve their expertise. For example, a new Urbn Pizza’s worker will be motivated to learn about the company he will works for!

Urbn Pizza

 

 

A Skylab’s Client, Urbn Pizza, integrates the gamification in the workplace by using this performance process. 

 

 

3. Performance Measurement is Transparent

Many successful tech companies (Google, Intel, Linkedin and others) use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to communicate goals and objectives to employees. Results are tracked – and people can see the OKRs of their peers. This is a new degree of transparency.

OKRs are used by knowledge workers (product managers, developers, communications managers, etc.), and remain transparent to all their peers, so that every employee in the organization can see what every other employee is working on and setting as a priority.

Gamification is OKR for the workforce: rank and file employees, who don’t have goals like ‘launch new product’, ‘have a successful beta launch’ but are required to perform within certain benchmarks expected of them.

It lets the relevant employee to see how they are doing in comparison to their fellow colleagues, and in what fields they are performing better or worse than those colleagues. This instills a sense of fairness, and a clarity on what employees are supposed to focus on at work. It also lets companies set individualized goals, so that what is expected of employees is fair and achievable.

For example, on this screenshot of the Urbn Pizza app, an employee of one of the Urbn Pizza restaurant can go through a “Prep List” with actions like “Check Bathrooms” or “Check Kitchen”. These actions are proper to the employee experience. Here, it’s the server experience but others exist like Bartender or Cooks. Once the Actions are applied, they are displayed on the Community Recognition Wall. Every other employees and managers in the workplace will be able to see that actions had been taken. If one has been forgotten, another worker can comment the action and the problem is fixed instantly thanks to instant feedback.

 

4. Drive the Right Things: Behaviour

Competition is often viewed as a positive motivation method. Well, for many people it isn’t and can even be perceived as a source of unfairness. Sales managers tend to believe in this fallacy and want to manage performance with leaderboards displayed as “employees of the day” on the Urbn Pizza app.

Projecting different employee’s successes to one another on mediums like a leaderboard and showing actual sales isn’t a good idea. It’s true that sales are the objective, yet this isn’t what should be motivated, but rather the activities that drive sales. To generate better sales, gamification would want to drive behaviours and measure them: more calls, qualifying leads, meeting potential and existing clients, etc.

 

5. Gamification Isn’t a Game

What is the “game” part of gamification? It is the use of game mechanics – like calling out to employees to bet on themselves, showing them completion bars and more – to drive behaviour and engagement. Gamification creates a way for employees to monitor their progress at the workplace and act from a place of intrinsic motivation. In this, it isn’t a game, but it can be a game changer for work performance and culture.

 

 

 

The Mobile App Vs. The Mobile Platform

The Mobile App Vs. The Mobile Platform

Skylab App Mobile Platform

VS.

The industry standard Mobile App.

 

Imagine a platform that allows the owner to make changes to the Mobile App in real time across 3 native platforms without ever needing to resubmit to the App Store or Google Play.

This is what Skylab Apps has created. When CEO Dean Grey set out to build a white labeled social media app where the app owner had 100% autonomy and control he ran in to a big problem. How could we deliver a custom platform if the app owner cannot not make changes to the finished product at the speed of their business or their community’s growth?

To solve the problem, Skylab Apps built a “command center” and attached it to the scalable white labeled social media platform. In essence, it is the equivalent of leasing a new Ferrari and being able to reconfigure the color of the car itself or change the side of the car you would like the steering wheel on at anytime in “real time” making as many changes as you want.

Sounds impossible right? Well, it’s not. Skylab has built it. In fact the Skylab Apps command center is so robust it gives the app owner the ability to customize the color, content, positioning and user tags… and that is only the beginning.

The idea is quite revolutionary. Skylab Apps has really built a platform, not an app. Uber is an app, you download it, use it and when the company updates it, you may see some changes. The Skylab Apps Platform is not Web based or HTML 5. The platform is built to work simultaneously across three platforms:

  • Web App (w/Command Center CMS Controls)
  • iOS
  • Android

The Skylab Apps Platform similar to Word press but for the Native Mobile App. To grasp just how big this idea is, you need to understand a little bit about the app development world itself.

15 years ago, it was somewhat difficult to build a website. There was no Squarespace or Shopify. These were ideas back then, and until the advent of WordPress, the chances of you developing a desirable and functioning website without coding knowledge or a computer science degree was about as likely as winning the lottery. At best, the chances of pulling it off on your own was slim to none. WordPress forged the path that changed all of this.

​Wordpress was open source and allowed a community of developers to create software plug-ins making it easy for user to ultimately build a website quickly with no coding experience or computer science degree needed. Later on, some for profit companies like Squarespace and Shopify that have made the user experience even more seamless.

​Skylab Apps set out to simplify the process for the end user delivering on the promise of a seamless mobile platform across all major interfaces that tackled and solved all of the major problems that exist in the mobile app development space today.

testimonial_alex“Skylab has revolutionized the rapidly growing cheerleading industry by providing cheerleaders, coaches, and gym owners the best opportunity to train, learn, and develop their skill-set as they strive to become world class athletes. By utilizing the Skylab platform, we are now able to use gamification to connect a global industry, and the result is extraordinary.”

Alex McCarthy | 5-Time world Champion & CEO / Founder of The Cheer Apps

Big companies are catching on too! Skylab Apps has a growing list of some major clients including Amway, Allysian Health Sciences and Jack Canfield Companies. In addition to the mounting success of Skylab App, the are attracting some huge talent from companies like Walt Disney, UFC, Fan Duel and HITACHI. Take a look at the Executive team and check out the endorsements they have gotten so far, it is nothing short of amazing!

Paul Becker3“Skylab Apps technology gives me the platform to engage with my community through chat, trainings, and recognition all while giving my community a place that isn’t bombarded with traditional social media noise.”

Apolo Ohno | Short Track Speed Skater and an eight time medalist in the Winter Olympics / Co-Founder of Allysian Sciences

Skylab Apps understand trends at cellular level.

“We do not guess, we spot the trends and strategize.”

​Dean Grey  | Skylab Apps CEO

Here is some Quick History For you:

  • The internet became mainstream in 1999​​
  • WordPress was start in 2003​
  • ​Today 27% of the internet is powered by Wordpress sites. 
  • ​Mobile Apps are a $77 Billion Market currently and expected to grow to $101 Billion by 2020

The only tech out there even close to what the Skylab Apps platform does is already antiquated or at best years behind what has been created by Skylab. 

​For more information or to request a demo to see the platform, please visit www.Skylabapps.com

Mobile: a “New” Platform Trend

Mobile: a “New” Platform Trend

The Mobile Platform Era is here

The number of mobile platform users today is greater than the number of desktop users!

 

Consequently, businesses have realized the need to effectively use mobile channels platform for attracting customers. They have started new operations (or scaled existing ones) through mobile websites and mobile apps.

“Mobile devices have already ingrained themselves into our daily lives and business are realizing that this is something that can work to their advantage.”

Dean Grey, Entrepreneur, CEO & Founder of Skylab apps

While businesses with large wallets can afford to employ both mobile websites and apps platform, other companies might have to choose one of them. The choice between mobile apps and websites depends on their cost, usability, required features and the audience they serve.

That being said, studies show that users prefer mobile apps platform more than mobile websites. This makes for a strong reason to have mobile apps for reaching out to potential (and existing) customers.

In addition, there are various other reasons, too, that make mobile apps better than mobile websites platform.

#1 Mobile Apps Offer Better Personalization

Personalization is about offering tailored communication – Smart Chat – to users based on their PIIP (Proximity, Identity, Interest and Performance)

“Personalization is critical in making a mobile User Experience delightful”

Anthony O’Donoghue

 

With mobile apps, it’s easy to treat users with a personalized experience.

Mobile apps can let users set up their preferences at the start, based on which users can be served with customized content. Apps can also track and observe user engagement, and use it to offer custom recommendations and updates to the users. Furthermore, they can also identify location of the users in real-time to provide geography-specific content.

However, improving user experience is not the only purpose that personalization serves. It can also help improve conversion rate of apps:

When users are pampered with personalized content, they have a higher chance of making a conversion.

 

 

At Skylab, visuals and layouts are customizable, but the underlying structure is stable & standard. This creates total control for the client – flexibility within a proven and tested framework.

This is a massively-disruptive model

#2 Ease of Sending Notifications

For the last couple of decades, email has been the most widely-used business communication tool. Businesses have extensively used email (some almost abused it) to reach out to their users. As a result, email has lost the effectiveness it once had; its open rates and click rates have constantly dropped.Well, there’s no reason to worry.

Push notifications

 

The notifications are of two types: push and in-app notifications. They both are exciting alternatives for communicating with app users in a less intrusive manner.

 

The ability to send instant, non-intrusive notifications to users is so desired that it is one of the major reasons why many businesses want to have a mobile app in the first place.

In-app notifications are the notifications which users can only receive when they have opened an app.

 

In-app notifications

 

 

 

 

Push notifications, on the other hand, are those notifications which users can receive regardless of any activity they are doing on their mobile device. There have been instances where the push medium of notifications has delivered click-through rates of 40%.

At Skylab, we’ve got the full suite: outside the app, inside the app, and a master control center.

Notifications are the primary way users get information about activity in their apps. 

 

 

#3 Making Use of Mobile Device Features

Mobile apps have the advantage of utilising features of a mobile device like camera, contact list, GPS, phone calls, accelerometer, compass, etc.

App using native feature : the camera

Such device features, when used within an app, can make the user experience interactive and fun.

Moreover, these features can also reduce the efforts users would have to make otherwise. For instance, users completing a form on a banking app might need to submit their photograph for completion of the process. The app can let users take help of the camera of their mobile device to capture and submit a photograph.

“Apps can utilize native features of mobile devices to enhance User Experience.”

Anthony O’Donoghue

The device features can significantly shorten the time users take to perform a certain task in an app, and can even boost conversions.

Add-on: Mobile websites platform can also use some features of a mobile device like camera, GPS, etc. Still, there are technological constraints in utilizing all the multimedia features of a device (which mobile apps can use).

Skylab has worked in the development of BlowBunny app. We use the native features which had been shown above to create Voting Contest. It’s one of the Gamification add-on features that Skylab can provide.

You can see the most recent posts and -following customizable tabs- the Leaderboard with the actual ranking, your own posts and the winners from the past weeks.

This fun contest renews every so often – admin choose the timeframe – and the winner earns a reward!

Customize the How to Win screen to display the contest info and reward

 

 

#4 Ability to Work Offline

It is probably the most fundamental difference between a mobile website and an app.

Although apps too might require internet connectivity to perform most of their tasks, they can still offer basic content and functionality to users in offline mode.

“The beauty of mobile apps lies in their ability to work even in offline mode.”

Let’s take the example of banking app again.

The app can provide features like tax calculation, instalment calculation, and determination of loan limit. These features can work even without the help of an internet connection.

Add-on: Even though mobile websites platform can use caching to load web pages without an internet connection, they can only offer limited functions.

#5 Freedom in Designing

Even with all the technological advancements in web designing, mobile websites have to rely a lot on browsers to perform even the most elementary functions. Mobile websites depend on browser features like ‘back button,’ ‘refresh button,’ and ‘address bar’ to work.
Mobile Apps don’t have any of these restrictions.

A mobile app can be designed with a lot of elaborate functions, based on advanced gestures like ‘tap,’ ‘swipe,’ ‘drag,’ ‘pinch,’ ‘hold,’ and more.

Apps can use these gestures to offer innovative functionality that can help users perform a task better. For example, an app can let users move to a next or previous step using the swipe gesture.

 

 

Skylab gives you the ability to modify colors/branding + actions + bottom/side menu navigation.

 

#6 New Branding Experience

Since a mobile app is distinct from a company’s website, it has the liberty of offering a new branding experience to users. It means that the company can experiment with new branding styles for the app, which can be different from the regular brand style of the company’s website (or the company altogether).

Going a step further, companies can build mobile apps specifically to transition into a new brand style for themselves.

“Mobile apps can be used to create a distinguished brand for your product/service.”

Additionally, a mobile app can also allow users to customize its appearance, as per users’ liking. This can further help in the personalization front of the app.

Add-on: The concept of microsites work on similar lines. Microsites offer a distinct brand experience to users, as compared to their parent sites. They are often used to promote a sub-brand, an event, or a newly-launched service. 

Skylab can implant a social media page and any website directly into the app. This enhances User Experience.

 

 

 

On this screenshot of the Allysian app, the Action-Buttons can be set in a different way and the different tabs at the bottom of the app as well

 

 

 

 

Allysian Science is One of the Skylab’s Clients. Its mission is to maximize human potential through advanced science and education, enabling people to become the best at whatever they choose to be.

 

Skylab provides to the Admin a wide Platform Settings Control as seen in the previous point. Admin can optimize and change the display as they wish.

Different courses and lessons about Allysian

 

 

The Brand story, aspirations, clients & partners, testimonies and others branding experience can be available with great refine design and layout on the app. New users can easily access to those in the Training tab. Each lesson give credit to the reader by just indicate that it has been completed. Each completed lesson will be displayed on the Recognition Wall where every users can like, comment and access to.

 

 

 

 

#7 Users Spend More Time on Apps

Mobile users spend 86% of their time on mobile apps and just 14% of the time on mobile websites.time spent on mobile apps

“In today’s market, in order to be a successful company it is essential to go mobile”

Dean Grey

Moreover, the average time users spend on mobile apps is also increasing — rising by 21% in 2015 from 2014.

Note: A point to consider here is that users spend a majority of their time on gaming apps and social media apps. Skylab has merged both of them to create a Gamified Social Media.

However, we also don’t have data telling us which mobile websites users visit more often (out of the 14% of their time mentioned above). Hence, it’s not possible to make a comparison.

#8 New Stream of Conversions

If you’re looking to increase conversions, mobile apps platform can be a great medium to push users down the conversion funnel.

Mobile apps can be used to acquire both top-of-the-funnel (ToFu) and bottom-of-the-funnel (BoFu) users.

For instance, utility apps can bring-in ToFu users, which can be later nurtured into BoFu leads. On the other hand, apps like eCommerce already have BOTF users, who have a higher possibility of converting.

Add-on: Since mobile apps are much more targeted in nature (through their content and utility), they can be used to tap specific users in the funnel. Mobile websites, in contrast, reach out to a diverse set of audience.

With Skylab, you already have a community of BoFu and ToFu. Those Users will jump on your app when it will be launched ! Companies focus on capturing new customers, but successful brands knows the importance of retaining & rewarding existing customers.

 

If your user base does not feel a compulsive need to check your app multiple times a day, you are unable to compete. We leverage this need for frequent engagement, exploration, and unpredictability.

 

#9 Brand Presence

App icons

Users spend a substantial amount of their time on mobile devices. It’s safe to say that many of the users encounter the apps they’ve installed on their devices, almost every day. This regular encounter can be viewed as a branding opportunity for the apps. For the record, a study shows that U.S consumers spend 5 hours on their mobile each day !

Even when users are not actively using a mobile app, they are still reminded of the brand associated with the app. The icon of the app acts like a mini-advertisement for the brand.

“Mobile app icons can work like innovative ad-banners.”

The Allysian Logo is its Brand’s Identity

The presence of an app on a user’s device helps influence user’s perception about a brand, subconsciously.

All of these Apps’ Logos become their own Brand Presence

This user behaviour can be linked to the Signal Detection Theory, which suggests that users process even those ads which they’ve ignored at some level in their minds.

 

 

 

With Skylab platform, we have implanted a Gamification Engine with gamified features to add value on what is already on the mobile market. This increases the companies’ value. 

#10 Apps Can Work Faster Than Websites

A well-designed mobile app can perform actions much quicker than a mobile website.

Apps usually store their data locally on mobile devices, in contrast to websites that generally use web servers. For this reason, data retrieval happens swiftly in mobile apps.

Apps can further save users’ time by storing their preferences, and using them to take proactive actions on users’ behalf.

There is also a technical justification as to why mobile apps can work faster.

Mobile websites use javascript code to perform most of their functions. And the framework that mobile apps use can run almost five times faster than a javascript code!

“So, mobile websites are technically slower than mobile apps!”

While all this is happening in the background, users get to complete actions quicker on the front-end of mobile apps, again contributing to a delightful user experience.

 

Mobile App v/s Mobile Site — What Should You Choose?

Developing both mobile website and mobile app for your business can prove to be a costly affair. You might have to choose one of the two channels, based on your budget and business goals. While both channels have their own pros and cons, mobile apps, especially, can help you get higher conversions. Mobile apps offer greater personalization and operational efficiency, along with multiple other exclusive features.

 

At Skylab apps, we provide Mobile & App platform according to the client’s needs. We also bring an essential interest to the native features and add-on features which mobile platform can provide and support (Smart Chat, Notifications, Smart Tags…). Skylab has truly understood and incorporated all of these points we’ve just gone through.

 

Learning how to become a Leader

Learning how to become a Leader

Learning how to become a leader

 

“The Role of a great leader is not to give greatness to human beings, but to help them extract the greatness they already have inside them.”

A Leader’s quote

 

As we rise into leadership roles, it’s not always easy to walk the talk. Of course, we want to be wise sages, counseling our charges and inspiring them to greatness. But that’s easier said than done. The challenge was particularly acute for Karl Allen, co-founder and CEO of Planet Jockey, a company that creates management courses in the form of online games. He knew it would be a sad irony if the head of a company selling leadership games wasn’t much of a leader, himself. So he vowed to step up – and here are the lessons he learned through playing his company’s games and vowing to become the right kind of CEO.

Leader Way

Recognize where you’re starting.

Planet Jockey’s game teaches the principles of “buoyant leadership” – what Allen describes as “a concept whereby, as a leader, you float [on top] because the people you lead believe you deserve it.” (The concept is discussed in depth in a book called The Case of the Missing Cutlery by Kevin Allen, Karl’s partner in business and life.) But Karl recognizes that while buoyancy is the goal, he won’t always be perfect. “I can do it at times,” he says. “But sometimes [negative] instinct takes over, and it takes over really fast.” These days, he can recognize when he feels his temper rising at work, and can guide himself back into a more inspirational mode of leadership.

 

Say what you mean.

In evaluating his leadership style, Karl Allen recognized that sometimes in the past, he’s prioritized being ‘nice’ – which has driven him to avoid saying what he really means. That doesn’t serve anyone, he’s concluded. He recalls one incident where he felt one of Planet Jockey’s Udemy classes wasn’t gaining traction fast enough. The best possible reaction, he says, would have been to tell his staffer, “You’re doing an amazing job, and I’ve got a great idea for all the ways” we can grow further. He also could have directly discussed the critiques he had of the marketing. Instead, he recalls, “I phoned her up and said, ‘I think we’re really dropping the ball.’ It’s passive-aggressive, because when I say ‘we,’ I mean ‘you.’ And that’s terrible and destructive.” Planet Jockey’s games have helped him to realize where he went wrong.

Meetings are critical. One of the areas where Allen knows he fell short initially was in running staff meetings. “Before, I’d just get everyone into a meeting and start chatting and people would shout at me and I’d shout back at them,” he recalls. “What I learned after playing the game is that you need some rules. It’s not just about inspiring people; meetings need to be structured. For instance, you need smaller meetings, so you should try to limit it to 6-8 people. That way you know you can get to hear everybody’s point of view and everyone gets a chance to talk.” Overall, he says, “You need to know what needs to come out of the meeting, and have a clear sense of who’s there and why they’re there.”

At Skylabapps , our CEO & Leader, Dean Grey, has deeply understood that a very clear meaning and structure are essential for the optimal communication between the Skylab Team’s member.

 

 Search for hidden talents. 

Early on, says Allen, he would sometimes take too narrow a view of what others could contribute. “The game taught me that people within your team have a lot more to offer than sometimes you realize,” he says. As a result, he started a team practice in which staffers sit down and share what they’re doing outside of work. That’s how he learned about one employee’s side calligraphy business, which she was pursuing with a friend who worked at a company Allen was targeting. Allen had always thought of his staffer as being expert in “digital marketing, not face-to-face sales.” But with a little coaching, she was able to persuade her friend to make an introduction at her company. “I realized she has an amazing sales persona,” says Allen. “She built that skill and we got a huge piece of business.”

The conversation is what matters. When it comes to a topic like leadership, there will never be 100% agreement about the best approach to a given situation. That’s how Allen came to realize that the real value of the game is in the conversation it sparks. “The learning from the game wasn’t even so much from the game itself,” he says. “The learning is from the reflection on the game – how well you did, or thought you did…You learn because you have to fight it out and discuss it [with colleagues]. The answers are ambiguous and part of a learning process.”

 

“It is no secret that networking is the best path to a fruitful career.”

Dean Grey

MindMovies is one Skylab’s Client. Through the Channels section, you can access to great content about leadership and entrepreneurship directly on the app. Each Skylab app provides great training and learning section related to the appropriate business sector. 

Becoming a great leader isn’t easy. It’s especially challenging when you’re running a company that’s predicated on teaching others how to lead. As Karl Allen shows, opening up about your mistakes and the learning process along the way is part of what it takes to truly succeed. You win or you learn !

 

Anchoring a Decision : 9 Environments

Anchoring a Decision : 9 Environments

Anchoring a Decision and The 9 Environments


Every aspect of us is affected by our environments and our environments reflect every aspect of us. Each of the 9 Environments of You are connected…they touch each other and are woven together.

Skylab CEO, Dean Grey knows all about anchoring a decision. from his humble upbringing living off the grid on a boat in the Florida Keys to traveling around the world tasked with teaching and mentoring tens of thousands of people; Dean deeply understands how to make that monumental change.

It wasn’t long ago when the idea of the Skylab Apps platform would was simply a figment of Dean’s Imagination. He had a big dream, and grand vision, but so do thousands of people every day. The difference is that when Dean made the decision to step in to a new role and start Skylab Apps he dropped the anchor, put his head down and got to work. a couple years later, the vision has become a reality. Ultimately, it was a culmination of Deans 9 environments that led him and Skylab to success.

“Individuals learn better when they are learning in engaging social environments.”

Dean Grey

Understanding the 9 Environments and how they work in your daily life will give you a clear understanding of how each elements plays and incredibly important role in your life short and long term.

The Physical Environment: Skylab HQ

The physical environment includes the very tangible aspects of our lives…our home, office, car, furnishings, artwork, toys, boats, and accessories. The physical environment provides visual clues to what is going on in our lives. Clutter, noise, broken equipment can be visual clues to looking deeper to discover our thoughts, energy and behaviors.

The Skylab Apps corporate office is a collaborative and creative working loft. Everything from the music, office space and food is hand selected to make sure you have to best experience to help you thrive in the work place. We have a gym onsite so you can take care of your body and give your mind a mental break.

 

 

 

 


 The Spiritual Environment

The spiritual environment includes our connections to a higher power, to God or Spirit, the invisible connection we feel to others and the universe. It includes methods of connecting to spiritual aspects of life such as meditation, prayer, and places of worship. We wanted to make sure that our workplace was situated in a beautiful place. Lucky for us, we are right next to the ocean with lots of quiet places where you can go and get spiritual.

 


The Memetic Environment

The memetic environment includes ideas, values, thoughts, beliefs, paradigms, styles and habits that are passed down from generation to generation. The memetic environment also includes information and knowledge (books, websites, magazines, television, and radio)


The Body Environment

The body environment includes the body, hair, skin, nails, health and energy. This environment touches the network environment, as it includes physicians, skin care consultants, massage therapists, hair dressers, physical therapists, dietitians, personal trainers and other professionals who support your physical body and well being.

We understand that it you want top performance out of your body, then you have to treat your body well!

 


The Self Environment

The self environment includes our strengths, talents, personalities, feelings, emotions, values, passions and skills. The self environment includes the intangible aspects of our beings.

 


 The Nature Environment

The nature environment includes nature, parks, bodies of water, the seasons of the year, pets, plants, the seasons of life, and the outdoors. As humans, we are a part of nature, so access to this environment is crucial for our survival and ultimate well-being. A great place about where we work is that its open, inviting and blended well with the elements

 


The Relationship Environment

The relationship environment includes those people in our lives who are closest to us and with whom we have an intimate connection. This includes family, close friends, close colleagues, co-workers, mentors and neighbors who are in our lives on a daily basis. It has been said that a team that plays well together works well together. Our professional life is personal, so we make sure to take time to develop relationships with our co-workers and clients in and out side of the office.

 


The Network Environment

The network environment is an extension of the relationship environment. It includes people with whom you are on a first name basis, yet you may not have a deep and intimate connection. The network environment includes business associates, community organizations, support groups you belong to. The goal of the network environment is usually to provide an exchange of information and to build bridges to people who can support you in enhancing both your business and personal life.

 


 The Financial Environment

 

The financial environment includes bills, credit cards, money, investments, insurance, stocks and bonds and the people who support your financial well-being (accountants, financial planners, stock brokers). This environment also includes any tools or support services you use to achieve your financial goals files, computer programs, budgets, banks. When exploring the financial environment, it is also important to look closely at the relationship a person has with money and their beliefs around money and prosperity/abundance.

“​It is important to take stock of these environmental factors and make sure that they come together to work for our benefit and maximize our productivity towards our individual goals.”

Dean Grey

All of the work being done at Skylab Apps is with the environments in mind. When a client is met, they go through a process called ADG, which stands for Appify, Gamify and Design. Skylab doesn’t just build mobile apps, they create worlds for their clients! Each one of these worlds combines the essence of the clients culture and ultimately the 9 elements can be seen through out the flawless design of the native mobile platform.

 

 

The Trilogy Game, Makes creating healthy habits fun, and encourages users to create healthy environments. The concept was created by Greg Rex, a certified Health coach, speaker, author and entrepreneur. His website: http://www.tsfl.com

Users join a community of like-minded people all on a journey to create Optimal Health and Well Being. The Trilogy represents the 3 key areas of optimal health; healthy body, healthy mind and healthy finances. This app along with the support of a certified health coach can help you integrate simple daily actions that can turn into lifelong habits of health. There are 3 levels of the Trilogy Game you can participate : as a fan, as a player or as a coach.
iPhone Screenshot 3

iPhone Screenshot 1

For more information about Skylab Apps, or to see how appify your world, please get in touch with us at Skylabapps.com

The Growth Mindset: 10 Principles to Growth

The Growth Mindset: 10 Principles to Growth

Growth Mindset: 10 Principles to Growth: Skylab Apps Case Study

Many people begin to experiment and fail to see the desired results. They’re often missing on the key ingredient: The Growth Mindset. Let’s apply this method to Skylab Apps.

Skylab Apps was founded in 2015 by Dean Grey. He has the vision of growing a global company motivated by the idea that people would adopt the technology built by his company. Skylab Apps makes a white label community building platform that allows the app owner to track, train, grow and monetize their user, customer, clients, follower or fans.

“Company owners want to grow and they have a vague idea of how to get there. But, they lack the key principles to achieve their goals. They lack of a general understanding behind the practice.”

Dean Grey

What if you could increase your Growth rate? What if you could finally start to optimize your processes? Growth is the answer to these questions…

This article is about to give you a few principles to help guide you into your quest for Growth. It is a guide that we have lived by here at Skylab Apps, always testing, poking around and customer/client-centric.

The Infographic : You must be busy. So instead of having you read a ton of text, I distilled the main principles in the following infographic:

1. Learning from experience

Growth is all about testing hypothesis. “Testing hypothesis” means running a battery of tests to see what works and what doesn’t.We test a hypothesis because we believe that no one else has the answer to our questions. What may work in another business, will not necessarily work with yours.

When Dean Grey, Founder of Skylab Apps started Zooplr, his vision was to build a state of the art mobile platform that would allow companies and brands to engage, track and train all of the community member. After successfully exiting Zooplr, and Tags, he continued on with the same vision to build Skylab Apps. Except this time, he was going to take it all the way home

When you test something, you can either validate or invalidate your hypothesis. Most people see this through a success / failure lens. There is no such thing as a failure in Growth because you want to learn. Success happens when you learn, failure when you don’t.

It’s that simple. If your experiment failed and you’ve gained a ton of new insights, that’s a success.Learning allows you to make better educated guesses and to launch even more successful experiments.

Don’t expect to have a lot of success at the beginning but the more you understand your product & customers, the more successful your tests will become. In the case of Skylab Apps, learning from experience didn’t necessarily mean failure. In fact, as mentioned before, exiting the two prior companies successfully set Dean up on the correct pat to launch Skylab Apps with all oh the experience and data from his two prior companies.

2. Data-Driven

Running a digital business enables you to measure every step of the way. You can easily track what everyone is doing on your app.You know more about your consumers than anyone else in business. Use these insights! The best Growth people use that to their advantage. You need to use data in every decision you take.

When we speak about data, most people think about analytics tools such as Google Analytics or KISSmetrics. Never forget about other valuable sources of insights that you have available.

Customer interviews are a perfect source of insights, to help you drive Growth & Product Development.

Make sure that you invest into your Analytics stack early on to avoid learning about the wrong things… (Invalidating the wrong hypothesis will have disastrous impact on your business)

3. Innovative Testing

Growth is all about testing innovative and creative ideas. Don’t limit yourself to what your competitors are doing, you have the freedom to do whatever you want. Be innovative and challenge the status-quo: it’s not because you always had a 3-step signup process that it is necessarily the best process.

Look for flaws in your current processes and improve them until you’re satisfied with the results.

Growth is all about being innovative. If you just copy what’s going on in your space, you’ll limit your potential results terribly.

4. Always go further

Growth never stops. Even if you have a conversion rate from Trial to Paid of 95%, there are always things that you can improve.

When you think everything is optimized, take a one-week break. Go back to work and think again: Where are we losing most of our users? Where can we have more impact?

You should never be satisfied by the Growth you’re getting. You can always go further.

5. Process first

Launching experiments in only one part of the story. The process is what actually makes everything possible.​

You can’t really sustain your Growth efforts without a process. You’ll start to launch experiments but you’ll soon fail because you’ll lose track of what’s happening.The process is what allows you to create a repeatable, scalable and predictable machine. Without a process, you’ll fail to show results over the long-term. Design your processes early on. They won’t be perfect but iterate and improve them as you move forward.

6. Authentic & Sustainable Growth

As Brian Balfour said,

“All Growth is not equal”. Are you looking for MAU (Monthly Active Users) or are you looking for long-term customers?

You can’t really sustain your Growth efforts without a process. You’ll start to launch experiments but you’ll soon fail because you’ll lose track of what’s happening. The process is what allows you to create a repeatable, scalable and predictable machine. Without a process, you’ll fail to show results over the long-term. Design your processes early on. They won’t be perfect but iterate and improve them as you move forward. Don’t think about Growth as something that can yield enormous result for the short term. It certainly can. However…
Look at Growth as a way to build your business over the long-term. Launch experiments that can have a long-lasting impact on your growth.

7. Start Small – MVT

You generally don’t have to go through 100 hours of development to test your hypothesis.

If you want to launch several tests per week, you’ll need to launch “Minimum Viable Tests”. In other words: What’s the minimum test that you can launch to test an hypothesis? You need to understand that Growth is an iterative process. Starting small will allow you to build up on your success (or lack thereof). If you launch a small test and it fails, you’ll have a greater “Time to Learning” than if you redesigned your entire on-boarding. Starting small may be be counter intuitive. But it’s the only way that you can create a positive impact on your business.

8. Customer-Centric

.

If you fail to be customer-centric, you’ll only be able to drive short-term. Your customers will be annoyed and you’ll fail to retain them over the long term.

Increasing your Growth is only one part of the equation. If you squeeze out every dollar of your customer’s wallet without delivering more value, you’ll piss off more than a few people. The best way to be customer-centric is to examine their desired outcome. Are your experiments helping them to achieve their mission, their goals?

9. Ethic

Some people really don’t care about ethics and  that’s a mistake in terms of brand image.

The dating sector is a quite good example. They’re basically creating fake profiles and generating discussions with you so that you start your paid membership. A beautiful person of the opposite sex will strike up a conversation and show interest in you. You can only chat back if you start a paid subscription. But, wait! There is no one on the other side… It’s just a bot! Even if this trick is increasing their Growth, are they delivering value? What would people think about that? Having some sense of ethics is imperative if you want to seek Authentic Growth and avoid damaging your long-term brand.

10. Company-wide mission

This is a team sport and everyone should be involved. Everyone should be able to contribute their own ideas to your backlog.Relevant people should also be able to get involved into discussions on specific ideas. You’re designing a new onboarding flow? Talk to the person who designed the last one. If you don’t involve people within your company, you’ll get into political issues and they’ll slow down your efforts.Involving them can only be a good thing. The worse that can happen is that they’ll share valuable insights and help you launch better experiments.

Growth. Growth. Growth.

These principles should help you to get started with Growth. Don’t waste too much time and start experimenting as soon as you can. However… Make sure that you set yourself up for success by creating customer-centric, ethical and long-lasting growth…

Skylabapps.com enables to grow your community thanks to the Gamification Engine which uses Gamified features.

 

Check out Skylab’s Clients websites & apps. They’ve trusted us for growth.

http://www.allysian.com/ – http://www.amway.com/  – http://www.centerpointe.com/v2/     https://www.goodlovinfoods.com/ http://www.alticor.com/  http://www.eastwestartists.com/ http://www.mindmovies.com/ http://www.xterraplanet.com/ http://blowbunny.com/ http://www.betterplanetpaper.com/

Now Is The Perfect Time To Be A Women Entrepreneur

Now Is The Perfect Time To Be A Women Entrepreneur

Now Is The Perfect Time To Be A Women Entrepreneur

 

“Women who walks with purpose doesn’t have to chase people or opportunities.  Her light causes people and opportunities to pursue her.”

Dr. Farrah Gray

 

In Silicon Valley, the percentage of women entrepreneur starting technology companies is astronomically low, at a rate around 3 percent. Of privately held companies, only 6.5 percent have a female CEO, and 1.3 percent have a female founder. How is this the case, when women are earning more than half of all bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees for the first time in history?

Despite these disappointing numbers and the gender issues, there is good news too. Women who are in tech are doing well and getting noticed. Recent data has shown that women-led technology companies are more capital-efficient, achieving 35 percent higher return on investment. Companies founded by women also represented a record 13 percent of venture capital deals through the first half of 2013, up from only 4 percent in 2004. In other words, investors are starting to notice that it pays to have a woman in charge.

As a women entrepreneur and sole founder and CEO of a venture-backed digital healthcare startup, I’ve experienced a positive shift in how I’m treated as a woman in tech compared to the horror stories of women who came before me. This leads me to believe that now is the perfect time to make the leap into entrepreneurship as a women.

Women Entrepreneur

Women entrepreneur are being recognized as powerful leaders

Heavy-hitting women such as Marissa Mayer, Sheryl Sandberg and Ginni Rometty are in C-suite roles, running major Fortune 500 companies. Their leadership, and the headlines they garner, have popularized the image of women in high-level roles and opened the door for a conversation about the need for more female leadership in tech and beyond.

Fortunately, women outside of the spotlight are also excelling and being recognized for their outstanding leadership skills. A 2011 study in the Harvard Business Review evaluating men and women in the workplace found that:

“At every level, more women were rated by their peers, their bosses, their direct reports, and their other associates as better overall leaders than their male counterparts — and the higher the level, the wider that gap grows. Specifically, at all levels, women are rated higher in fully 12 of the 16 competencies that go into outstanding leadership. And two of the traits where women outscored men to the highest degree — taking initiative and driving for results — have long been thought of as particularly male strengths.”

Considering it wasn’t very long ago that women were relegated to the home and shunned from the boardroom, that is a pretty amazing and inspiring update. And for enterprising female entrepreneurs, the timing of this shift couldn’t be better.

​At Skylab, Dean Grey has perfectly understood that it is clearly essential to have women with high status : our CPO (Chief Product Officer), one of our Design Developer, our Client Engagement/Creative Producer and our Operations Officer are Women and they are awesome at what they do.

Women-led businesses are succeeding

With strong women entrepreneur at the helm, something interesting (but unsurprising) is happening to their businesses: They are growing at a higher rate than their traditional, male-led counterparts. Over the past 10 years, the growth in the number of women-owned firms with $10 million or more in revenues has increased by 56.6 percent, a rate 47 percent faster than the rate of growth of all $10 million-plus firms.

Women in leadership roles also seem to be key in driving the success of an enterprise. The failure rate of startups with two or fewer female executives is 50.3 percent, but with five or more women in high-level positions, the success rate jumps to 61 percent.

In particular, women are emerging as key players in healthcare, both on the ground and in the C-suite. Women entrepreneur account for 73 percent of medical and health services managers, making them the face of healthcare to the general population. And over the last decade, not only has the number of high-revenue, women-owned healthcare and social assistance firms nearly tripled, but those companies are growing at an impressive rate – 54.9 percent across all healthcare and social assistance firms, and nearly 183 percent for firms with over $10 million in revenue.

With healthcare in the national spotlight, women are emerging as successful leaders capable of shepherding America into a new era of health and wellness. Skylab Apps recognizes this trend and has partnered with healthcare professionals creating “Skylab Medical” a Skylab Apps incubator partner company. See more about this here.

The VC snowball effect

Women entrepreneur firms are succeeding and in turn, attracting more venture capital investment, leading to even higher growth. During the height of the dot-com bubble, venture capital investments in women-led businesses lagged pathetically, receiving less than 6 percent of total funds invested in the U.S. between 1997 and 2000. But between 2000 and 2011, that number shot up to 41 percent.

Combine that with the fact that when venture-backed, women-led technology companies bring in 12 percent higher revenue than male-owned tech companies and you have a Pandora’s box of potential.

As VC firms continue to be positively rewarded for investing in women-led companies, they will be more open to future investments. I’d be hard-pressed – and reluctant – to stop this snowball from reaching warp speed.

 

The women-supporting-women movement is just starting

There are more women entrepreneurs supporting younger and less-experienced female entrepreneurs today than ever before. For example, I had a mentor who had a huge impact on my growth and success, so I’m paying it forward.

Over the past year, I’ve been mentoring a young female entrepreneur who recently raised $1 million for her own startup and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List. The great thing is, 80 percent of female tech entrepreneurs reported having mentors and, in my experience, that bodes well for their future success.

There are more women investors looking for women-led companies, or great companies to invest in and add women to their leadership teams or advisory boards because the numbers don’t lie — the odds of success with women calling the shots.

“It is important to take an active role in shaping our personal and professional networks in order to live the most fulfilling lives possible.”

Dean Grey

At Skylab, We are proud to work with a great VAR (Value Added Reseller), The Gravity Network. 

The Gravity’s Team is composed of 4 women and one man. Gravity’s Founder is also a woman and she has done a wonderful job so far !

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