Whether this was their first run, something they trained for, or just a personal goal to finish, they crushed it.
To show our love and support for a local teen & amazing family friend who recently left this world too soon, we all wore orange bandanas. These honored our buddy Tommy and his family.
Every time I saw one of our runners pass by with that pop of orange, I felt this deep sense of connection, resilience, and pride. It was like bright sparks of Tommy all over the course.
I’m so proud of every single one of our runners — for showing up, pushing themselves, and running with purpose. It reminded me why I love our community so much.
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Now, if you ask me if I’m a “runner” my answer is always “well, I wouldn’t say I’m huge long distance runner” as I always gravitate towards sprints, soccer, and quicker spurts.
With that being said though, any time I run a 5k or do something competitive, I do have a piece inside me that likes that longer push and having the right gear has definitely set me up for this feeling.
Last year, I forgot headphones….and it felt like the longest 3 miles of my life. This year I double checked I had my headphones and also geared up with a new pair of adidas lightest running shoes, the Adizero EVO SL Shoe. I wore them straight out of the box (risky, I know) and… zero regrets.
These things are crazy light, super supportive, and hugged my feet in all the right ways. The compression was just enough to keep my feet feeling secure, but not stiff.
I didn’t have to stop and adjust them once — they didn’t shift or rub and I felt like I was gliding.
The cushioning is what really won me over, though. They were soft without feeling like I was running on marshmallows — or like I was thrown back into the Spice Girls era with platform shoes (iykyk).
They gave just enough support to protect my joints but plenty of ground feel to keep me moving strong.I’d highly recommend these and shorts to anyone looking to run some summer (and beyond) 5k’s!
To everyone who ran, showed up, & pushed themselves — I am so proud of you.
And to our amazing crew who came to cheer us on, thank you for bringing the energy and support all over the course!
Black families face significant barriers that prevent access to mental health care
A new study is looking to spark broader conversations about the ongoing efforts needed to make mental health care more accessible for Black families and youth in the U.S.
The Child Mind Institute, in collaboration with the Steve Fund, reently released findings from the Mental Health Support for Black Familiesstudy, which highlights the attitudes toward mental health care within the Black community and reveals major barriers Black Americans face in accessing quality care. By surveying 1,000 Black parents who sought mental health care for their children and 500 young adults ages 18–24 who sought care for themselves, researchers uncovered the deep impact that racism and discrimination have on the mental health of Black youth and young adults.
“Our mental health care system must acknowledge its shortcomings and failings to effectively support Black communities across the country,” said Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, Founding President and Medical Director of the Child Mind Institute. “Our findings reveal significant disparities and barriers to care, underscoring the need for targeted interventions.”
Survey participants identified as Black/African American, Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, African immigrants, and other members of the African diaspora living in the U.S. They completed questionnaires detailing their experiences and the challenges they faced when seeking mental health care.
Key findings highlight the feelings and preferences Black families and youth have about mental health and seeking treatment. While more than three-quarters of both parents and young adults shared a generally positive view of mental health care and professionals, half of the respondents voiced concern that providers are too quick to prescribe medication to children and young adults.
Nearly half (46%) of both groups were concerned about the stigma surrounding mental health disorders and its negative effects. However, parents (28%) were less likely to be discouraged from seeking treatment for their children compared to young adults (42%) seeking care for themselves.
About half of both parents and young adults reported that white and non-Black mental health professionals often misunderstand or downplay the impact of racism on mental health when providing treatment. Respondents also reported their children facing an average of three mental health challenges, but noted they often didn’t receive treatment for all the issues they identified, highlighting significant gaps in mental health care.
Anxiety and depression were the most frequently reported mental health challenges among both groups, with young adults reporting higher rates of anxiety (69% vs. 46%) and depression (62% vs. 28%) than parents. When seeking treatment, common barriers included high costs, limited insurance coverage, long waitlists, and a shortage of local mental health providers.
To tackle these challenges, researchers recommend making care more affordable with subsidies, expanding telehealth access, increasing school-based mental health programs, and normalizing mental health conversations to reduce stigma within Black communities.
“These findings reveal a mental health system that is failing to meet the needs of Black families and young adults,” said Stephanie Bell-Rose, President and CEO of the Steve Fund. “From financial barriers to cultural misunderstandings in treatment, we’re seeing the same systemic failures whether in homes or on college campuses. This demands immediate, coordinated action.”
One in every 31 children in the United States now carries an autism diagnosis — That’s what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed in its recent report.1 This is a significant rise compared to 2020 data, when the rate was 1 in 36.
But what’s fueling this rise? That’s the question many health agencies are hoping to answer. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also launched a “massive testing and research effort” to better understand and identify the environmental causes of this growing epidemic.
Autism Rates Surge While Environmental Causes Go Ignored
As reported by the Children’s Health Defense website,2 CDC’s latest findings on the prevalence of autism in the United States were taken from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, which tracked autism rates among 8- and 4-year-olds across multiple sites nationwide. Their findings revealed a sobering shift — the rates of this disorder have increased by 17% in just two years.3
• The steep rise wasn’t confined to one group — Boys remain the most impacted, with a national average of 1 in 20 receiving a diagnosis. In California, that number climbed to 1 in 12.5.
• The report also underscored a stark racial disparity — Rates were higher among Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial children than in White children. These patterns suggest this isn’t just a case of “better awareness” or “expanded definitions.” Something deeper is driving the numbers.
• The root causes have not been given significant attention — Mary Holland, CEO of Children’s Health Defense, commented on these findings, pointing out despite the rates rising steadily for decades, there’s been no comprehensive research initiative into the root causes.
“Tens of thousands of parents have come forward in recent decades to say they believe vaccines triggered their children’s autism. Yet mainstream science, media and government regulators have rejected the idea of even examining this observation seriously,” she said. “The 1 in 31 number is a testament to the failure of the medical system as we know it.”
The ‘Better Diagnosis’ Theory Doesn’t Support Rising Autism Rates
The CHD article stresses that this report is hard to ignore due to the nature of the new cases. Contrary to popular belief that the rise might be due to milder or high-functioning cases being added to the spectrum, the 2022 data show that nearly two-thirds of diagnosed children had an intellectual disability or borderline functioning — defined as an IQ of 85 or lower.
• These aren’t just slight delays or quirks being over-medicalized — These are children who will need specialized education, therapies, and long-term care. Rebecca Estepp, an autism advocate and mother, emphasized this reality:
“These children face lifelong challenges with learning, communication, and independence. Many will need specialized care, educational supports, and social services for decades — services that are already stretched thin in many communities.”
• Autism rates are “beyond an epidemic” — The increases are not just statistical noise — they represent a true public health crisis that has been largely ignored. According to Toby Rogers, Ph.D., co-author of “Autism Tsunami: The Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States”:
“How long is the U.S. public health establishment going to keep pretending there isn’t a problem? An ASD rate of 3.2% nationwide among children aged 8 years in 2022, 4.9% for boys, 5.3% in California, 4.7% in Pennsylvania and autism rates a full percentage point higher in Asian and Black communities than in White communities — this is beyond an epidemic.”
• Autism rates are also rising among younger children — The CDC report also looked at 4-year-olds and found autism rates were rising in this age group — 1.7 times higher for those born in 2018 compared to those born in 2014. In some states, younger kids already have higher autism rates than older ones, which suggests things are not slowing down.
• The most glaring omission in the CDC report? Any mention of environmental factors. Despite a long list of known or suspected environmental risks, such as heavy metals like aluminum and mercury, glyphosate exposure, acetaminophen use during pregnancy, and even industrial pollutants like lead and arsenic, the risks of exposure to these environmental causes are ignored.
So why has the system failed to investigate these areas? Rogers offers a blunt answer: “Autism is an industry in the U.S. that has become ‘too big to fail.’ Causing and treating autism generates hundreds of billions of dollars in profits every year for Big Pharma and various professions … the autism industry does not want the autism epidemic to end, ever.”
Kennedy Pushes for Answers While Experts Argue Over What’s Being Ignored
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurological and developmental condition that affects how individuals communicate, learn, and interact, was once a rare disorder. In fact, during the 1970s, only 1 in 10,000 children were diagnosed with this condition. Now, it’s everywhere.4
While most government officials continue to feign ignorance on exact cause, there’s growing hope — The new administration, along with Kennedy as the appointed HHS Secretary, is now committed to look at all the possible causes of autism. During a news conference held in Washington, RFK Jr. stressed his plan to launch an “exhaustive” investigation into autism’s environmental causes.5
• Kennedy’s focus isn’t just on the numbers — It’s on what those numbers actually mean for you, your kids, and your future. He frames autism as a preventable condition as opposed to being a mysterious or inherited issue, and by doing so, he shifts the attention toward causes that must be addressed.
“Autism destroys families,” he said in an AP News article. “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this.”
• Kennedy is determined to pinpoint the environmental causes — Unlike many officials before him, Kennedy is making it clear that his team won’t shy away from controversial or politically inconvenient causes. He says his department will award research grants to universities and scientists willing to look into all environmental variables.
“The researchers will be encouraged to ‘follow the science, no matter what it says,’” he said. This is a major shift from the previous administration, which actually canceled billions in scientific grants, and stalled research in this area.
• Another overlooked point? The demographic breakdown — The featured study highlights that autism rates are especially high among Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Black children.6 If you’re part of these communities, you deserve to know why your children are being diagnosed more often than others — and what, if anything, can be done to prevent that.
• Kennedy is setting a firm deadline for at least some answers — He told reporters his department will release findings by September. “By then, his department will determine at least ‘some’ of the answers,” according to the AP News article.7 That urgency is rare in government, and it signals a shift toward real accountability. If the goal is to pinpoint preventable factors, then you’re not just left waiting — you’ll actually know what steps to take.
• Not everyone agrees with calling autism preventable — As expected, Kennedy’s position raised eyebrows. Autism Science Foundation Chief Science Officer Dr. Alycia Halladay insisted the recent spike reflects “changes in factors like access to services and de-stigmatization,”8 not environmental damage.
But even if that’s true for part of the population, the refusal to even consider other causes leaves many families without options — or hope.
Common Risk Factors for Autism
Like Kennedy, Peter Sullivan and Dr. Martha Herbert, who co-wrote the book “The Autism Revolution: Whole-Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be,” believe that there are toxic environmental factors that contribute to the development of autism.
• Autism is a response to environmental exposure, not just genetics — Herbert, whose two children struggled with symptoms of autism when they were young, hypothesizes that autism is not something you’re born with. It’s something you develop in response to environmental factors like mercury, electromagnetic fields (EMFs), and glyphosate.
• Environmental triggers lead to brain irritability, increasing autism risk — These factors contribute to irritability in the brain, and the risk of autism could be predicted by looking at the level of irritability. “There are 10,000 different ways to injure mitochondria. It all piles up. All these little seemingly innocuous exposures add to the pile, so they all matter,” Herbert says.
• Processed food is another major contributor — “Simply reducing allergens in the mother’s diet from preconception to pregnancy is a really big deal,” she says.
• Anecdotal evidence links EMF exposure to autism, and efforts are underway to collect more data — There are many anecdotal stories from families with autistic children suggesting EMF causes problems, and Herbert and Sullivan are working on setting up an online database to capture this data.
EMFs — One of the Most Notorious Risk Factors of Autism
Sullivan has been particularly passionate about helping the autism community understand the impact of EMF, as two of his own children were mildly on the spectrum. To raise awareness about the health effects of EMFs, he founded the organization Clear Light Ventures.
• EMF exposure is associated with mitochondrial damage and several brain disorders — EMFs lead to significant mitochondrial dysfunction due to free radical damage. When you’re chronically exposed to these EMF sources, it triggers not just autism but other brain-related conditions as well, like Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression.
• Reducing exposure to magnetic fields in the home is one of Sullivan’s key strategies — In his experience, getting rid of magnetic fields such as transformers and power boxes and cleaning up dirty electricity were most helpful. Appliances like your refrigerator are another common source; either turn the appliance off or move further away from it. With each doubling of the distance, you reduce your exposure by about 75%, he says.
• Creating an EMF-free sleep environment is crucial for restoring quality rest — Sullivan also recommends cleaning up your bedroom and removing EMF sources. In fact, one of the most common symptoms of excessive EMF exposure is sleep disruption. “I like to make sure people create space for themselves — kind of an electronic-free zone — around their beds,” he says.
• Dr. Martin Pall also identified a biological mechanism through which EMFs damage the brain — Pall discovered that microwaves emitted by cellphones and other wireless technologies harm your brain through voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) located in your cell membranes.
VGCCs are highly concentrated in the brain, and animal studies have demonstrated that even low levels of microwave EMFs produce significant and diverse effects on brain function. When EMFs activate these VGCCs, it results in a variety of neuropsychiatric issues.
Pall has published an extensive study9 that digs deeper into the role of EMFs in our VGCCs, and how they give rise to autism. Learn more about his findings in “The Invisible Risk Factor of Autism” – I highly recommend reading this article, as it gives an in-depth look at just how pernicious EMFs are not just in increasing autism risk but also other conditions like infertility and cancer.
What You Must Do to Lower Your Child’s Autism Risk
The rise in autism diagnoses is not random, and it’s not purely genetic. It’s time to take a closer look at the environmental triggers that are contributing to this condition and start reducing your family’s exposure right now. Based on evidence from the recent data, this is where your attention needs to be:
1. Remove all seed oils from your home — The most overlooked toxin in our modern diets is hidden in plain sight — industrial seed oils. These oils (like soybean, canola, sunflower, and safflower) are in nearly every processed food and restaurant meal.
They’re extremely high in linoleic acid (LA), which has been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and increased vulnerability to environmental damage. If you’re feeding young children, removing these oils is one of the most important steps for you to take. Use grass fed butter, ghee, or tallow instead.
2. Filter your water and avoid glyphosate-contaminated foods — Glyphosate, the main ingredient in the Roundup herbicide, is showing up in everything from cereals to baby food. It disrupts the gut microbiome, impairs detox pathways, and has been named repeatedly by researchers as a possible environmental driver of neurological disorders. Install a high-quality water filter that removes glyphosate and other agricultural chemicals.
Choose organic produce whenever possible, especially for the foods your kids eat the most. If you’re on a budget, prioritize organic versions of the produce in the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) “Dirty Dozen” list.
3. Stop using acetaminophen during pregnancy and infancy — The CDC may not be talking about this, but research and parental reports have long linked acetaminophen (Tylenol) use in early life with neurological changes.
It depletes glutathione, your body’s master detoxifier, at the exact time your baby’s brain is developing. If you’re pregnant or have a young child, don’t assume this drug is harmless. There are other ways to manage pain or fever that don’t compromise long-term neurological health.
4. Avoid aluminum-containing injections during early development — If you are a parent considering the current childhood jab schedule, you must understand what’s being introduced into your child’s body during their most fragile stages of brain development. Many of these shots contain aluminum-based adjuvants — additives used to stimulate immune response.
5. Create a low-toxin home environment for brain safety — Your home is your child’s first ecosystem. That means everything from scented candles and cleaning sprays to heavy metals in cookware could play a role in disrupting development. Start by removing anything synthetic or fragranced — air fresheners, dryer sheets, cleaning wipes. Switch to glass, stainless steel, and cast iron in your kitchen.
Dust regularly, since toxins like flame retardants and microplastics accumulate in household dust. Your child’s brain is building connections rapidly in the first few years — eliminating toxins from their immediate surroundings gives them the strongest foundation possible.
Taking action now helps your child build resilience in an increasingly toxic world. These steps don’t rely on policies or headlines — they rely on you. Start where you can. Pick one thing today. That’s how you take your power back.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Autism Risk Factors
Q: Why are autism rates continuing to rise so rapidly in the United States?
A: Autism rates have increased by 17% in just two years, now affecting 1 in 31 children. While improved diagnosis is often blamed, the majority of new cases involve children with intellectual disabilities, suggesting the rise is not merely due to awareness or expanded definitions.
Q: What environmental factors are being investigated as potential causes of autism?
A: Despite being overlooked by mainstream reports like the CDC’s, several environmental risks are being investigated, including heavy metals (aluminum, mercury), glyphosate, acetaminophen, and EMFs. Experts like RFK Jr., Peter Sullivan, and Dr. Martha Herbert believe these exposures may play a significant role in triggering autism.
Q: What action is the federal government taking under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address this issue?
A: As the new U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. has announced a sweeping initiative to investigate autism’s environmental causes. His department will fund independent research and publish preliminary findings by September, emphasizing scientific integrity and transparency.
Q: Are there racial or demographic disparities in autism diagnoses?
A: Yes. The latest CDC report found that autism rates are higher among Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial children compared to White children. These disparities highlight the need to examine not only genetics but also social and environmental factors contributing to the increase.
Q: What can parents do now to reduce their children’s risk of autism?
A: Experts suggest actionable steps like removing industrial seed oils, filtering water to avoid glyphosate, avoiding acetaminophen during pregnancy and infancy, limiting EMF exposure, and reducing household toxins. Creating a low-toxin environment may support healthier neurological development in children.
Disclaimer: Comments do not represent the views of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments which are inconsistent with our editorial standards. FULL DISCLAIMER
This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync.
Not long ago, the insurance industry was ripe with areas of opportunity for digital transformation. Nowadays, from electronic signature tools to AI customer service chatbots to full-scale distribution channel management solutions, there’s no shortage of tech tools to help insurers increase their efficiencies, improve their processes, and reduce their risks.
However, one area of insurance distribution that’s still stuck in the past is hierarchy management. Without a solution for visualizing and updating an organization’s structure and commission payouts, carriers and agencies are left spending unnecessary time and money chasing down the most accurate data. With a modern solution for hierarchy management, insurance enterprises can manage even the most complex producer hierarchies with confidence and simplicity, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and efficiency as they scale.
Current solutions for hierarchy management leave much to be desired
When we think of past hierarchy management solutions, legacy technology like mainframes, spreadsheets, and digital change logs are what come to mind. Presently, not a whole lot of progress has been made to move beyond these approaches, and a number of carriers and agencies still use siloed, highly manual methods to represent their org structure.
Of the modern, digital solutions that do currently exist, finding one that accounts for the insurance industry’s specific needs can be a challenge. Any solution claiming to modernize hierarchy management for insurance organizations can’t make a true difference without solving for insurance specific use cases like effective date tracking, change request and approval logging, and multi-level commission management.
3 ways traditional hierarchy management falls flat
1. Poor data visibility
The networks of relationships that form a distribution channel and ultimately connect underwriters to policyholders can be multi-level and complex. Some businesses operate with hierarchies that span 30-plus levels, thousands of producers, hundreds of products, and dozens of commission structures. From a visibility standpoint, using spreadsheets and change logs housed on mainframes isn’t a very effective way to manage these complexities. It is, however, an effective way to create data silos in your processes that impact your ability to make well-informed decisions about your distribution channels. Without full visibility into your org structure and commission payouts, how can you accurately assess how your partners are performing? How can you know which distribution partners are critical to your success and which ones cost you more than their worth in annual appointment fees?
2. Inefficient and impossible to manage at scale
Imagine this: You’re an insurance carrier with multiple downstream agency partners. One of your longer-standing partners has a change in structure, and now the onus is on you to update years-worth of records and hundreds of contracts to accurately reflect the change in your system. Because you’re using manual methods for hierarchy management, it takes your admin hours to track down any inconsistencies and make the necessary changes. Hours they could be spending on other higher-value work. Inefficiencies like this increase costs and stall innovation, making it pretty much impossible to operate effectively at scale.
3. Increased compliance risk
The manual nature of traditional hierarchy management puts insurance carriers and agencies at a higher risk for errors in their records. Just one inaccuracy in the documentation of your organization’s structure can cause incorrect, missed, delayed, or clawed-back commission payments. Not only does commission mismanagement impact your distribution partners’ trust in you—which could result in some producers feeling the need to spend their own time calculating their payouts to ensure they’re being properly compensated—but it could also trigger a regulatory audit. And because last we checked, manual hierarchy management wasn’t very effective at generating time-stamped, automatic reports at the click of a button, that audit’s going to cost you hundreds of hours in data tracking and verification.
The future of hierarchy management is automated, integrated, and intuitive
As insurtech innovates beyond the inefficient and highly manual legacy tools of the past, finding a modern solution to hierarchy management shouldn’t be an afterthought. The right solution will meld modern automation capabilities with easy-to-use workflows, cloud-native infrastructure, and API driven data to turn hierarchy management from a bottleneck into a growth driver.
Any solution to insurance hierarchy management should overcome the challenges of traditional methods and grant carriers and agencies:
Full visibility into their hierarchies and commission structures: Not just immediate uplines and downlines. We’re talking full visibility into who in your distribution network is licensed in which states and for which products. And, with the rate of change growing insurance businesses experience, effective dating and historical data retrieval capabilities are a must-have to enable your team to access accurate snapshots of your organization and commission structures both presently and historically.
Agile workflows for greater efficiency at scale: One small change in the organizational structure or licensing status of any of your distribution partners could impact thousands of records. How transformational would it be to see those changes reflected across your systems automatically, instead of spending hours manually documenting them? Modern hierarchy management should leverage API-backed automations to eliminate the administrative nightmare that is manual change management. That way any changes made to your org structure or commission levels are automatically reflected in every instance, whether your hierarchy includes a handful of distribution partners and payment structures or encompasses thousands of downlines and dozens of commission levels.
Proven time and cost savings: How does that saying go again…something about time being money? The bottom line is that a modern hierarchy management solution can save your insurance enterprise both. Here are just a few examples of how:
Comprehensive historical tracking with effective dating makes pulling an accurate report of present and historical data for a state audit quick, painless, and efficient at scale.
Intuitive approval workflows for hierarchy modifications save you and your distribution partners time that’d otherwise be spent sifting through email threads and paperwork for the correct information and waiting for changes to be approved.
Greater visibility into commission levels and payouts means fewer commission clawbacks and regulatory fines for commission mismanagement.
A reputation as a modern, compliant organization: No business wants a reputation for being hard to work with, untrustworthy, or stuck in the past. By using modern, intuitive, hierarchy management to power your distribution channel management, you can secure your place in the 21st century and delight your distribution partners with a more modern, seamless experience. Where manual hierarchy management can be a lesson in patience, a modern solution can offer intuitive approval workflows that automatically direct requests straight to the necessary stakeholders, speeding up the process and eliminating frustration. And forget antiquated mainframes and spreadsheets. Any present-day solution will be built on cloud-native infrastructure and leverage API-driven integrations to deliver a modern, tech-forward user experience.
Drive digital transformation at your organization with AgentSync Hierarchy Management
AgentSync Hierarchy Management brings the core functions of a modern hierarchy management solution to life. Built on a modern, cloud-based platform, AgentSync Hierarchy Management leverages API integrations to flow distribution partner data seamlessly through your existing tech infrastructure, eliminating the need to maintain parallel mainframe systems. With AgentSync Hierarchy Management, insurance carriers and agencies with even the most complex organizational structures can:
Handle insurance-specific hierarchy needs like multi-level overrides, effective dating, and required approvals with ease
Ensure correct commission payments by aligning payouts with an always accurate, real-time hierarchy
Onboard producers faster by automatically routing approval requests to the appropriate stakeholders and reducing time spent completing slow, manual workflows
Maintain unified producer data throughout their distribution channel management workflows from licensing through contracting with API-backed integrations
To learn more about how AgentSync Hierarchy Management can take this crucial aspect of your distribution channel management workflows from inefficient and time-consuming to agile, seamless, and modern, get in touch with one of our experts today.
Keeping houseplants alive can feel impossible. Maybe you forgot to water them. Maybe your apartment doesn’t get much sunlight. Or maybe you just don’t have the time or energy to fuss over a plant every day. The good news is, you don’t need a green thumb to enjoy the benefits of indoor plants. Some houseplants are so tough, they can survive almost anything you throw at them. If you want to add some green to your space without the stress, this list is for you. Here are ten houseplants that are almost impossible to kill—even if you’ve failed before.
1. Snake Plant
The snake plant, also called Sansevieria or mother-in-law’s tongue, is famous for its toughness. It can handle low light, dry air, and missed waterings. The thick, upright leaves store water, so you don’t need to water them often. In fact, overwatering is the main way people kill this plant. Just let the soil dry out between waterings. Snake plants also help clean the air, making them a smart choice for bedrooms and offices.
2. ZZ Plant
The ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) is almost indestructible. Its waxy, dark green leaves look good even if you forget about it for weeks. It tolerates low light and only needs water when the soil is dry. The ZZ plant is also resistant to pests and disease. If you want a plant that thrives on neglect, this is it. Just keep it out of direct sunlight, which can scorch the leaves.
3. Pothos
Pothos is a classic beginner plant. Its trailing vines and heart-shaped leaves grow fast, even in low light. Pothos can survive in water or soil, and it bounces back quickly if you forget to water it. You can trim the vines to keep them tidy or let them trail for a wild look. Pothos is also known for filtering toxins from the air, making it a healthy addition to your home.
4. Spider Plant
Spider plants are easy to grow and hard to kill. They like bright, indirect light, but can handle low light too. Water them when the soil feels dry, and they’ll reward you with long, arching leaves and baby “spiderettes” that you can replant. Spider plants are non-toxic to pets, so they’re a safe choice if you have cats or dogs. They also help remove pollutants from indoor air.
5. Peace Lily
Peace lilies are forgiving and beautiful. They can survive in low light and only need water about once a week. The glossy leaves will droop when the plant is thirsty, so it’s easy to know when to water. Peace lilies also produce white flowers that last for weeks. They’re great for improving air quality, but keep them away from pets, as the leaves can be toxic if eaten.
6. Cast Iron Plant
The cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) lives up to its name. It can handle low light, temperature changes, and irregular watering. The dark green leaves grow slowly but steadily, and the plant rarely has problems with pests. If you want a plant you can almost forget about, the cast iron plant is a solid pick. It’s perfect for shady corners where other plants struggle.
7. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is more than just a tough plant—it’s useful too. The thick, spiky leaves contain a gel that can soothe burns and cuts. Aloe likes bright, indirect light and needs water only when the soil is dry. Too much water can cause root rot, so it’s better to underwater than overwater. Aloe vera is a good choice for sunny windowsills and people who want a low-maintenance, practical plant.
8. Jade Plant
Jade plants are succulents that can live for decades with minimal care. They need bright light and occasional watering. Let the soil dry out between waterings to prevent root rot. Jade plants grow slowly and can be pruned to keep their shape. They’re also said to bring good luck, which can’t hurt. If you want a tough and attractive plant, jade is a great option.
9. Philodendron
Philodendrons are popular for their heart-shaped leaves and easy-going nature. They adapt to a range of light conditions, from low to bright indirect light. Water when the top inch of soil is dry. Philodendrons are forgiving if you forget to water now and then. They also grow well in hanging baskets or on shelves, adding a lush look to any room.
10. Rubber Plant
The rubber plant (Ficus elastica) is sturdy and striking. Its large, glossy leaves make a bold statement. Rubber plants like bright, indirect light, but can handle lower light too. Water the soil when it is dry to the touch. They can grow tall over time, but you can prune them to keep them manageable. Rubber plants are also known for their air-purifying abilities.
Green Without the Guilt
You don’t need to be a plant expert to enjoy houseplants. The ten houseplants listed here are tough enough for almost anyone. They can handle missed waterings, low light, and a little neglect. Adding greenery to your home doesn’t have to be stressful or expensive. With these easy-care options, you can enjoy the benefits of plants—like cleaner air and a more relaxing space—without the worry. Try one or two and see how simple it can be to keep something alive.
What’s your experience with “unkillable” houseplants? Share your stories or tips in the comments.
Lose up to 10 pounds this summer following this 6 week plan. Enjoy this easy-to-stick-to meal plan designed to burn fat, tone your body and help you slim down while still enjoying the foods you love!
Accountability Groups
Stay motivated and crush your goals with an Accountability Group during Summer Shape Up! These groups give you the support, encouragement, and fun community vibes to keep you going strong—plus, there’s a chance to win a prize!
Why join a group?
Motivation: Stay on track with your LSF babes cheering you on
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Girl time: Make friends and have fun
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How to Create/Join an Accountability Group:
Comment on our IG post to introduce yourself
Reach out to connect and form your group
Pick your platform (DMs, text, FB, WhatsApp, etc.)
Throughout the challenge, we’ll be sharing new videos, delicious recipes, and hosting live sessions on @lovesweatfitness. Make sure to post your “I’M IN” graphic and tag @lovesweatfitness & @teamlsf.
Our Summer Shape Up Challengeis the perfect thing to get you in shape, feeling confident, and in that bikini this Summer!!
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based entrepreneur Josh Turner, 34. Turner is the founder of Stand4Socks, a sock company that, for every pair sold, donates another to someone in need. The B Corporation has distributed more than 750,000 pairs across the UK, Europe, and most recently, Ukraine. Stand4Socks now sees more than $1 million in revenue a year. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks. Josh Turner.
What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle? I’ve been entrepreneurial since the age of 8, starting little businesses throughout my early years of life. When I was still in school, I did club nights, eBay, power selling, etc., and this laid the foundation for being a lifetime entrepreneur.
Being dyslexic, I eventually had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Richard Branson, one of the most famous British entrepreneurs who also has dyslexia, and he has been a real inspiration throughout my life.
I studied business at university, and when I started my career, I went to an entrepreneur accelerator program called NEF (New Entrepreneurs Foundation). I was placed in a big corporate job and, unfortunately, fired within six months on Christmas Eve. I never wanted to work in a big company, but as I looked for another job while on welfare benefits, I had the opportunity to launch this side project. In the UK, they give a little extra money to start a company on welfare. That was the starting point — being close to homelessness — but the extra money and time I had to pursue this when I lost my job was the launchpad.
When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it? In 2015, TOMS Shoes was huge at the time for its “buy one, give one” concept, and I saw how the mash-up of business and charity was actually an attainable and scalable concept. I liked the idea of a hybrid model of doing good as you do business, not the old school definition of “make money, then give to charity.” Rubber wristbands like Livestrong were also popular at the time, raising money, showing support and spreading awareness. However, at the end of the day, they were just rubber wristbands, and I figured there had to be a more meaningful and sustainable way to wear your values. That’s when the idea clicked: Why not use colorful socks to show what we stand for?
We started in 2015 doing donations linked to the United Nations Global Goals. You wear one sock, and we plant 10 trees. Another sock supports gender equality and educates a child in Afghanistan. A third reduces child mortality; sales of the baby blue sock would help vaccinate kids against measles. One HIV and AIDS design wasn’t popular in the middle of 2016, so I started donating them to homeless shelters. I was quick (and surprised) to learn that throughout this donation process, many shelters told me no one ever donates socks — yet socks are the most requested item. Homeless people walk up to 10 miles a day, and not having fresh socks can lead to very severe foot health issues. That’s when the penny dropped. I realized we were putting so much effort into supporting causes worldwide, but we had missed something close to home: homelessness. We still do 10% of other causes (Ukraine, dyslexia, NHS socks, etc.). But now, the majority of our “buy one, give one” model supports people experiencing homelessness, which we use broadly to help refugees, people in Ukraine, children in poverty, older people and more.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? At the time, I was a 23-year-old millennial who saw the power of the internet and how big of a factor that could be on the success of my business. One of the first things I did was learn to code and build a website; this was before even having socks or a factory. In my mind, I thought getting socks would be easy (turns out it wasn’t) and learning to code would be one of the harder business challenges to overcome. Secondly, I couldn’t afford a graphic designer or really any external expertise. So, I took it upon myself to learn graphic design using Illustrator and how to design socks. I used YouTube to learn both things, not courses, because I couldn’t afford them.
I saved up my welfare money to use on travel to go to big trade shows to find a factory for sock production. I went to Paris, Hong Kong and Turkey for trade shows, staying in hostels and taking cheap buses (at the time I couldn’t afford direct flights or hotels). I would speak with people on site and say, “We’re from Stand4 Socks,” and we’d receive the same reaction: They had never heard of us. They knew of the big brands, but not us, because we didn’t have a factory yet. While not surprising, it presented a challenge for 23-year-old me, as it was a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation to get a factory to believe in us. After a lot of hard work, we eventually landed a factory that believed in us, one that we still have a longstanding relationship with now. They took a chance on us when no one else did. And now the people there are like family — they even came to my wedding!
Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business? As I mentioned earlier, YouTube was massive for us. I frequently call it my co-founder. It taught me anything I needed to learn. Being dyslexic, I learn best from visuals and at my own pace. If I got lost, I could rewind or find another video on the topic. Shopify has also been a game-changer, especially as we’ve grown. It allowed us to launch a website quickly. As we expanded, we added apps and features to compete with bigger companies, which took time but has helped us scale effectively.
If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach to save you time, energy or just a headache, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently? To save time and energy, I would get a grip on our financial numbers earlier. I’ve had mentors who emphasize financial details, and my dad has an accounting background. I’ve had times when we nearly ran out of money because we donated socks before sales came in or spent too much on stock without adequate cash flow. Using the accounting software Xero has been phenomenal for our business. It allows me to see our balance sheet in seconds, compare year on year and month on month, providing real-time financial insights and comparisons. Instead of having just annual business plans and cash flow forecasts, we are now able to review our numbers on a weekly or monthly basis, empowering us to stay closely attuned to the numbers. This, in turn, has created opportunities for us to take more calculated risks, know when things are tight and change strategy when needed.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks
When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t? We were fortunate enough to pitch on the UK’s version of Shark Tank called Dragon’s Den. One of the biggest obstacles we stumbled on was how we presented and understood our financial numbers. As someone with dyslexia, handling many different numbers under pressure was difficult, especially when we were thrown a ton of questions all at once. Since filming in 2019, we’ve grown significantly and recognized the value of having a grip on our numbers year-round as opposed to waiting until year-end. This is something we weren’t acutely aware of in the earlier stages of our business, but have grown to recognize how tremendous a difference it can make.
Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it? Given how unexpected the pandemic was, challenges in our business escalated quickly, despite being an online business. Our factory shut down, and our supply chain was severely disrupted. We came up with the idea of launching a special “Help for Health Heroes” sock to support frontline workers and to address the PPE gap with quality socks. We started by launching a pre-sale as a way to support frontline workers and keep our lights on, with the caveat to customers that they likely wouldn’t get the socks for three months. We sold over 30,000 pairs of socks in that period, which helped keep our business alive and support a worthy cause. It really taught us the strength of our customers and mission and showed that a little creativity can go a long way.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn? It took about five years before we had consistent monthly revenue. For the first five years, I put a majority of my time into this business, but my income came from freelance work with digital marketing consulting for brands and other big companies. I actually learned these skills from building my business, and that’s how I was able to sustain myself and the business in the early days. I worked from my mom’s shed for the first five years, which helped me keep costs low and save up to eventually move out and continue to grow the business. This time period was invaluable for learning how the business operates, enabling more rapid and sustainable growth in the subsequent five years.
What does growth and revenue look like now? We’re now a consistently seven-figure business annually and profitable. We’ve remained bootstrapped, though, and haven’t taken any outside investment. Our focus is to prioritize sustainable growth, our bottom line and profitability. With our expansion to the U.S. market, we expect 3x growth of the whole global business, and 10x in the next five years is what we’re working towards.
What do you enjoy most about running this business? What I enjoy most about my business is also what makes it the hardest: No one tells you what to do. On one hand, you have to figure out everything yourself. There isn’t a playbook; no one is handing you a to-do list. But on the other hand, that’s exactly what makes it so rewarding. You get to set the direction, trust your gut and follow your instincts, rightly or wrongly. When working for a large corporation, I often saw inefficient decision-making. At this stage in my career, being so junior, I had no say, even though my gut was telling me there was a better way. Running my own business gives me an opportunity to take risks and course correct in real time. Sometimes those risks lead to flops, but other times, they’ve led to great success. The sense of freedom to build something your way is what keeps me going.
What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice? Enjoy the journey. It’s going to be way harder than you think when you set out, but also way more rewarding than you’d ever expect. Don’t get overly caught up in milestones — appreciate the process.
Also, the answer is always “no” if you don’t ask the question. So many people stop themselves from reaching out because of the fear of being rejected. But if the answer is already “no” in your head, and you reach out and get a “no,” then nothing’s changed. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people because you might just get a yes.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks
That mindset has taken me to some wild places. One of the most surreal examples? I ended up spending a week with Sir Richard Branson on his private Necker Island. That experience didn’t come from deep connections or privilege: It came from asking bold, often unreasonable questions and walking through doors some may have felt they had no business knocking on.
Richard gave me a piece of advice that has stuck with me: “Hire people smarter than you, and then get out of their way.” It’s brilliant in theory, but when you bootstrap and are living in places like New York City, you often can’t afford to hire those people. So my approach has been to learn just the basics — whether development, sock design, marketing, etc. — and then delegate effectively. Don’t try to be an expert in everything, but have enough foundational knowledge to guide someone who is.
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As the insurance industry grapples with retirements and the challenge of attracting talent, forward-thinking insurers are finding success by combining traditional mentorship with cutting-edge technology, according to Triple-I’s latest Executive Exchange.
The “Ascend” Approach to Talent Development
David Corry, who heads Casualty for Argo Group, told Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan that the company’s “Ascend with Argo” program offers a blueprint for effective talent recruitment and retention. Rather than hoping young professionals will stumble into insurance careers, Argo actively partners with brokers to create meaningful experiences for early-career workers.
By offering shadow days, continuing education, and direct access to industry leaders, programs like Ascend make insurance careers tangible and appealing.
“Last month, we hosted a dozen young career brokers in our New York City office,” Corry said. “They spent a day with our underwriters and heard from senior leadership—giving them real exposure to how carrier operations work from the inside.”
Technology as a Talent Magnet
Cutting-edge technology – including generative AI – is transforming how insurers operate, as well as helping them attract tech-savvy talent who might otherwise overlook the industry. This creates what Corry calls “two-way learning,” with experienced professionals teaching industry fundamentals while younger workers contribute innovation skills. It’s a win-win that makes insurance careers more attractive to digitally minded professionals.
What ties these efforts together is authentic leadership focused on people rather than personal advancement.
“A strong leader is someone who’s in it for the people they work with, not for themselves,” Corry emphasizes.
The insurance industry’s talent challenge is real, but companies are addressing it by combining innovative programs, mentorship, and technology adoption – demonstrating that insurance careers offer both stability and cutting-edge opportunities for the next generation of professionals.
Starting a business is a fairly common goal in the United States, with roughly 43% of Americans expressing entrepreneurial intentions[1]. But how much does it cost to start a business? You’ll need to know before you get started.
If you’d like to transition to self-employment, here’s what you should know about how much it costs to start a business, why it’s such an important issue to consider, and how to save up the funds you need.
Why Startup Costs Matter
Startup costs are a critical consideration for would-be business owners and should factor heavily into your early financial planning.
You need to know how much it costs to start a business to determine whether you can realistically do so. Some business models require more than you can afford, even with external financing, making them unattainable.
👉 Learn more: Our guide on S.M.A.R.T. financial goals offers a step-by-step approach to planning your finances effectively, illustrated with examples.
Others may be theoretically within your reach but require more capital than you’re willing to risk. After all, roughly 20% of businesses fail within their first two years. That goes up to around 45% over the first five years and about 65% over the first ten[2].
You’ll also need a fairly accurate estimate of your startup costs to effectively prepare for the transition to self-employment. You want to be confident that you can cover your business expenses for a period without much revenue.
Typically, you’ll use that estimate to determine how much money you need to save up or gain access to through a credit account before transitioning to self-employment.
If they’re substantial enough, your startup costs can even impact your business’s finances over the long term. For example, if you get a 60-month business loan to purchase essential equipment, your profits will be lower for years due to the burden of servicing your debt.
For all of these reasons and more, knowing your business’s startup costs is essential for making strategic business decisions, especially in the earlier days of your company.
🤔 Learn more: Torn between employment and entrepreneurship? Our post on whether to get a job or start a business can help you decide.
How to Estimate Your Startup Costs
The cost of starting a business can vary wildly depending on your business model. For example, you can begin offering many services without paying anything, but opening a manufacturing company is prohibitively expensive for the average consumer.
As a result, the average cost of starting a business isn’t a practical measurement for gauging your own startup costs, even if you could calculate it. Instead, find a way to estimate the costs for your unique circumstances.
Let’s explore some strategies you can use.
Study Comparable Businesses
One of the best ways to estimate your startup costs is to study the expenses of existing operations like yours. While small businesses generally don’t publish their financial data like public companies do, you can still find information on them.
Many small business owners who have achieved some success enjoy sharing their insights with those interested in following a similar path. As a result, you can often find interviews, podcasts, or articles online in which they discuss the details of their experiences.
Alternatively, you can contact experts directly and ask for their advice yourself. They might participate in and be willing to answer questions in forums and social media, or you can attend networking events and attempt to connect with them in person.
House flipping is a popular real estate business strategy that involves buying, rehabbing, and selling a property for profit. As you can probably guess, it’s an expensive business plan, and estimating costs accurately is essential for success.
Fortunately, there are countless YouTube channels where flippers share the details of specific projects they’ve completed from start to finish, including their numbers. There are also real estate meetups in virtually every city where you can mingle with other real estate investors, ask them questions, and look for a mentor.
Build a Budget From Scratch
It’s generally more efficient to estimate your startup costs using someone else’s historical expenses. However, the information isn’t always readily accessible, and finding it can be more trouble than it’s worth.
In that case, you can always create a budget for your company’s startup costs from scratch. It might not be as accurate, but you can easily factor the unknown into your budget by giving yourself a healthy contingency fund.
Start by listing the expenses you’re sure you’ll have to pay to open your business. That’ll serve as the foundation of your budget. Then, list all the costs you anticipate but aren’t entirely sure about.
💰 Learn more: Explore 5 practical ways to get money to start a business and kickstart your entrepreneurial journey today.
Finally, inform your estimates for each cost with market research. Shop around with different vendors and get actual quotes so your numbers are as realistic as possible.
Generally, the safest strategy is to use your most conservative budget. That would mean assuming your most pessimistic estimates are accurate and factoring in a cushion to account for your uncertainties.
Say you want to start a lawn mowing business. You know what you’ll have to pay for equipment and transportation but aren’t sure how much you’ll need to pay for marketing and labor. To be safe, you include a conservative estimate of all the costs in your budget and factor in an additional 20% cushion to account for the unknown.
Expenses vary significantly between business models, but some are more common than others. If you have to build a budget from scratch, here are some costs you should probably include in your projections, no matter what product or service you offer.
Administration
If you want to do business as a legal entity other than a sole proprietor, you generally have to pay fees to a governing agency in your state. In addition, you’ll probably want to hire someone to draft documents like operating agreements or articles of incorporation.
Similarly, some businesses require that you purchase a license to offer whatever products or services you sell. Operate without them, and you risk incurring penalties or having your business activities shut down.
Finally, you’ll usually need to pay for bookkeeping services to keep your financial records in order. Depending on your needs, that can be anything from a software subscription to a professional service provider.
Marketing
Client acquisition is essential for every business, from real estate agencies to e-commerce websites. Not all forms of marketing cost money, but many of the most effective ones do, especially those that work for new companies.
When drafting your initial budget, it’s a good idea to leave some extra room in the marketing category since you can’t predict whether your early strategies will be successful. You may have to experiment until you find something that works for you, which will cost more money.
Materials
If you want to sell something tangible, you’ll inevitably have to pay for materials to create your final offering. That applies whether you’re assembling your product from scratch or merely refurbishing previously used goods.
Material costs are often one of the most significant expenses for product-centered businesses and have a large impact on profitability. You want to ensure that your raw material costs are roughly equal to or lower than your peers’ to compete effectively.
Labor
Small businesses often start as one-person operations, which can work well for many self-employed people. However, you must incur labor costs eventually if you want to scale things up.
Like materials, labor is often one of the more significant business costs. You may be able to reduce it by using independent contractors rather than employees, but hiring people consistently is always relatively expensive.
Overhead
Whatever your business is, you’ll often need space to conduct certain aspects of your operation. That could be an office to meet with clients, a storage unit to house your inventory, or even a factory to manufacture your products.
Assuming you can’t or don’t want to run your business out of your personal residence, you’ll need to lease or buy a separate space. That means taking on monthly rent or financing payments and utility costs.
Equipment
Businesses often need specialized equipment to offer whatever product or service they sell. That could be anything from a laptop computer for a freelance writer to a large commercial vehicle for a long-haul trucker.
Many of the most expensive business models are costly because the equipment they involve is expensive. If you pick a business that doesn’t require you to purchase any significant fixed assets, there’s a good chance you’ll have affordable startup costs.
Insurance
There are many types of business insurance, and it’s likely that at least one will be beneficial to you, no matter what your business is. Some policies may actually be required, such as workers’ compensation insurance when you have employees.
Some of the other most common types of business insurance include general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business income insurance. Many self-employed people buy a business owner’s policy, which combines all three.
Professional Services
Labor expenses generally refer to the cost of hiring someone for ongoing help with your primary operation. In contrast, professional service fees go to external parties you contract to manage a secondary aspect of your business that’s outside your wheelhouse.
You might hire a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to do your taxes. Some other common professional service costs include fees paid to lawyers, information technology (IT) consultants, and marketing agencies.
Taxes
Last but certainly not least, every business has to pay taxes on their profits. In addition to income taxes, that also includes a flat 15.3% self-employment tax. It’s the combination of the Social Security and Medicare taxes that employees get to split with their employees.
In most cases, it’s best to hire a CPA for assistance with tax planning and preparation. You might be able to get away without one if your business is relatively simple, but as it grows in size and complexity, a CPA becomes increasingly valuable.
📗 Learn More: Our latest post unveils 8 powerful ways how to save on taxes, helping you keep more money in your pocket.
How to Prepare Your Finances for Starting a Business
How much does it cost to start a business? If you’re asking that question, you already understand the importance of anticipating and preparing for your startup costs.
Starting a business that requires upfront and ongoing costs is inherently riskier than working for someone else. If your company fails or goes without revenue, you stand to lose your investment and source of income while having lingering business bills to pay.
As a result, it’s essential that you prepare your finances for self-employment by building a healthy runway of cash. The process isn’t too different from saving up an emergency fund to protect yourself as an employee.
Generally, this involves saving enough cash to weather the worst-case scenario. Just like it does for employees, that means having the funds to pay your bills during an extended period of little to no income.
However, there are several differences that mean your fund will probably need to be larger than the average employee’s. They include the following:
Longer timeline: Most employees aim to have three to six months of expenses in their emergency fund because that’s the length of the average job search. However, it can take much longer for your business to become profitable.
Higher costs: When an employee loses their job, they only need to be able to support their household. When business owners go without revenue, they must also cover their company’s recurring costs.
No unemployment: When an employee loses their job, they can often fall back on unemployment insurance to offset their cost of living. Unfortunately, business owners generally don’t have access to the same benefits.
You can reduce your need for a cash runway by maintaining a second source of income while you get started, but that means you’ll have less time and energy to devote to your new business. There are pros and cons to both approaches, so consider carefully.
I’d highly recommend these and shorts to anyone looking to run some summer (and beyond) 5k’s!
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks. Josh Turner. 
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks
Image Credit: Courtesy of Stand4Socks
