• Relationships are complicated, and they take a lot of work to keep healthy.
• Here are some easy strategies for strengthening your relationship on a daily basis, from saying "thanks" to putting a ban on talking about housework.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Relationships take work.

A lot of work.

But a week at a couples' retreat — while potentially nice — isn't the only way to reestablish intimacy.

You have multiple opportunities every day to show your partner you care, get to know them better, and defuse petty arguments.

Below, find seven strategies for strengthening your relationship, none of which take more than 10 minutes.

SEE ALSO: The most insidious type of cheating isn't physical. Here are 9 signs your partner could be guilty.

Try 'mindful conversation.'

"Mindful conversation" isn't designed to help romantic couples, per se — but it's a useful exercise in learning to actually listen to what your partner is saying, instead of tuning out or waiting for your chance to jump in.

Here's how it works (one of you can be "A" and the other can be "B"):

1. A talks and B listens for a set time period (say, three minutes)

2. B responds with, "What I heard you say is …"

3. A gives feedback and B responds until A is satisfied.

4. A and B switch roles. 

It might be awkward at first, but it gets easier over time.

Hug or kiss your partner.

Happiness expert Gretchen Rubin previously told Business Insider that she and her family make a habit of practicing "warm greetings and farewells." Every time someone comes or goes, everyone gives a sincere hello or goodbye.

Research even suggests that physical affection is related to greater satisfaction in romantic relationships. So take a minute or two to show your partner how much you care about them.

Say 'thank you' for something small.

In "The Gratitude Diaries," journalist Janice Kaplan chronicles her yearlong experiment with being more grateful for everything and everyone in her life — including her husband.

She writes that thanking her husband for something as small as fixing a leaky faucet ended up improving her overall marriage.

As Business Insider's Erin Brodwin has reported, psychologists have known for a while that couples who express gratitude toward each other are more likely to stay together. In fact, thanking your partner even once can bring you two closer months later.

That's possibly because a single act of gratitude sparks a cycle of gratitude and generosity: You thank your partner, so your partner feels appreciated and invests more in the relationship, which in turn makes you feel more grateful to them.

Reassess the division of household chores.

On the "Best of Both Worlds" podcast, time-management expert Laura Vanderkam and physician Sarah Hart-Unger recommend a simple strategy to relieve some of the stress from your relationship.

There are two steps:

1. Each person writes down all the family responsibilities they're currently taking care of.

2. Each person shares which of those responsibilities they enjoy, and which they don't.

The point is to figure out how much of the burden you're really shouldering, and to figure out if you can "swap" some chores so everyone's doing the things they enjoy.

Try the 'just like me' exercise.

That's a tip from Chade-Meng Tan, a former Google engineer and the creator of the "Search Inside Yourself" emotional-intelligence course.

In his 2012 book, also called "Search Inside Yourself," Tan explains how he handles conflict with his wife:

"I visualize the other person in the next room. I remind myself that this person is just like me, wants to be free from suffering just like me, wants to be happy just like me, and so on. And then I wish that person wellness, happiness, freedom from suffering, and so on.

"After just a few minutes of doing this, I feel much better about myself, about the other person, and about the whole situation. A large part of my anger dissipates immediately."

Practice the '10-minute rule.'

The 10-minute rule is a suggestion from sociology professor and relationship expert Terri Orbuch.

As Orbuch describes it in her book "5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great," the rule is a "daily briefing in which you and your spouse make time to talk about anything under the sun — except kids, works, and household tasks or responsibilities."

For example, you might want to ask:

• Do you think you are/were closer to your mom or dad? Why?

• What age do you feel like inside? Why?

• What do you think are the top-three worst songs of all time?

• What is the one thing you want to be remembered for?

According to Orbuch, learning new information about your partner makes things feel fresh and new again, and "mimics the emotional and physical state you were in during the first few years of your marriage."

Learn something new about your partner.

In his 2014 book, "Mindwise," psychologist Nicholas Epley cites research suggesting that we think we know our partners a lot better than we actually do. (Epley had a personal experience in which his wife bought him his least favorite ice cream flavor, thinking he'd love it.)

So Epley puts forth a simple solution: Don't assume you know everything about your partner. Ask questions and listen to the answers.

• Here are some questions the country's top companies ask job interview candidates, according to Glassdoor users.
• Facebook wants to know how candidates fit into company culture. Consulting firms like Bain & Company asks candidates how they'd handle particular management problems.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Job interviews can be tricky — especially when you're applying to a job at some of the world's best (and most sought-after) companies, like Google and Salesforce

Luckily, expertssay preparation is the key to acing interviews. Researching the company and having a sense of what questions recruiters will ask beforehand can give you an edge over other candidates.

Read more:15 top companies that let you have a life outside of work

Earlier this year, job-listing site Glassdoor released their ranking of the top companies to work for in 2019. We used Glassdoor user comments to find common questions these companies ask job candidates, as well as answers that candidates say will fare well during the interview.

Here is how you should answer questions asked by the country's top companies, like Facebook, Google, and McKinsey.

SEE ALSO: 15 top companies that let you have a life outside of work

20. Paylocity asks software engineer candidates to explain work done on previous projects.

Answer: "I had explained the process that I took to coming up with the best design to fit our needs. At the end they asked me what I would have done differently if I could do it again," one Glassdoor user wrote.

19. McKinsey & Company asks business analyst candidates, 'How do you think McKinsey & Company is different from other consulting firms?'

Answer: "I mentioned the quality of the recruiting process and the people I had spoken with up until that point," one interview candidate said. "The follow up question was this: What advice would you give to firm 'X' to make their recruiting process more effective?"

18. Ultimate Software gives interns coding tests.

Answer: "'[It is] not very difficult, just be familiar with superclasses, and how to override methods. There are many solutions to this problem and you should be prepared with a couple of them," one interview candidate said.

17. DocuSign asks account manager candidates, 'If you were hired and given a book of 300 accounts, how would you go about evaluating your book and organizing your work?'

Answer: "Organize each account by revenue generated and uncover opportunities for all," one user said.

16. HubSpot asks software engineer candidates, 'What made you apply to HubSpot?'

Answer: "I was really interested in one of Hubspot's product (i.e the Website Grader) and told them about my previous work experience matching with the requirements," one interview candidate said.

15. Power Home Remodeling asks candidates, 'How do you handle rejection?'

Answer: "I try to figure out why the rejection occurred to prevent it from happening in the future," one interview candidate said.

14. Slalom asked one consultant candidate to design a water bottle.

Answer: "Informally, when discussing the design process for software implementation, my interviewer asked me to hold a design session with her as the client, to design a water bottle," one Glassdoor user said. "We had a great back and forth of question and answer, diving into 'Why do you need a water bottle?' and 'What do you use your water bottle for?' And after a few curveballs and difficult answers, we got to a final design. This was a fun, informal way for me to demonstrate my thought process and personality."

13. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital asks candidates, 'How well do you work under stress?'

Answer: "I told them that all my life I have been put in stressful situations because of my mom who is a cancer survivor. I had to grow up very fast and learn to take over home responsibilities. I did all my responsibilities not only at home but I made sure I maintain my grades in school," wrote one Glassdoor user.

12. Intuitive Surgical asks clinical sales representative candidates, 'Why do you want to work for us?'

Answer: "Advanced technology equal to none other, benefiting patients immensely," one interview candidate said.

11. Salesforce asks software engineer candidates, 'What are 3 major difference between C++ and Java?'

Answer: "C++ is platform dependent, Java is platform independent. C++ uses a compiler to compile and run the source code, where it converts the source code into machine level language," user Sam Gurung said.

10. Southwest Airlines asks candidates, 'Why do you want to work for Southwest?'

Answer: "Look at their mission statement on their website and research the company, will help a lot," one user wrote.

9. Lululemon asks store manager candidates, 'How do you like to sweat?'

Answer: "Say anything yoga if you want them to be interested in you," one user wrote.

8. Google asks product manager candidates, 'How would you increase adoption of Google's fiber to the home product?'

Answer: "I would sell it as a bundle with other Google home products, like Google Smart TV," Glassdoor user Liron wrote.

7. Facebook asks software-engineer candidates how they would fit into the company's culture.

Answer: "Show passion for the company and why you want to be a part of it. Have specific ideas on what impact you may make at Facebook if you were to get hired," one Glassdoor user wrote.

6. LinkedIn asks software-engineer candidates to print out a binary tree with each level printed on its own line.

Answer: "Figuring out that you need an in-order traversal isn't too tough. Figuring out where to put the line breaks takes a little more work. I solved it, with some help on that second part," one interview candidate wrote.

5. Boston Consulting Group asks candidates, 'Talk about why you wanted to enter consulting.'

Answer: "I feel that I can be a innovator in this field," one anonymous user wrote. "A great interest in differing methods and am able to easily communicate with the customer to make the experience seamless and enjoyable."

4. Procore Technologies asks stock plan administrator candidates, 'What do you want out of a manager?' and 'What motivates you?'

Answer: "I answered the questions honestly. The interviews became more conversational than formal which allowed for some ease of nerves and more of my personality to show and be conveyed through the examples I gave. More of a behavioral assessment."

3. In-N-Out Burger asks part-time associate candidates, 'Why In-N-Out?'

Answer: "The reason why I am choosing In-N-Out is because they make quality food and they have great customer support," user Joel Varughese wrote.

2. Zoom Video Communications asked a service engineer candidate to use random forest or decision tree to process and model which can predict bad words in chat history.

Answer: "Use Python and Natural language processing algorithm," one user said.

1. Bain & Company asks associate candidates, 'A major casino company has been losing revenue over the past two years. How would you approach figuring out why?'

Answer: "1. Identify major sources of revenues; 2. Segment customer populations by revenue contribution; 3. Identify which segments realized the most revenue losses; 4. Make a recommendation," wrote one Glassdoor user who interviewed for the position.

• The chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, Tom Rothman, talked to Business Insider about the evolution of the studio since he took the helm in 2015.
• Rothman gave insight on working with Quentin Tarantino for his latest movie, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."
• Rothman said there had been changes to the movie since its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, as it now has a scene after the end credits and a new visual-effects sequence.
• The studio head also gave his opinion why "Men in Black: International" was not the relaunch of the franchise Sony had hoped for.
• Rothman explained his emotional reaction when Fox was bought by Disney. Before coming to Sony, Rothman worked at Fox for almost 19 years, and as the head of that studio for eight of them, oversaw the release of all-time box-office hits like "Titanic" and "Avatar."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that studio heads should be seen but never heard — but Tom Rothman has never been one to go with conventions.

For over three decades in the business, Rothman has charted a path to success by never taking the safe bet, saying what's on his mind, and always sticking to decisions forged by his passion for movies. It's led to some of the most groundbreaking moments in Hollywood.

While working at Fox for close to 19 years, eight of them overseeing the studio, Rothman did everything from founding the successful indie shingle Fox Searchlight in 1994 to overseeing two of the biggest box-office earners of all time, "Titanic" and "Avatar."

Now, as the chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group since 2015, he's led the company to record earnings in the past two years. With 2018's slate — which included "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," "Venom," "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation," "Peter Rabbit," and the Oscar-winning "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" — the company had its highest profitability in a decade.

But Rothman is focused on the future, specifically the release of Sony's next movie.

Coming off the success of its most recent opening, "Spider-Man: Far From Home," which is on pace to become the highest-grossing "Spider-Man" movie ever, Rothman wants to show that his studio can also drive audiences to more than superhero fare with Quentin Tarantino's love letter to the industry's golden age, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (opening July 26), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie.

"In this year, and I would say in particular this summer, there are a lot of sequels and a lot of superheroes, and listen we do our fair share of them, but there are not a lot of real, bold original creations and I think that's what he does," Rothman told Business Insider over the phone this week of Tarantino's work. "I'm going to go to my grave believing that if we make fresh things, there is still an audience for freshness."

Business Insider had a wide-ranging conversation with Rothman about working with Tarantino, Rothman's formula for Sony's success going forward, what led to the poor performance by "Men in Black: International," and his emotional farewell to Fox after it was bought by Disney.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Jason Guerrasio: As far as I know, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" has the same run time as what was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, but has he tinkered with the edit at all?

Tom Rothman: Tiny tinkering. There's an end credit sequence now. That wasn't in Cannes. So stick around after the credits. And there's one tiny section added, a visual-effects sequence that wasn't finished in time for Cannes. So the run time is maybe a minute or something longer. But it basically is the same movie that was at Cannes.

Guerrasio: You have worked with many great filmmakers in your career — how do you give notes?

Rothman: Quentin was an ambition of mine because he was one of the few great living directors that I hadn't yet worked with. I've worked with Steven Spielberg, Jim Cameron, Baz Luhrmann, Danny Boyle, and Ang Lee. Here's what great filmmakers want: They want your honest opinion and then they want to be trusted, and that's how you work effectively with great filmmakers.

You give them your honest expert opinion and then you trust them to make the decision. That's how I've always worked and that's why, in honesty, I've done repeat business with great directors over the years. All those directors I just mentioned, I've made multiple films with all of them because they respect feedback. They want feedback, particularly great directors who are secure with themselves. But they also want your support and confidence because it's ultimately their vision and their decision. That's how you do it. I never, ever, try to substitute my judgment for theirs. But I do try to give them feedback.

Guerrasio: The interesting thing about Quentin is he has only had to answer to one person in this business before doing a movie at Sony, and that's Harvey Weinstein. Did you want to know at all from Quentin how he worked with Weinstein to better understand how he likes to work with a studio head?

Rothman: No. Not at all. And I would amend the way you phrase that question. I don't believe he's ever had to answer to anyone. I think that's a misnomer. I don't know how they worked and I didn't ask and I don't really care, because I have a long history with working with big auteurs and I feel confident in how I go about doing that. And I don't think great filmmakers "answer" to a studio. When the dynamic is good, there's a partnership. Good directors take the feedback and then have the confidence and the strength in their own vision to make decisions, and that's Quentin.

Read more: All the details of Quentin Tarantino's new movie, which stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie

This is what you have to know, which distinguishes this movie from almost every movie you've seen this year. Ready? [Pause.] He made it up himself! He imagined it himself. He cast it himself. It's the ultimate vision. It's not based on a comic book or three other movies that were made, there's nothing McMovie about it. It ain't a f---ing Quarter Pounder. When we adapt Spider-Man, that has half a century of canon and fandom. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" comes springing out of one guy's head.

Guerrasio: There was a report of the big demands Quentin had for a studio to buy the movie: the amount of first-dollar gross he would take, the ownership of the movie coming back to him after a number of years--

Rothman: I'm not going to get into all that, although there is no first-dollar gross. I'll say this, is there risk involved? You bet. But you know what? It's like what my high-school coach told me, "No guts, no glory."

Guerrasio: You have really dug in and reshaped the Sony brand to your vision since coming on as head in 2015. How have you gone about doing it?

Rothman: We're really happy. We have done that through a threefold strategy. It was a myth that Sony didn't have IP. We do — we just didn't strategically invest in it enough. So number one is investing in IP. We had "Jumanji" do $900 million worldwide. We had "Venom" making $800 million worldwide. "Spider-Verse" won the Oscar. Then we have expanded our Sony universe of Marvel characters. With Disney buying Fox, the only companies in the world now that own the right to make Marvel properties are Disney and Sony. And we fostered new IP like "Peter Rabbit" and "Hotel Transylvania." So that first pillar of investing in IP has paid great dividends.

Pillar two: We truly have become a global organization. We invested in our global infrastructure and routinely now do 2-to-1 at the box office international versus domestic, and that's where the business is.

And the third pillar is we have become a good home for interesting filmmakers doing original material. "Baby Driver" and the Quentin movie are good examples. And going forward, we have the literary IP with the deal we made with [president and CEO] Brian Murray at HarperCollins. It was his idea. But that is a very competitive space. Not just the studios, but Netflix and Apple and Amazon are all vying for literary properties. And the folks from Fox 2000 [which was shuttered after Disney bought Fox, and whose staff will oversee the venture with HarperCollins], they are the top adapters of literary material in all the movie and television business. So you pair that with the second-largest publisher and you got the inside track.

Now, having said that, are we perfect? We definitely are not. Have we had misses? "Men in Black: International" wasn't particularly a financial disappointment because at the end of the day it's going to do $250 and $300 million worldwide, but it certainly wasn't a restart in the way that we hoped it would be.

Guerrasio: From your vantage point, what went wrong with that movie?

Rothman: I think the truth of the matter is the audience really liked that film and the cast was wonderful, Tessa [Thompson] and Chris [Hemsworth] were great and did a terrific job, but if we made any mistake, I think it probably was that there was not a strong enough idea in the story. Especially when you compare that to, say, "Jumanji," which had a very, very strong idea. So the lesson of it is we have a pretty darn good batting average around here, but you are never going to bat 1.000, and you need to continue to take risks. But you have to try to manage risk. In the case of "Men in Black," we had two cofinanciers on that movie and that manages the risk. I really do believe you cannot eliminate risk in the movie business. If you try to eliminate risk, you will eliminate creativity, and if you eliminate creativity, you will eliminate success.

Guerrasio: But in the case of "Men in Black," can you still manage the risk? Or looking at what happened with this movie, is it time to close the book on that franchise?

Rothman: I don't know the answer to that because we're not done yet with that movie. That movie is still in theaters, playing out in the rest of the world, so ask me that question after ancillaries — after we go out in digital and DVD. I mean, we are making "Zombieland 2" right now, the audience is crazy for that. But if you asked whoever was in my job a few weeks after the theatrical of "Zombieland" whether you're going to make another one, they would have you hauled off to the loony bin. But it has taken on a great life. So "Men in Black" remains a very important asset that the company owns, and I would be very surprised if that is the last movie.

Guerrasio: Sony was not present at CinemaCon or CineEurope this year. Is this the start of a new way you want to interact with exhibition, or did you just take a year off?

Rothman: We sort of had too much to show and we felt the slate spoke for itself. I'm glad you asked this — that was not a policy decision, that was just a 2019 decision. It just didn't make sense for us this year. We were concentrating on getting "Spider-Man: Far From Home" done. I would certainly expect to see us back.

Read more: Netflix lost 126,000 subscribers in the US this past quarter — help us learn why

Guerrasio: In your eyes, does Sony need to get into the streaming business like how Disney is doing Disney Plus, Apple doing Apple TV Plus, and others?

Rothman: No, our mindset is those guys are in an arms race and we're arms dealers. I think we're doing really well right now. Our content is very valuable.

Guerrasio: You spent almost 19 years at Fox: What was it like seeing that company going to Disney?

Rothman: It was very sad. I was there for the bulk of my adult work life. I had and have many dear friends who work there. I think it was sad for that company and sad for movie lovers. I went over there the night the deal closed. They had sort of an impromptu wake. I walked around the lot. I hadn't been there in a while and just thought that it really was a Camelot.

Guerrasio: Did you get emotional?

Rothman: I got very emotional. Look, I spent almost 19 years there. But what I said to some people that night was, "They can take away the corporate entity, but they can't take away what we did." And that's the thing about film: Those films will endure. I'm sitting in my office right now and I look to my side and see the original Wilson from "Cast Away." OK, there's no 20th Century Fox, but there's still "Cast Away." It was such a privilege and an honor all those years at Fox. So it was a sad passing, but the films will endure.

Guerrasio: For your entire career, you've prided yourself to get original movies out through the Hollywood system. Just naming a few that I don't know would have been made the way they were without you: "Master and Commander," "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," "Life of Pi," "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," and the latest is "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." What drives you to green-light audacious original projects, especially in an era when it's thought those will not make any money?

Rothman: Well, partly it's what I said before: If you remove risk from the business, you will also remove the upside. I've gotten knocked down plenty of times. "Billy Lynn" was a disappointment, but "Life of Pi" did $600 million. Would I make another movie with Ang Lee? Yes I would. It would be a privilege. You know, at my former job, Steven Spielberg had a 170-plus-page script for "Lincoln" that no one would make. And he brought it to me and it was Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and the most brilliant piece of writing that I had ever read. But it was a movie about six votes. It wasn't about him being born in a log cabin and chopping wood. I can tell you there was no analysis for that movie, nothing to base how it would do. But I thought I wasn't in this chair to say no, I was there to figure out how to say yes. Fortunately I did. Saying no is easy — saying yes is hard. But what the hell else are you doing here?

SEE ALSO: Netflix lost subscribers in the US last quarter for the first time since 2011

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• There are multiple warning signs that you or your partner are more at risk of getting divorced.
• Education, employment status, and family history of divorce can all impact your likelihood of getting divorced.
• We rounded up 12 factors that scientists have found can predict divorce.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

No one can say with 100% certainty that a couple is heading for disaster.

However, social scientists have gotten pretty good at predicting who's most likely to wind up there. These couples share certain commonalities — in the way they fight and the way they describe their relationship, but also in their education level and employment status.

Below, we've rounded up 12 factors that predict divorce.

SEE ALSO: 13 facts about divorce every couple should know before getting married

Getting married in your teens or after age 32

The best time to get married is when you feel ready, and when you've found someone you think you can spend a lifetime with. Don't force anything — or put it off — because a study told you to do so.

That said, research does suggest that couples who marry in their teens and couples who marry in their mid-30s or later are at greater risk for divorce than couples in their late 20s and early 30s. The risk is especially high for teenage couples.

That's according to research led by Nicholas Wolfinger, a professor at the University of Utah. After age 32, Wolfinger found, your odds of divorce increase by about 5% every year.

As Wolfinger wrote in a blog post for the conservative-leaning Institute for Family Studies, "For almost everyone, the late twenties seems to be the best time to tie the knot."

Other research, published in 2015 in the journal Economic Inquiry, found that the odds of divorce among heterosexual couples increase with the age gap between spouses.

As Megan Garber reported at The Atlantic:

"A one-year discrepancy in a couple's ages, the study found, makes them 3% more likely to divorce (when compared to their same-aged counterparts); a 5-year difference, however, makes them 18% more likely to split up. And a 10-year difference makes them 39% more likely."

Having a husband who doesn't work full-time

A 2016 Harvard study, published in the American Sociological Review, suggests that it's not a couple's finances that affect their chances of divorce, but rather the division of labor.

When the researcher, Alexandra Killewald, looked at heterosexual marriages that began after 1975, she learned that couples in which the husband didn't have a full-time job had a 3.3% chance of divorcing the following year, compared to 2.5% among couples in which the husband did have a full-time job.

Wives' employment status, however, didn't much affect the couple's chances of divorce.

The researcher concludes that the male breadwinner stereotype is still very much alive, and can affect marital stability.

Not finishing high school

It doesn't seem fair that couples who spend more time in school are less likely to get divorced. But that's what the research suggests.

A post on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website highlights a result from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979), which looked at the marriage and divorce patterns of a group of young baby boomers. The post reads:

"The chance of a marriage ending in divorce was lower for people with more education, with over half of marriages of those who did not complete high school having ended in divorce compared with approximately 30 percent of marriages of college graduates."

It may have to do with the fact that lower educational attainment predicts lower income — which in turn predicts a more stressful life. As psychologist Eli Finkel previously told Business Insider:

"What I think is going on is it's really difficult to have a productive, happy marriage when your life circumstances are so stressful and when your day-to-day life involves, say three or four bus routes in order to get to your job."

Showing contempt for your partner

John Gottman, a psychologist at the University of Washington and the founder of the Gottman Institute, calls certain relationship behaviors the "four horsemen of the apocalypse." That's because they predict divorce with scary-high accuracy.

The first behavior is contempt or seeing your partner as beneath you. Gottman calls this behavior the "kiss of death" for a relationship. Criticism can also lead to the downfall of a marriage. Turning a behavior into a statement about your partner's character can lead to increased instability. Defensiveness or playing the victim during difficult situations can also cause problems. Lastly, stonewalling or blocking off conversation between you and your partner is a recipe for disaster.

As Business Insider's Erin Brodwin reported, these conclusions are based on a 14-year study of 79 couples living across the US Midwest, which Gottman conducted along with University of California-Berkeley psychologist Robert Levenson. And while that particular study was small, another decade of research supports the findings.

Being overly affectionate as newlyweds

If you're not inclined to hug and kiss and hold hands as newlyweds, that might be a problem. But if you practically have to be pulled apart, well, that might be a problem, too.

Psychologist Ted Huston followed 168 couples for 13 years — from their wedding day onward. Huston and his team conducted multiple interviews with the couples throughout the study.

Here's one fascinating finding, from the resulting paper that was published in the journal Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes in 2001: "As newlyweds, the couples who divorced after 7 or more years were almost giddily affectionate, displaying about one third more affection than did spouses who were later happily married."

Aviva Patz summed it up in Psychology Today: "[C]ouples whose marriages begin in romantic bliss are particularly divorce-prone because such intensity is too hard to maintain. Believe it or not, marriages that start out with less 'Hollywood romance' usually have more promising futures."

Weathering daily stress

Don't underestimate the toll that stress can take on a marriage.

A 2007 paper, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, looked at the factors that led to divorce in European couples and found that daily stress was an important reason behind the decision to divorce in many couples.

Seemingly trivial experiences like forgetting an appointment or missing the bus turned out to create tension between spouses.

The authors even found that "participants reported the accumulation of everyday stress as a more relevant divorce trigger than falling in love with another person, partner violence, or even a specific major life event that would have instigated changes in their private life."

Withdrawing during conflict

When your partner tries to talk to you about something tough, do you shut down? If so (or if your partner is guilty of that behavior), that's not a great sign.

A 2013 study, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, found that husbands' "withdrawal" behaviors predicted higher divorce rates. This conclusion was based on the researchers' interviews with about 350 newlywed couples living in Michigan.

Meanwhile, a 2014 study, published in the journal Communication Monographs, suggests that couples engaged in "demand/withdraw" patterns — i.e. one partner pressuring the other and receiving silence in return — are less happy in their relationships.

The lead study author, Paul Schrodt at Texas Christian University, says it's a hard pattern to break because each partner thinks the other is the cause of the problem. It requires seeing how your individual behaviors are contributing to the issue and using different, more respectful conflict-management strategies.

Describing your relationship in a negative way

In 1992, Gottman and other researchers at the University of Washington developed a procedure called the "oral history interview," in which they ask couples to talk about different aspects of their relationship. By analyzing the conversations, the researchers are able to predict which couples are heading for divorce.

In one study, published in 2000 in the Journal of Family Psychology, Gottman and colleagues put 95 newlywed couples through the oral history interview. Results showed that couples' scores on certain measures predicted the strength or weakness of their marriage. Those measures included: fondness for each other, "we"-ness or how much each spouse emphasizes unification in the marriage, expansiveness or how much each partner elaborates on what the other is saying, negativity, disappointment in the marriage, and how much the couple describes their marriage as chaotic.

Having divorced parents

Research shows that if your parents divorced, you may be at more at risk of getting divorced also. The statistics vary on this theory, but one study by researchers Paul Amato and Danelle Deboer found that if a woman's parents divorced, her odds of getting divorced increased by 69%. The study also found that if a husband and wife's parents both divorced, the risk of divorce increased by a whopping 189%.

This isn't to say that if you or your spouse's parents' marriage ended, your relationship is also doomed. It is important for children of divorce to separate themselves and their own relationships from that of their parents, and commit themselves to having healthier, more harmonious relationships and reactions to potential conflicts.

Working as a gaming manager, bartender, or flight attendant

Certain professions report higher rates of divorce. According to a previous article by Business Insider, the jobs with the highest divorce rates are gaming managers, bartenders, and flight attendants. Jobs with the lowest chances of divorce included actuaries, physical scientists, and medical and life scientists.

How much money you make

Money is a common stressor among most married couples. In fact, money has often been cited as a large contributing factor to why couples decided to get divorced. A 2012 study in Family Relations Journal found that "money is the top predictor of divorce for both men and women." However, while many may think not having enough money would lead to divorce, studies show that couples with higher incomes were actually more likely to split up. 

CNBC cites a couple of reasons for this, including the fact that in many high-income relationships, one partner is the bread-winner and the other doesn't work at all. High-income earners may also travel a lot for work or spend long days in the office, rather than at home. 

Whether you have children or not

According to a study by Anneli Rufus, an author and journalist, that appeared on Smart Marriages, whether or not a couple has children can greatly impact their chances of divorce. In 2010, at least 66% of divorced couples in the United States reported being childless, versus 40% who have children.

The absence of children can also cause strain if one spouse wants to have kids and the other does not. According to the report, couples who do not agree on wanting children are twice as likely to get a divorce.

• Read more:
• One parent behavior may affect kids of divorce more than divorce itself
• Why are millennials abandoning divorce? Sex, money, and their parents
• Divorce isn't a failure, therapists say. In fact, it could mean the marriage was a success.
• 7 ways millennials are changing marriage, from signing prenups to staying together longer than past generations

The Cannes Lions Festival is the biggest event of the year in the advertising world. We asked some the brightest minds in the industry to share which campaigns were so good that they wish they had thought of them. The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Pedro Earp — Global CMO, Anheuser-Busch InBev: I like a lot, the work that Fernando Machado is doing at Burger King. The Whopper Detour— I think for me it was genius.

Fernando Machado — Global CMO, Burger King: Viva La Vulva— It's like, I wish I had done that.

I love the New York Times stuff. Just talking about the stuff — David Droga, with Droga5. 

David Droga —Founder, Droga5: There's always enough to remind you that you're not as good as you think you are — Pick a Nike ad from the last decade or two.

Pedro Earp —Global CMO, Anheuser-Busch InBev: Everybody's talking about Nike.

Brad Hiranga — CMO, General Mills: Every marketer here will probably say the same thing around Nike.

Karin Timpone —Global CMO, Marriott International: I think what they did this year — just reaffirming their purpose and their commitment to athletes and the voice of that. As a marketer, just great admiration for what they do. 

Jeff Goodby —Co-Chairman, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners: They are so dedicated to the idea of making things for athletes and being authentic.

Rich Silverstein — Co-Chairman, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners: I think the Kaepernick thing I'm jealous of because of this perfect storm coming together. And it's pretty hard to take a soft drink and do that with, or a chip to do that with.

There was —  somebody did something that was larger than advertising, larger than a marketing idea. They did it from their heart and their gut. 

Brad Hiranga —CMO, General Mills:A brand that I have a marketer crush on — I've had one for a long time — is Red Bull.

It's not about campaigns specifically, but it's about how they take a brand and passion points and create new things around it. And starting as an energy drink and moving into basically being like a media creative entertainment entity is like a total reframe of the market.

Raja Rajamannar — Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Mastercard: One of the all-time great campaigns that I have seen — it's a print ad from  1995 or so. It was a print ad by Harley Davidson's competitor — it's a Ducati basically. And they show a guy who looks like a Harley Davidson person in the leather jacket with the beard, the beer belly and the metal studs and all that stuff standing in front of a Ducati motorcycle. And actually he wet his pants and you can see the puddle around his feet. It doesn't say anything else.

This is absolutely incredible how much they have managed to communicate and in such a brilliant way, leveraging the identity of their competitor.

Alicia Tillman —Global CMO, SAP: There are brands that have tried to really course correct their personal image. If I think about Barbie with Mattel in particular.

To see this campaign where it actually showed a young girl who was in real life situations as a child but running a classroom or running a sports team. And you flashback to this final scene where it actually shows the little girl in her room — that these are the things that she's imagining about her life.

As we know, this was a brand that found itself under tremendous fire because of the way in which Barbie is shaped. And it not being reflective and sending a good signal to children in terms of how they need to look in order to be successful in our world.

It was probably and still remains my favorite campaign called Imagine the Possibilities.

Tim Ellis —EVP and CMO, NFL: The famous one — the 1984 ad in the Superbowl from Apple. That they just had the courage to do that ad. To know that what your message was was right. And to be that brave to go on such a platform as a Super Bowl to do that ad. For me, that was always just brilliant.

Andrea Mallard — CMO, Pinterest: Reporters Without Borders in Germany — they were realizing there are many countries around the world where there's not freedom of the press.  And they realized that though traditional media was banned in many of these places, apps or platforms like Spotify weren't banned — you could access music.

They found the local journalists who were publishing the really important content. They found local artists, songwriters and musicians to turn those articles into songs.

It became a very underground movement where people could hear the news of the day through what appeared to be simple music, pop songs.

Julia Goldin —Global CMO, LEGO: I saw the Palau Pledge. And it was a very clever campaign where tourists that are coming to the Palau island, mostly probably to dive. They have to actually sign the pledge and they get a stamp in their passport. And that engages them personally. And I think that's such a clever way to create personal engagement in something that's really important.

David Droga —Founder, Droga5: We're in the middle of the, um, yes, it's the title. It's called goals things out and

It's just some ideas that you're so relieved that someone's created and secretly jealous. But the Palau campaign last year I think it was a fantastic one.

Rich Silverstein — Co-Chairman, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners: The art of the success of anything is that it's in the bloodstream of everybody. Everybody gets it. 

Join the conversation about this story »

• I once dated a coworker, and though it worked out for us, office romances can be a very tricky thing to navigate.
• Working with your significant other can have a serious impact on your career (and your relationship!), so you need to tread carefully.
• We talked to experts to compile all the rules for dating a coworker.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Despite all the warnings, I once dated a coworker. 

Here's the thing: We didn't meet on the job.

Tyler and I had been dating for almost four years before we started working together (which, by the way, wasn't planned … long story for another time). But for about 11 months, we sat three cubes apart from one another and kept our relationship under wraps.

That's right. Nobody knew we were a couple.

"Nobody knew?!" "Wasn't it hard to hide?" "Isn't that illegal?"

Those are questions we're frequently asked when we tell people the story of our office romance.

Our answer to all three: Nope...because we followed "the rules."

The truth is, office romances can be very tricky and generally not recommended. But they happen all the time, and when they do, there are three possible outcomes: The relationship turns sour and your reputation and career take a beating; it ends, but you're both mature and cordial and don't let the breakup affect your work; or things work out.

A CareerBuilder survey from last February revealed that nearly 36% of employees admitted to having a romantic relationship with a coworker, and one-third of office relationships result in marriage. (Remember that coworker I dated? We're approaching our fourth wedding anniversary.)

It's up to you to figure out whether pursuing an office relationship is worth the possible consequences, good and bad. If you decide it is, there are a few "rules" you'll want to follow to ensure things don't go awry:

1. Take it slow.

My situation was unique because we were already a couple before we started working together — but generally that isn't the case, and Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job," suggests you try being friends inside and outside the office before you make any moves.

People sometimes act differently at work than they do in their personal life. Before you risk hurting your reputation at work, find out if this person is someone you'd want to spend weekends with.

2. Know the formal policy.

Check the company handbook to find out if there are any policies related to interoffice relationships. 

Even if there are no explicit policies against it, find out how upper management feels about office romances. If they're common and happen in your workplace all the time, great. If not, maybe that's something to consider. 

3. Avoid your boss or direct reports.

If you're thinking about pursuing an office romance, consider your rank or position, as well as theirs. Dating your boss or your direct report can be particularly dangerous for a variety of reasons.

4. Keep things quiet early on.

No need to send a blast email with "the news" of you and your cube-mate's new relationship. People either don't care, will think it's obnoxious or inappropriate, or will get jealous.

"Be discreet about the news," Taylor suggests. Once you have a sense that this might have a future, talk to your partner and decide how and when you want to disclose your relationships to your colleagues.

If the rumor mill goes into high gear, that might be the right time. If nobody seems to notice, there's no reason to share.

5. Get on the same page.

You and your new partner need to agree on some ground rules and come up with a plan for how you will keep it professional and stay within written or unwritten rules. "What will be your plan 'B' if the heat is on from a supervisor, from gossip, or if things go awry?" Taylor asks.

6. Be professional at all times.

"You may have the burden of overcompensating with professionalism and keeping an artificial distance, which can be an awkward strain," says Taylor. "Better to overcompensate than to constantly test the limits of workplace etiquette while hoping for the best."

7. Be sensitive and respectful to others.

Focus on work and do your job — especially if you want to mitigate gossip. 

"No one wants to hear about how deeply you're in love with each other or where you went last weekend or the fight you had in the car this morning," she explains. "Save it for your family or friends outside work."

Talking about the relationship can be distracting or make colleagues feel uncomfortable, so don't do it.

8. Keep love quarrels out of the work fray.

Again — nobody wants or needs to know about what's happening with your love life. 

"It's hard enough today to concentrate with open office spaces, a plethora of technology devices, frantic deadlines, multiple bosses, and so on," says Taylor. "Add to that two lovers fighting over doing dishes in the next cube and you have one unhappy coworker, who you may catch sauntering to HR."

Also, it's entirely unprofessional to complain about your personal relationships at work, whether you're dating a colleague or not.

9. Don't let disagreements affect your work.

This may be one of the hardest rules to follow.

What happens at home or in your personal life (no matter who you're dating) almost always affects your attitude, which affects your work — it's just a fact of life. 

But try your hardest not to let your disagreements with your partner affect the decisions you make or how your treat others at work.

10. Remain ethical.

The same way you shouldn't let disagreements with your partner affect the decisions you make or how your treat others at work — you can't let your adoration for them drive your decisions, either. 

It's unfair and unethical to give your significant other's work more attention and to make decisions that ultimately benefit them. So while it may be tempting, stop yourself before you get yourself into trouble.

11. Remain focused on your work.

"Spend your time as if you are not dating this person," advises Taylor. Don't get caught up in long conversations, two-hour lunches, IMing, or emailing with your partner when you should be working on projects or preparing for meetings.

12. Know the potential legal pitfalls.

"Employees are generally encouraged to report incidents of sexual harassment or events that create a hostile work environment," says Taylor. "Since the sensitivities of the workforce are varied and subjective, there's always a risk of offending someone. One complaint to HR for PDA, showing preferential treatment, or using words of endearment in public will at the very least trigger an investigation."

13. Go easy on flirtatious texts and emails.

"Be careful what you text or email to each other, not just because Steve in accounting might fall off his chair when he mistakenly receives it — but also because it could ultimately be used as evidence in a legal case in termination or sexual harassment," she warns.

14. Don't talk about work at home

This one is more for the well-being of your relationship.

You'll want to to what you can to keep work and your personal life separate.  

Since you're in the same office, you know all the same people and may even be working on similar projects — so it's easy to go home and talk about those people or those projects.  You'll be tempted to chat about the latest office gossip over dinner — but don't.

If you do, your whole life will be about work ... which isn't good for your relationship, or your career.

Come up with some rule together. For instance, maybe you decide that it's okay to discuss work on your car ride home, but as soon as you get there, it's off limits.

15. Consider what you'd want to do if things do work out.

As a relationship becomes more serious, oftentimes one person will decide to leave the employer completely, because the more involved you are, the greater likelihood of the relationship interfering with your job. "That's why so many companies have policies against nepotism, which applies to married couples and relatives," says Taylor. This is something to think about early on and to keep in mind as you move forward in the relationship. 

"The bottom line is, you need to tread carefully," she adds. "If, however, love happens to strike at work, don't make a concerted effort to fight it at any cost. Just know the risks."

Your decision not only affects you, but other person, both your careers, and those around you. "A word to the wise: If you take the leap, go into it with your eyes wide open," Taylor concludes.

• Read more:

The psychological reasons why you fall in love with your colleagues

A quarter of people would consider quitting their job if their 'work spouse' left the company

20 things you should never say to your coworkers

SEE ALSO: 8 things to consider before you start an office romance

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 8 things you should never say in a job interview

• Adrian Granzella Larssen is a content strategist, editorial director, and founder of Sweet Spot Content. Eight years ago, she was the first employee at The Muse.
• She writes that when it comes to the correspondence you send during your job hunt, one email could be what lands you that dream job — or stands in the way of it.
• Below are her examples for all the emails you'll need to send during every stage of a job search, from the "help me get a job" message when you first start your hunt to the right way to negotiate your offer.
• The best emails are upbeat, polite, and personalized, but succinct. Your goal is to display your strengths and not pester your audience.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

If you're like me, sending an important email isn't a quick process.

No, it typically involves writing, re-writing, grabbing a second cup of coffee, editing, and even asking your co-worker to forget whatever deadline they're on and give your very important message a once-over.

And when it comes to your job search? Forget your co-worker — if you have to send a cover letter or an interview thank-you note, you're firing off drafts of that bad boy to your sister, your best friend, your uncle who worked as a recruiter 15 years ago, and anyone else who might be willing to help. After all, this one email could be what lands you that dream job — or stands in the way of it.

Fret no more. After writing (and reading) many of these job search emails over the years, I've compiled the best ones all in one place. Copy, paste (and personalize, of course), and you can spend less time typing emails and more time on deciding which networking event to hit up tonight.

1. The "help me get a job" email

Purpose: To tell your network you're on the hunt for a new job and ask for their help.

When to send: When you're starting your search.

Send to: Anyone you know who could be useful in your search, like former bosses and colleagues and well-connected friends and family members. 

Pro tip: It's OK to send this as a mass email;  just BCC everyone. But if you know people who could really help — for example, friends who work at a company you're applying to — leave them off the group email and send a personalized note.

The template:

Hi there,

If you're receiving this email, you've been a big part of my professional life. (Thank you!) I'm reaching out with an update on my career, and a small favor to ask.

As many of you know, I've been working as a [job title] at [company] for [number] years. It's been a [good/great/interesting/incredible] job, and I've had the opportunity to [list 2-3 key achievements].

Now, I've been exploring new opportunities that will allow me to [describe what you're looking for in your next job — and keep it positive!].

My ask: If you know anyone hiring someone with my background, please let me know! I'm targeting job titles like [2-3 job titles you're interested in] and am especially interested in working at companies like [3-5 companies you're interested in]. My resume is attached to this email, and my LinkedIn profile can be found here [link].

Thank you in advance for your help. And if there's anything I can do to help YOU, please let me know. I'd love to return the favor!

Warm regards,

[Your name]

Read more: I was the first employee of a huge startup. Here's my advice to anyone thinking about joining an early-stage company.

2. The "help me get a job at your company" email

Purpose: Networking is still the best way to get human eyes on your resume, so if you have a contact who works at a company you're interested in, it can pay to reach out!

When to send: Before you apply online.

Send to: Any connections you have at companies you're interested in. But rather than reaching out to everyone (that, uh, could be seen as overkill), start with those who are most likely to help, like recruiters or people who work in your field.

Pro tip: Asking your contacts to submit your resume for you can come off as pushy. With this email, you're asking for their advice rather than a favor. In my experience, if they can refer you or offer additional help, they'll let you know.

The template:

Hi [name],

I hope all is well! [Add a personal question or update, if you know this person well.]

I'm reaching out because I know you've been at [their company] for a while, and I'd love to hear more about your experience.

I'm planning to apply for the [position title] role, which seems like a perfect match for me: [Describe in 1-2 sentences why you're a fit for this job]. (I've also attached my resume, in case it's helpful.)

But before I send my application, I thought I'd see if you have any advice. Specifically, do you know who the hiring manager is, so I can address my cover letter to them? And any insider tips on what they're looking for in this role, beyond what's listed in the job description? [Note: Feel free to personalize this section with 1-2 other questions.]

Any insight you have would be so appreciated. And if there's anything I can do to help YOU, please let me know. I'd love to return the favor.

All the best,

[Your name]

3. The cover letter

Purpose: Silly though it may seem when you're submitting a resume with all of your job history on it, many hiring managers still care about cover letters. Plus, it's a great way to show your personality and interest in the job.

When to send: When you're submitting your application.

Send to: Ideally, the hiring manager or person who'd be your future boss. Try to do some research on who that person is (the letter above may come in handy).

Pro tips: Consider the template below just that — a template. You can and should tailor your cover letter to the job you're applying for. (Recruiter Jenny Foss offers some great tips on The Muse.)

The template:

Dear [first name],

I'm excited to apply for the [position title] role at [company]. Here's why: [Describe in 1-2 sentences why you're excited about the position and company, being as specific as possible.]

A bit about me: [A 2-3 sentence description of your background, highlighting the parts that are most relevant to the job.]

I'd love the chance to help [company] by [describe 2-3 ways in which your background could add value to the job, again being as specific as possible.]

Feel free to reach out at [email] or [phone number]. I look forward to hearing from you!

All the best,

[Your name]

Read more: I'm a recruiter who's placed hundreds of senior professionals. Here are 5 things hiring managers know that job seekers don't.

4. The application follow-up

Purpose: To make sure your application didn't get lost in the black hole of the internet — plus, following up (nicely) shows persistence.

When to send: One to two weeks after you've applied and haven't heard anything back.

Send to: Whoever you sent your application to (or, if you applied to an online system, see if you can find an email address for the hiring manager).

Pro tips: Follow up emails can get annoying — fast. If a company requests no follow-ups, obey that rule. And above all, make sure you're being polite and respectful.

The template:

Dear [Name],

I hope your week is going well! I'm reaching out because I recently submitted an application to the [position title] role and wanted to make sure you received it.

A quick refresher: I have [number] years of experience in [2-3 things you do best], most recently working for [company] as a [job title]. I'd love to bring that experience to [company], where I know you need help [what you'd be hired to do]. My resume and cover letter are attached here for your reference.

I'd love the opportunity to share more about my background and learn more about the role. Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Warm regards,

[Your name]

5. The interview thank-you

Purpose: Primarily, because it's the expected and polite thing to do, but it can also show that you're truly excited about the job.

When to send: The evening of or the morning after your interview.

Send to: Anyone you've interviewed with, as well as the recruiter if you're working with one.

Pro tips: Some hiring managers appreciate handwritten thank-you cards, too — and if you get the vibe that yours would, send one. But to avoid being seen as "that one candidate who didn't send a thank-you," shoot over an email, too. 

The template:

Dear [name],

Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me today. I really enjoyed meeting you and getting a feel for the position and office.

Our conversation today got me even more excited about the possibility of working for [company]. Specifically, I'd love to help [2-3 specific things you would do if hired].

I look forward to hearing about the next steps in the hiring process. In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

All the best,

[Your name]

Read more: Here's exactly what it takes to get accepted into Harvard Business School, according to 5 grads and the managing director of admissions

6. The rejection response

Purpose: Getting a "no" from a job you wanted is a bummer, but remember it doesn't necessarily mean this door is closed forever. Sending a nice note letting the recruiter know you'd like to stay in touch might lead to something down the line.

When to send: The day after you receive the bad news.

Send to: Whoever let you know you didn't get the job.

Pro tips: This template includes a line asking the hiring manager for feedback. You don't have to include it, but it could give you useful insight for the future.

The template:

Dear [name],

Thanks for your email. While I'm disappointed that I didn't get the role, I appreciate you letting me know, as well as giving me the opportunity to interview with you and the team.

If you have any feedback for me that might be helpful as I continue my search, please let me know. And if you're open to it, I'd love to be considered for future roles with the company. I know my experience in [your field] would be an asset as you continue to grow.

Thanks again for the opportunity. I look forward to staying in touch.

All the best,

[Your name]

7. The "thanks for the offer" response

Purpose: To show your excitement! But, even if you know you're going to take the offer, don't say yes right away. You'll want some time to review all the details of the offer — as well as negotiate.

When to send: Pretty quickly after you get the offer. You don't want to leave them hanging!

Send to: Whoever sent you the offer — usually the recruiter or HR.

Pro tips: This template includes an optional paragraph on salary negotiation. Depending on your role and relationship with the recruiter, you may want to have this conversation over the phone, but if it feels appropriate, you can add it here.

The template:

Dear [Name],

I'm thrilled to see this email in my inbox! Thank you so much for the offer — I'm very excited about the possibility of joining the team.

If it's OK with you, I'd like to review the offer over the next day or so to make sure I've looked over all the details. But just a couple of questions in the meantime:

[Insert any questions you have that weren't spelled out in the offer letter, such as: What would my official start date be? Do you have information on company benefits that I can review? Who would my supervisor or direct reports be?]

Also, thank you for spelling out the compensation package. Based on my experience level and the immediate value I know I would bring to the organization, I was hoping that my [base salary, bonus, total package] would be closer to [number or %]. Is there any flexibility with this number?

Thanks in advance for this information — and again, for the offer. I'll be in touch in [offer your timeline].

All the best,

[Your name]

Adrian Granzella Larssen is the founder of Sweet Spot Content, which helps world-class marketers, thought leaders, and publishers create authentic, engaging content. Previously, she was the first employee and editor-in-chief of TheMuse.com, a content-first career destination. She's also the author of Your Year Off, a digital guide to traveling the world inspired by her experience traveling to 30 countries in 12 months. (Say hi and follow her travels on Instagram.)

SEE ALSO: This tactic brings in 100% of new clients for many freelancers and entrepreneurs

Join the conversation about this story »

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• When TransitScreen CEO and co-founder Matt Caywood had to decide where the startup would be permanently located, DC was not a difficult choice. 
• All of the talent that a Silicon Valley company might have to pay to relocate was already there. DC was already of a model for the transit technology they were creating.
• In DC, TransitScreen was able to pitch then-President Obama.
• More tech companies should consider the benefits of branching out from Silicon Valley.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. 

Silicon Valley is like a casino for startups, run by venture capitalists. There's a certain kind of high-growth startup that needs to put all its chips on the table in a high-risk gamble. Sometimes those startups win, often they lose, but over the long run, the house (VCs) always wins.

But Silicon Valley doesn't have to be the only option for entrepreneurs looking to make a splash — cities like Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, DC are quickly becoming go-to destinations for new tech companies. There are numerous advantages to choosing a headquarters location outside the valley, and few costs.

When I founded TransitScreen, a tech startup providing real-time information about nearby transportation options, we had to decide where our headquarters would be. At the time, I was already living in DC and working in neighboring Northern Virginia. The project that would become TransitScreen was originally formed at MobilityLab, a government research center in Arlington, VA.

Once I met my cofounder, Ryan Croft, and turned the idea from a side project into a full-fledged company, we had to confront the specter of Silicon Valley. We discussed whether it made sense to move the company's operations to the Bay Area, and Ryan even relocated to San Francisco to test drive the experience. For almost two years, we operated bicoastally, with Ryan, another early executive, and a handful of developers in San Francisco, and myself and a few others in DC.

Eventually, however, we had to decide between the two, and the decision wasn't nearly as hard as one might expect. For a number of reasons, it had to be DC.

Read more: I survived Silicon Valley and brain surgery. Brain surgery was easier.

The people and resources we needed were all already in DC

First, my cofounder and I never would have met if not for the extremely strong local tech startup scene. The DC tech community is well-knit, hosting regular events for budding entrepreneurs and existing companies alike. There's a strong talent pool, often coming from a larger variety of backgrounds than one might find elsewhere. Want to find someone who can sell or write code? We've got them. Need a team member with international experience in a key customer industry? In Silicon Valley, you might have to pay that person to relocate. In DC, they're all here.

The city itself has been a huge contributor to our success. We started at 1776, an incubator providing access to plenty of investors, advisors, and important networking events. I even had the opportunity to meet then-President Obama and pitch him TransitScreen — something that would not have happened on the West Coast. And DC is a globally oriented city with endless international connections; we've had the privilege of accompanying DC's Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) on several trade missions, expanding our footprint across the world.

Additionally, though, it made even more sense given our industry — transportation. We provide real-time information about mobility options, and our product is designed for cities with a multitude of options. DC's metro system has the second highest ridership in the United States, there are a dozen nearby transit agencies that also serve the city, not to mention we have one of the most successful bikeshare systems in the country and a half dozen e-scooter operators. This local culture of transportation innovation is paralleled by innovation in the hospitality, education, biotech, and cybersecurity sectors, completely rounding out The District in terms of technology innovation.

So while Silicon Valley may be the default choice for tech startups, more and more companies like ours should opt out. Cities like DC are home to numerous companies that have succeeded over the last few years, and continue to excel thanks to customers, revenue, smart policy hacks, and support from the city and the rest of the startup community.

Just like Amazon noticed when they selected the DC region for HQ2, there's plenty of talent outside Silicon Valley, coming from universities, the federal sector, and coding academies. Our workforce is more diverse than many other cities, another strength. And there's even public transit that gets them to their jobs; none of our employees have to drive to work, which would be inconceivable in Silicon Valley. If you're thinking about which city your new idea should call home, consider some outside-the-box options. You'll be glad you did.

Matt Caywood is CEO and co-founder of Washington, DC-based TransitScreen. Matt has a PhD in neuroscience from the University of California San Francisco, and degrees in neuroscience and computer science from Cambridge and Harvard. Matt is a frequent speaker on open data, sustainability, transportation and neuroscience, including at Harvard, MIT, Northwestern University, the World Bank, Dubai RTA, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and Transportation Research Board (TRB).

SEE ALSO: I loved my life as a trophy wife until I realized what I was giving up. So I made the terrifying choice to blow up my marriage — and it was worth it.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Taylor Swift is the world's highest-paid celebrity. Here's how she makes and spends her $360 million.

• Countless studies have shown the ways our parents' behavior shape our own habits.
• If your mother was constantly juggling multiple jobs, you are likely to suffer from stress. If your parents set high expectations for you, you were more likely to perform better in school.
• Here are 10 ways your parents shaped who you are today.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Whether your parents were your best friends or you barely knew them, your relationship with Mom and Dad had an impact on who you are today.

At least that's what Sigmund Freud said when he theorized that our adult personality develops from early childhood experiences, an insight empirically tested by attachment theory and developmental psychology through the 20th century up until today. 

Read more:11 things people decide within seconds of meeting you

Countless studies and extensive clinical research has found links between your parents' behavior during childhood and how you act as an adult. If your mother was constantly juggling multiple jobs, you are likely to suffer from stress. If your parents set high expectations for you, you were more likely to perform better in school.

Here are 10 ways your parents' behavior impacted who you are:

SEE ALSO: 58 cognitive biases that screw up everything we do

If your parents made you do chores, you likely take on tasks independently.

If your parents constantly berated you for not making your bed, they were actually doing you a favor.

Children who grow up doing chores take more responsibility at work instead of waiting for tasks to get assigned to them, according to Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Dean of Freshmen at Stanford University and author of "How to Raise an Adult." They also better collaborate with their coworkers and can better empathize with others.

Doing your chores as a kid can even lead to being more happy down the road, a Harvard grant study that followed people for over 75 years found.

"By making them do chores — taking out the garbage, doing their own laundry — they realize, 'I have to do the work of life in order to be part of life,'" Lythcott-Haims previously told Business Insider. "It's not just about me and what I need in this moment, but that I'm part of an ecosystem. I'm part of a family. I'm part of a workplace."

If your parents taught you social skills, you're were more likely to get a college degree and a high-paying job.

A study tracking more than 700 American children over 20 years found that when parents taught their young kids social skills, like how to be helpful or cooperative with their peers, they were more likely to earn a college degree and have a full-time job by 25.

Those without social skills were more likely to drink and get arrested.

If your parents told you white lies, it may have led to you to have issues trusting others in adulthood.

Parents who lied to children to prevent them from getting hurt or needing to have difficult conversations may have done more harm than good. 

"Parents can inadvertently sabotage their relationship with their kids through telling white lies meant to protect their kids from the realities of life that may be scary," psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman told INSIDER. "When kids find out the truth, they may feel [like they] can't trust their parents to keep them safe."

If your parents spoke negatively about their body, you are more likely to have low self-confidence.

Even if parents encourage body positivity in their kids, making negative comments about their own appearance still leads to bad self-confidence.

Constantly hearing your parents call someone fat or make comments about other people sends signals to children about which bodies are better than others, psychotherapist Christine Scott-Hudson told INSIDER.

If your parents set high expectations for you, you probably did better in school.

A 2015 study found children whose parents expected them to go to college performed better on tests than parents with low expectations. The trend occurred among both wealthy and low-income families.

If your mom went to high school or college, you were more likely to do the same.

Children born to teen moms who did not finish high school were less likely to finish high school or go to college, according to a 2014 study led by University of Michigan psychologist Sandra Tang.

If your mom was constantly stressed, you were more likely to be worse at math.

The amount of time parents spend with their children when they are between 3 and 11 years old has little impact on their academic and emotional well-being as adults — but the mental state of parents (especially mothers) has a significant effect.

A 2015 study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family found when mothers are stressed, sleep-deprived, or anxious, it can lead to behavioral and emotional problems, as well as lower math test scores.

"Just don't worry so much about time," report author Melissa Milkie told the Washington Post on advice she would give mothers.

If you're a girl and your mom worked outside the house, you are more likely to earn more money than other women.

A study out of Harvard Business School found daughters of working moms in the US earn 23% more than girls raised by stay-at-home moms. They also complete more years of college and work in more management roles than other girls.

"It's not that it's right or wrong for women to work," the study's lead author, Harvard Business School professor Kathleen L. McGinn, previously told Business Insider. "It's that there's a set of options that seem fully available."

If your mom was loving and attentive when you were a baby, you were more likely to do better in school.

When parents foster loving environments around the time children are as young as 3, those kids grow up to score better on exams, according to a 2017 paper in the US National Library of Medicine.

If your parents taught you to verbalize your feelings, you are less likely to get divorced.

Rebecca Bergen, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist, told MyDomaine that if your parents told you to "describe how you feel" or used words to express complex feelings, you can better communicate during adult romantic relationships.

"Styles of communication are often formed by observation and direct experience of our primary role models in childhood," Bergen said.

• Every day, I receive an aggressive daily horoscope from Co-Star, an AI powered astrology app. 
• At first, I was irritated by the persistence and meanness of these notifications. 
• But after the app delivered some randomized tough love, I found it becoming something of a comfort.
• Now, I look forward to whatever horoscope Co-Star's AI sends me each day. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Around 11 a.m. every day, my phone sends me a push notification. Sometimes it's cryptic — "Be reckless" — and sometimes it seems incredibly pointed — "Try not to waste your time on people who act like you don't exist."

These aren't messages from an overbearing, superstitious relative, or even an eccentric friend who bartends in Brooklyn. Every day, AI-crafted horoscopes are specifically generated for me from Co-Star, the astrology app that's raised $5 million in funding and has probably taken over your Twitter feed. Or at least mine.

Before Co-Star, I wasn't an astrology fanatic (typical Aquarius individualistic thinking, I know). But the app's real genius is perhaps in locating its key demographic: It was all the rage at my women's college, so I hopped on what seemed like a relatively harmless bandwagon. When I downloaded it about a year ago —  texting my mom to ask for my exact birth time so it could generate a natal chart for me — I considered it, at best, a fun way to learn more about astrology, and to compare my so-called astrological compatibility with friends and flirtations. After all, there's no better queer lady pick-up line then "Do you have a Co-Star?"

Now, I think it may know me better than I know myself.

Astrology isn't real, and yet I can't stop checking Co-Star

Obviously, I'm slightly exaggerating. Logically, I know that Co-Star's proprietary tech— artificial intelligence that uses NASA Data, your birth date and time, and human astrologers — is probably generating similar, if not identical, daily horoscopes for scared millennials like me around the world (But only if they have iPhones. It's not available for Android yet.). I'm just one data point in a slightly mystical version of big tech. And it's not even the fun kind of big tech, which serves me photos of cute animals and loved ones while siphoning my data. Co-Star, is, honestly, pretty rude. Its horoscopes tend to fall along the lines of "everything you're doing is wrong, and I'm going to make you think about every bad choice you've ever made at 11 a.m. on a weekday."

So why am I so obsessed with it?

And, more importantly: How does it always seem to know?

For instance, the morning after a recent breakup, I was working up the courage to text my best friend of eight years that the relationship had ended. And, as I lay pathetically in bed, that dreaded notification popped up.

"Trouble in Sex & Love: Ask yourself why you have different expectations for people you sleep with than for people you don't."

My first reaction was to throw my phone out the window. When I decided that was probably too pricey, I just put it on the other side of the room and glared at it. How dare this horoscope app presume to know anything about my life? And how dare it be so spot on?

Now, I don't think that Co-Star was monitoring me, or truly had any otherworldly insight into my particular situation. It was probably a lucky guess. Based on the other relationships I saw ending around me, it seemed like it was a popular breakup time. Maybe Co-Star's mysterious AI noticed such trends. Or maybe astrology is real. (Huge apology to every science teacher I've ever had).  

But, after the initial shock of such a pointed notification, I felt something that I hadn't felt in a while: hope. The notification was tough love sent by the universe — or, more accurately, by some AI that claimed to interpret the universe as it specifically pertained to me — and I felt just a little less alone. I was forced to think about myself and my relationship in a way that wasn't solely self-pitying.

The next few weeks yielded similarly strange horoscopes. Some were nonsensical, and others just plain aggressive. What, I asked myself, could "Imitate and steal like a great artist" mean? Was there someone or something in my life that I needed to be emulating?

Each day, I found myself pausing at 11 a.m. and considering what Co-Star was offering up. Like much of astrology, it was just vague enough to be applicable to whatever situation had been on my mind, but still seemed specific enough to fit comfortably. Weirdly, I began to look forward to it.

Co-Star forces me to reflect, even when I'd rather use social media to deflect

In a world where my chronic millennial burnout is inevitable, where I'll probably never be able to retire or own a house, and where pretty much every app on my phone seems to be conspiring to make me sad and anxious, there was something refreshing about Co-Star. On social media, I find myself turning my life into content. A funny or sad conversation becomes a tweet, and an idyllic moment outside becomes an Instagram. I love the connections I've forged on social media, and the jokes that I share with friends. But in all of these apps, I'm solely responsible for myself. I'm reaching out to the world, and hoping it reaches back. 

My mean horoscope app will always pop up, whether I want it to or not. It will force me to think about the life beyond careful curation. I've found it a good litmus test: Whatever I assume the horoscope is about requires further reflection. When it sends me "Trust your intuition," I think about the person I was considering reaching out to — and I send the text. 

Astrology has always been about injecting just a little bit of predictability, or at least omniscience, into the chaos and doldrum of daily life. There's something reassuring about knowing that the stars have dictated your bad mood. Or that the eclipse made someone send you that weird text. To me, Co-Star's horoscopes strike a perfect balance. They're predictive, not prescriptive. I still feel a sense of free will, using the horoscopes as a jumping off point for whatever I need to be doing. But it's also nice to feel like something — even if it's just some AI looking at the stars — is keeping an eye out for me. It's given me a comfortable, star-backed framework for understanding more about myself.

And if that understanding comes in the form of vicious AI horoscopes, so be it. 2019 has certainly seen weirder.

SEE ALSO: Millennials are bringing astrology back into the mainstream with this popular iPhone app — here's how to use Co-Star to see who you're compatible with

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at 19 to start blood-testing startup Theranos, and grew the company to a valuation of $9 billion.
• But it all came crashing down when the shortcomings and inaccuracies of the company's technology were exposed, and Theranos and Holmes were charged with "massive fraud."
• A California judge set a date Friday for the fraud trial to start: July 2020.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In 2014, blood-testing startup Theranos and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, were on top of the world.

Back then, Theranos was a revolutionary idea thought up by a woman hailed as a genius who styled herself as a female Steve Jobs. Holmes was the world's youngest female self-made billionaire, and Theranos was one of Silicon Valley's unicorn startups, valued at an estimated $9 billion. 

But then it all came crashing down.

The shortcomings and inaccuracies of Theranos's technology were exposed, along with the role Holmes played in covering it all up. Holmes was ousted as CEO and charged with "massive fraud," and the company was forced to close its labs and testing centers, ultimately shuttering operations altogether. 

Read more:Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes faces jail time for fraud charges. Her trial is set to begin in summer 2020.

Now, Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison. In the meantime, as she awaits trial, she's reportedly found the time to get engaged, and now married.

This is how Holmes went from precocious child, to ambitious Stanford dropout, to an embattled startup founder charged with fraud: 

SEE ALSO: Take a look inside the $5,000-a-month San Francisco apartment that Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes reportedly once called home with her now-husband, Billy Evans

Elizabeth Holmes was born on February 3, 1984 in Washington, D.C. Her mom, Noel, was a Congressional committee staffer, and her dad, Christian Holmes, worked for Enron before moving to government agencies like USAID.

Source: Elizabeth Holmes/Twitter, CNN, Vanity Fair

Holmes' family moved when she was young, from Washington, D.C. to Houston.

Source: Fortune

When she was 7, Holmes tried to invent her own time machine, filling up an entire notebook with detailed engineering drawings. At the age of 9, Holmes told relatives she wanted to be a billionaire when she grew up. Her relatives described her as saying it with the "utmost seriousness and determination."

Source: CBS News, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Holmes had an "intense competitive streak" from a young age. She often played Monopoly with her younger brother and cousin, and she would insist on playing until the end, collecting the houses and hotels until she won. If Holmes was losing, she would often storm off. More than once, she ran directly through a screen on the door.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

It was during high school that Holmes developed her work ethic, often staying up late to study. She quickly became a straight-A student, and even started her own business: she sold C++ compilers, a type of software that translates computer code, to Chinese schools.

Source: Fortune, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Holmes started taking Mandarin lessons, and part-way through high school, talked her way into being accepted by Stanford University’s summer program, which culminated in a trip to Beijing.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Inspired by her great-great-grandfather Christian Holmes, a surgeon, Holmes decided she wanted to go into medicine. But she discovered early on that she was terrified of needles. Later, she said this influenced her to start Theranos.

Source: San Francisco Business Times

Holmes went to Stanford to study chemical engineering. When she was a freshman, she became a "president's scholar," an honor which came with a $3,000 stipend to go toward a research project.

Source: Fortune

Holmes spent the summer after her freshman year interning at the Genome Institute in Singapore. She got the job partly because she spoke Mandarin.

Source: Fortune

As a sophomore, Holmes went to one of her professors, Channing Robertson, and said: "Let's start a company." With his blessing, she founded Real-Time Cures, later changing the company's name to Theranos. Thanks to a typo, early employees’ paychecks actually said "Real-Time Curses."

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Holmes soon filed a patent application for "Medical device for analyte monitoring and drug delivery," a wearable device that would administer medication, monitor patients' blood, and adjust the dosage as needed.

Source: Fortune, US Patent Office

By the next semester, Holmes had dropped out of Stanford altogether, and was working on Theranos in the basement of a college house.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Theranos's business model was based around the idea that it could run blood tests, using proprietary technology that required only a finger pinprick and a small amount of blood. Holmes said the tests would be able to detect medical conditions like cancer and high cholesterol.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Holmes started raising money for Theranos from prominent investors like Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, the father of a childhood friend and the founder of prominent VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Theranos raised more than $700 million, and Draper has continued to defend Holmes.

Source: SEC, Crunchbase

Holmes took investors' money on the condition that she wouldn't have to reveal how Theranos' technology worked. Plus, she would have final say over everything having to do with the company.

Source: Vanity Fair

That obsession with secrecy extended to every aspect of Theranos. For the first decade Holmes spent building her company, Theranos operated in stealth mode. She even took three former Theranos employees to court, claiming they had misused Theranos trade secrets.

Source: San Francisco Business Times

Holmes' attitude toward secrecy and running a company was borrowed from a Silicon Valley hero of hers: former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Holmes started dressing in black turtlenecks like Jobs, decorated her office with his favorite furniture, and like Jobs, never took vacations.

Source: Vanity Fair

Even Holmes's uncharacteristically deep voice may have been part of a carefully crafted image intended to help her fit in in the male-dominated business world. In ABC's podcast on Holmes called "The Dropout," former Theranos employees said the CEO sometimes "fell out of character," particularly after drinking, and would speak in a higher voice.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, The Cut

Holmes was a demanding boss, and wanted her employees to work as hard as she did. She had her assistants track when employees arrived and left each day. To encourage people to work longer hours, she started having dinner catered to the office around 8 p.m. each night.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

More behind-the-scenes footage of what life was like at Theranos was revealed in leaked videos obtained by the team behind the HBO documentary "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley." The more than 100 hours of footage showed Holmes walking around the office, scenes from company parties, speeches from Holmes and Balwani, and Holmes dancing to "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer.

Source: Business Insider

Shortly after Holmes dropped out of Stanford at age 19, she began dating Theranos president and COO Sunny Balwani, who was 20 years her senior. The two met during Holmes' third year in Stanford’s summer Mandarin program, the summer before she went to college. She was bullied by some of the other students, and Balwani had come to her aid.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Balwani became Holmes' No. 2 at Theranos despite having little experience. He was said to be a bully, and often tracked his employees' whereabouts. Holmes and Balwani eventually broke up in spring 2016 when Holmes pushed him out of the company.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

In 2008, the Theranos board decided to remove Holmes as CEO in favor of someone more experienced. But over the course of a two-hour meeting, Holmes convinced them to let her stay in charge of her company.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

As Theranos started to rake in millions of funding, Holmes became the subject of media attention and acclaim in the tech world. She graced the covers of Fortune and Forbes, gave a TED Talk, and spoke on panels with Bill Clinton and Alibaba's Jack Ma.

Source: Vanity Fair

Theranos quickly began securing outside partnerships. Capital Blue Cross and Cleveland Clinic signed on to offer Theranos tests to their patients, and Walgreens made a deal to open Theranos testing centers in their stores. Theranos also formed a secret partnership with Safeway worth $350 million.

Source: Wired, Business Insider

In 2011, Holmes hired her younger brother, Christian, to work at Theranos, although he didn’t have a medical or science background. Christian Holmes spent his early days at Theranos reading about sports online and recruiting his Duke University fraternity brothers to join the company. People dubbed Holmes and his crew the "Frat Pack" and "Therabros."

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

At one point, Holmes was the world's youngest self-made female billionaire with a net worth of around $4.5 billion.

Source: Forbes

Holmes was obsessed with security at Theranos. She asked anyone who visited the company’s headquarters to sign non-disclosure agreements before being allowed in the building, and had security guards escort visitors everywhere — even to the bathroom.

Holmes hired bodyguards to drive her around in a black Audi sedan. Her nickname was "Eagle One." The windows in her office had bulletproof glass.

Source: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Around the same time, questions were being raised about Theranos' technology. Ian Gibbons — chief scientist at Theranos and one of the company's first hires — warned Holmes that the tests weren't ready for the public to take, and that there were inaccuracies in the technology. Outside scientists began voicing their concerns about Theranos, too.

Source: Vanity Fair, Business Insider

By August 2015, the FDA began investigating Theranos, and regulators from the government body that oversees laboratories found "major inaccuracies" in the testing Theranos was doing on patients.

Source: Vanity Fair

By October 2015, Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou published his investigation into Theranos's struggles with its technology. Carreyrou's reporting sparked the beginning of the company's downward spiral.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Carreyrou found that Theranos' blood-testing machine, named Edison, couldn't give accurate results, so Theranos was running its samples through the same machines used by traditional blood-testing companies.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Holmes appeared on CNBC's "Mad Money" shortly after the WSJ published its story to defend herself and Theranos. "This is what happens when you work to change things, and first they think you're crazy, then they fight you, and then all of a sudden you change the world," Holmes said.

Source: CNBC

By 2016, the FDA, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and SEC were all looking into Theranos.

Source: Wall Street Journal,Wired

In July 2016, Holmes was banned from the lab-testing industry for two years. By October, Theranos had shut down its lab operations and wellness centers.

Source: Business Insider

In March 2018, Theranos, Holmes, and Balwani were charged with "massive fraud" by the SEC. Holmes agreed to give up financial and voting control of the company, pay a $500,000 fine, and return 18.9 million shares of Theranos stock. She also isn't allowed to be the director or officer of a publicly traded company for 10 years.

Source: Business Insider

Despite the charges, Holmes was allowed to stay on as CEO of Theranos, since it's a private company. The company had been hanging on by a thread, and Holmes wrote to investors asking for more money to save Theranos. "In light of where we are, this is no easy ask," Holmes wrote.

Source: Business Insider

In Theranos' final days, Holmes reportedly got a Siberian husky puppy named Balto that she brought into the office. However, the dog wasn't potty trained, and would go to the bathroom inside the company's office and during meetings.

Source: Vanity Fair

In June 2018, Theranos announced that Holmes was stepping down as CEO. On the same day, the Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury had charged Holmes, along with Balwani, with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Source: Business Insider, CNBC

In September 2018, Theranos sent an email to shareholders announcing that the company was shutting down. Theranos reportedly said it planned to spend the next few months repaying creditors with its remaining resources.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Holmes is now reportedly married to Billy Evans, the heir to hospitality company Evans Hotel Group. She reportedly wears his MIT "signet ring" on a chain around her neck, and the couple posts photos on Instagram together.

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1098642159085834240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
For everyone asking about Holmes's social media. It's private. But here are a few screenshots of her and her fiancé we found online. (I personally find it crazy that she's being charged with 11 felony counts, thousands of people's lives were harmed, and she's as happy as can be.) pic.twitter.com/6nYfjltLt4

Source: Vanity Fair, Daily Mail

In June, a California judge ruled that the trial for Holmes and Balwani will start in July 2020.

Source: Business Insider

Both Holmes and Balwani could face up to 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine plus restitution for each charge, the government has said.

Maya Kosoff contributed to an earlier version of this story. 

• Three years ago, I gave up my San Francisco apartment and moved onto my boyfriend's boat after I lost my job.
• Living on a boat was challenging at first, but has had many rewarding moments.
• That said, there are several things I wish I had known before deciding to live on a boat.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In 2016, my world turned upside-down.

Out of the blue, I lost my well-paying job as a radio news reporter in San Francisco. The entire newsroom decimated in one day of layoffs. I was renting a room in a gorgeous apartment on the water in Sausalito, which cost me about $1,500 per month, rent I could no longer afford. There was no way I'd go into debt or burn through my savings paying for a room, so I did what any prudent debt-avoider would do: I gave my 30-days notice.

I made plans to move onto my boyfriend's sailboat, a 46-year old ketch in the middle of a massive restoration. He'd already been working day after day on the boat for months by then, with no end in sight. I told myself it would be like camping in an old wooden cabin with zero amenities. I'd always loved adventure, the outdoors, and living outside the norm.

So, I did a massive purge, donated stuff to Goodwill, trucked bins up to my mom's garage in Oregon and kept only what I needed.

Just one month after my layoff, I was living on a boat for the first time in my life. And it wasn't the glamorous vision you might have in mind with sunset-tinged happy hours and dolphins playing in the surf. It was a struggle, especially at first.

But living on a boat has also come with incredible realizations and an amazing closeness to nature, and it's now a lifestyle I won't give up.

If you're also considering living on a boat, here are the things I wish I'd known beforehand.

SEE ALSO: I quit my LA office job to live, work, and travel in a converted cargo van — see the incredible photos of how I live

DON'T MISS: 7 things I wish I knew before selling my house

There's no such thing as a 'finished boat'

Before I started my new life on a sailboat, I had no idea how much work boats actually require.

It seems like something is always broken or needing to be fixed. For the past two years, we hoped to sail down to Mexico for winter, but the boat wasn't ready. This year, we'll give it another shot (fingers crossed). My boyfriend Tom has worked countless hours, days and weeks getting the sailboat ready for ocean cruising for the past three and a half years. Still, more work needs to be done.

Now I understand these two boater adages: "The two best days of a boaters life is the day he buys a boat and the day he sells it," and "sailboat cruising is fixing things in exotic places."

Before you buy a boat, make sure you have the mechanical know-how to fix things, or else you'll be spending tons of money paying someone when things go wrong.

Living on a boat is like living in a tent, but with walls

When I first moved onto the sailboat, it had almost no amenities. No running water. No heater. No stove. No toilet. No internet. No fridge. No shower. The list goes on and on and on.

I cooked dinners using a Jetboil backpacking stove balancing a skillet. We used the marina bathroom, our gym, and an emergency bucket to go potty. We bundled up under blankets and sleeping bags during the cold winter months.

But over time, project after project, the boat has slowly acquired the amenities that make it home. Never before had I felt thankful for a toilet, or a stove, or an oven. Never before had I given any thoughts to a heater. Living on an unfinished boat might come with hardships, but it also comes with a deep sense of gratitude for things most people take for granted.

Marinas aren't always nice places to hang out

Through living on a boat, I've learned some marinas are nicer than others. Some resemble a poverty-stricken trailer park, others a high-end RV park. I've seen non-working boats covered with tarps, bikes, work-out equipment and trash.

I think it's common for people to associate sailboats with high-end marinas and yacht clubs, but this isn't always the case. Pick your marina with care, and be sure to walk the docks and meet the neighbors before signing up.

It's difficult to find a place to live on a boat legally

Living on a sailboat legally is really rough, especially in a place like San Francisco where everyone is trying to escape super-high rent.

Many marinas have yearslong waitlists for a liveaboard slip, and these slips cost double than a regular slip. Our marina only allows us to sleep aboard two nights per week, and we try hard to adhere to that rule. We often take our boat out to anchor in various beautiful places around the Bay, and we spend the other nights living in my van or house sitting.

Sailing is really challenging

When I first started life on the boat, I'd never stepped foot on a sailboat before, let alone sailed one!

Those first couple years learning how to sail were really hard. I just couldn't get it, and made so many mistakes.

Finally, in my third year, I'm catching on. It helped that I took a Hobie Cat out a few times and took windsurfing lessons in Hood River. Sailing might not come easy to everyone. If you're considering living on a sailboat, I'd recommend taking sailing lessons before you move aboard to make sure you like it!

Using a boat toilet sure is awkward

Living on a boat means you'll have to learn a new way of using the loo.

Our toilet, for example, has a manual flush. You basically fill up a large cup, add water to the bowl, and vigorously pump a handle up and down to flush. It makes a sound kind of like a dying goose, and is really easy to clog. We use a portable bidet as a way to keep toilet paper from clogging our pipes.

Explaining this type of toilet to visitors isn't always easy. Neither is sailing the boat to the pump-out station, where we use a vacuum-sealed hose to suck everything out of our holding tank. This is my least favorite part about living on a boat. Gross!

You can run out of essentials at any moment

Living on a boat isn't like living in a house, where you flip a switch and have an endless supply of electricity, running water and gas for your stove.

All the resources on a boat are finite, which means you have to keep close track of your supply. I remember one night when were anchored out cooking an amazing dinner, and the propane to our stove ran out. We had to finish cooking our dinner with a construction blowtorch we had on board.

Another time, our water tanks went dry when we woke up to brew our morning coffee. Luckily, it was only an hour's sail back to the slip.

We've learned the importance of checking our supply before we head out sailing for a few days, and to keep extra water on hand.

Things get smelly really fast

A boat has a very different environment than a house. Moisture from cooking or washing dishes is trapped in the cabin, creating the perfect environment for mold. We've learned to wash and dry all of our cupboards every few months to keep mold from growing onboard.

Other things that can stink on a boat are diesel and the holding tank. Many boats have that gross "boat smell," which usually occurs when the toilet's piping system starts to wear down. Our boat had a strong scent of diesel from a series of leaks and spills when we first moved on, and Tom had to tear out all the stained wood.

Living on a boat is addicting

Despite its challenges, I never knew living on a sailboat could be so addicting.

I love the fresh sea air rushing through the companionway, and the tap-tap of rain on the cabin house. I love how the boat leans in a big gust of wind, and rocks me gently to sleep when we anchor out.

The sailboat brings so much freedom and adventure to our lives. We can sail to remote corners of the world and bring our home along with us. We can enjoy dolphins leaping from our bow as we carve a path in the sea.

When living on a sailboat, the world really is our oyster, and I can't imagine any other way of life.

• Alexander Wang is a fashion designer whose clothes are worn by the world's top models and celebrities.
• For an episode of Business Insider's podcast "This Is Success," Wang told us about starting his label at 20 years old, what he learned from a three-year stint as creative director of Balenciaga, and why he's breaking industry standards in his path to longevity. 
• Wang said every decision he makes is a balancing act of business and creativity.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Alexander Wang is part of American pop culture, and that, in a way, has always been the goal. The fashion designer's name gets dropped in songs by rappers like Kanye West, his clothes are worn by the country's top models, and he has millions of online followers.

The son of Chinese immigrants who settled in San Francisco by way of Taiwan, Wang started his fashion label in New York City at just 20 years old. In the 15 years since, he's built a global empire of high fashion and collaborations with accessible consumer brands like Uniqlo and H&M.

Representatives of his label declined to share financials, but noted that annual revenue exceeds $150 million, a number reported by Business of Fashion for 2016.

Wang has achieved recognition, but now it's a matter of establishing staying power, the way iconic American designers Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein have. To do this, he's taking risks like skipping Fashion Week, when most of the world's biggest designers showcase their upcoming lines, and hosting fashion shows where no one else will, as he did this past May, at New York's Rockefeller Center, where he invited the public to come watch.

Wang is usually rocking a sleek, all-black outfit, and while at first glance that can make him look as icy as a runway models, he's also a total goofball. He's embracing the spotlight more as a way to connect with his fans, and he's sharing more of his personality. Earlier this year, he launched a YouTube channel that features him doing his best "Real World" audition and getting a courtroom sketch artist to draw him as he reclines in a bathtub. 

We sat down with Wang for an episode of Business Insider's podcast "This Is Success." We discussed his rise to celebrity and the challenge of staying relevant in the fashion world. He also spoke about his three-year stint as the creative director for the venerated label Balenciaga from 2012 to 2015, which stretched him thin but honed his long-term focus.

Over the past decade and a half, he's learned whose criticism matters and how to balance business and creativity, as well as what it means to produce work that's meaningful.

We started at the beginning.

Listen to the full episode here:

Subscribe to "This Is Success" on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Check out previous episodes with:

• Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio
• Philanthropist Melinda Gates
• Oracle CEO Mark Hurd
• Former race-car driver Danica Patrick

The following is a transcript edited for clarity. Narration is in italics.

Alexander Wang: I definitely come from a family that is very entrepreneurial in spirit. And I think I just always witnessed and watched my family be in business together, but also how they thought about business and how they thought about creating a better life for their family. And I think inherently that must've just rubbed off on me.

Richard Feloni: It wasn't expected of their kids to go into the business, as well?

Wang: Definitely there was the opportunity, that my mom wanted to save the business that she created in California for either myself or my brother. And I told her very early on that it wasn't for me. I was, very early on, determined to work in fashion. I wanted to work in fashion when I was very, very young and I knew exactly that was what I wanted.

Feloni: You knew that from being a kid?

Wang: I remember my mom would take me to hair salons when I was really young, and I'd always want to go with her shopping. I remember ripping out pages of ads in magazines when I'd be waiting for her at the hair salon, and she'd be like, "Why are you ripping out pages from a magazine and taking them?" And this was when I was probably seven, eight years old — really, really young. And I just started creating this personal desire, and learning and educating myself on what this industry was all about, and this idea of creating. And one thing led to another. I started going into her closet, taking apart her clothes — which she wasn't very happy about — and buying scraps of fabric and started just putting things together and sewing on my own, teaching myself how to sew.

I started working when I was 15 at a painting studio, a ceramic painting studio. Because I came from boarding school, I was very used to being independent and traveling on my own and being on my own, and so I signed up for all of these summer programs, both in London and Los Angeles. I would go over the summer and take these fashion courses.

But I knew very early on that my endgame was to end up in New York. I knew that was where I had to be in order to really succeed in this industry. I got into Parsons, I moved here over the summer, and immediately I took on a retail job and internship and then started school. So I did all three at the same time, because I was just so excited and ambitious to get my hands dirty.

Chasing the dream in New York City

Feloni: It was after sophomore year when you decided to drop out?

Wang: Yeah.

Feloni: How did you decide that?

Wang: I was interning at Teen Vogue at the time, which was my second internship. My first internship was at Marc Jacobs, which was a dream come true for me, coming into New York, being 18 years old. I remember Teen Vogue, it was just getting started at the time. They were sharing a lot of the same resources as Vogue — stylists and editors, etc.

My job was to call in all the clothes for the shoots. And the editors, of course, at Vogue, they expect to get what they want at any time of the day. And a lot of the brands, the designer brands that they were used to working with, weren't willing to send clothes to the Teen Vogue magazine because they felt, because of the price point and because of the audience, it wasn't right. So there's this big discrepancy between what image the magazine wanted to portray and what the brands felt was appropriate.

And I remember, I went to my editor, and I said, "What do you think if I created this: I feel like there's an opportunity for a very design-led, integrity-driven product that is at a more accessible price point." And she introduced me to a showroom and she said, "You should go speak to the showroom. Maybe they can help, walk you through your ideas." So I went to this showroom, and I talked to them about this idea that I had about starting my own line and what segment and category I wanted to go into and what price point.

And they were very interested in the idea. They said, "OK, why don't you take the summer and go create some samples and come back in the fall? We could maybe work something out." I was still enrolled in school at the time, and I brought the idea to my mom and my family back in San Francisco and I said, "Hey, there's this opportunity where the showroom essentially would do all my press and sales and all I have to do, essentially, is create a collection." My mom definitely challenged me and asked a lot of questions, but in the end, she was always very supportive of anything that I wanted to do and was determined and passionate about.

When I have my mind set on something, it's very hard for me to derail or go somewhere else. I always come back to a certain idea. So she allowed me to leave school. I presented the pros and cons to her and I said, "The worst thing that I could lose out on is time. I can always go back to school and this is an opportunity that I feel like I just need to explore." We had $10,000 that she lent me and we started the business from that.

Feloni: So what, you're 20 years old at this point?

Wang: I'm 20 years old at this point. So I created the samples and went back to New York. The funny thing is the showroom that was very interested in my idea, by fall they told me that one of their brands that was already in their portfolio was essentially working on the same thing. That was the first big surprise and obstacle that I wasn't really preparing for. But my sister-in-law at the time was also in-between jobs and offered to help, and she came in and was like, "You know what, we'll figure this out." We didn't have any mentor, anyone that we could lean on. I don't come from a family that was from this industry.

The only contacts that I had were through my internships, and we found out about this trade show that was happening called Designers & Agents, d&a. We decided to get a booth there and try selling the collection ourselves. Also, I shouldn't mention that we had called almost every showroom in the city up until this point and no one would pick up the phone, no one would take our call! And so we just said, let's do it ourselves.

From getting ignored to hanging with Rihanna

Feloni: I'm thinking of this young kid and he's putting his name on something. I would imagine that a lot of people are like, who is Alexander Wang? Who is this kid? Why do I even need to be talking to him right now? How did you deal with that?

Wang: A good thing is I have a very short term memory! I take it with a grain of salt. And then there were so many people constantly saying, "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You don't know what you're doing." I think in a certain way that prompted me, that encouraged me to want to prove them wrong.

But the editor, her name is Gloria Baume — I want to mention that she was very, very supportive.

Feloni: Do you remember the first time you saw someone on the street wearing your clothes?

Wang: I do. It was one of our knitwear pieces and it had an image of a girl smoking on the back.

Feloni: Did it take off?

Wang: Yes, it did. I actually wore the piece also, and I remember the first piece of press was someone photographing the back of my sweater. I was at some New York Fashion Week event and it was in the New York Times and someone photographed the back of it and called it out. It wasn't even talking about the sweater, it was just talking about the scene of the party. But the big image was of me standing at the party and my back.

Feloni: I feel like a lot of people know you because you ended up becoming a celebrity yourself. You became like one of the favorite designers of big musicians like Kanye West, and for celebrities. How did you get introduced to that world and become part of it?

Wang: Oh, God. For me, I never really saw lines between creativity and people who are creative, people that I felt I understood, or that I wanted to learn from, or that I was curious about. I always wanted to work with them. When you point out people like Kanye or Rihanna, I think it's the same thing.

I think silos musicians, designers, or actors want to bracket themselves into are irrelevant. Kanye has a clothing line; Rihanna has a fragrance and a clothing line. I think those elements of what categories you are may be too traditional or irrelevant.

I was always very immensely curious about pop culture, as well — things that influence and impact a generation, that I felt very much in tune with and wanted to relate to. And so working with comedians and musicians, and being able to tap into other conversations outside of fashion was something that was always a big part of who we were as a brand, in creating that community and that tribe of people that we wanted to be aligned with.

How 3 years with Balenciaga taught him what his true goals were

Feloni: You were able to build a name for yourself, and started making these connections and projects. And then in 2012, Balenciaga approaches you and names you creative director. That stint lasted for three years. And I had read at that point that you were putting in 12 hour days going back and forth between New York and Paris. What was life like at that time? Sounds stressful.

Wang: It was a really, I have to say incredible, but difficult period in my life. I had never really thought about designing for another brand. I never thought about working for another luxury group. But when the opportunity came, it was a really big one. And I knew that because I very much respected the house and Kering group, which owns the house. And I thought they're interested in investing in the brand, they're interested in me designing for this incredible historic legacy — let's hear them out. Hearing them out very quickly turned into me signing a contract in like 30 days.

I remember when Mr. Pinault [Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault] told me the news in Paris. I was very, very shocked and I couldn't tell anyone. But of course, I had to consult my closest friends and they all were like, "This is an incredible opportunity. Go for it." I think I always knew, deep down inside, that it was like me going to grad school. Because I never finished school; I never got to work for another company.

I wanted to see how I would be able to operate on a much higher level with a brand that had a lot of other categories and had a bigger platform to be able to speak to the industry. And so in that sense, it really allowed me to see at a much higher level. But at the end of the day, I think everyone acknowledges that as a creative, there's always a hierarchy of ideas. Do you give your best ideas to the brand that has the bigger platform and better resources or the one that you own yourself?

So it was always this internal struggle of where I wanted to give my best output. And realized that I wanted to come back home and I wanted to give my all to the brand that I had ownership over, that the ideas and the success of those ideas I would have ownership over.

Feloni: It was just too much — you couldn't give your full self to either. You were being torn apart?

Wang: Yeah. I was traveling two weeks every month. I didn't get an apartment in Paris on purpose. I always stayed in hotels. So I would fly red eye Sunday night, arrive in Paris at 8:00 a.m., go back to the hotel to change, get to work at 9:30, work all day until 9:00 p.m. all week to Friday, and then take the red eye back to New York and spend the weekend in New York.

Feloni: It was like that for three years?

Wang: Yeah.

Feloni: Were you exhausted?

Wang: I just got to the point where I was in meetings and I felt like I was pushing paper. And I wasn't even really able to have brain space to think because I would have meetings, no joke, every 30 minutes. I remember, I would sit in a room in Paris and it would be teams coming and rolling racks in, rolling racks out, rolling racks in. Boards in, boards out.

At a certain point your eyes and your thought process get numb. So it was a very mutual decision to talk to Mr Pinault. He knew that when I didn't offer the brand for him to invest in that I wasn't locked in for the endgame.

Feloni: So they would have a stake in the Alexander Wang label.

Wang: Yeah, that's usually how the strategic luxury houses work. They put you in a house and they want to know that you're there to grow that house for the long term.

My brand was at a certain level where I wasn't going to shut it down. And it was a brand that I grew from the ground up. I want to know that its success, when I look back after however many years, that I have a brand that I feel ownership over. 

We're coming up on our 15-year anniversary and I think we're very lucky to even have been in business for 15 years. But the industry is changing drastically and I am always thinking about who is our consumer, versus just designing fashion. And thinking about the greatest brands that have always inspired me. When you think about Ralph [Lauren] or Calvin [Klein], these incredible American lifestyle brands, what does that new generation look like coming out of America?

Getting a business crash course in a year as CEO

Feloni:In 2015, Alexander Wang dedicated himself full-time to his own fashion label. And he decided he would be his own CEO.

Wang: And to be really honest, it wasn't that I wanted to be CEO. It was that me and my family decided that I needed to take control over the entire brand for a period of time where I could really understand all the ins and outs, and the weaknesses as well as the strengths of the whole operational system of the brand. That was as we were entertaining offers from investors. I should preface it by saying that my family was always very supportive in the sense that, when the time is right we feel like we want to invite outside expertise.

Feloni: Because it was a family business?

Wang: Yes, it was a family business. The family was more than willing to take a step back, but they wanted to make sure that I really understood what the infrastructure was like. So that when we're having these conversations with investors we knew what we would be looking for.

I felt like I needed to really understand the business as a whole and not just like, OK, this is what we do in design, this is what we do in marketing — but really the whole scale of what the business meant on a global level.

Feloni: You were saying that Balenciaga was like grad school, and so, basically, being CEO, that was like business school?

Wang: Yeah, it was like business school. It was hard. It was a hard year. And I will also preface this by saying, when I took the role of CEO, I had already started the search for a CEO.

I wanted to take that time as I'm meeting with other candidates to be able to ask them questions that were fresh in my mind, as I was learning. And that was a short-lived, but very educational and informative time of my career. But difficult, for sure.

Feloni: How do you know how to balance your time and your energy into the business side of things with the creative side of things? How do you figure that out?

Wang: It's funny you asked that, because I was thinking about this and I don't know if it's just being Chinese! I always think about the business aspect tied into the creative decisions. We as a brand and in our culture, we always try to apply creative thinking to business decisions and business acumen to the creative process. And I really flip that back and forth in every project I work on. I think about the big picture.

When I work on a collaboration or I work on any kind of partnership, I'm always thinking, "OK, what is the end objective? What are we trying to create? What's the concept? Who is the customer profile? What's the price point? What's the distribution model?" I'm not just like, "OK, I'm going to design this T-shirt and then I'm going to give it to them and have them figure it out." That's never been the way that I work. And I think that was probably also one of the reasons why my time in Paris was difficult, because in those kinds of structures you are put a bit into a box. I was not used to being in a box; I was very much used to being part of the whole conversation.

Feloni: Could you give an example of a project that you're considering or starting, and show how that business and creative side are linked, and you can't even separate them?

Wang: So I've been wanting to do underwear for a very long time. And I've talked at length with many different partners and internally about how we could tap into this category. It's a category that's very much owned by some very large companies and brands and hasn't been disrupted in a very long time. Victoria's Secret owns that sexy lingerie category and Calvin Klein owns the sportier, logo-driven kind.

So I knew that if I was assigned a licensing deal that I wasn't going to be going into a wholesale distribution model. I was thinking, "OK, well it needs to be a new conversation, a new concept. Who are the players in this space?" And I have a longstanding relationship with Mr. Yanai [Uniqlo CEO Tadashi Yanai] at Uniqlo — we collaborated 11 years ago, when I first came out. He's the owner of Fast Retailing. And I thought, well, they have this incredible proprietary innovation around Heattech and Airism.

And, I thought, well, why don't we marry that concept with this idea of innerwear, but in a way that can be worn all day — to the gym, layered underneath pieces, on their own. And they loved the idea. I was trying to take a category that I had a lot of interest in and push it into a new conversation that was innovating the dialogue around underwear. And it was a new distribution model for me. Immediately we would be put into over 1,000 doors and I knew that the price point was going to be accessible. It's been an incredible collaboration so far.

Taking the label to the next level by breaking the rules

Feloni: I feel like you've gotten to a point now where you could break the rules, the so-called rules. Even last year, when you pulled out of Fashion Week in February and September, when almost all designers have their shows. And you weren't the first to do this, but you decided that you're going to go on your own schedule. What went behind that decision?

Wang: It wasn't overnight, but we had talked a lot about how can we address the consumer better, how can we be more efficient with the consumer?

Feloni: As opposed to the industry.

Wang: As opposed to the industry. And we were making a lot of direct-to-consumer shifts in how we were re-platforming our website, and shifting the delivery model of our collection. Fashion Week — it's always labeled a season. Fall-Winter, Spring-Summer 2020, etc. Even I always was confused about the seasonality, let alone a consumer who's looking at fashion shows and then having to wait six months before that product is sitting on the floor. And also the fact that we have a global brand and that Spring-Summer, Fall-Winter doesn't really resonate the same in New York as it does in Australia at the same time.

So we thought, well, let's take away the label of seasonality from our collections and let's just title them by the month that they're dropping. So this is our September delivery, this is our October delivery, this is our December delivery, etc. And message it around cultural events. What are people shopping for in December? They're shopping for gift giving, they're shopping for holidays. What are people shopping for in January? It's "new year, new you." They're f rebuilding their self-esteem, going back into the gym. And so building the product strategy around that kind of thinking, and building the collection and drop cadence around that, as well.

So everything leads from the product, restructuring how we sell the collection. We are still a very heavily wholesale-weighted company. So we can't make that switch completely. But we felt that by taking away the idea of labels, taking ourselves out of New York Fashion Week, showing the collection during a pre-collection market — we're able to get what people see on the runway two months earlier. We're able to be a lot earlier in our deliveries.

Feloni: I would imagine you could have an advantage of being more consumer-facing and tapping into buying trends. But I feel like the risk there would be that even if you thought that Fashion Week is a strange schedule, that's still when everyone is collected at the same time. So how do you weigh that risk?

Wang: Yeah, thank you for bringing that up. I also feel that fashion shows now, when you think about the ones that really play on the big scale, the Diors, the Vuittons, they're most likely paying all of the celebrities to sit in the front row, flying out the editors to whatever exotic location to participate and cover the show. But consumers, the audience that is genuinely interested in the brand, they're looking at it online through social media. And so we realized that in order to have an event, let's not call it even a fashion show. It needs to be entertainment.

You need to build content around it, that people are not just watching models walking down the runway, because you can see that going to Vogue.com. So, when we made the shift, we implemented a whole host and live stream element to our show. It really became live entertainment, as well as all the content that we would shoot around the show, like backstage with the models while we have the talent there on set. Fashion shows aren't really about the clothes anymore. It's about the brand exercising their message around what they want to say with this community around the content.

Feloni: By the time that our audience sees or listens to this, you're going to have your show at Rockefeller Center.

Wang: Yeah.

Feloni: And no one has ever done that before. And that reminds me too, like when you had a show in Bushwick, Brooklyn, that hadn't been done before. And I'd seen some people were mad that there was a lot of traffic. Some people couldn't get in. When you're taking risks to be different, how do you decide, OK, this is something worth trying, or maybe people haven't done this for a reason?

Wang: We as a brand have always wanted to push the boundaries and move the conversation forward. If everyone is just sitting around with the status quo, then nothing's ever going to change. Unless you challenge that, there's always risks involved and I think we recognize that and we stomach it and we go with it. But I think that will always be part of the brand.

Of course the editors were not happy that they got to see it second, and that it was in Brooklyn. And I think definitely there were learnings from it in terms of operational efforts, and logistics around traffic, and how to do it better.

And I think this time with Rockefeller, what's exciting is that there's never been a show where literally everyone is invited. We've done public shows where we invite like 150 people who go to our store and get tickets but this is Rockefeller Plaza. There's an invited portion for the industry but around it, the entire mezzanine, anyone who wants to come can participate. It's going to be really exciting because yeah, there hasn't ever been a fashion show there and it's such an iconic New York location, and this collection is about giving back to New York and a tribute to American sportswear and all the pioneers that paved the way for me.

Feloni: On that note, when you're out doing things the way that you want, some people will be critical of that. And I feel like in the fashion industry, from what I've seen, it seems people can be really vicious when things aren't going to their expectations. So how do you even know who to listen to, whose criticism matters, or whose praise matters, for that matter?

Wang: The consumer. In the end, it's if the audience, and the community, and the consumer that I'm trying to speak to understands what I'm trying to do. You're never going to be able to make everyone happy. But I think it's if you're able to address and learn from certain mistakes, and be able tof provide better for the consumer. A lot of the time they just want to be involved, they want to be included, they want to be heard, and that's whether it's for the product or the experience I think that's the most important.

Feloni: So you have to approach business from your audience's perspective.

Wang: The rest is just noise. I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me, because I grew up in this industry and it was very supportive. A lot of the organizations and the editors and the buyers, of course, are very important to our business. But yeah, at the end of the day, I think for everyone's sake, it's the consumer who is shopping at those stores, who's reading those magazines, they're the most important.

Creating a brand that lasts

Feloni: When I think of the industry, it seems that success would be relevancy, because there are only like a handful of brands that have lasted forever and the rest, they come and go.

Wang: Yeah.

Feloni: How do you think of relevancy and then how do you think of success? Are they tied together? Are they separate?

Wang: I do think they are tied together, but not necessarily under the same circumstances. And I say that in the sense that, right now I'm much more interested in the consumer than I am in just fashion. And what the consumer wants from us as a brand sometimes isn't just apparel and clothes, it could be other categories. Whether they're lifestyle categories that have been done before by other fashion brands or they're new categories, things in the wellness space, things in the entertainment space, such as festivals and events. I think other ways where the brand has resonance among a community is where I'm interested in moving into.

Feloni: Is the way that you define success now, 15 years in, different from when you were just starting out?

Wang: Yes. There's a huge part of me — I just want to create beautiful things, but I want to create beautiful things that really leave an impact, and create things that I think people really resonate with. And that means something. Building meaningful work and meaningful relationships is the most important thing for me. And I think that's one of the things that I've realized as I've matured, and become more clear in my head of what that equates to.

Feloni: Well, thank you so much, Alex.

Wang: Thank you.

SEE ALSO: 'Pain is a great teacher': How Ray Dalio, the world's most successful (and mysterious) hedge-fund founder, came back from financial ruin

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Alexander Wang explains how to wear all black without looking boring

• Instagram is the only major social-media platform that grants all users equal access to anyone's direct messaging inbox.
• Business Insider spoke to Steven Galanis, CEO and cofounder of the personalized video shoutout app Cameo, on his tips for reaching influential people via Instagram DM.
• Galanis said that, like many non-famous people, celebrities also check their DMs, and if you do it right you have a shot at reaching someone.
• Galanis shared his social selling techniques, from paying attention to someone's interests on the app – as a way to build an initial connection – to bumping up your unread message to the top by copying, deleting, and resending it.
•  Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Unlike LinkedIn or Twitter, Instagram is the only major social-media network where users can direct message anyone – no matter how famous they are.

Business Insider spoke to Steven Galanis, CEO and cofounder of the personalized video shoutout app Cameo, on his tips for reaching influential people via Instagram direct message. Cameo, which was valued at $300 million in a June funding round, uses Instagram as a primary way to bring new talent onto the app.  

Cameo has brought on celebrities like comedian and actor George Lopez, and popular YouTube influencer and Todrick Hall through a message on Instagram, according to Galanis. Galanis estimated that 30% of Cameo's talent was pitched through DM requests and said it takes more than a simple "hi" to get someone's attention.

Social selling

If you do your research, Instagram can be the perfect platform for networking because every message has a photo attached and name, building an initial human connection, Galanis said. 

Galanis previously worked at LinkedIn and knew that the right talent for Cameo wouldn't be on this networking platform. Instead, he took what he knew about building relationships online through social selling to Instagram.

Techniques 

Galanis said that, like many non-famous people, celebrities also check their DMs, and if you do it right, you have a shot at reaching someone.

"Getting on someone else's phone is almost impossible," Galanis said. "Someone like Justin Bieber might not see your DM – but it will get to his phone and that's something that really no other outlets offer."

The key to a response is largely about the way you formulate your message, Galanis said. Adding in specific details as you introduce yourself will validate your ask. If you both know the same person, like the same restaurant, or will be attending the same convention, add that in.

Unlike email, texting, or Twitter direct messaging, Instagram users also have the option to unsend a message if the other person hasn't opened it yet. 

If you haven't heard back, Galanis recommended copying your exact message, deleting it, and hitting resend – bumping your message back to the top of someone's DMs. 

"You might message them 10 times, but you're not perceived to be spamming them," he said, since they haven't read it yet.

Finding their interests 

Do your Instagram research. Who does the person follow? Who do they post pictures with? This information can help you find a common connection and increase your chance of getting a response, Galanis said. His team uses this method to connect with top celebrities, like Zac Efron.

"There's a guy that we know who is really good friends with Zac Efron – he's easier to reach where Zac Efron might be hard," Galanis said.

Pay attention to location 

"We're a Chicago-based company – if you're an artist and I see that you are going to be playing at the Chicago theater, that's a perfect reason for me to reach out and leverage the insights that I am seeing on your Instagram feed to get in front of you," Galanis said.

Anyone from entertainment, to sales, to sports can use this networking method, Galanis said. 

"Social selling is going to become increasingly important for anyone in business," Galanis said. "Cold calling is dead, but this new social selling outreach is what's replacing it." 

SEE ALSO: A top talent manager breaks down the big trends in how YouTube stars are making money in 2019

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NOW WATCH: Tobey Maguire's 'Spider-Man' is a classic, even though it's one of the more under-appreciated superhero films

• Alexander Wang is a fashion designer whose clothes are worn by the world's top models and celebrities.
• Wang discussed lessons from his career in an episode of Business Insider's podcast "This Is Success."
• From 2012 to 2015 he ran his label while simultaneously serving as Balenciaga's creative director in Paris. After that, he spent a year as CEO of his company. He considers those experiences like graduate school and business school, respectively.
• He said that for every decision he and his team make, they consider business and creativity inextricably linked.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Richard Feloni: How do you know how to balance your time and your energy into the business side of things with the creative side of things? How do you figure that out?

Alexander Wang: It's funny you asked that because I was thinking about this and I don't know if it's just being Chinese! Not to say not that like... I always really think about the business aspect tied into the creative decisions. I always say to my team, we as a brand and in our culture, we always try to apply creative thinking to business decisions and business acumen to the creative process. And I really flip that back and forth in every project that I work on.

I think about the big picture when I work on a collaboration or I work on any kind of partnership. I'm always thinking, "OK, what is the end objective? What are we trying to create? What's the concept? Who is the customer profile? What's the price point? What's the distribution model?"

I'm not just being like, "OK, I'm going to design this T-shirt and then I'm going to give it to them and then have them figure it out." That's never been the way that I work. And I think that was probably also one of the reasons why my time in Paris was difficult because in those kinds of structures you are put a bit into a box. Where I was not used to being in a box, I was very much used to being part of the whole conversation. And so, yeah, I always think about a project from beginning to end.

SEE ALSO: How Alexander Wang went from 20-year-old college dropout to head of a global fashion empire beloved by Rihanna, Kanye, and the Kardashians

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• While there are drawbacks to remaining stationary at work, some people actually prefer to sit at a desk all day.
• For those who do, there are many high-paying positions that fit the requirement.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Some people can't stand the thought of spending their workdays in a cubicle, behind a computer screen, chained to their swivel chair — but others really don't mind working a desk job.

If you identify with the latter group, you've probably been warned of all the dangers of sitting for eight hours a day. Despite these dangers, there is some good news: there are lots of high-paying jobs — from software engineers to chief executive positions — for people who prefer not to be on their feet.

Read more: The 47 jobs that are most damaging to your health

We looked through salary data on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics website to find some of the highest-paying professions where workers typically spend a majority of their day at a desk. We also looked at the employment outlook— the projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026 — to give you a better idea of which jobs will be around in the future.

Here are 17 positions that pay more than $100,000 a year, on average, in order of least to highest annual pay.

SEE ALSO: Doctors say they've figured out how often you need to work out to offset the effects of sitting all day

Software developer (systems software): $114,000

Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Some develop the applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or another device, while others develop the underlying systems that run the devices or that control networks.

Average annual pay: $114,020
Job outlook (2016-2026): 24%

Economist: $116,020

Economists study the production and distribution of resources, goods, and services by collecting and analyzing data, researching trends, and evaluating economic issues.

Average annual pay: $116,020
Job outlook (2016-2026): 6%

Actuary: $116,250

Actuaries analyze the financial costs of risk and uncertainty. They use mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to assess the risk that an event will occur, and they help businesses and clients develop policies that minimize the cost of that risk. Their work is essential to the insurance industry.

Average annual pay: $116,250
Job outlook (2016-2026): 22%

Computer-hardware engineer: $117,840

Computer-hardware engineers research, design, develop, and test computer systems and components such as processors, circuit boards, memory devices, networks, and routers. These engineers discover new directions in computer hardware, which generate rapid advances in computer technology.

Average annual pay: $117,840
Job outlook (2016-2026): 5%

Judge, magistrate judge, or magistrate: $121,130

Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates arbitrate, advise, adjudicate, or administer justice in a court of law. They may sentence defendants in criminal cases according to government statutes or sentencing guidelines; may determine liability of defendant in civil cases; and may also perform wedding ceremonies.

Average annual pay: $121,130
Job outlook (2016-2026): 5%

Personal financial adviser: $121,770

Personal financial advisers provide advice on investments, insurance, mortgages, college savings, estate-planning, taxes, and retirement to help individuals manage their finances.

Average annual pay: $121,770
Job outlook (2016-2026): 15%

Computer and information research scientist: $123,850

Computer and information research scientists invent and design new approaches to computing technology and find innovative uses for existing technology. They study and solve complex problems in computing for business, medicine, science, and other fields.

Average annual pay: $123,850
Job outlook (2016-2026): 19% 

General or operations manager: $123,880

General and operations managers plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of public- or private-sector organizations. Duties and responsibilities include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources.

Average annual pay: $123,880
Job outlook (2016-2026): 8%

Human resources manager: $126,700

Human-resources managers plan, direct, and coordinate the administrative functions of an organization. They oversee the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of new staff; consult with top executives on strategic planning; and serve as a link between an organization's management and its employees.

Average annual pay: $126,700
Job outlook (2016-2026): 9%

Public relations and fundraising manager: $131,570

Public relations managers plan and direct the creation of material that will maintain or enhance the public image of their employer or client. Fundraising managers coordinate campaigns that bring in donations for their organization.

Average annual pay: $131,570
Job outlook (2016-2026): 10%

Compensation and benefits manager: $132,860

Compensation managers plan, develop, and oversee programs to determine how much an organization pays its employees and how employees are paid. Benefits managers plan, direct, and coordinate retirement plans, health insurance, and other benefits that an organization offers its employees.

Average annual pay: $132,860
Job outlook (2016-2026): 5%

Sales manager: $140,320

Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations' sales representatives.

Average annual pay: $140,320
Job outlook (2016-2026): 7%

Lawyer: $144,230

Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.

Average annual pay: $144,230
Job outlook (2016-2026): 8%

Financial manager: $146,830

Financial managers are responsible for the financial health of an organization. They produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.

Average annual pay: $146,830
Job outlook (2016-2026): 19%

Marketing manager: $147,240

Marketing managers plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers. They also develop pricing strategies with the goal of maximizing the firm's profits or share of the market while ensuring customers are satisfied.

Average annual pay: $147,240
Job outlook (2016-2026): 10%

Computer- and information-systems manager: $152,860

Computer- and information-systems managers plan, coordinate, and direct computer-related activities in an organization. They help determine the information-technology goals of an organization and are responsible for implementing computer systems to meet those goals.

Average annual pay: $152,860
Job outlook (2016-2026): 12%

Chief executive: $200,140

Chief executives, also known as CEOs, determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private- and public-sector organizations within guidelines set up by a board of directors or similar governing body. They plan, direct, or coordinate operational activities at the highest level of management with the help of subordinate executives and staff managers.

Average annual pay: $200,140
Job outlook (2016-2026): 8%

• Remote workers often sacrifice family obligations and work over time to prove to their boss they are committed, a new study out of the University of California-Santa Barbara finds.
• Remote workers are "always on" and attend meetings at odd hours more so than in-office employees just to get access to the same projects.
• This research has implications for the growing body of remote workers in the country.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

To some, working remote means never having to leave your house or put proper pants on.

In reality, new research finds, many remote employees work harder than in-office employees for the same benefits and promotions. 

The study, published in Organization Science and authored by a pair of University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) researchers, finds that employees who are physically present in the office are seen as more committed, more productive, and harder working than colleagues who working away from the office. 

Across employees, perceptions of hard work and commitment translate to better performance reviews and quicker promotions, the study finds.

Because of their need to show that they too are committed, remote workers are forced to being "always on" and they attend meetings at odd hours more than their in-office colleagues, all to gain access to the same opportunities. 

This is a trend affecting more and more people: The number of US employees who worked from home at least half the time grew 115% in the last 12 years, from 1.8 million employees in 2005 to 3.9 million in 2017.

To lead author and UCSB management researcher Ioana C. Cristea, this means that remote workers are especially at risk for things like disengagement, overwork, and burnout. 

"Even if remote employees are successful in getting promoted and achieve their career goals, they will have already 'died trying' in the process and compromised their work-life balance," she tells Business Insider over email. "Paradoxically, even after achieving career goals, employees often express career dissatisfaction."

Read more:Bosses, take note: Workers say lack of engagement is a top reason they'd quit their jobs

It's an extension of earlier findings on "face time," or how connecting with your boss at the water cooler or in meetings can help build trust. 

Cristea and her co-author Paul M. Leonardi looked into how managers at two Fortune 100 companies, SunTech and Autoworks (pseudonyms), perceived their remote employees. They found remote workers were more likely to sacrifice a family obligation or work overtime to prove they are committed, more so with larger differences in time zones. 

Remote workers do have a couple tools they can lean on to get more face time in. Turning your video on during meetings, quickly responding to emails, and actively participating in video meetings signal commitment to managers, Cristea said. She advises managers to minimize the time zone differences between themselves and remote workers, as well as impose mandatory maximum working hours and vacation.

A previous version of this article misattributed the emailed quotes to co-author Paul M. Leonardi. 

SEE ALSO: Bosses, take note: Workers say lack of engagement is a top reason they'd quit their jobs

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NOW WATCH: Kylie Jenner is the world's second highest-paid celebrity. Here's how she makes and spends her $1 billion.

• Many people are keen to teach themselves to code because it's a career path that can quickly pay off — to the tune of $100K a year or more after just a few years of experience. 
• We spoke to an impressive panel of self-taught, successful coders who shared the following guidance for others who would like to follow in their footsteps.
• One tip? Start as soon as possible — perhaps with a free online course — and stay connected with other programmers in the course to remain updated on the latest technology.
• Pay attention to the challenges presented in situations you're confronted with, and try to imagine solutions for them.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Around two-thirds of software developers are actually self-taught. Research from Stack Overflow on more than 56,000 coders also found that less than half have a computer science degree. 

One reason that people are so keen to teach themselves how to create and engineer software is that it's a career path that can quickly pay off — to the tune of $100K or more after just a few years of experience. While coding itself may be considered an entry-level tech skill, it's a basic building block that can open the door to a wide range of higher-paying positions, from tech lead or software architect all the way up to CTO.

If you want to join the ranks of six-figure tech stars who taught themselves to code, take a page from the playbooks of people who have done it. Business Insider spoke with an impressive panel of self-taught coders who leveraged their hard-won knowledge into enviable salaries and shared the following guidance for others who would like to follow in their footsteps.

Read more: Here's exactly what it takes to get accepted into Harvard Business School, according to 5 grads and the managing director of admissions

Start by doing — and do it online

Damien Martin, who works at Shufti Pro, became inspired about AI and machine learning at age 11 by the futuristic products envisioned in movies like Back to the Future. As a result, he started cracking the books to master coding. Having gone the longer route of book learning, Martin doesn't advise it, instead recommending the avenues of YouTube and self-learning websites for a quicker, less painful path. 

"Start as soon as possible," said Martin. "And you must start by doing. Enroll in an online course — some of these have the leading coders and programmers to teach you." He added that it's also important to stay connected with other programmers as part of your marching orders. "You need to constantly remain updated on the latest technology, as well as job offers."

Don't get overwhelmed

Software implementation consultant Bharat Nain grew up taking apart toys to learn how they worked, so his parents took the hint and enrolled him in a C Language programming course when he was 12. This skill would prove invaluable not just in helping him champion the code for the robot on his high school's first robotics team (which placed second in the world out of 3,000 teams), but later in paving the way to a lucrative career in technology.

This didn't happen overnight, and Nain acknowledged that the path can seem intimidating when you're first starting to get your feet wet as a coder — particularly if you're serving as your own teacher. 

"Learning to code can sometimes be equated to climbing a mountain," explained Nain. "If you look at the peak, you might shy away. It's best to take one step at a time." To do this, he advises finding a starting point by building software that truly interests you. "Have faith in yourself and don't give up for at least a year of persistent effort," said Nain. "And if it helps, enroll in an online learning program where you are surrounded with a support system of other learners and instructors." 

Leverage free resources

Will Manuel — who as president and CEO of Core Mobile Apps has well-exceeded the $100K mark — recalled how difficult it was to learn coding when he was first starting out. "Ever try talking to a Martian in his own vernacular? Yep, basically the same as that," he joked. But like the other self-taught coders we spoke with, Manuel found the challenge of the learning curve to be well worth the effort. While in college, he took a job in the computer lab, which helped create a foundation for teaching himself Photoshop and HTML. He then used these skills to begin publishing his own basic websites, which led to his first job in the industry as a web design director.

From his current vantage point of running his own successful agency, Manuel suggests that would-be coders take advantage of today's low or no-cost opportunities, many of which weren't available when he started out two decades ago.

"The pathway to becoming a successful programmer, specifically in web development, is a lot clearer today," said Manuel. "There are so many free resources out there that anyone with the desire to learn can teach themselves how to code and make six figures within a very short period of time." He added that his key take-away from over 20 years of coding is: "Start with who you want to bring value to and why. These are the underlying questions that will put you on the correct path to earning six figures and beyond in the space."

Read more: A freelancer who has pulled in a 6-figure income every year since 2010 shares the exact process he used to quit his job and become successfully self-employed

Try video tutorials

Being a self-taught coder doesn't mean you can't learn from others. Web designer and blogger Becky Beach used Lynda.com courses to teach herself advanced JavaScript and CSS, then building her own projects to showcase on job interviews. Beach now has been making websites for 17 years and got into contracting four years ago, the latter of which she reports "pays much more." Today she makes over $130,000 a year by coding. "I was able to make $70 hourly doing front-end development for companies like Verizon and 7-Eleven," said Beach. 

When going the route of video learning via sites such as Lynda.com and Udemy.com, Beach suggests going above and beyond. "Make your own projects to cement those skills in your mind," she advised. "If you just watch the videos, it isn't enough. The projects also help you get interviews if you put them on a website." To make a quick responsive website, she suggests using WrapBootStrap.com, a site with Bootstrap templates. "Bootstrap is a great CSS framework to learn to make websites faster," she explained. "You can make a website with WordPress easily too."

Solve a problem

Coder today, chief technology officer tomorrow? That was the path that Jim Joyce, CTO of Finxact, took. His road first to teach himself to code and then to the C-suite began back at age 10, when he had an important problem to solve with a video game that he loved. Armed with a beloved Atari 400 that came with Atari BASIC but no storage device, Joyce had to rewrite the program any time he wanted to play one of the sample games documented in the product manual. "It was amazing that these simple instructions could produce a video game," said Joyce. "Playing the game, I would imagine what part of the program was running. I loved writing and tweaking the code more than actually playing the games."

Today in his leadership role, Joyce still believes in the value of approaching coding with a problem-solving mentality. He recommends developing an understanding of specific benefits and challenges presented in situations you're confronted with, seeing what things make a job easy and imagining solutions for the things that don't. "Write code to solve a problem that you understand intimately," said Joyce. "Writing code to solve problems keeps you engaged and gets you past the challenges that seem to trip you up every day. But, eventually, you get over those humps, you get better and faster — and that's a very rewarding way to to make a living."

SEE ALSO: A 34-year-old freelancer who quit the job she hated and now makes $200K a year debunks 3 of the biggest myths she's encountered about becoming your own boss

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NOW WATCH: Kylie Jenner is the world's second highest-paid celebrity. Here's how she makes and spends her $1 billion.

• Pete Buttigieg called out Uber, Lyft, McDonald's, and Google for treating gig-economy and contract workers unfairly.
• The Democratic presidential candidate unveiled a plan on Friday to give gig-economy workers the right to unionize and expand labor protections across the country.
• Uber and Lyft drivers work as independent contractors, meaning they do not get worker benefits like health insurance or overtime pay.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Pete Buttigieg is taking on the gig economy.

The Democratic presidential candidate proposed a plan to expand US labor protections, including ones that would give gig-economy workers like Uber and Lyft drivers — as well as contract workers for places like McDonald's and Google — more rights.

"To make the 21st-century economy work for every worker, all of our nation's workers should have the bargaining power they need to demand good jobs, fair pay, and safe workplaces," Buttigieg said in a release unveiling his plan.

If elected, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said he would guarantee gig-economy workers the right to unionize, something Uber and Lyft have sued cities for allowing.

He would also make it more difficult for Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as independent contractors, therefore granting them minimum wage and overtime pay. Under Buttigieg, companies would have to pass a strict three-step test if they wanted to classify workers as independent contractors:

1. They don't have control over the workers.
2. The workers don't perform tasks immediately related to what the company does.
3. The workers have their own independent business.

While most of Buttigieg's rivals in Congress have proposed bills that would give gig economy workers better protections, his plan is among the first to take into account not just Uber and Lyft drivers, but also contract and temp workers who work for major corporations like McDonald's and Google.

"Our modern economy is much more fragmented, threatening worker bargaining power even in industries where unions have traditionally been strong," Buttigieg wrote. "That problem can be fixed by allowing workers across multiple employers in the same business to bargain collectively." 

How the gig economy hurts more than just Uber and Lyft drivers

The gig economy has been a buzzy topic lately, following a number of Uber and Lyft driver protests around the country that called for better pay. Uber, Lyft, and "gig" apps classify drivers as independent contractors that do not qualify for benefits like health insurance and overtime pay.

President Donald Trump's administration recently said Uber and Lyft were right to classify drivers as independent contractors, even though the Obama administration had said "most workers" should count as employees.

Before Uber and Lyft came around, independent contract work had been on the rise for decades, according to David Weil, the author of "The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It." In the book, Weil says many companies no longer hire their own cleaners or security guards but use intermediate companies to provide those roles.

Weil found that because companies are technically not responsible for these contract workers, they are privy to workplace violations like unpaid overtime.

Buttigieg's plan addresses not just Uber and Lyft drivers, but all of these contract workers. He said because of these contracted and outsourced labor models, workers can't unionize and demand better wages like they did in prior decades.

"Companies like Google should not be able to hire contractors — from janitors to food service workers to managers to software engineers — that look like employees, but who cannot bargain with Google because they technically work for a staffing firm or other intermediaries," Buttigieg wrote in his plan. "McDonald's expanded across America while keeping wages low by refusing to bargain with workers who technically work for small local McDonald's franchises."

Buttigieg's plan to give these Google and McDonald's contract workers was less clear, however, calling for strong "joint employer" standards to make sure the two parties can better communicate.

SEE ALSO: 20% of New York drivers for apps like Uber have had to rely on food stamps

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NOW WATCH: Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack and Flickr, says 2 beliefs have brought him the greatest success in life

• If you want to make seven figures by age 30, what you do in your 20s matters. 
• Business Insider compiled 11 pieces of advice, from researchers and self-made millionaires, on how to earn seven figures by the age of 30.
• From having multiple streams of income to investing your savings, there are many ways you can increase your wealth in a free-market economy. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"In a free-market economy, anyone can make as much money as they want," emphasizes self-made millionaire Steve Siebold, who has also studied over 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people. That applies to 20-somethings.

To help you reach the seven-figure mark by 30, we rounded up 11 pieces of advice from people who became millionaires at a young age and people who have studied hundreds of self-made millionaires.

Read more: 2 men who studied millionaires for over 20 years developed a formula that classifies Americans in 3 different categories of wealth

We can't guarantee millionaire status, but following this advice won't hurt your odds.

SEE ALSO: I always wanted to be a millionaire. After Jeff Bezos took an interest in my company, I became one — and it was nothing like I expected.

DON'T MISS: 20 rags to riches stories that will blow your mind

1. Focus on earning

"You cannot save your way to millionaire status," writes Grant Cardone, who went from broke and in debt at 21 to self-made millionaire by 30. "The first step is to focus on increasing your income in increments and repeating that."

"My income was $3,000 a month and nine years later it was $20,000 a month. Start following the money, and it will force you to control revenue and see opportunities."

Earning more money is often easier said than done, but most people have options. Read about how to bring in additional income, some high-paying jobs you can do on the side, how you can earn passive income, and the first step to take before starting any business, from an entrepreneur who earns up to $170,000 a month.

2. Develop multiple streams of income

One way to earn more is to increase your streams of income.

In author Thomas C. Corley's five-year study of self-made millionaires, he found that many of them develop multiple streams of income: 65% had three streams, 45% had four streams, and 29% had five or more streams.

These additional streams include real-estate rentals, stock market investments, and part-ownership in a side business.

"Three streams of income seems to be the magic number for the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits study, but the more income streams you can create in life, the more secure will your financial house be," he writes.

3. Save to invest, don't save to save

Writes Cardone:

"The only reason to save money is to invest it. Put your saved money into secured, sacred (untouchable) accounts. Never use these accounts for anything, not even an emergency. This will force you to continue to follow step one (increase income). To this day, at least twice a year, I am broke because I always invest my surpluses into ventures I cannot access."

Investing is not as complicated or daunting as we make it out to be. The simplest starting point is to contribute to your 401(k) if your employer offers one, and take full advantage of your company's 401(k) match program — which is essentially free money — if it has one.

Next, consider contributing money toward a Roth IRA or traditional IRA, individual retirement accounts with different contribution limits and tax structures — which one you can use depends on your income. If you still have money left over, you can research low-cost index funds, which Warren Buffett recommends, and look into the online-investment platforms known as "robo-advisers."

The key to consistently setting aside money is to make it automatic. That way, you'll never even see the money you're contributing and you'll learn to live without it.

4. Be disciplined and decisive

Rafael Badziag, an epert in the psychology of entrepreneurship, discusses the long-term habits of billionaires his book "The Billion Dollar Secret: 20 Principles of Billionaire Wealth and Success."

He spent five years interviewing 21 self-made billionaires and found that along with other things, they are all disciplined, Business Insider previously reported.

"The billionaires I interviewed are the most disciplined people I have ever met," Badziag wrote. "They put a high standard on themselves and on the people around them."

After studying over 500 millionaires, journalist and author Napoleon Hill found that they all shared one quality: decisiveness.

"Analysis of several hundred people who had accumulated fortunes well beyond the million dollar mark disclosed the fact that every one of them had the habit of reaching decisions promptly," Hill wrote in his 1937 personal-finance classic "Think and Grow Rich."

5. Don't show off — show up

"I didn't buy my first luxury watch or car until my businesses and investments were producing multiple secure flows of income," writes Cardone. "I was still driving a Toyota Camry when I had become a millionaire. Be known for your work ethic, not the trinkets that you buy."

Need inspiration to save more and spend less? Read up on tips and strategies from regular people who saved enough of their incomes to retire before 40.

6. Change your mindset about money

"Getting rich begins with the way you think and what you believe about making money," self-made millionaire Steve Siebold explains.

At the end of the day, "The secret has always been the same: thinking," he emphasizes. While the masses believe becoming wealthy is out of their control, rich people know that making money is really an inside job."

7. Invest in yourself

Many modern-day successful and wealthy people are voracious readers. Take Warren Buffett, for example, who estimates that 80% of his working day is dedicated to reading.

They also focus on healthy. Every billionaire Badziag interviewed had a strict exercise routine. 

8. Ditch the steady paycheck

Rich people are typically self-employed and determine the size of their own paycheck, Siebold writes: "It's not that there aren't world-class performers who punch a time clock for a paycheck, but for most this is the slowest path to prosperity, promoted as the safest. The great ones know self-employment is the fastest road to wealth."

While the world-class continue starting businesses and building fortunes, average people settle for steady paychecks and miss out on the opportunity to accumulate great wealth.

"The masses almost guarantee themselves a life of financial mediocrity by staying in a job with a modest salary and yearly pay raises," Siebold says.

9. Set goals and visualize achieving them

If you want to make more money, you have to have a clear goal and then a specific plan for how to achieve that goal. Money won't just appear — you have to work at it.

Rich people choose to commit to attaining wealth. It takes focus, courage, knowledge, and a lot of effort, self-made millionaire T. Harv Eker emphasizes, and it's possible if you have precise goals and a clear vision: "The number one reason most people don't get what they want is that they don't know what they want. Rich people are totally clear that they want wealth."

10. Start hanging out with people you admire

Andrew Carnegie, who started with nothing before becoming the richest man in the US, credits all of his riches to one principle: the Master Mind.

The idea is to surround yourself with talented people who share your vision, because the alignment of several smart and creative minds is exponentially more powerful than just one.

Plus, we become like the people we associate with, which is why the rich tend to associate with others who are rich.

"In most cases, your net worth mirrors the level of your closest friends," explains Siebold. "Exposure to people who are more successful than you are has the potential to expand your thinking and catapult your income. The reality is, millionaires think differently from the middle class about money, and there's much to be gained by being in their presence."

11. Shoot for $10 million, not $1 million

"The single biggest financial mistake I've made was not thinking big enough," writes Cardone. "I encourage you to go for more than a million. There is no shortage of money on this planet, only a shortage of people thinking big enough."