Why Emotional Intelligence Might Be The Most Underrated Business Skill

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We have all heard the term “emotional intelligence,” or EQ, but what exactly does it mean? Basically, it refers to a person’s ability to recognize, understand, and manage their own emotions, as well as interpret and influence the emotions of others. Having high EQ doesn’t mean you have to be nice or agreeable all the time. It is more about the ability to read a room, respond to stress in healthy ways, and handle interpersonal challenges with awareness and tact. 

As psychologists Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer originally defined it, emotional intelligence is “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.”

EQ includes a range of competencies, commonly grouped into five categories: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Each component builds on the others. For example, someone who’s highly self-aware is more likely to regulate their emotions effectively, which in turn affects how well they relate to others. These are not traits people are born with or without. They can be developed with intention and practice. 

What differentiates emotional intelligence from cognitive intelligence is how it influences decision-making and human interaction. While IQ might help someone solve a complex equation, EQ determines how they explain their solution to a frustrated coworker—or respond when that coworker doesn’t agree. In many professional settings, being able to work through disagreements, inspire a team, or handle pressure gracefully matters just as much as technical competence. This example of a founder who turned early adversity into leadership strength illustrates how emotional depth can drive business success. 

Too often, businesses undervalue these traits because they are not easily quantified. You can’t assign a number to empathy on a spreadsheet. But its absence is obvious. Miscommunications escalate. Teams fragment. Leaders make short-sighted decisions because they’re driven by ego or fear. On the flip side, when emotional intelligence is strong, even difficult situations become manageable. People feel heard. Feedback flows freely. And trust builds over time. 

Why Emotional Intelligence Has A Direct Impact On Leadership and Results 

Leadership is no longer just about giving orders or setting aggressive targets. It’s about getting the best out of people—especially in unpredictable conditions. A manager with high EQ can recognize when a team member is overwhelmed, even if they haven’t said so out loud. That same manager might adjust workloads or offer support before burnout sets in. This kind of responsiveness doesn’t just keep morale high—it keeps productivity steady. 

Emotional intelligence also supports more effective collaboration. In a group setting, people bring different communication styles, stress responses, and problem-solving habits. Without emotional awareness, it is easy for those differences to cause friction. A leader with high EQ can spot underlying tensions and address them constructively. They are also more likely to create a culture where diverse perspectives are welcomed, not just tolerated. 

There is also the matter of long-term retention. Employees don’t just leave because of salary or titles. They often leave because they don’t feel understood, respected, or supported. Leaders with strong EQ know how to give feedback in a way that motivates rather than deflates. They also know how to listen—to truly listen—when a team member is raising a concern. That skill, simple as it sounds, goes a long way in building loyalty. 

Research backs this up. In a study conducted by TalentSmart, emotional intelligence was found to be the strongest predictor of performance, accounting for 58% of success in all types of jobs. Ninety percent of top performers had high EQ scores. This isn’t theoretical—it shows up in real-world performance across industries and roles. Leaders who understand this give themselves a measurable advantage. 

Practical Ways To Build Emotional Intelligence At Work 

Emotional intelligence can be developed at any stage of a career. It starts with self-awareness. One of the simplest ways to build this is through regular reflection. Journaling after difficult conversations or meetings can help identify emotional triggers and patterns in behavior. Over time, this awareness becomes second nature, allowing people to pause before reacting and consider the impact of their words and actions. 

Another approach is soliciting honest feedback. Most people have blind spots, especially when it comes to how they come across to others. Constructive feedback, delivered with context, can be a powerful tool for growth. It helps pinpoint areas where communication may be breaking down or where emotional cues are being missed. But it only works when leaders are open to hearing it and willing to make adjustments. 

Empathy, often misunderstood as simply “being nice,” is a skill that can also be strengthened. It starts with listening—real listening, not just waiting for a turn to speak. Asking open-ended questions, observing body language, and paying attention to tone all provide insight into what someone is really feeling. This is especially useful during performance reviews, team conflicts, or moments of uncertainty. 

On a team level, emotional intelligence grows through practice. Encourage moments of honest dialogue in meetings. Acknowledge stress when it is present instead of pretending everything is fine. Recognize accomplishments, but also address setbacks without blame. Over time, these small shifts create a more emotionally aware workplace—one where people don’t have to check part of themselves at the door in order to succeed. 

In fact, research from Harvard Business School Online shows that 71% of employers value emotional intelligence more than technical skills when evaluating candidates. This shows us all just how important EQ is in the workplace.

10 Profitable AI Business Ideas For Startups

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Coming up with a profitable business idea can be difficult with so much recent saturation in the tech space. Ideally you want to solve for a unique pain point and need in the market, without having to compete directly with other artificial intelligence powerhouse companies with millions or billions of dollars in funding. 

But if you are interested in artificial intelligence (AI) as an income source, you are in luck. AI and machine learning companies have a lot of income opportunity and funding sources if done correct, although admittedly the industry is getting more challenging and saturated by the day. 

In this article, we will give you 10 profitable AI business ideas to help you launch your startup. If these ideas aren't enough, you can always use a business idea generator to come up with even more options for your machine learning biz. But overall, you need to identify your own niche and a problem that is not currently being solved with the existing AI powerhouse businesses.


10 Top AI Business Ideas For Startups With Potential Profits

1. Start An AI Driven YouTube Channel 

AI can make creating videos much easier and faster. You can use AI tools to generate video ideas and titles, write video scripts, and even edit videos by automatically adding graphics, animations, voice overs, and more. 

Some software options to check out for an AI biz include: 

• Vidnami: Automatically creates videos using AI from scripts and content you provide 

• Descript: Uses AI to edit podcasts and videos, can automatically transcribe audio 

• Wibbitz: Creates short videos for social media using AI generated voice overs and graphics 

2. Sell AI-Generated Art 

AI art creation tools like Midjourney make it possible to generate unique images and artworks. This gives you an opportunity to sell AI art in different forms. 

Some popular AI art generators to check out include: 

• Midjourney: Creates images from text prompts 
• DALL-E 2: Generates images and art from natural language 
• ArtBreeder: Blends images into new AI creations 

You can sell the artworks in multiple ways such as: 

- Printed on t-shirts, mugs, posters etc. 
- Digital downloads people can print themselves 
- NFTs - Non-fungible tokens 

Use platforms like Etsy and Redbubble to easily sell printed products featuring your AI art. You can also sell NFTs through markets like OpenSea. 

3. Build An AI-Powered SEO Tool 

Creating an AI tool focused on SEO can be really valuable for digital marketers and bloggers. 

Some of the ways AI can help with SEO include generating keyword ideas, optimizing pages for specific keywords, recommending topics to create content around, and improving content structure and readability. AI tools can also analyze pages to check technical SEO issues. 

There are already some AI SEO tools out there like Frase and SurferSEO. But as these tools are really expensive, there is still some room left for new developers to offer their tools at a cheaper price. 

Focus on making the tool easy to use and automating as much of the optimization process as possible. 

4. Offer AI Services On Fiverr 

Offering freelance AI services on Fiverr is an easy way to monetize AI skills. There are many services you can offer to take advantage of AI tools and make money. 

Some examples of popular AI services to offer on Fiverr include: 

• AI Logo Design: Use AI to generate custom logo options for clients 

• Product Description Writing: Create optimized ecommerce product descriptions with AI copywriting tools 

• AI Article Writing: Provide high-quality blog posts and articles generated by AI 

• AI Voice Overs: Use text-to-speech tools to create custom voice overs 

• AI Art Generation: Generate digital AI-art using tools such as Midjourney 

• Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Media: Offering VR and AR Media can give you additional services, add-ons, and upsells.

Focus on providing quick delivery times with your artificial intelligence business or machine learning company and great customer support to get more orders on Fiverr. 

5. Build An AI Tool Predicting The Stock Market 

Creating an AI stock prediction tool is an advanced but potentially profitable idea. AI can analyze huge amounts of financial data, news, and social media to detect patterns and make market forecasts. 

Some of the techniques AI can use for stock predictions include: 

- Analyzing financial statements and earnings reports of companies to forecast performance 
- Examining historical prices and trends to identify patterns 
- Processing news headlines and social media sentiment about stocks to determine investor behavior 
- Identifying correlations between different assets and markets 

There are already some AI stock prediction products like EquBot out there. But the technology is still emerging and holds a lot of potential for AI and machine learning business opportunities. 

6. Start An AI Digital Marketing Agency 

Launching a digital marketing agency powered by AI is a promising business concept. AI can automate and optimize many marketing tasks to help agencies scale. 

Some of the ways AI can transform digital marketing include: 

• Automated ad creation and optimization: Quickly test different ad images, copy, keywords, and placements 

• AI landing page building: Generate high-converting landing pages for products and services 

• AI-powered content creation: Produce blog posts, social media posts, emails faster 

• Chatbot creation: Build conversational bots to engage website visitors 

Top AI marketing platforms to use include Persado for AI copywriting and ChatGPT for automated content creation. 

It is important to use the latest machine learning (ML) and AI technology to get better results for clients. 

7. Post AI-Generated Twitter Threads 

Posting interesting or funny Twitter threads created by AI can be an engaging way to build a following. AI tools like Tugan.ai can auto-generate threads around specific topics. 

Build an audience that looks forward to your AI-powered threads. When the ideas resonate, the retweets and followers will grow quickly. You can later monetize your threads with affiliate links and sponsors. 

8. Start An AI-Powered Blog 

Launching a blog powered by AI is an efficient way to quickly produce content. AI can help with generating ideas, writing drafts, and editing posts. 

Some ways AI can help with blogging include: 

- Coming up with engaging topic ideas based on keyword and trend analysis 

- Producing initial drafts of posts for you to refine 

- Improving writing style and structure 

- Catching grammar and spelling errors 

The key is establishing a consistent posting schedule. Use AI to streamline creating initial drafts faster. But spend time refining each post to ensure you have high-quality and error-free content. 

With AI's help, you can grow and maintain an audience by publishing way more content than manually writing alone. 

9. Design Websites Using AI 

AI tools can automate and improve many aspects of website design. This creates opportunities to offer AI-powered web design services. 

Some ways AI can help with website building: 

• AI website builders like Durable AI can generate site layouts and designs

• Content tools like ChatGPT or Claude.ai can create original text for pages 

• AI image generators can design graphics and visuals 

• AI coding platforms can help develop front and back ends faster 

Focus on core website design principles while letting AI handle the busywork. Transform the AI outputs into high-quality, visually appealing sites. 

With the right tools, AI can significantly improve the website design process without sacrificing quality. 

10. Create An AI-Powered Chatbot For Customer Service 

Building an AI chatbot to handle customer service queries is very practical. Chatbots can engage visitors 24/7 and replicate human conversations. 

Some benefits of AI chatbots include: 

• Providing instant answers any time of day 

• Feeling more natural by using NLP algorithms 

• Reducing human support staffing needs 

Conclusion 

The opportunities to build AI-powered businesses are endless if you have the right ideas and tools. This article covered several promising concepts like launching AI YouTube channels, selling AI art, building AI marketing agencies, and more. 

The specific business idea you choose depends on your interests, skills, and target customers. The important thing is to just start somewhere and slowly improve over time. 

Don't overcomplicate it or wait for the "perfect" idea. Review the concepts here, pick one that you like, and take that first step.

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