As the way we do business evolves over time, so do the tools we use. Today, products and services that didn’t exist 20 or 30 years ago are indispensable parts of our companies and commerce. That’s particularly true in the digital economy. “Word of mouth” has a whole new meaning. And power.

Like, for example, Yelp. Yelp is the go-to public forum for online reviews, recommendations, and warnings about thousands of business in dozens of categories in cities throughout the U.S. The service was founded in 2004, when online commerce was still in its relative infancy, and today Yelp averages some 90 million unique views per month on its combined app and website. Yelpers have written some 102 million reviews over the past 12 years and the number keeps growing.

Rebecca Whyte is the local Yelp manager in Baton Rouge. 

Another relatively new business service is executive coaching. It’s only been around since the late 1980s, and in the decades since has grown to become an indispensable tool for company executives, who face an increasing number of pressures in an increasingly complex business environment.

Craig Juengling is a Baton Rouge-based executive coach, one of just 2,500 in the country who has obtained the designation of Professional Certified Coach. Since 2009 Craig has run an executive coaching business in the Capital Region, where he has helped CEOs, entrepreneurs and other business leader learn how to be more effective. 

Photos at Mansurs on the Boulevard by Ken Stewart.