Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Too many entrepreneurs confuse action with momentum and results. Bottlenecks to team productivity.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2021

By definition, all of you entrepreneurs are leaders, by taking the initiative to start a new company. Most investors will readily admit that they invest in entrepreneur leadership, more so than innovative ideas, but they often find it difficult to separate aspiring leaders from those that are clearly extraordinary.

Coach 162

Coach Startup Resource Competition 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2023

Every business wants and needs top performers, but most entrepreneurs and executives assume that if they hire and train the smartest and most experienced people, they will get exceptional performance. Thus paying only for sales volume, when you desire high customer satisfaction, is not productive.

Coach 93

Coach Satisfaction Resource Entrepreneur 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

Most of the entrepreneurs and business owners I work with recognize that they must occupy and practice a primary leadership position , but many will admit that they are not thriving in this role. This is a tough challenge for every coach and mentor. This is a tough challenge for every coach and mentor.

Entrepreneur 90

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Coach Mentor 90

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2021

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. Usually these people think they are doing a great job, and are totally oblivious to their unhappy customers or cash drain.

Startup 164

Startup Class Entrepreneur Coach 164

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2017

We all know some peers in business who could use some coaching to unleash their potential and optimize performance, but would you know how to do the job if they asked you for help? In an effort to help myself, I read a new book on this topic, “ The Master Coach ,” by Gregg Thompson. Self-centered members need coaching.

Coach 54

Coach Satisfaction Organization Guide 54

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2019

Most entrepreneurs assume that success is dependent on their product expertise, coupled with some knowledge of how to run a business. Successful entrepreneurs today must practice human-centered leadership to compete and win. Effective entrepreneur leaders focus on getting people needs satisfied early.

Training 123

Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Based on my experience as a business advisor, I recommend that every business owner and entrepreneur focus on the following tips to provide a better work culture: Invest in integrating new technology, not just forcing it. Spend more time mentoring and coaching your team. Giving orders and assignments is not coaching.

Tips 159

Tips Satisfaction Coach Mentor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. Of course, not every entrepreneur wants to tackle this challenge. Optimize the total customer experience.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. You now need more than loyalty from your customers -- they need to be your best advocates. The bar is being raised, so every entrepreneur needs new initiatives just to stay in the ballgame. Culture growth follows the leader.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Too many entrepreneurs confuse action with momentum and results. Bottlenecks to team productivity.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Resource Training Product 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience continues to decline. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2015

Most entrepreneurs I know want to do the right thing for their businesses, as well as themselves, but they are not always sure what that means. Does it mean the right thing from a customer perspective, societal impact, maximizing business returns or personal benefit? Be a coach, rather than a dictator.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Training Demand Customer 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2014

Most entrepreneurs assume that success is dependent on their product expertise, coupled with some knowledge of how to run a business. Successful entrepreneurs today must practice human-centered leadership to compete and win. Effective entrepreneur leaders focus on getting people needs satisfied early.

Demand 92

Demand Entrepreneur Startup Training 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

If you aren’t yet adapting to the market and your customers, you are falling behind. I define business agility for my consulting clients as the ability to change your business rapidly to meet customer and environmental changes, with minimal organizational disruption and cost. Every good entrepreneur I know has a “ proactive mindset.”

Competition 148

Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2015

If an entrepreneur can’t build a culture of excitement and commitment at a startup, the chances of long-term success are negligible. As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked what you can do to build the right culture. Customize your organizational structure based on individuals' strengths. Every investor knows this.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2021

Over my years as an advisor to new businesses and startups, I have learned that the only certainty that I can offer entrepreneurs is the fact they will face many uncertainties. On the other hand, entrepreneurs have a reputation for being one of the happiest and healthiest career paths around. Show humility and own your mistakes.

Marketing 148

Marketing Coach Startup Product 148

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2023

Every entrepreneur and business executive I know wants to emulate that boss, but most can’t even describe the attributes required. In my opinion, great examples in today’s entrepreneur world include Elon Musk (Tesla), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and Richard Branson (Virgin Group). Measure by relationships as well as competitiveness.

Oracle 94

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2021

Perhaps you need to do more to be a role model for accountability , and provide more coaching on exactly what it means. He later closed more than 8,000 of his stores for a day to provide employee racial-bias training. They provide ongoing motivation by recognizing and rewarding effort, and the training to do the job right.

Training 173

Training Examples Startup Social Media 173

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

There was no money train. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built. It was 1991. There were startups and a software industry but barely.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

As a long-time business advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs, I consistently find that the most thriving businesses are people-centric, and those team members create the best processes, rather than the other way around. Leaders who focus on team communication are also more successful in dealing with partners and customers.

Satisfaction 154

Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Many entrepreneurs still believe they need a traditional multi-level organization to handle growth and scaling, so they start hiring career managers to populate it. By hiring contract experts, less oversight and coaching is needed. You all have to deal today primarily with on-demand customers in an on-demand economy.

Competition 168

Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2015

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs like you that I have met in my role as a business advisor are really product creators versus business creators, convinced that a great product will generate a great business. Entrepreneurs are typically focused on the big picture – creating a vision, purpose, and a long-term strategy.

Metrics 140

Metrics Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2014

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. A recent book, “ Hunting in a Farmer''s World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Startup News Slides 109

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Every entrepreneur and business leader I know realizes that it takes a dedicated team to build and run a successful business, and nurturing that team is one of your most important priorities. by Donna Cutting, who is a globally-recognized guru on employee culture and optimizing customer service. Emotional stability.

Technical Review 141

Technical Review Mentor Social Media Customer 141

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

Every entrepreneur and most professionals wish there were more hours in a day to get their work done. According to the classic book, “ One Second Ahead ,” by noted authority on training the mind, Rasmus Hougaard, there are some basic rules that can really help you manage your focus and awareness in all work activities.

Email 96

Email Activity Product Social Media 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2016

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. Usually these people think they are doing a great job, and are totally oblivious to their unhappy customers or cash drain.

Entrepreneur 59

Entrepreneur Startup Class Coach 59

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2017

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

In all cases, don’t skip the basic training. Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Make them “feel the love.”

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2020

Every entrepreneur and business executive I know wants to emulate that boss, but most can’t even describe the attributes required. In my opinion, great examples in today’s entrepreneur world include Elon Musk (Tesla), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and Richard Branson (Virgin Group). Measure by relationships as well as competitiveness.

Oracle 124

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2020

Every entrepreneur and most professionals wish there were more hours in a day to get their work done. According to the classic book, “ One Second Ahead ,” by noted authority on training the mind, Rasmus Hougaard, there are some basic rules that can really help you manage your focus and awareness in all work activities.

Email 170

Email Activity Social Media Coach 170