Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2022

In my experience as a mentor to entrepreneurs, I find that self-doubt and lack of confidence are the primary constraints people have to overcome to move ahead. He writes from first-hand experience, and is now a recognized business leader, motivational speaker, and mentor to many entrepreneurs. You avoid making plans too far in advance.

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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. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 2/18/2022.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2022

During my many years of mentoring professionals and entrepreneurs in business, I more often see people focusing on how to get their ideas heard , than how to promote themselves. Take full advantage of every mentoring and coaching opportunity, and network with peers both inside and outside the company.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2022

Many of you business leaders I work with, and entrepreneurs I mentor, have a great strategy and an innovative solution , but struggle with building and motivating the team necessary to run your business. This created a connection with both his team and customers. You really need their insights and customer interaction feedback.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

In my experience of many years as a business founder, consultant, and executive, I offer the following list of situations that always imply a real need for people and business leadership, and have the potential for long-term positive impact to your bottom line and business success: Your business image is slipping in the eyes of customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2022

You need to step out of your comfort zone to socialize, meet new people, and collaborate with peers, company leaders, and mentors. Seek expert mentors and always evaluate feedback. Use the same mindset with new team members and customers. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 11/19/2022.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2022

One way to do this is to nurture mentoring relationships with experts in other disciplines, as Bill Gates did with Warren Buffet. In particular, new generations of customers, including millennials, are often looking for something really innovative, as the fashion industry has found out many times.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

The result is fewer and fewer new ideas are volunteered by prospective leaders and key team members, and the business suffers from poor customer satisfaction or loss of market share. Input from outside experts and real customers is always a credibility booster. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 11/7/2022.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2022

In my role as a mentor, I challenge every business leader to be more open-minded as they face the challenges of change and new competitors entering their space. Winning business owners really listen and act on feedback from customers and advisors. Don’t be totally driven by a key customer. Listening to customers also helps.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2022

Every business owner I know wishes that all team members were leaders, to proactively tackle the challenges of growth , interact effectively with customers on their needs, and eventually step into your role. Notice people who always take a customer perspective. It’s no secret today that customers are more demanding than ever.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

Passion is great, but it must be backed by data, confirming a real problem and customers willing and able to pay for your solution. Too many business people let the daily challenges cause them to revert to emotional and autocratic demands, failure to communicate, and inability to coach and mentor team members.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2022

They don’t realize that it takes more to succeed in business or a career – it takes leadership skills to get people to follow you, including peers, a team, business partners, and customers. I urge you to force yourself to be a regular new learner, by tackling new problems, listening to expert mentors, and finding time for leadership books.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2022

Thus, over the years of my mentoring and consulting efforts with entrepreneurs, I have a key list of practices that I recommend to everyone starting and growing a business. You may think it’s great that demand exceeds your supply chain, but customers only remember it as a loss of your credibility, and will tell others.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2022

The challenge for each of you is to get it handled quickly and effectively, without losing the trust of constituents , as well as customers. Look for a mentor, or expert in this area, and ask their advice. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 5/22/2022. Get advice before jumping to conclusions.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2022

Be sure to encompass all your constituents, especially including customers. Whole Foods , for example, has built their business with a commitment to natural and organic foods, and have a culture of loyal employees and customers, resulting in 500 stores worldwide. Commit to delivering a positive customer experience.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

One of the attributes that I often recommend to the business professionals and entrepreneurs I mentor is to always be totally accountable for your actions and ideas. I too often see people who are quick to make excuses, blame failures on peers or customers, or see management as the reason for their lack of productivity.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2022

As a mentor to business professionals, I find that many are frustrated that peers and managers don’t recognize the true value of their contributions. Documenting your input early, and follow-up later by quantifying customer revenue is your only way to make sure your value in the revenue growth process is not forgotten.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. I had realized that I didn’t have it within me to be as good of a player as many of them did but I had the skills to help as mentor, coach, friend, sparing partner and patient capital provider.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2022

In my role as a business mentor and advisor, I now always look for a culture and recommend team roles that nurture collaboration rather than contention, communities rather than silos , and transparent communication at all levels. In this age of world-wide markets, you need all the help you can get to attract loyal customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2022

I’m convinced that the reason for the high rate of startup failures , with well over half not lasting five years, is not that the solutions are not innovative, but that the entrepreneur focuses on the product, rather than the business of attracting and managing customers. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 3/22/2022.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

Don’t be hesitant to use coaches, mentors, and other resources to test and improve your image by others, and your perceptions of business realities and biases. The business world today is very competitive, and customers are more and more demanding. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 11/10/2022.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

This is a tough challenge for every coach and mentor. The support currently provided by product service can become inadequate to satisfy new customers, as your growth and image becomes better known. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 4/18/2022.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

For example, just think of the data generated and captured for every online customer purchase transaction on the Internet. I recommend that you supplement your own synthesis with artificial intelligence and mentoring from experts in related disciplines. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 9/12/2022.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2022

In my experience as a mentor and consultant, it is not just the words, but also your tone, approach, body language, and the context in which you choose to engage that can make all the difference. Give your team or your customer a chance to offer a solution that you can openly agree with and support.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2022

You must take the initiative to talk to customers, suppliers, other employees, and understand the process. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 1/07/2022. The key here is to adopt a “ proactive personality.” Most important of all, you must seek to enjoy the journey, if you hope to enjoy the success.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2022

As an advisor and mentor, I’m always looking for more ways to improve communication, get people more engaged , and get more done. Be able to provide a current understanding of these objectives by regularly asking for feedback from stakeholders, including vendors, customers, and peers, and really listening to what they need.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2022

I believe these same mindsets are equally applicable to the entrepreneurs I mentor, and all of you small business leaders, so I offer you my summary of the authors’ conclusions, paraphrased here, with my own insights: Be bold in vision, strategy, and resource allocation. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 3/16/2022.

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