Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

In my business of mentoring new entrepreneurs and advising small company owners, I recognize that most don’t start as experienced leaders, and most don’t realize that people leadership is a primary key to their future success. Building a business is not a one-person job, and leading by edict rarely works today.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2013

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Friends tell you what you want to hear.

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Mentor Coach Startup Entrepreneur 101

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2016

Some will argue that people leadership is a skill you have to be born with, but I’m convinced that it can be learned from experience, mentoring, and failures. They reach to find mentors who have been there, read books on the subject, and participate in leadership development programs. Work on improving your communication skills.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2012

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Friends tell you what you want to hear.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2012

The servant leader serves the people they lead through mentoring, direct assistance, listening, and acting on their employees input. The concept was developed by Robert K. Do people believe that you are committed to helping them develop and grow? If the answers surprise you, it may be time to find a leadership mentor.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2021

Developed a higher level of mental complexity. High scoring leaders seek and positively respond to feedback from three critical groups: peers, customers, and direct reporting team members. Find and enjoy the company of one or more mentors. In both cases, the beliefs tended to become realities.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2011

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Friends tell you what you want to hear.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2022

The concept of “ force multipliers ” originally was developed in military science, but certainly applies equally well to business. You may focus only on Facebook, and missing customers who expect to see you on Instagram and YouTube. Get interactive with online users and customer feedback. Show potential customers that you care.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Get connected to the right mentors and your business may catapult to the next level. I figured if Matt was on the verge of bankruptcy and one mentor changed his trajectory, what if we had a formalized, community-wide program? He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2020

For example, if you as an entrepreneur come across as arrogant or too casual, many people you need to deal with in business, including investors, suppliers, and customers, will run the other way. Shares views and learns from a personal mentor. These can be honed over time, and can’t be easily faked.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Influencers are inundated with requests for their time and have to develop filters of whom they trust and therefore who can refer them deals. And whom you know is really just about who is willing to go to bat for you, break through filters, and vouch for the quality of your product and of you.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

As a long-time mentor to new entrepreneurs and business owners, I have noticed that many no longer associate more fulfillment and satisfaction with more money, power, and success. In fact, customers today also seem more attracted to companies with a higher purpose than profit. Mentor others to share what you have learned.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2023

I’m sure you can imagine how much that impacts any business or startup’s ability to react to changing customer needs and growth opportunities, no matter how insightful their leaders. If you and your team are confident in each other, and proud of your business solution, you will not be afraid to innovate as customer requirements change.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Almost every entrepreneur starts their journey by developing a solution, based on their knowledge of a new technology or required service. Developer skills are necessary, but not sufficient, to build a business. developer entrepreneur Herminia Ibarra leadership startup' Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Mark Zuckerberg, while still in school, tested the viability of his “ FaceMash ” technology as a business by rolling it out to other students at Harvard as customers. He learned quickly that several pivots were required for business, legal, and customer acceptance reasons. Take advantage of free startup programs and mentors.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Many people believe that new ideas are the critical element of innovation, but in my experience as a mentor and investor, long-term business success is more about implementation than ideas. Search for customer pain rather than high margins. New customers don’t see incremental improvements.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2023

The servant leader serves the people they lead through mentoring, direct assistance, listening, and acting on their employees input. The concept was developed by Robert K. Do people believe that you are committed to helping them develop and grow? If the answers surprise you, it may be time to find a leadership mentor.

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Mentor Organization Ideas Examples 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2023

Both authors are recipients of numerous academic and management awards for leadership thinking, and I will summarize here their key strategy insights, combined with my own experiences: Lead with a focus on finding customer value. Aim high to build a better world for customers. Don’t confuse the means with the ends.

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Capital Netflix Resource Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Based on my own experience as a business advisor, I’m convinced that it is all about your mindset for success, and the habits you have developed for tackling problems and challenges. Rather than get angry and upset, fall back to your initial process for evaluating markets, customer needs, and financial implications.

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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. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. People-centric leaders drive ownership and engagement down to their customer-facing team members.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. Yet, as a business consultant, I still find many of you business leaders relying primarily on your technology, word-of-mouth , or location to attract necessary customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Your leadership skills do not develop without effort. Even the best college degree is not a substitute. Survival requires regular updates.

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socalTECH

APRIL 10, 2018

Most of our mentors are people who have been successful entrepreneurs and investors, who have been there, and understand how to get a company to the next sage. Matt Stodder: The most important thing is to understand their customers, and who they are going after. Blake Caldwell: We believe heavily in customer in customer development.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. Test your innovation with at least a hundred customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2023

These might include anyone bringing in a new customer, representing the company in a good social cause, or participating in a video or social media campaign on their own time. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing. Reward success.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2020

The servant leader serves the people they lead through mentoring, direct assistance, listening, and acting on their employees input. The concept was developed by Robert K. Do people believe that you are committed to helping them develop and grow? If the answers surprise you, it may be time to find a leadership mentor.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

Today, with the Internet and social media, if you aren’t visible in a positive way to everyone, including customers, your leadership efforts will be lost. You need to be visible in marketing efforts, viral videos, and interactions with key customer segments. Build relationships with known business leaders.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

In reality, their effectiveness is usually more related to how well they develop their work relationships with peers and business leaders. More importantly, we all need to develop the right relationships, and actively avoid those types that are not right for the business, or not right for our career at a particular point in time.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Subtraction leads to simplicity, better usability, and easier education of your customers. It allows them turn resource constraints into stunning new businesses.

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Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

While these investors, and early customers, will always argue that they found you, I’m convinced that there is no substitute for aggressive networking on your part. Ability to relate aspirations to customer needs. You need to show insights to real customers and their needs, that get beyond your passions and projections.

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Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2010

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Friends tell you what you want to hear.

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Mentor Coach Entrepreneur Ideas 49

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2022

Yet I believe it is possible, and even more fun, to challenge your thinking and practices, to develop that innovative mindset that can keep you on the forefront of business. One way to do this is to nurture mentoring relationships with experts in other disciplines, as Bill Gates did with Warren Buffet.

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Competition Examples Customer Custom 139

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2022

In my experience as an advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs in business, one of the biggest failures I see is a lack of self-leadership. Salicru details several self-leadership development strategies, which I will summarize here, that I recommend for practice by every aspiring entrepreneur. Values are your most valuable assets.

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Capital Coach Satisfaction Ideas 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Mauri offers some practical, actionable advice for entrepreneurs who want to develop a leader’s mindset, on how to spread the right message to potential customers, as well as investors.

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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. As a good solution developer, it’s easy for you to see team members only as components of your business solution.

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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. Be proactive rather than reactive to market change.

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Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. It can also be very inspiring, as you watch your dream morph into reality, or as you feel each little element of success: Watch your team develop new skills.

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