Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

Image via Pixabay As a mentor to many small business owners, I always caution them that you can never relax completely, just because your initial solution or product set appears to be getting traction, and the market buzz is positive. Document processes and metrics for economies of scale.

Metrics 86

Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2020

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. Now the experiments are over, and high productivity is the objective.

Startup 125

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 125

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Most are not event addressing it, and even in the instances they are, the typical format is to have a specialist come in for a workshop, to train just small percentage of an organization. Michele Ruiz: Robin Richards and I formed the company, after he approached me, after having been a business mentor for me for fifteen years.

Content 150

Content Training Education Outsource Development 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

By being proactive, and empowering and rewarding your frontline employees for improving processes, you will enhance your business productivity and growth in both the short term as well as the long term. Attract, train, and reward only the best leaders. Build and model a high-performance culture.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

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. Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). Lack of communication.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Resource Training Product 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2019

Real business leadership requires continuous improvement, just like your products and processes. Based on my own experience in large and small businesses, as well as mentoring entrepreneurs, here is my list of behaviors which will keep you ahead of the pack: Focus on managing relationships more than tasks.

Tips 97

Tips Mentor Coach Metrics 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2015

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. Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). Lack of communication.

Resource 105

Resource Startup Entrepreneur Training 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2018

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. Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). Lack of communication.

Resource 52

Resource Training Entrepreneur Activity 52

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

You need to communicate quantified and updates goals quarterly, including the metrics to assess progress and success. The best companies have found that it’s important to constantly prepare team members for moving to the next level, through mentoring and training, rather than trying to keep them in their current role.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

Don’t hesitate to call in an experienced advisor or mentor to help. Make sure there are metrics for problem counts, resolution time and revenue impact. Usually it pays to dig deeper on lost sales opportunities and negative customer reviews to resolve a deep-seated product deficiency or delivery channel issue.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction Metrics 100

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

The fitness professional network develops business tools that make it easier for fitness professionals to run their businesses and keep their clients engaged between training sessions. We knew there’s a better personal training experience to be had, so we set out to create one. We just found this hole in the fitness industry.

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2019

Too many employees expect a raise or promotion before they accept new responsibility, rather than demonstrating their value, getting training and experience first. Highlight your productivity and efficiency rather than workload. Help your owner get beyond the misleading metrics of employee overtime and salary increases.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Startup Satisfaction Customer 75

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2017

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. It’s the same for customers and products, where analytics have long proven their value.

Tool 53

Tool Entrepreneur Statistics Metrics 53

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2016

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. Now the experiments are over, and high productivity is the objective.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Training Organization Examples 55

socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2016

Clayton Lewis: What is interesting, is if you can find companies in any of the four sectors, it's rare to find those who look at the human product as you are, which is a system. In today's world, people are lonely, and they are really looking for someone to mentor them, to guide them, to hold them accountable.

Coach 100

Coach Startup Study Venture Capital 100

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.

Activity 109

Activity Organization Mentor Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2019

Your role is to provide mentoring and support as required. Annual bonuses tied to production metrics are nice, but these will not generate the long-term trust and loyalty you need to set the culture. Provide training and mentoring directed at career growth. It also means listening and following-up on feedback.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Mentor Training 92