Berkonomics

JUNE 1, 2023

Well, it’s a fair question. Note that none of these three famous innovators were inventors like Thomas Edison, but visionaries who see a new marketplace or niche or how to reach the mass market in ways not previously attempted. Innovation does not always equal invention. Leaders and companies that innovate new products, services and methods of delivery are the ones that stand out in a crowded business world, especially when attempting to gain recognition among the throngs of competitors visible

UCLA 156

UCLA Web Patents Entrepreneur 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

Based on my own career as a business owner and angel investor, in this age of change, I still see key successes and growth from the same team member work qualities. These haven’t changed much over the years, but still seem to be often overlooked by business professionals and leaders in their haste to keep up with peers, competitors, and customers in today’s volatile environment.

Startup 108

Startup Satisfaction Social Media Angel 108

Berkonomics

MAY 4, 2023

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. “My job as a (newspaper publisher telephone installer, stockbroker, travel agent, retail store manager) writer, poet, commercial artist – is safe as this economy continues to grow.” Yup. Thought so. We are in a decade of creative destruction that will affect most everybody. And the prime motivators of this massive destruction are the same class of entrepreneurs and innovators that have done it before.

Entrepreneur 296

Entrepreneur Class Education Coach 296

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. Often, despite your passion and expectation, customers don’t immediately see the value and need that you see, and you have no idea why the initiative is stuck , and what could be the real customer issue or fix.

Product 143

Product Services Case Study Customer 143

Advertiser: Aggregage

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

Company

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. But while competition remains fierce, the advancement and accessibility of smart solutions are making it easy than ever for startups to find their feet. Business tools — from customer relationship management ( CRM ) platforms to accounting software — help to save startups time and money by automating key processes and maximizing efficiency.

Startup 91

Startup Tool Pricing Software 91

AllTopStartups

MAY 8, 2023

As an employer, you have a responsibility to take care of your employees’ well-being. One way to do this is by offering dental coverage as part of your employee benefits… The post Don’t Be Stingy on Employee Health Benefits: Here’s Why You Should Cover Dental for Your Staff appeared first on AllTopStartups.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2023

In business, and in your personal life, the ability to anticipate and overcome criticism is one of the biggest differentiators between leaders, who make things happen, and followers, who may have great ideas but never seem to get things to go their way. In fact, leaders are not remembered for their dreams, aspirations, or intentions – they are remembered because they achieved results.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Mobile Case Study 140

Berkonomics

MAY 25, 2023

I love absolute statements. Pardon my English. But this is one of my favorite statements. You’re at the ignition stage of your newest business venture. Of course, you have a vision for what you will do to change the world. Let’s stress test that vision and sharpen it further to help ensure your success. Stress-testing your vision. First, if your vision is limited and you will be happy with a successful local dry-cleaning enterprise or small restaurant around the corner, you are not the target

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Email Course Customer 156

Berkonomics

MAY 18, 2023

Let’s create a use case. Most senior and middle level managers will understand when a subordinate comes to them to resign and begin a new business. But all will immediately question whether the new business will compete in any way with their enterprise and react to the future entrepreneur in either of two very distinct ways based upon those fears. Even more suspicious is the action of an employee who resigns suddenly without notice or explanation.

Company 156

Company Companies Entrepreneur Layoffs 156

Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2023

So, what do you think is more important? There may be more choices here. But the most important ones for any size business, including start-ups, is: Do you believe it should be the quality of your management team, or the plan you execute so brilliantly toward your success? Do you want a unanimous answer right away? Checking with professional investors from angels to VC’s, the answer appears to be near unanimous: the quality of the proposed or actual management team comes in a strong first before

Startup 156

Startup Entrepreneur Angel Statistics 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 27, 2023

Everyone who manages a company, a workgroup or a sales force wants to write as many new deals as possible and is usually wary about doing anything that might threaten the positive outcome of a pending sale. We hesitate to enforce our own rules. So, it is common practice to leave an offer containing a discount open, following up periodically to attempt to nudge a prospect into signing.

Sales 156

Sales Tool Customer Custom 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2023

Well, the numbers don’t lie, even if there are several sources of these statistics. Starting a company is HARD – in so many ways. And risky too. Let’s start with a restaurant -not our thing. But… I read several years ago that the average startup restaurant lasts only about a year. Ouch! Here I am a professional investor in early-stage companies, and I attempt to find those with the greatest chance of success and growth in value over time.

Startup 156

Startup Angel Statistics Invest 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 13, 2023

Here’s another one from my Dad, a very wise man. He gave me this advice right after I received my driver’s license years ago. It took years to understand the importance of this prophetic statement. Taking this advice literally: Gun shots, drunk drivers, mayhem, and even curfews qualify as just some of the things that could bite in the early morning.

Equity 156

Equity Coach Capital News 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 6, 2023

Some of you have gotten along forever without a board of directors, or used your spouse as the “other” board member from the start. But there are some very good reasons to build a great board composed of some outside members. And good board members can add real value to you and the company. Where to learn more… In other posts (and in our book, “Building Great Boards” – available on Amazon and other booksellers) we cover legal responsibilities of a board, how to pay boa

Company 156

Company Companies Ideas Competition 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2023

The days of leadership without engagement are gone. With interactive social media and video everywhere, everyone needs to feel they have a relationship with their leaders, and every brand needs leader personification for customers to relate. Soon you won’t be able to name a business as one of your favorites if you can’t personally visualize and relate to company leadership.

Customer 135

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Social Media 135

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2023

Most of the entrepreneurs and aggressive business owners I meet in my consulting practice are focused on finding new disruptive solutions and killing competitors as the key to success. If you are one of these, you may be missing win-win opportunities to incrementally expand existing markets, create new ones enabled by new technologies, or do good for society in this new age.

Capital 139

Capital Netflix Mentor Entrepreneur 139

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2023

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. In my view, this focus on the wrong skill set is the primary reason why over half of new businesses fail in the first five years, and only one out of a hundred startups get their requested funding from professional investors.

Entrepreneur 122

Entrepreneur Startup Funding Sales 122

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2023

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture you will love this message. More and more professionals agree that a better strategy is to explore and fine tune your assumptions before declaring a specific plan with financial projections based only on your dream and passion.

Startup 144

Startup Capital Entrepreneur Summary 144

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. The most common proposals I hear are for yet another social networking site ( 200 on Wikipedia ), or another dating site/app ( over 1500 in the USA ). Startups which display real innovation, such as alternative energy sources and new medical treatments, are still rare.

Startup 139

Startup Entrepreneur Coach Metrics 139

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2023

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Rather than quitting, there are always alternatives, like pivoting the business model or merging with new partners for support. Either could improve the statistic that half of startups fail within the first five years.

Startup 138

Startup Entrepreneur Social Media Mentor 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2023

One of the things I’ve learned in working with aspiring entrepreneurs is that managing and leading a team is a scary venture into the unknown for many people, even if they have worked as a business professional for years. Having worked in my own career on both sides of the fence at various times, I recommend that everyone practice thinking like the boss in every role to prepare.

Startup 118

Startup Entrepreneur Training Summary 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2023

Change is hard , in business as in your personal life. In my small business consultancy, I see this daily, per you owners and professionals struggling with the challenges of new markets and new competitors. Leading change is even harder, trying to balance the demands of the customers against the needs and expectations of employees. But you have to change to survive and thrive.

Satisfaction 132

Satisfaction IBM IBM Summary 132

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2023

As I work with aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals, I often hear about stress and disappointment from a great idea or innovation that failed for reasons that you don’t understand. When I dig deeper, I find that many of you are easily excited by a great new idea, but fail to diligently follow a validation process to test the limits of your thinking, before proceeding to rollout.

Ideas 122

Ideas Social Media Satisfaction Entrepreneur 122

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2023

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. They don’t realize that business projections with no third-party validation have no credibility with investors, and smart potential investors will walk away.

Statistics 122

Statistics Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup 122

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

Time is too precious to waste trying to close a deal with the wrong investors at the wrong time. Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup.

Funding 127

Funding Startup Angel Venture Capital 127

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2023

Every entrepreneur believes in their heart that their startup is more innovative and creative than their competitors. Yet none knows exactly where creativity comes from within, or how to pick and motivate the most creative people for the team. Most believe and follow one or more of the popular myths on business creativity, even though none of them have much scientific evidence.

Ideas 128

Ideas Startup Incubator Research 128

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2023

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. A question I get from time to time is “Can I ever expect any backing from my bank for a great opportunity?” The short answer is that some banks will help, if you do your homework.

Equity 123

Equity Funding Startup Outsource 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea. On the other hand, there are many additional creative options available for starting a business that you might not find for buying a car, home, or other major consumer item.

Startup 107

Startup Capital Equity Funding 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2023

The current surge of working remotely, driven by the pandemic and international freelancing, has challenged our thinking on collaboration and leadership, both within teams and outside, to other organizations. In my consulting work, I am finding this brings a need for more focus on the human side or empathetic leadership , rather than a reliance on the “ command and control ” paradigm.

Summary 115

Summary Startup Coach Metrics 115

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2023

As a business owner or key professional, your challenge is to keep up with and stay ahead of the rapid market change today, or lose your livelihood tomorrow. In my business consulting activities, I often get asked for help in looking ahead, and I well understand your primary day-to-day focus on setting repeatable processes and creating a stable environment for existing team members.

Tips 119

Tips Startup FAQ Social Media 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? After all, most great breakthroughs, like a computer in every home, seemed like a crazy idea before Steve Jobs and Bill Gates made it happen.

Ideas 110

Ideas Startup Patents Entrepreneur 110

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2023

Young entrepreneurs often are so excited by new technology or their latest invention that they forget to translate it into a value proposition that their customers or potential investors can understand and relate to. They become frustrated with investors, senior executives, and even customers who don’t seem to “get it,” with the result that everyone loses.

Startup 112

Startup Entrepreneur Social Network Technology 112

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2023

Many business leaders I meet in my consulting practice are frustrated by the challenge of getting their teams working together, increasing engagement, and tackling market change requirements. We all realize that the pace of change is increasing, and new global markets makes it critical that every team member is focused on the market, rather than internal battles and risk aversion.

Mentor 119

Mentor Coach Social Media Competition 119

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2023

As a business consultant and mentor to many young entrepreneurs, I often get questions about leadership challenges , and what you can do to solidify your leadership position and impact. It seems that today’s worker generation is more demanding, and less willing to accept guidance and direction from anyone with a leadership title. They want a role in every leadership decision.

Mentor 115

Mentor Demand Entrepreneur Startup 115

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2023

As I work with businesses who are struggling to restore staffing and recover after the pandemic, I see a new culture and a new generation of workers who have found strength in working remotely from their homes, and savoring their ability to survive on their own terms. Many business leaders are assuming this is only a temporary situation, but I’m convinced this model is the new norm.

Startup 116

Startup Layoffs Entrepreneur Class 116

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Services Patents 113