Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2021

Once you are able to achieve some real “traction” with your business (paying customers, revenue stream), it may seem the time to relax a bit, but in fact this is the point where many founders start to flounder. The key is to make decisions from data and feedback, once your business has real customers and real products.

Entrepreneur 169

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Mentor 169

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. Of course, listening alone isn't enough. This created a connection with both his team and customers.

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Mentor Social Media Coach Customer 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2023

That’s why I’m impressed with the classic book, “ All Dreams on Deck: Charting the Course for Your Life and Work ,” by Jeremy Cage. Ask for help from advisors and mentor your team. As you gather your team, recognize that they will need your help and coaching as well. Summon the courage stay optimistic, yet humble.

Ideas 105

Ideas Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 105

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.

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Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

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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Customer Custom Coach Organization 110

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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Activity Organization Mentor Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Yet I find in my mentoring practice that more and more team members prefer the human-centered approach and respond with more engagement and commitment. You must give them a strong sense of self-efficacy by championing autonomy, encouraging them to think big, and coaching them on areas to improve. Demonstrate the courage to take risks.

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Case Study Study Startup Examples 112

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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Product Training Customer Custom 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

With some coaching and mentoring from other leaders, I was able to do it myself, so I know you can do it too, by committing to the following strategies: Train yourself to always look for positives, not negatives. Of course, most professionals are optimistic, so they tend to over-commit and underestimate work requirements.

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Coach Training Satisfaction Mentor 137

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. I often think of the scope of this example in my role as mentor to a struggling entrepreneur who is quick to blame his problems on employee mistakes, or even changing customer expectations.

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Training Examples Startup Social Media 173

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2020

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. Of course, they may be out of money as well, but that is often more of an “excuse” than a reason. So why do most startups fail?

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Entrepreneur Startup Statistics Course 121

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Of course, as you work with contract players, explore the potential for a long-term relationship, and wait until your organization matures to pursue career positions. 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

APRIL 22, 2019

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Of course, some balance is required. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. In the end, engagement drives customer retention, sales, growth and profit.

Coach 94

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 94

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

And that person has almost certainly chosen specifically to be a startup lawyer over serving other types of customers because he or she enjoys working with entrepreneurs. And speaking of coaching, if you haven’t read Googled by Ken Auletta you should. EXECUTIVE COACHES. It’s a great read. No exceptions.”

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Startup Venture Capital Coach Press 363

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2022

Of course, finding personal meaning also requires effort on the part of your employees. You must take the initiative to talk to customers, suppliers, other employees, and understand the process. They help people see how their individual roles link to and support that purpose, and how the work aligns with their own personal values.

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Framework Organization IBM IBM 127

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2020

That’s why I’m impressed with the classic book, “ All Dreams on Deck: Charting the Course for Your Life and Work ,” by Jeremy Cage. Ask for help from advisors and mentor your team. As you gather your team, recognize that they will need your help and coaching as well. Summon the courage stay optimistic, yet humble.

Startup 117

Startup Entrepreneur Social Media Coach 117

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2019

I loved it when my boss gave me the additional responsibility of mentoring others in solving tough problems. Attempting to make a job more challenging, as well as to improve productivity, managers may sometimes ask for higher outputs, such as 15 customer support calls per hour rather than 10. Focus on role enrichment, not more work.

Tips 96

Tips Satisfaction Training Mentor 96

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. Of course, some balance is required. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. In the end, engagement drives customer retention, sales, growth and profit.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

The creators of the renowned StartupWeekend — a place where random ad hoc teams work frantically for 54 hours to build a demo of a new business and then complete for fame and fortune — have picked up where StartupWeekend left off and have birthed a new course for entrepreneurs who need to level up called StartupWeekend Next.

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Class Mentor Startup UCLA 98

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2019

Of course, everyone thinks they know what it takes to make a great leader, and many books have been written about the subject. In this context, I was impressed with the new book, “ The Intelligent Leader ,” by John Mattone, widely regarded as the world’s number one executive coach and authority. As a mindset, it’s a way of life.

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Course Coach Mentor Training 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2017

You may think you need more entrepreneurial courses in school, or more advanced degrees, but in my experience it’s more of a mindset, some good coaching, and learning by doing that separates the winners from the losers. You learn as much as a coach as the student. It’s a win-win opportunity.

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Coach Entrepreneur Ideas Class 80

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2015

Does it mean the right thing from a customer perspective, societal impact, maximizing business returns or personal benefit? Another article indicates that 80 percent of customers continue to base some portion of their buying decisions on their perceptions of the company’s ethics. Be a coach, rather than a dictator.

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Entrepreneur Training Demand Customer 102

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2010

In billing we literally started thinking about all of the types of bills that would be generated for customers: full payment, partial payment, split payment, senior discount, student discount, level pay plan, etc. The wisest mentor I ever had was Ameet Shah , my partner on several projects. I started by doing billing systems.

Entrepreneur 372

Entrepreneur Startup Design Framework 372

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. And because I wanted Ethan to be able to attract a great team, build & iterate a product, test it with initial customers and refine his strategy before having to take the wrappers off of his company. The company was called Red Beacon. So there you have it.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

These days, with the many Internet articles and new courses available, most new professionals readily cross the gap from lack of business knowledge to knowing, but many never make it over the knowing versus doing gap. by Erica Peitler, a well-known leadership performance coach. Don’t let the memory of past actions limit thinking.

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Develop Development Coach Metrics 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2018

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. Of course, they may be out of money as well, but that is often more of an “excuse” than a reason. So why do most startups fail?

Startup 56

Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Course 56

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2014

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. Of course, they may be out of money as well, but that is often more of an “excuse” than a reason. So why do most startups fail?

Startup 110

Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Course 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

These days, with the many Internet articles and new courses available, most new entrepreneurs readily cross the gap from lack of business knowledge to knowing, but many never make it over the knowing versus doing gap. by Erica Peitler, a well-known leadership performance coach. Don’t let the memory of past actions limit thinking.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2012

Solicit coaching and mentoring. Through such efforts, entrepreneurs who actively pursue feedback from their team and their customers are on the road to success. The final step is to vicariously or directly experience a leadership moment of a mentor or peer. Endure extremely stressful leadership moments.

Study 94

Study Startup Activity Mentor 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

Of course I’m not preaching crazy, irrational spend or having Kid Rock at your next company party. You can do them all yourself, of course. You’re the coach, mentor, cheerleader. And while this might sound to the inexperienced person like a sensible idea – it is not. But at what cost?

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2017

In my experience, and from the thoughts of others who have “been there and done that,” here is my list of the top elements you should be looking for: Focused on customers and team, rather than “me, myself, and I.” These will provide the competitive edge you need with customers and less-focused team members. Never makes excuses.

Funding 55

Funding Satisfaction Customer Custom 55

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

As an advisor and mentor for many startups and small business founders, following my initial career in big business, I realize that the key strategies to achieve success in small businesses are often different from those that make larger businesses successful. Find a coach who has a holistic view of all elements.

Sales 69

Sales Organization Entrepreneur Examples 69

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Once you are able to achieve some real “traction” with your business (paying customers, revenue stream), it may seem the time to relax a bit, but in fact this is the point where many founders start to flounder. The key is to make decisions from data and feedback, once your business has real customers and real products.

Startup 94

Startup Entrepreneur Coach Mentor 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2016

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. Of course, they may be out of money as well, but that is often more of an “excuse” than a reason. So why do most startups fail?

Startup 58

Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Course 58

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic. So we first turned to solve the question of how to better meet the needs of our growing customer base of large brands and media companies.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2017

In my years of mentoring and advising business leaders, I find that real planning for the future always gets the short shrift. The command and control leadership of the past is proving to be too inflexible, devoid of values, and not empathic to people issues – customers, employees, and partners.

Company 55

Company Companies Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 55

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

That’s why I’m impressed with a new book, “ All Dreams on Deck: Charting the Course for Your Life and Work ,” by Jeremy Cage. Ask for help from advisors and mentor your team. As you gather your team, recognize that they will need your help and coaching as well. Summon the courage stay optimistic, yet humble.

Startup 63

Startup Entrepreneur Social Media Coach 63