Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Most of you business professionals that I know have at least thought about or talked about starting their own business, to get more control, make more money, or to get more satisfaction out of their life. As a mentor to young aspiring entrepreneurs , I often get asked for tips on a strategy to get started.

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Startup Tips Coach Satisfaction 114

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

One of the most stressful and unanticipated challenges that comes with starting a new business is hiring and managing employees. While this approach appears to cost more on the surface, it often actually costs you less, when you consider the hidden costs of rework, poor customer satisfaction, employee management, and training required.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

As with most investors and advisors, I always look first at some key personal characteristics and leadership strategies that I find often make you a more likely survivor and winner in the highly competitive world of businesses, both new and mature. In my view, too many businesses fail, simply because founders give up too early.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Ironically, as a startup investor and mentor, I have seen too many failures caused by just the opposite – too much money spent too soon, taking time to get product perfection, and assuming customers will wait. How many times have you actually made up work to keep an idle person busy? It’s still a hard road to success.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Utilize outside expertise and mentoring. No matter how much energy, experience, and passion you have, there is always more you can learn from an Advisory Board of external experts or a mentor. Track competition to stay ahead of copycats. Track competition to stay ahead of copycats.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

After many years working in business and investing in startups, I’m convinced that the primary reason for new business and career failures is NOT a lack of skill or money, but people giving up too quickly on their dreams and goals. He went on to start many successful companies, including General Electric.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2021

By definition, all of you entrepreneurs are leaders, by taking the initiative to start a new company. Yet I have learned over the years as a startup advisor that all business leaders are not the same. You generally don’t fix things by throwing them away and starting over. The time to get started is now.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2022

In my years of mentoring entrepreneurs, a problem I have seen too often is low self-esteem, and over-compensating through arrogance and ego. As a team member, low self-esteem leads to low confidence, poor productivity, and no job satisfaction. Identify and redirect unhealthy competition and comparisons.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2020

Similarly, it will be very satisfying to see the productivity increases from your leadership and mentoring. New business models that provide an ongoing revenue stream, or a secondary stream from advertising, raise your margins and can give you some additional satisfaction. Watch that patent provide a real barrier to competitive entry.

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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. Discourage internal team competition and silos. Look for opportunities to highlight individual strengths.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2022

In my role of business advisor to startups, I often recommend these to increase initial brand identity and market penetration. With the rate of market change today, and the advent of worldwide competitors, you need every strategy you can muster to keep up, and respond quickly to new threats.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

In my years of mentoring entrepreneurs, a problem I have seen too often is low self-esteem, and over-compensating through arrogance and ego. As a team member, low self-esteem leads to low confidence, poor productivity, and no job satisfaction. Identify and redirect unhealthy competition and comparisons.

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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. Find other situations that led to success, or explain why the environment, competition, or opportunity has changed to reduce the risk of failure.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2020

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2010

Due in large part to the current economy and an ultra-competitive job market, a Gen-Y entrepreneurial tsunami is already upon us. And today, more than 2,000 colleges and universities offer entrepreneurship courses – up from the just 70 schools that Boomers and Gen-X had to choose from in 1970. Experience vs. Escape.

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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. People-centric leaders realize that the right motivated and accountable people are their real competitive advantage.

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Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2021

In my role as mentor to business professionals, I often get the question about your potential of going out on your own as an entrepreneur, versus your current role of working for a boss at an established company. If you enjoy wearing many different hats and are constantly learning new skills, you will get more satisfaction as an entrepreneur.

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Entrepreneur Satisfaction Ideas Social Media 158

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

I’ve always wondered if there was some way that I could quickly deduce a new entrepreneur’s “sweet spot,” and optimize my mentoring to those strengths and weaknesses, maybe similar to the Myers-Briggs type indicator for business professionals. The Builder loves building a business from the ground up. Some are very positive.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2021

As a mentor, I’m regularly frustrated by people who try to cover their lack of confidence with ego and arrogance , rather than working on the base issue. Show that others are an inspiration, not competition. Confidence and self-esteem are critical to your success as an entrepreneur, or any business role.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2018

Most entrepreneurs see their new venture as a fun adventure, until the pressures of a cash flow crisis, or a manufacturing quality problem, or a major customer satisfaction problem hits. Even with all my years of experience mentoring in business, I can’t predict how you will prepare for and react to pressure situations.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2020

In today’s fast moving world of business startups, learning trumps knowing every time. With my focus on startups, I can translate very easily how her points lead to more innovation even in the entrepreneurial environment: Maintain an unencumbered mind. Progress on the learning curve is their satisfaction. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2022

You will then experience satisfaction, instead of increased pressure. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and courteously explain to bosses or colleagues why certain requests or expectations may be unreasonable. Set aside time to seek out experts in your field for ideas, as well as mentoring and coaching.

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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. Leadership in business starts with making good personal choices. If necessary, use a strengths coach, and always start a business which highlights your signature strengths.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2016

Similarly, it will be very satisfying to see the productivity increases from your leadership and mentoring. New business models that provide an ongoing revenue stream, or a secondary stream from advertising, raise your margins and can give you some additional satisfaction. Watch that patent provide a real barrier to competitive entry.

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Satisfaction Startup Customer Custom 61

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2023

They are rightly thinking about a strategy to be better prepared for future challenges , recognizing that more are coming in this age of accelerating change and global competition. I’m always on the lookout for more practical insights and guidance to get started. Start by creating and sharing the big picture.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2022

As you look forward from where you are today, I recommend that each of you consider the following points that the authors and I all agree are key to your satisfaction, as well as your success in business: You love solution creation more than managing business. No one else can do the solution delivery like you can.

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Satisfaction Training Customer Custom 92

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

According to a recent poll , contractors and freelancers could make up half of the American workforce within a decade. Here are some key strategies that I recommend to every worker today: Develop and highlight your competitive differentiation. Start today thinking at least one job ahead.

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Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2018

In today’s fast moving world of business startups, learning trumps knowing every time. With my focus on startups, I can translate very easily how her points lead to more innovation even in the entrepreneurial environment: Maintain an unencumbered mind. Progress on the learning curve is their satisfaction. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction Ideas 51

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2019

I’m convinced that is why many great business leaders remember working their way up the ranks. For example, Howard Schultz was not the founder of Starbucks, but started his career in one of their first 60 shops. This starts with picking your roles carefully – to be in the right place at the right time.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2019

Image via Wikipedia The challenge for all of us in business is to improve competitiveness by improving employee productivity and reducing costs. Unfortunately, work and satisfaction have become an oxymoron in many businesses. I loved it when my boss gave me the additional responsibility of mentoring others in solving tough problems.

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Tips Satisfaction Training Mentor 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

In big business, as well as startups, I have found that your effectiveness can be highly correlated to your ability to build and maintain people relationships, often more so than hard work, or how many hours you give. But, like most other skills, you can learn from these priorities: Everyone benefits from active mentoring.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2016

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first.

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Startup Examples Mentor Activity 58

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2015

In my years of mentoring entrepreneurs, a problem I have seen too often is low self-esteem, and over-compensating through arrogance and ego. As a team member, low self-esteem leads to low confidence, poor productivity, and no job satisfaction. Identify and redirect unhealthy competition and comparisons.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Satisfaction Competition 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2015

Similarly, it will be very satisfying to see the productivity increases from your leadership and mentoring. New business models that provide an ongoing revenue stream, or a secondary stream from advertising, raise your margins and can give you some additional satisfaction. Watch that patent provide a real barrier to competitive entry.

Satisfaction 101

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Customer Custom 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

They are not having the impact they expected, and they are not feeling the personal satisfaction they need for next level motivation. This is a tough challenge for every coach and mentor. Embrace the real you as your competitive advantage. Accept the fact that authenticity is necessary for leadership effectiveness.

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Entrepreneur Satisfaction Coach Mentor 90

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2012

But very quickly, it is becoming obvious to startups that the value and satisfaction exceeds the costs. To legally facilitate startups who want to give top priority to socially conscious solutions, eleven states, including New York and California, have passed legislation allowing incorporation as a Benefit Corporation (B-Corp).

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