Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2021

I’m often surprised when you as an aspiring entrepreneur, looking for investors, tell me your solution is so innovative that you don’t have to worry about differentiating it from competitors, and customers will flock to it without a real marketing campaign. Focus your marketing on real customer value. I now use them exclusively.

Social Media 134

Social Media Case Study Customer Custom 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2022

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with studying and learning from the wisdom and experience of others. Social Media. I wish it was that easy. Gamification.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity. She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. But Tracy did what entrepreneurs do. Tracy studied SEOMoz and several other online sources of SEO tips. Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe that a great idea alone will assure business success. Yet in this age when customers have a thousand alternatives, and are overwhelmed by a multitude of messages, sales efforts can make or break a business. You can either find customers for your solution or you can find solutions for your customers.

Sales 106

Sales Entrepreneur Customer Custom 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2015

Aspiring entrepreneurs who rely only on traditional learning vehicles (teachers, classrooms, and risk-free practice) are doomed to failure in founding a startup today. Either they are never really ready to start, study an opportunity until it has passed, or fail with tools and techniques from a bygone business era.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Education 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2022

Per a recent study by networking giant Cisco , the world’s yearly mobile data traffic has grown 17-fold over the past 5 years, reaching 11.5 Virtual living: the rise and growing dominance of social media. This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Big data is mining the storage for knowledge.

Startup 126

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2020

Aspiring entrepreneurs who rely only on traditional learning vehicles (teachers, classrooms, and risk-free practice) are doomed to failure in anticipating change today. Either they are never really ready to commit, study an opportunity until it has passed, or fail with tools and techniques from a bygone business era.

Social Media 127

Social Media Startup Education Entrepreneur 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2023

In this age of interactive social media, your culture image quickly spreads to customers, and determines their loyalty. Everyone knows and admires the leaders , including Google and Zappos, but most entrepreneurs have only a fuzzy idea of what to do to get there. He says trust is the key to a good culture.

Claremont 101

Claremont Mentor Study Startup 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. I often hear entrepreneurs who seem to rely wholly on their own passion, and the view of a few friends.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Technical Review Software Review 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2014

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are in the forefront of these trends, on both the customer trends and the employee trends.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Yammer 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2020

According to studies , the alternative of acquiring new customers still costs you five to seven times more than retaining existing ones. But customers today are fickle, instantly aware of every new alternative, due to the Internet and social media, and not afraid to change.

Customer 136

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 136

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2013

First of all, it’s now international, so you have startups from every country in the world competing for your customer’s attention and their business. Then there is the Internet, delivered through every media, including your smart phone, where the volume of data spewing out is like a new Library of Congress every 15 minutes.

Platform 105

Platform Entrepreneur Startup Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

One of the reasons it’s so tough is that the rules are constantly changing on what it takes to win over customers, as customer attitudes and cultures change, and competitors continually strive to “raise the bar” on product and support. Existing customers can’t envision a new concept, or new behaviors.

Company 152

Company Companies Startup Customer 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2016

For too many small businesses, customer service is still seen as a “burden.” Entrepreneurs don’t realize that this burden is actually costing them over $200 billion in repeat sales, according to a recent study by the W. These days, relationships and online reviews are key drivers for over 80 percent of new customers.

Customer 56

Customer Custom Startup Satisfaction 56

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

In this age of interactive social media, your culture image quickly spreads to customers, and determines their loyalty. Everyone knows and admires the leaders , including Google and Zappos, but most entrepreneurs have only a fuzzy idea of what to do to get there. He says trust is the key to a good culture.

Claremont 172

Claremont Mentor Study Startup 172

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2013

When my friend’s small business was struggling a while back, I suggested he add some social media marketing initiatives, and his answer was that he was “too busy.” According to a study of 1700 CEOs last year, only 60% of companies today use social media for marketing, and only 12% of those feel that they are using it effectively.

Social Media 106

Social Media Media Startup Social Network 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2021

If you define your self-worth as an entrepreneur by how busy you are, it’s time to find another lifestyle. For survival, entrepreneurs need to be all about accomplishing results that matter for themselves, their team, and their customers. We all know people who are extraordinarily busy, but never seem to accomplish anything.

Framework 153

Framework Product Entrepreneur Social Media 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2014

Certainly, I’m not recommending just one more Facebook, with a couple of features from Twitter, since social media has an unlimited potential for innovation. According to a recent Harvard Research study, first-time inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators.

Technology 103

Technology Entrepreneur Study Research 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2015

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are in the forefront of these trends, on both the customer trends and the employee trends.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Yammer Case Study Study 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2015

If you define your self-worth as an entrepreneur by how busy you are, it’s time to find another lifestyle. For survival, entrepreneurs need to be all about accomplishing results that matter for themselves, their team, and their customers. We all know people who are extraordinarily busy, but never seem to accomplish anything.

Product 111

Product Entrepreneur Framework Social Media 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2016

Many entrepreneurs assume that everyone will love their solution as much as they do, so they tune their marketing focus based on their own needs and wants. That’s the right place to start, but real growth and scale requires attracting customers who are not like you. Update your technology to reach new customer segments.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2016

Aspiring entrepreneurs who rely only on traditional learning vehicles (teachers, classrooms, and risk-free practice) are doomed to failure in anticipating change today. Either they are never really ready to commit, study an opportunity until it has passed, or fail with tools and techniques from a bygone business era.

Entrepreneur 61

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Education 61

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

This might be the recognition that competitors are surpassing your own results, financial growth has disappeared, or the pandemic has eliminated loyal customers. Keep an open channel to customers and influencers. It’s hard to find time to really study the market for new trends, and listen to customers.

Customer 126

Customer Custom Activity Study 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2021

Startups are the corporations of the future, so I have long believed that entrepreneurs who study existing corporate models, rather than ignoring them with disdain, will likely profit from the exercise. These are all huge challenges, as well as huge opportunities, for entrepreneurs. Stakeholder power. Demographic shifts.

Marketing 135

Marketing Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 135

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2022

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are leading the way in these trends, on both the customer and the employee side.

Case Study 125

Case Study Platform Yahoo Social Media 125

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2022

As an advisor to entrepreneurs and a technologist, I’m happy to report that the tide may be turning, and we are experiencing a new era of opportunity for entrepreneurs, and a new appreciation of the power of the digital world. Google scores high for tools, location, and social media data sharing, but not for biometric data.

Social Media 107

Social Media Tool Google Yahoo 107

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2013

Startups are the corporations of the future, so I have long believed that entrepreneurs who study existing corporate models, rather than ignoring them with disdain, will likely profit from the exercise. These are all huge challenges, as well as huge opportunities, for entrepreneurs. Stakeholder power. Demographic shifts.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Study 103

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Every entrepreneur and business leader I know realizes that it takes a dedicated team to build and run a successful business, and nurturing that team is one of your most important priorities. by Donna Cutting, who is a globally-recognized guru on employee culture and optimizing customer service. Emotional stability.

Technical Review 141

Technical Review Mentor Social Media Customer 141

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2011

Every startup needs to understand that the customer paradigm has dramatically shifted over the past two years with pervasive social networks and smartphones. If your business doesn’t connect with your customers, individually and as a community, demanding customers will not only ignore you, but will actively keep other customers away.

Customer 91

Customer Custom Startup Networking 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2013

An entrepreneur has to engage with team members, partners, investors, vendors, and customers. I will talk here primarily about building the internal team of a startup, but the same principles apply outside to your “extended team” and customers. entrepreneur startup team engagement actions business' Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Satisfaction 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2016

If you define your self-worth as an entrepreneur by how busy you are, it’s time to find another lifestyle. For survival, entrepreneurs need to be all about accomplishing results that matter for themselves, their team, and their customers. We all know people who are extraordinarily busy, but never seem to accomplish anything.

Product 60

Product Entrepreneur Framework Social Media 60

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

As of today, I will have published an article here for entrepreneurs and startups every day for the last 1001 days, since I started Startup Professionals Musings near the close of 2008. Here are ten key messages that I would like to leave you with: I continue to gain respect for entrepreneurs. I’m sure you know what I mean.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Blogging Social Media 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with studying and learning from the wisdom and experience of others. Social Media. I wish it was that easy. Gamification.

Technology 86

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 86

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are leading the way in these trends, on both the customer and the employee side.

Competition 127

Competition Case Study Platform Yahoo 127

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2019

Per the latest study by networking giant Cisco , the world’s yearly mobile data traffic has grown 17-fold over the past 5 years, reaching 11.5 Virtual living: the rise and growing dominance of social media. This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Big data is mining the storage for knowledge.

Technology 97

Technology Social Media Startup Entertainment 97

InfoChachkie

MAY 20, 2013

According to Tige Young, Founder and CEO of Tui Tai Expeditions , entrepreneurs should de-emphasize ROI and focus on a more accurate measure of wealth, Return On Life. I became acquainted with Tige, when I was researching examples of exemplary online customer service. Being an entrepreneur) can be a really good thing for ROL.

Entrepreneur 235

Entrepreneur Startup Software Engineering Technical Review 235

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 24, 2011

There has recently been a common theme among the entrepreneurs I have interviewed and the conferences I have attended: despite the relatively weak state of the world economy, now is a great time to create a high-tech startup. Marketing is free or cheap because of social media. At the end of the period studied, 94.5%

Company 257

Company Companies Startup Study 257