Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. Direct customer-facing non-technical roles should be the last ones outsourced.

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Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2021

He later closed more than 8,000 of his stores for a day to provide employee racial-bias training. 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

OCTOBER 6, 2019

While thinking about it, I realized that it’s really not that different from the toughness required and trained into America’s elite military force of Navy SEALs, who are known to be cool under fire, able to sense danger before it’s too late, and never give up on achieving their objective.

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Training Startup Entrepreneur Mentor 87

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2009

hiring / training / motivating staff, setting up sales compensation programs, implement ing and enforcing a sales policy) are not consistent with the skills you need in your company at this stage. He felt that we didn’t price correctly and he didn’t want to see customers until he had a grip on it. WTF!! ?? !!

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Even the simplest of new technologies, such as Zoom for remote meetings, can be a detriment to work satisfaction if workers are not trained on how to use it effectively, causing video and sound problems, as well as background distractions. Spend more time mentoring and coaching your team. Giving orders and assignments is not coaching.

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Tips Satisfaction Coach Mentor 159

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

We have about 8500 customers there, but only a small percentage have built great communities that took off, and the rest floundered. That's why we built FanMix, to solve our own problem, and help our SocialEngine customers to promote their own sites. We have some great mentors now. After TechStars, how did you end up in LA?

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Startup CTO Coach Blogging Social Media 242

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Freelancers and consultants have to demonstrate results, without training and mentoring, so they can help you more quickly and probably at a lower total cost. Full-time employees require considerable overhead for facilities, training, severance, and benefits for performance. Prioritize demonstrated execution versus potential.

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Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. There is more and more evidence that a more human-centered or heart-centered leadership yields the best results with your team and with customers in the long run.

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Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 142

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2021

It can come from experience, or from training in a prior company, and it can even be self-taught from the Internet by smart entrepreneurs, just like they learned the skill of establishing a company, negotiating a contract, or filing a patent. It means not only hiring, but training and measuring performance. Focus on high productivity.

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Startup Organization Training Outsource Development 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2023

Customer service has traditionally been focused on the resolution of complaints , primarily after a transaction. My recommendations always include adopting a customer mindset, as well as the following steps: Accept today’s definition of relevant customer support. Treat every customer exceptionally before they complain.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

In my own business career, many years as a business advisor, and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I have validated the following strategies to practice and guide you. A broken process or a subtle quality issue can generate a flood of customer satisfaction problems, cost overruns, and loss of market share.

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Satisfaction Mentor Study Startup 152

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

Objection Handling training. Your job is to challenge his thinking because you’ve been spending the last few years in front of customers, competitors, partners and investors and you should have a more intuitive sense of the future. You’re the coach, mentor, cheerleader. And then there is the C round.

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Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Yet I find, as a mentor and outside consultant, that many of you focus only on working conditions and compensation as the key factors determining team engagement , health, and productivity. by Donna Cutting, who is a globally-recognized guru on employee culture and optimizing customer service. Emotional stability. Environmental safety.

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Technical Review Mentor Social Media Customer 141

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2022

You may focus only on Facebook, and missing customers who expect to see you on Instagram and YouTube. Get interactive with online users and customer feedback. Publishing your content is positive, but responding to customers online multiplies your impact. Sponsor customer events for visibility and giveaways.

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Marketing Social Media Mentor Conference 119

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

OCTOBER 23, 2015

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked what you can do to build the right culture. Customize your organizational structure based on individuals' strengths. Mentoring and training programs need to be put in place early. Comparisons should always be with competitors and customer expectations of excellence.

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Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Training 102

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. Good hiring, training, and mentoring are the best motivators. Investors have long agreed that you invest in the team, more than the product. Start today.

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Examples Mentor Activity Product 145

socalTECH

OCTOBER 26, 2015

We have about 350, nationally certified, trainers on the platform, all vetted internally by us, and by our mentor network. The flat rate includes use of those locations during training sessions. We offer six different genres of fitness: Crossfit, strength training, Pilates, boxing, yoga, and stretching.

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Training Startup Orange County Malibu 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2010

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Friends tell you what you want to hear.

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Mentor Coach Entrepreneur Ideas 49

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

The NSF determined eight to ten years ago that the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants they were funding to academic teams, to commercialize technology, they were losing, because not many academics had the background to understand how to go out and source customers, and did not know how to run a startup.

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Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2021

After the hire comes mentoring and continuous training as the key to engagement. Your company’s success is dependent on your customer’s happiness, which is set primarily by engaged employees. Today, every company needs a value-driven culture that is shared by employees, customers, and shareholders.

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Mentor Startup Training Resource 155

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

If you aren’t yet adapting to the market and your customers, you are falling behind. I define business agility for my consulting clients as the ability to change your business rapidly to meet customer and environmental changes, with minimal organizational disruption and cost. Be proactive rather than reactive to market change.

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Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. You now need more than loyalty from your customers -- they need to be your best advocates. The days of pushing new and marginal performers into customer service are gone. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

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Custom Customer Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. People-centric leaders drive ownership and engagement down to their customer-facing team members.

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Coach Mentor Organization Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2021

The bad news is we have to think like a business, with all the implications of branding, finding customers, and competitors. She speaks from years of experience mentoring and facilitating independent contractors and helping large companies, since well before the term “gig economy” was even coined.

Pricing 149

Pricing Mentor Entrepreneur News 149

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2019

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. There is more and more evidence that a more human-centered or heart-centered leadership yields the best results with your team and with customers in the long run.

Training 123

Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2022

That means making sure the right people are hired, trained, and in the right place at the right time. Growing the company means growing people through mentoring and training. In addition the best of both groups maintain a focus on customers, love to learn new things, and are always thinking.

Startup 137

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 137

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2015

The authors found these to be achievable through self-training and practice, rather than requiring a genetic endowment. High scoring leaders seek and positively respond to feedback from three critical groups: peers, customers, and direct reporting team members. Find and enjoy the company of one or more mentors.

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Mentor Ideas Entrepreneur Study 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2014

In that sense, you should think of an advisor more like your mentor who has done all he can. A good mentor will have some knowledge and some perspective on almost every business subject, which compounds their effectiveness. An advisor knows what to look for, and sees what your customers see. You always need the friend.

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Mentor Coach Tips Entrepreneur 104

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2019

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” You have to enjoy working with people -- partners, customers, investors and more -- as well as products to start a business. Yet startup founders are often lonely, since no one else can make their decisions.

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Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 135

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

I recall a good summary of how to motivate and train a team to accomplish this in the classic book, “ The Business of Creativity: How to Build the Right Team for Success ,” by Keith Granet. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing.

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Marketing Development Develop Startup 130

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. Good hiring, training, and mentoring are the best motivators. Investors have long agreed that you invest in the team, more than the product. Start today.

Product 129

Product Examples Mentor Activity 129

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. Every entrepreneur needs to leverage social media for better marketing, requirements, and customer service. I wish it was that easy. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

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Technology Cloud Computing Social Media SaaS 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2019

I found many more helpful suggestions in a new book, “ The Culture Question ,” by Randy Grieser, Eric Stutzman, Wendy Loewen, and Michael Labun, who have spent years providing leadership and professional development training to companies around the world. Proactively provide support and training.

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Tips Satisfaction Training Mentor 96

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2020

Based on my experience and a business advisor and mentor, this is the ideal time to get back to the basics of business leadership and innovation. Provide the resources and training to get the job done. Be sure to tie changes back to the “why” – customer value, business objectives, and competition.

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Mentor Ideas Competition Examples 122

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. Build an organizational culture based on ethics.

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Entrepreneur Training Demand Customer 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2020

As a mentor to startups, I see more startups that are really an individual professional, marketing themselves as a consultant or freelancer in this new gig economy. For existing trained professionals, it’s an opportunity to become an entrepreneur. Thus smart business professionals are rapidly becoming the new entrepreneurs.

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Startup Social Media Course Entrepreneur 164