Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

In my role as business advisor, I’m hearing more and more about workers who seem to be doing less and demanding more. Top performers want to know how to stand out, and business leaders need to know how to better recognize and mentor aspiring superstars before they burn out, or move on to new opportunities.

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Demand Mentor Startup Coach 123

socalTECH

OCTOBER 26, 2015

Los Angeles is the capital of on-demand apps, for just about anything you want. One of those areas that combines LA's passion for on-demand apps, and its active lifestyle, is Fitspot (www.fitspotapp.com), which brings athletic trainers to you or your local fitness center. How did you start the company? What is Fitspot?

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Training Startup Orange County Malibu 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

If you find yourself being surprised by new competitor offerings and customer demands, then perhaps you are not paying attention. Start small and move quickly to test new approaches that can be scaled up later, with an understanding that some will fail. Demand and reward speedy analysis and execution.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

As a business advisor and investor in new startups, I see how difficult it is to make any process work, no matter how well designed, if the team is dysfunctional. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. Priority is placed on employee mentoring and coaching.

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Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2014

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. Great leaders learn to listen actively to conversations, so people don’t hold up progress just to be understood. Disruptive office politics start to show. entrepreneur startup'

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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. Great leaders learn to listen actively to conversations, so people don’t hold up progress just to be understood. Disruptive office politics start to show.

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Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2023

Great leaders provide opportunities and personal growth assignments that go far beyond conventional training programs. They mentor protégés on talent spotting, creativity, and motivation as well as strategy. The best business leaders never wait until a position opens up to start searching for talent to fill it.

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Oracle Organization Examples Coach 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2015

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. Great leaders learn to listen actively to conversations, so people don’t hold up progress just to be understood. Disruptive office politics start to show.

Startup 103

Startup Training Coach Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

Image via Pixabay As a mentor to many small business owners, I always caution them that you can never relax completely, just because your initial solution or product set appears to be getting traction, and the market buzz is positive. Follow-up on receivables and watch the terms of big orders.

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Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

There is no substitute for diving into the key details of a new startup. These executives won’t survive long in a startup environment. A diligent entrepreneur should certainly work the important details for his or her startup, especially when it comes to assessing any negative fluctuations in the business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2022

Many people believe their threshold is permanently set by family genetics, or cultural influences, but I believe anyone can train themselves to stay cool. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and courteously explain to bosses or colleagues why certain requests or expectations may be unreasonable.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2020

Great leaders provide opportunities and personal growth assignments that go far beyond conventional training programs. They mentor protégés on talent spotting, creativity, and motivation as well as strategy. The best business leaders never wait until a position opens up to start searching for talent to fill it.

Oracle 124

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 124

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2021

This simply means that the number of people with a long-term single-employer agreement is going down, and the number of short-term contractors and freelancers is going up. As a new business advisor and mentor myself, I enjoyed her recommendations on many of these issues. Charging by the hour only makes sense for commodity work.

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Pricing Mentor Entrepreneur News 149

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

if you listen you’ll pick up much more than my quick notes below). We talked about what startup CEOs should do in these situations and how to think about these renegotiations. Other companies have only seen a slight decline and may be expecting demand to return to normalcy later in the year. That may happen. But I doubt it.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

Every one of you business leaders I know struggles with the competing demands of finding and keeping employees motivated and satisfied, versus building and enforcing a set of repeatable processes that work. Obviously, both are required for a company to stay healthy and growing. Dysfunctional teams will cause even the best processes to fail.

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Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2015

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2022

I’m convinced that the reason for the high rate of startup failures , with well over half not lasting five years, is not that the solutions are not innovative, but that the entrepreneur focuses on the product, rather than the business of attracting and managing customers. No one else can do the solution delivery like you can.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2015

As an Angel investor in early-stage startups, I’ve long noticed my peers’ apparent bias toward the strength and character of the founding entrepreneurs, often overriding a strong solution to a painful problem with a big opportunity. Find and enjoy the company of one or more mentors. That means all of us have a chance.

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Mentor Ideas Entrepreneur Study 104

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2019

As a business advisor and investor in new startups, I see how difficult it is to make any process work, no matter how well designed, if the team is dysfunctional. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. Priority is placed on employee mentoring and coaching.

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Coach Organization Mentor Startup 94

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. In addition, like an entrepreneur with a new business, you have to factor in all the indirect costs previously covered by employers, including training, health care, and time off for vacations.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term. In my experience, even in startups, longer-term strategy often gets pushed off the agenda due to current challenges.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2017

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Cloud Computing 61

Cloud Computing Startup Social Media Networking 61

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. Here are some key ideas to get you started: It all starts with the right people on your team. Many startup founders are great at putting out fires at the expense of urgent customer priorities.

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Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

Others still routinely have phone hold queues for customer contact that can last up to an hour, with no alternative options. They have to be energized and able to adapt as the market and competitors demand. It takes a well-rounded and motivated team to run a competitive business today. Traditional mission statements are not enough.

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Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2015

We caught up with Miles, to learn more about his new startup, Silversheet (www.silversheet.com), and the big opportunity to streamline paperwork in the medical field for doctors seeking credentialing at hospitals. How exactly did you end up--after EQAL--creating a healthcare related startup? It's crazy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

In other words, how do you recognize the challenges that really need your leadership , versus the less critical demands that seem to always bubble to the top? You can’t find the time for coaching and mentoring. Maybe now is the time to bring in outside coaching and motivational speakers, as well as more training.

Coach 120

Coach Satisfaction Customer Custom 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2018

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. Great leaders learn to listen actively to conversations, so people don’t hold up progress just to be understood. Disruptive office politics start to show.

Training 55

Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 55

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

We caught up with Fuel50 founder and CEO Anne Fulton to learn more about the startup. Anne Fulton: Fuel50 is a career pathing startup, part of the HR technology landscape. You can find a mentor, a coach, a project, or experience, to help you prepare for the role you are looking for. How did you start the company?

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Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Technology 86

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 86

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2012

There is no substitute for diving into the key details of a new startup. These executives won’t survive long in a startup environment. A diligent entrepreneur should certainly work the important details for his or her startup, especially when it comes to assessing any negative fluctuations in the business.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Template Mentor 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2017

For example, you probably never knew that both Facebook and YouTube started out as dating-site experiments, but pivoted to something more unique when that experiment failed due to an apparently over-crowded market. Leaders need to reward experiments, rather than demand fixed processes. Establish mentoring and coaching relationships.

Coach 57

Coach Mentor Organization Entrepreneur 57

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2016

As an angel investor in early-stage startups, I’ve long noticed my peers apparent bias toward the strength and character of the founding entrepreneurs, often overriding a strong solution to a painful problem with a big opportunity. Find and enjoy the company of one or more mentors. That means all of us have a chance.

Mentor 55

Mentor Ideas Entrepreneur Study 55

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

As a business advisor and investor in new startups, I see how difficult it is to make any process work, no matter how well designed, if the team is dysfunctional. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. Priority is placed on employee mentoring and coaching.

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Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2019

You probably think that the fact that you have started your own business validates your leadership ability. Based on my own experience in large and small businesses, as well as mentoring entrepreneurs, here is my list of behaviors which will keep you ahead of the pack: Focus on managing relationships more than tasks.

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Tips Mentor Coach Metrics 97

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2015

This starts with hiring the right people, and giving them the training and support they need on a regular basis. By demand, entrepreneurs are crisis managers, and can be busy reacting 24 hours a day to urgent short-term issues. Don’t let day-to-day demands take the reins and drag you off course.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

This is a tough challenge for every coach and mentor. Be prepared to create and train a dedicated support group that can keep up with your now larger and growing install base of demanding customers. Be aware and fight the biases that may show up in any environment, or may come from your personal background.

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