Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

New product process. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Training and coaching. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions. Failure is the best teacher. Ownership.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

Entrepreneurs need to document a process of responding to a market need, sizing opportunity, assigning a specific business model, and planning for marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction. Typically some production and delivery is outsourced, requiring formal contracts and documentation. Solution development and delivery.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Word of mouth is not adequate for marketing and sales.

Sales 165

Sales Customer Custom Social Media 165

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2022

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. Now the experiments are over, and high productivity is the objective.

Startup 137

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 137

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). For market changing products, build first a minimally viable product (MVP), and never build products for sale until you have real orders in hand.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Many entrepreneurs never get past their first-stage focus on their innovative product, to scaling the business globally, organizing a structure to handle thousands of employees, and concentrating their focus “on the business” rather than working “in the business.” Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

In both cases, it’s easy for them to become frustrated and give up, since most have never been trained in change management, and don’t even know what questions to ask. The last thing you need in a startup is a false start, where you can’t deliver on a product change deadline, or a new marketing channel. How do I measure success?

Startup 155

Startup Resource Metrics Technical Review 155

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2020

These must be countered by a focus on changes and training that benefit your people, as well as your business. Set up training courses that highlight agility, and adopt agile working practices. Amazon, for example , “grew up” in the last recession by continuing to expand their range of products and focused on automation.

Metrics 122

Metrics Training Satisfaction IBM 122

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

In the interests of helping you work smarter and last longer, I would like to offer my top ten list of key resource drains to avoid in early businesses and startups, based on my years of advising entrepreneurs and my own business experience: Expanding your product line too quickly for scaling. People with the wrong tools or no training.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

Entrepreneurs need to document a process of responding to a market need, sizing opportunity, assigning a specific business model, and planning for marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction. Typically some production and delivery is outsourced, requiring formal contracts and documentation. Solution development and delivery.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2020

You must never stop looking for ways to get more traction with fewer personal hours, and more productivity, efficiency, and momentum from the team. In my view, it’s really unfortunate that most employees in business are still paid by the hour, regardless of their productivity. Evaluate where technology and training can help.

Metrics 124

Metrics Entrepreneur Satisfaction Study 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

In all cases, don’t skip the basic training. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? You know the basic ingredients, and you can visualize the results you want. Don’t stand still.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

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. Document processes and metrics for economies of scale.

Metrics 86

Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs like you that I have met in my role as a business advisor are really product creators versus business creators, convinced that a great product will generate a great business. In most businesses, this means selling something, and proving that your product or service has value.

Metrics 140

Metrics Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction 140

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2023

Measure progress through metrics on sales, revenue, and penetration. These start with your brand image, search visibility and process, and extend to the actual sales transaction. Productivity and results are a result of personal commitment and accountability, rather than hours worked.

Customer 91

Customer Custom Marketing Startup 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2020

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. Now the experiments are over, and high productivity is the objective.

Startup 125

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 125

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Your goal must be to make every aspect of a customer interaction a joy to both you and them, starting from the shopping experience, to the sales close, to delivery and service. Use metrics to assess needs and growth economics. Really listen to feedback from the team, and empower them with the ability to make customers happy.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

In all cases, don’t skip the basic training. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? You know the basic ingredients, and you can visualize the results you want. Don’t stand still.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

New product process. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Training and coaching. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions. Failure is the best teacher. Ownership.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2019

Too many business owners still think of “ customer support ” as an after-sale process to rectify customer problems with completed transactions. Customers expect you to provide access via their mobile devices, as well as being responsive to sales and support questions on social media and multiple Internet channels and partners at their whim.

Customer 84

Customer Custom Company Companies 84

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2016

New product process. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Training and coaching. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions. Failure is the best teacher. Ownership.

Coach 64

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 64

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Word of mouth is not adequate for marketing and sales.

Startup 107

Startup Sales Customer Custom 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). For market changing products, build first a minimally viable product (MVP), and never build products for sale until you have real orders in hand.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Resource Training Product 115

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Startup 56

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2015

Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). For market changing products, build first a minimally viable product (MVP), and never build products for sale until you have real orders in hand.

Resource 105

Resource Startup Entrepreneur Training 105

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2014

In both cases, it’s easy for them to become frustrated and give up, since most have never been trained in change management, and don’t even know what questions to ask. The last thing you need in a startup is a false start, where you can’t deliver on a product change deadline, or a new marketing channel. How do I measure success?

Startup 108

Startup Resource Metrics Technical Review 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Sales 96

Sales Metrics Startup Entrepreneur 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2015

Entrepreneurs need to document a process of responding to a market need, sizing opportunity, assigning a specific business model, and planning for marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction. Typically some production and delivery is outsourced, requiring formal contracts and documentation. Solution development and delivery.

Outsource Development 99

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2017

For example, early adopters may be easily sold online, but new technology product success really hinges on adoption by mass demographics, more likely associated with distributors and brand name retailers. What metrics should you use to measure success? Just because Google sales hit $1.5

Metrics 58

Metrics Resource Startup Training 58

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Jim Semick: I’ve been launching and managing software products for 15 years now, going back to when you and I worked together at Expertcity before it was acquired by Citrix. I have always worked on early stage products. Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

Successful entrepreneurs must never stop looking for ways to improve their own productivity, as well as the efficiency and momentum of the team. This simply means that everyone should be trained and motivated to prioritize and focus on the important items, and proactively attack those first. Incentives don’t need to be all cash.

Training 105

Training Entrepreneur Tool Metrics 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

New product process. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Training and coaching. They benchmark their ideas against competition, use metrics to track acceptance, sales growth, and return on investment.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2018

Much has been written about this subject in the world of manufacturing, stemming primarily from the 1990’s work by Taiichi Ohno, called the Toyota Production System (“Lean”). For market changing products, build first a minimally viable product (MVP), and never build products for sale until you have real orders in hand.

Resource 52

Resource Training Entrepreneur Activity 52

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important. Funding process.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2013

In both cases, it’s easy for them to become frustrated and give up, since most have never been trained in change management, and don’t even know what questions to ask. The last thing you need in a startup is a false start, where you can’t deliver on a product change deadline, or a new marketing channel. How do I measure success?

Startup 101

Startup Resource Metrics Technical Review 101