Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

In my view, too many businesses fail, simply because founders give up too early. Starting many initiatives, and hoping that one will stick, is not a formula for success. You need other people with skills that complement yours, are not “yes” people, and have relevant experience rather than a low price-tag.

Startup 143

Startup Competition Coach Satisfaction 143

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2019

With the current strong economy I’m seeing a continued resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit, and more startup activity than ever before. There is additional encouraging news for aspiring entrepreneurs on many fronts, just in case you are thinking about joining the existing ranks: Valuations of successful startups have hit an all-time high.

Startup 128

Startup Social Media Satisfaction Entrepreneur 128

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? Rethink or reframe the challenge. Marty Zwilling

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2021

As I work with aspiring you new venture leaders, I always wish I had a definitive checklist of all the right attributes that I could share with you, encourage you to develop and highlight in your efforts with potential investors, and guide your own actions in starting the next billion dollar company.

Funding 152

Funding Startup Ideas Resource 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

In most companies, maintaining momentum requires the right strategic partners and acquisitions, in lieu of short-term price adjustments and special sales. Thus you should never be complacent in your business about the growth you have achieved, or your loyal customer base. Your long-term success and satisfaction depends on it.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Here is my list of key principles for creating and capitalizing on a balanced focus as a business professional or an entrepreneur: Start by marketing your vision and purpose. Too many entrepreneurs I know start by highlighting their new technology , and assume that it will sell itself. Every balanced leader does marketing early.

Technical Review 133

Technical Review Satisfaction Metrics Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

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. The conundrum is that once you have really proven the business model, you no longer need the investor money you asked for to start the business.

Customer 109

Customer Custom Satisfaction Sales 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Most business professionals I know have been conditioned to think of inflation as highly negative, driving up their costs, and reducing customer buying. Also, you must focus on business model innovations that cut costs for your customers, such as self-service, un-bundling your pricing, and selling directly to the customer.

Outsource 95

Outsource Customer Custom Sample 95

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2010

You hear a lot of talk these days about the importance of customer satisfaction, but customer loyalty is the real win. A satisfied customer is necessary, but not sufficient, to be a loyal customer who will come back repeatedly, refer their friends and family to you, and be faithful even when your price is not the lowest.

Satisfaction 49

Satisfaction Customer Custom Startup 49

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2015

By definition, every startup is predictably unpredictable, since new solutions have no proven track record, startups are usually building a new market, and the world around them is changing faster than ever. The market changes faster than your startup. The money runs out before revenues start.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Marketing Satisfaction 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2012

You hear a lot of talk these days about the importance of customer satisfaction, but customer loyalty is the real win. A satisfied customer is necessary, but not sufficient, to be a loyal customer who will come back repeatedly, refer their friends and family to you, and be faithful even when your price is not the lowest.

Customer 104

Customer Custom Startup Competition 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2020

Neither people nor computers can really help you as a personal assistant unless you are willing to share data about what you like, what you feel, and who and what’s important to you. They believe that the benefits of sharing data are very much worth the price of providing access to their data. No-comfort consumers – 17 percent.

Social Media 131

Social Media Startup Tool Google 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it. Know your customers intimately. Set the tone and lead the way.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Gerber wrote a best-selling business book called The E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. The E-Myth (“Entrepreneurial Myth”) is the mistaken belief that most businesses are started by people with tangible business skills, when in fact most are started by “technicians” who know nothing about running a business.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Technical Review 107

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

No matter what people may proclaim, everyone in business is looking to achieve the highest possible level of satisfaction and financial success in their career. The ideal customer is one who sees so much value that price is unimportant. For best results, my advice is to think like an entrepreneur, even if you are a corporate employee.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Sales Customer Custom 117

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

My internal compass has always steered me strongly toward the belief that founders who can scale with their startup companies are better to back that founders who eventually need to hire a CEO. I have talked about this publicly a great deal – how I prefer “missionaries” over “mercenaries.”

Startup 303

Startup Technical Review Product Blogging 303

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2018

With the current strong economy, and sparked by the last recession, I’m seeing a real resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit, and more startup activity than ever before. An unprecedented number of startups, almost 200 at last count, are now valued above $1 billion, according to a recent Forbes article.

Entrepreneur 66

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Satisfaction 66

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees. Customers enjoy fresh perks to give them something to talk about, and make your business stand out. Today is the time to start down that road.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2013

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, seventeen states, starting with Maryland in 2010, have passed legislation allowing incorporation as a Benefit Corporation (B-Corp).

Startup 101

Startup Organization Entrepreneur Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2013

But sometimes they forget that this kind of freedom comes with a price of personal accountability. Also you shouldn’t assume that your experience in a large public company is applicable to running a startup. Entrepreneurship is all about assuming a risk for a reward, and accountability is core to generating the desired results.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Outsource Satisfaction 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

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. The conundrum is that once you have really proven the business model, you no longer need the investor money you asked for to start the business.

Startup 107

Startup Sales Customer Custom 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2013

One of the big advantages of being an entrepreneur and starting your company from scratch is that you get to set the culture, which is much easier than changing the culture of an existing business. Mission statements tend to be narrow, business oriented statements such as “Be the leader in customer satisfaction.” Train all the time.

Startup 101

Startup Training Study Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2013

Gerber wrote a best-selling business book called The E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. The E-Myth (“Entrepreneurial Myth”) is the mistaken belief that most businesses are started by people with tangible business skills, when in fact most are started by “technicians” who know nothing about running a business.

Startup 94

Startup Technical Review Social Media Satisfaction 94

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. The United States is now a debtor nation to China and that the bill is about to come due. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? How to Take Down Facebook -- Hint: It Ain't Twitter. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

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. The conundrum is that once you have really proven the business model, you no longer need the investor money you asked for to start the business.

Sales 165

Sales Customer Custom Social Media 165

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. It’s an amazing ride, and there is no satisfaction like creating something out of nothing.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

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).

Startup 100

Startup Organization Customer Custom 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2019

Image via Pixabay After a frustrating meeting with a small business client recently who didn’t “have time” for social media, I was surprised to find evidence on the Internet that up to one quarter of small business owners are still hesitant to invest time, money, and effort into a social media strategy.

Social Media 99

Social Media Media Tool Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

By John Williams Fast Company magazine recently reported that PayPal founder Paul Thiel is giving away $100,000 to twenty-four young men and women to finance startup businesses. Instead of following a proscribed course which may lead nowhere, entrepreneurial leaders such a Thiel are sparking a change in the way we think about success.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 7, 2021

I have to point out that the rest of the world looks for you online before visiting your business, finds talk about you on Yelp and social media sites, and what they see can make or break your business. Today your reputation online is more important than your price, service, or location. Be realistic about what you have control over.

Social Media 144

Social Media Media Summary Satisfaction 144

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Successful entrepreneurs are usually hard-driving, and highly focused on some specific goals, like being the dominant player in a given domain, or the low-priced provider of their product. Without precise goals, you can’t measure progress, and you miss the real satisfaction of knowing when to declare success. Write it down.

Writing 121

Writing Organization Satisfaction Entrepreneur 121

InfoChachkie

JUNE 27, 2011

If your offspring are entrepreneurially inclined, these activities might nudge them in the direction of a lifetime of startups. In particular, Marcia Brown’s 1947 retelling of the classic French folktale Stone Soup is a veritable playbook for how to start a venture. That would be something to know about.” Plot Summary.

Entrepreneur 270

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Resource 270

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 20, 2013

As the NBA playoffs closes to an end in a grueling road to Game 7 between Miami Heats and San Antonio Spurs, it would behoove every startup founder to learn from key elements and strategies of both teams, as lessons from the sport of basketball can directly translate to the success of a startup company. 1) Identifying Team Chemistry.

Startup 94

Startup CTO Coach Coach Study 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2022

Neither people nor computers can really help you as a personal assistant unless you are willing to share data about what you like, what you feel, and who and what’s important to you. They believe that the benefits of sharing data are very much worth the price of providing access to their data. No-comfort consumers – 17 percent.

Social Media 107

Social Media Tool Google Yahoo 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2014

But sometimes they forget that this kind of freedom comes with a price of personal accountability. Also you shouldn’t assume that your experience in a large public company is applicable to running a startup. Entrepreneurship is all about assuming a risk for a reward, and accountability is core to generating the desired results.

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Startup Outsource Satisfaction 99

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

I have been watching ProductPlan for several years, as the founders are both friends and pillars of the Santa Barbara Startup Community. Curious to learn more about the pain and joys of bootstrapping a business, I sat down with Jim Semick, the company’s Co-Founder and Chief Strategist. We’ve been in business for about four years now.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

Both want personal satisfaction and financial success. Every business depends on customers to thrive, and every employee role has some correlation to customer satisfaction. Corporate employees often think only about their narrow silo, their workload, and view customers as someone else’s problem. In fact, U.S.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Customer Custom 93