Entrepreneurship Tips

Early-stage companies are the most fragile, have the least resources and the biggest challenges ahead of them.  Developing a new business is one of the biggest challenges in life and generally requires experience in at least five key disciplines (product/service development, finance, sales, marketing, and operations) to do well.   For a founder or entrepreneur and their team to be successful, they must have not only industry domain experience but all these skills available to design the business at both the strategic and tactical levels (a vision).  Taking all these disciplines into account and then allocating resources appropriately for the specific...

8 Ways to Prevent Customer Service Dying At Your Company I can't be the only CEO in the world who would look for daily, weekly, and/or monthly "flash reports" showing exactly what was happening to our customers that we thrust off on another vendor before they could begin paying us for our services?! Is it even possible that there are significant businesses out there who are not watching critical measures of their own success and delivery? I guess no matter how unbelievable it is, it must be happening every day. Is it happening in your business without your knowledge? Sure...

What are TODAY'S real top priorities for both you and your company? They may have changed since you last looked. If you're busy slaying daily dragons, priorities can change without warning. And you may not even notice -- until it's too late to do something about it. Instead of dragons setting the agenda for you and your company, invest ten minutes on this pop quiz. Because either you or your daily dragons WILL control your Agenda for the Future. It won't take long to review which of these thirteen major issues are the most critical ones to your future. It's...

A Comparison of Operations Modes   This table compares the two extremes that should be considered when selecting a management model or style for your company. Any company using an inappropriate management mode will be a significant disadvantage and could easily fail. Big Company Startup Hires ahead of the curve, against quarterly and annual plans Hires just-in-time or even too late when the pain reaches an intolerable level, or some sales target is met. Does everything "right", spending whatever it takes to produce a high-quality result. Does an 80-90% job at less than ½ the cost, knowing that we will...

Definition: A startup is a company without any revenue and 50 or fewer people, which must deliver a product to the market shortly. Easy access to capital and not adjusting to the new world after leaving a big company or another industry are some major reasons for "big company disease". This was very common in the bubble, when huge Series A and B venture capital rounds were easy to get without a real business plan or vision that showed how a company would make a profit. Many companies would have survived easily on so much capital if they did not...