Sat.Jun 12, 2010 - Fri.Jun 18, 2010

Startup Professionals Musings

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How to Proactively Protect Your Online Reputation

Startup Professionals Musings

These days, your online Internet reputation is your reputation. Of course, having no reputation is usually better than a bad one, but don’t wait for someone else to establish a good one for you. It’s time for every business and business person to proactively create a positive presence, before someone else puts you in a defensive mode that is hard to win.

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Entrepreneurs Must Take Control of Their Time

Startup Professionals Musings

Every startup founder feels the pressure of the thousands of things that need to get done, all seemingly at the same time. There is just not enough time! The real solution is better time management to put you back in control of your life. We all know someone who always professes to be stressed out and “so busy” that they never have time for anything – yet they never seem to get things done.

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The Four Cornerstones of Every Business Plan

Startup Professionals Musings

By Akira Hirai The thought of preparing a business plan for the first time can be very intimidating. There are many "moving parts," and it’s easy to get lost in the details. The task becomes much easier if you think of your plan in terms of four essential cornerstones that serve as the foundation of all business plans: Opportunity, Solution, Execution, and Outcomes.

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Increased Potential for Women Entrepreneurs

Startup Professionals Musings

Women entrepreneurs are starting small businesses at approximately twice the national average for all startups. Despite some inaccurate stereotypes, the evidence is that these are in every industry, from small consulting firms to medical high technology. As a result, there have also been many new resources popping up specifically aimed at women. In most cases, the business questions asked and the answers given are essentially the same for all entrepreneurs, whether they be men or women.

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How to Solve Business Problems Effectively

Startup Professionals Musings

Creating a startup, or managing any business, is all about problem solving. Some people are good at it and some are not – independent of their IQ or their academic credentials (there may even be an inverse relationship here). Yet I’m convinced that problem solving is a learnable trait, rather than just a birthright. Entrepreneurs who are great problem solvers within any business are the best prepared to solve their customers’ needs effectively as well.

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Technology Alone is Not a Pain-Point Solution

Startup Professionals Musings

Sometimes I chastise startups who seem to be first selling me their new technology, to be more market-driven (find points-of-pain solutions). I usually get pushback about the success of all the great technology companies, like Intel and Apple. Let me be clear – technology and market-driven need not be mutually exclusive! The best startups find a way to drive the market with their technology, rather than push their new technology-driven ‘solution’ on the marketplace.

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Startups: So You Think You Can Dance

Startup Professionals Musings

I’m not much of a TV person, but my family loves one of the popular “reality” shows, called “ So You Think You Can Dance ,” so I’m sort of forced to watch it every Wednesday night. Over time, I’ve concluded that even startup entrepreneurs can learn a few things from this one. Of course, you can ignore the pomp and circumstance of the TV staging. I’m on the selection committee of our local angels group, so I know that every CEO approaching our group for funding goes through ten minutes of creativ