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One of the business ironies that many new business owners have learned the hard way in the past is that ideas that are truly disruptive carry the highest risk of failure, take the longest to gain traction, and thus are the least likely to get external funding. Some entrepreneurs stick with incremen Read More

New venture owners almost always cite a shortage of cash as the reason for failure, but if you look deeper, I believe the reason is more often about dysfunctional people and leadership. Sometimes it comes right back to the owner, in terms of a malaise often called “founder’s syndrome.” A few years Read More

You can’t win as a new venture founder working alone. You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. That doesn’t mean you have to be a social butterfly to succeed, or introverts need not apply. Read More

Many budding new business owners struggle mightily with that first step – out of their comfort zone and into the unknown. They keep asking people like me whether the time is right, and the truth is that there’s never an ideal time to start your own business. It’s like starting a personal relationsh Read More

If you think your business has weathered the storm, think again. In addition to obvious economic challenges, the emerging generation of customers is determined to radically change the rules for customer engagement. Their expectations of relationships and personalization are already taxing businesse Read More

Every business owner I know is short on key resources, including time, money, and relevant skills. The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Waste in any business is any activity that burns resources, but Read More

In finance, a bubble is too much money chasing assets, greater asset production and a herd mentality. In new venture plans, a bubble is too many aspiring owners and too many investors chasing the latest “next big thing,” like Google search engine, Facebook social network, or Amazon e-commerce site. Read More

Most new venture owners expect to face the “normal” challenges of starting a business, which include finding the right opportunity, building and executing a winning plan, and financing their venture. But many forget the pitfalls associated with traditional business models which can apply to even th Read More

Every business team has blind spots that limit their effectiveness and success, and due to ego, over-confidence, or deferential subordinates, many live totally in the dark. Some leaders are smart and humble enough to assume that they don't know what they don't know but lack an effective process for Read More

Whether it’s a business or personal interaction, studies show that as much as 60-90% of the communication is nonverbal. That means that people addicted to text messages, twitter, and email may be sending less than half the message, and receivers often misinterpret even that half. Read More