Martin Zwilling

LATEST ARTICLES ( 3466 )

• Four Easy Steps to Credible Startup Financials

  

  Many entrepreneurs actually refuse to do financial projections beyond the first year, insisting that no one can predict the future. Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Startups, Check Your Budget For Viral Marketing

  

  Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing.... Read more

  Posted on 21 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Social Networks Don’t Automate Personal Contacts

  

  By Ernst H. Gemassmer We all intuitively believe in maintaining personal and business contacts, but most of us don’t do well in this area. It takes real time... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Ignoring Business Basics Can Kill Your Dream

  

  I’ve noticed a great tendency among startup founders to ignore the essentials of business accounting in the early stages of their startup. Just because you are... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• To Survive the Rebound Will Require More Agility

  

  Prior to the recession, many companies and even startups were acclimated to prosperity, maybe too comfortable. We have now been through some turbulent times, bu... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Nine Habits That Make Contagious Startup Leaders

  

  Startups provide business leadership with new products, services, and new revenue models, but leadership startups can only be built by entrepreneurs who are... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Most Startups Get No Professional Investor Cash

  

  Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. Don’t believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and... Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Five Long-Term Pitfalls That Entrepreneurs Forget

  

  Most entrepreneurs expect to face the “normal” challenges of starting a business, which include finding the right opportunity, building and executing a winning... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Use Pull Technology for Real Customer Enchantment

  

  Traditional marketing says you have to “push” your message out to customers, over and over again, to get it remembered. A more effective approach in today’s... Read more

  Posted on 14 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Entrepreneurs Need to Find the Best ‘Curators’

  

  Every entrepreneur is flooded with information from all directions, but despite their best efforts to absorb it, they likely miss the information really needed... Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• The Best Entrepreneurs Have Some Common Traits

  

  At some point in their life, hopefully everyone strives to be the best in their chosen profession. Most people think that being the best requires more... Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• 6 Ways to Make Your Viable Startup Unfundable

  

  New entrepreneurs often seem to confuse viability with fundability. Certainly a non-viable business should be not fundable, but many viable businesses are also... Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Entrepreneurs, Manage Yourself, Then Your Startup

  

  People who can’t manage their own lives don’t make good entrepreneurs. Small businesses require multi-tasking, work prioritization, and decision-making, with... Read more

  Posted on 10 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Ten Principles Which Spell Continuous Innovation

  

  Continuous innovation is required to survive in all businesses, beginning with your startup, and increasing in importance as your business matures. Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Entrepreneurial Funding is Not an Entitlement

  

  Where did this pervasive sense of entitlement in our culture come from? I’ve written about this before, but I was surprised again recently at a conference for... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Entrepreneurs Need Fewer Hot Ideas and More Plans

  

  Based on my own experience and feedback from friends, every investor is approached by at least ten entrepreneurs with a “hot idea” for a new business, for... Read more

  Posted on 07 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Eight Key Problems Every Startup Should Anticipate

  

  Starting a business is a lot like starting a marriage. At first, all parties are in dreamland, with a vision of changing the world, having lots of fun, and... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Most Startups Still Treat Customers Like Outsiders

  

  I deal often with early-stage startups, and many of these don’t have any customers yet (but wish they did), so it’s not surprising they still don’t think of... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Hire More Help and Fewer Helpers for Your Startup

  

  Helpers do what you say, while good help does what you need, without you saying anything. People who can help you the most are actually smarter than you, at... Read more

  Posted on 04 March 2011 BUSINESS, CAREER

• Ten Steps to Screen Your Fit for Entrepreneurship

  

  Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is a major commitment, with huge implications for skills and lifestyle. Yet there is no standardized testing or... Read more

  Posted on 03 March 2011 BUSINESS