9 Questions Your Team Should be Asking Customers

Published in FastCompany | August 30, 2024 | Author: Thomas Minieri and YEC Members -- From limiting the number of communication channels to developing a unified company communication app, explore the 10 strategies these leaders recommend for setting and streamlining communication preferences. My contribution to the article is as follows: I manage a sales team, and I have found it to be imperative to have in-person meetings each week. The best model for managing my sales team is for us to meet twice per week in person. We meet first thing Monday morning to get motivated and to set up our week properly. We discuss pending sales, sales techniques, new sales, and strategies for cultivating sales opportunities. We utilize text messaging to communicate during the week as situations present themselves. This allows for quick responses and gives my sales team the ability to communicate with me on the fly if they need help in the middle of a sales presentation. We wrap up the week with a second in-person meeting. The vibe of this meeting is celebratory. Everyone comes to the meeting to share the sales they’ve cultivated, and everyone gets the chance to present their sales numbers to the team. We celebrate everyone’s successes, which keeps our sales team highly energized and encouraged. While it can be tempting to use new technology, I find it extremely difficult to create dynamic energy remotely. Tried-and-true in-person meetings work best for me and help me keep my team focused and encouraged. Click to read the full article on FastCompany .

Published in INC | July 31, 2024 | Author: Thomas Minieri and YEC Members -- “Initially crafted to help tech startups achieve rapid growth, the Lean Startup methodology has since transcended its original audience, proving invaluable to large corporations as well,” Reis says. “By leveraging principles such as validated learning, rapid experimentation, and continuous customer feedback, even established enterprises can navigate uncertainty and foster innovation.” This allows businesses to iterate quickly, minimize waste, and create products and services that resonate with their customers. So, how are businesses actually using the lean startup methodology? Here’s how eight business leaders think lean to produce big results for their businesses. Testing Before Implementation Thomas Minieri, founder of Lemonade Maker , an entrepreneur coaching franchise based in Charleston, South Carolina, says that utilizing the lean startup methodology allows his company to test new ideas before introducing them to franchisees. “As a franchisor, I have to be careful not to mandate new methods or services that have not been fully vetted,” says Minieri. ” By keeping our company-owned location running like an innovative startup, and by getting the customers of our company-owned location involved in a fun and intriguing way, we are able to stay agile and nimble.” Read the full article on INC .

Published in Entrepreneur | July 1, 2024 | Author: Thomas Minieri and YEC Members -- Considering a career hiatus? We've gathered insights from career coaches and founders to guide you through this critical decision. From assessing the lead time for your next opportunity to aligning the break with your personal seasons, explore the diverse perspectives of 18 experts on the merits and considerations of taking a career break. Thomas Minieri's contribution is as follows: I grew my first company from an underfunded $30 startup to a national franchise that employed over 50 professionals and produced over $12 million in revenue. I accomplished this in less than ten years. That level of growth was akin to riding a roller coaster without a harness. When I sold the company, I was exhausted! I needed a break. Ten years of running caught up with me, and to be honest, had I not sold the company and taken some time off, I might have collapsed. The day I left my company was the strangest day of my life. I went from CEO of a drama-prone franchise system to unemployed with nothing to do in one day. It was a culture shock at first, but the break let my mind, body, and soul relax. In that state of rest, I wrote my first book, which chronicled my crazy entrepreneurial journey and gave me the emotional release I needed to close that chapter of my life and move on to bigger and better things. With a clear head and some cash in the bank, I set out on a new adventure, taking with me all that I had learned and experienced. We entrepreneurs run at full steam, sometimes for extended periods of time. Whether you sell your company like I did or take the occasional sabbatical to catch your breath, taking a break might very well be the best thing you do this year. Your well-being deserves it! Read the full article in Entrepreneur .

How can a startup choose which role to hire for, when they can only afford one role but have multiple hiring needs?

While many people try to avoid arguments at work, constructive disagreements can often lead to creative solutions. Left unchecked, however, these discussions can quickly head in an unhealthy direction and foster a negative atmosphere. To build a culture of innovation and open communication, leaders must foster healthy disagreements among their teams while ensuring things don't get out of hand. Below, 15 members of Young Entrepreneur Council share their tried-and-true tips for encouraging constructive disagreements in the workplace.

Finding a serious customer is hard work. Asking some of these questions may make it easier to find and keep them. Not every customer is a good fit for every product. What is one question to ask or approach to use to test how serious a prospect is about making a purchase?

When you start a business, not only do you have to convince potential customers you can solve their particular problem, but you also have to convince them that your business can solve their problem better than any other company can. Differentiating yourself from your competition in this way is essential if you want to succeed in your niche and build a loyal following of customers. But what steps do you need to take to do so? In this article, Thomas Minieri plus 11 other business leaders from Young Entrepreneur Council share their insights on what new entrepreneurs should do when it comes to differentiating themselves from their competition and what steps they’ll need to take to ensure their success.

If you want to start a business on the cheap, then you’ve got to put everything on the line because you’ll need at least some money for basic living expenses and advertising. Get a handle on your marketing skills and get away from small-scale random acts of marketing that produce little to no results to work toward the fast track to success.

When determining your marketing budget, there are several key factors to consider. Marketing encompasses everything from branding and website development to communications and sales. It is a big header, and each component needs to be well thought out to ensure your entire marketing system is firing on all cylinders.