Have you ever encountered a company that had subpar customer service (you probably have)? Was the negative impact limited to yourself, or did you feel compelled to share your negative experience with others? Chances are, you shared your negative experience. It is also quite possible you are now avoiding that company as much as possible and trying to help others avoid it as well.

As a startup how do you ensure you provide great customer experience? You have to build your venture with an importance on customer service from the beginning.

Customer Service Considerations:

• Enable Feedback - You must have ways to connect with customers and clients. These means should be obvious and easy for the customers and clients to use. Specifically regarding phone lines, be sure to give an obvious option to connect with a live person as quickly as possible (no one likes feeling stuck in automated loop limbo).
• Gather Feedback - You should always be collecting feedback. This could be in person conversations with customers,…

Talent tends to be the elephant in the room, but we really must address the topic.

There are specifically 3 types of talent for our focus:

• Blocked Talent - This is how many entrepreneurs feel right before making the leap from an employee to a full time entrepreneur. Individuals leave employers for many reasons, however, it is not uncommon for an individual to leave specifically because they don't feel fully utilized creatively, intellectually or simply because a lack of career advancement.

• Independent Talent - This is the where most entrepreneurs and startups operate. You are small and agile and can take risks. You will be using parts of your talent like never before and may even find new areas of interest. As you hire on early employees you have latitude to make decisions and you aren't constrained or blocked from using your talent. Even your early employees will feel the independence to using their talent having more control of decisions with room to learn and grow. This is the optimal place for all ta…

As someone who has previously tried to launch a venture solely on my own, I can tell you it is very difficult and time consuming. There are so many angles to think about that closing all gaps in the venture feels nearly impossible. In recent years secondary word has emerged for an entrepreneur that operates on their own, a solopreneur. There are several different meanings to "solopreneur", but for the most part the terms mean the same thing.

Feeling alone in your goal to launch and sustain a venture can feel overwhelming when there is no structure or community to venture to for assistance or feedback. But keep in mind, no one lives in a vacuum. We all need feedback and a way to feel connected to like minds, the local economy and related industries. Entrepreneur magazine online has an article on this very subject, "Where to Find a Community If You're a Solopreneur".

Another great way to build relationships, get feedback and add your knowledge to the community is right here on our Forums. Our goal is to grow…

I personally have mixed feelings about open office plans. I understand the possibilities they offer, but have been skeptical of their implementation and execution. Open-plan offices are usually pitched as the key to unlocking untapped collaboration and communication, however, I do not believe they make good on all their praise.

I have worked in several different work environments from complete open-plan to an all cubicle farm. Each of these have their good and bad points. In an open-plan office there tends to be more ambient noise and distractions, but on the other hand a cubicle farm can become a quiet and mundane. What really is the solution? Bloomberg Businessweek has recently posted an article called "Ending the Tyranny of the Open-Plan Office". I would highly encourage you to read it.

Defining a great office environment is crucial to building a productive team that communicates and collaborates with ease. I think the solution is to offer a variety of spaces that are conducive to extreme focus, informa…