Being an entrepreneur was never more desirable and yet more difficult than today. Behind the scenes of dashing whiteboard presentations, business trips, meeting with creditors, handshaking and celebrating, there are numberless sleepless nights, health problems, and work related stress.
While worrying about employers, investors and customers at the same time, while having to solve daily organizational problems is not an easy task, many times a startup entrepreneur has to choose whether to take a red or a blue pill. This entrepreneurial guide consists of 8 do’s and don’ts that can make your life easier.
Don’t think you are the first
However nice it may be to think about your business as pioneering and trailblazing, there are good chances that someone before you tried the same thing and failed. Startup fields are strewn with carcasses of adventuring businesses which failed to learn from their predecessors.
Do ask for help
Every entrepreneurship is terra incognita, especially if you have never owned a business before. You will need a lot of external help and know-how. What separates entrepreneurs who are knowledgeable but stagnant and the ignorant one who keep pushing on through is the habit of asking for help.
Don’t believe that money solves everything
This belief is unfortunately very popular among the owners of many startups. Such thinking has set many struggling businesses on fire, and they couldn’t extinguish the flames with money. The more important is knowing how to use it in the right way. Using money to elevate your startup on a higher level than it can withstand can only lead to possible cracks and irregularities to expand on a bigger scale.
Do know your purpose
The best medicine against al kinds of setbacks and disappointments along the way of development is having a strong feeling of purpose. The reason why you are doing what you are doing. Like “Why We Fight” episode of HBO’s Band of Brothers miniseries. Whether it is your desire to make a world better place or a good way of securing a promising future, there has to be one.
Don’t expect to succeed overnight
Running a business is a long distance race, not a 100 meter dash. Even if you have all the necessary conditions met, you have the funds, a brilliant team and bright ideas, there are always difficulties to overcome along the way. There are smarter ways to get rich overnight than staring a business.
Do what you do best
Some entrepreneurs are too keen to get tangles into field of work that they know nothing about. Even if you have a diploma of project management and your learning skills are over the top, in many cases it is the experience and not firepower that separates men from the boys.
Don’t allow investors to write the company strategy
Investors – you can’t with, you can’t without them. That is the usual state of affairs. You need them because their money brings your ideas to life, and on the other side, they may have different agenda than your company’s agenda. They are all about getting a big ROI on their part in the shortest term possible. However, this is not the best approach if you are looking to set up a long-lasting business.
Do learn from your mistakes
Relying heavily on optimism and admitting to making mistakes don’t go hand in hand very often. However, even worse thing to do is to make a mistake and leave it lying around until someone trips over it. If your business makes a wrong turn, don’t be afraid to admit it and draw plans for going back.
At the end, here is one more do, free of charge. Remember to enjoy the ride. Being constantly focused on the goals often takes the joy out of the journey. The startup days are the one that will remain in your vivid memory ever after.
