Chris Robson, author of Confessions of an Entrepreneur provides some helpful tips on how to survive the initial stages of starting up a new business
1. Share the pain with a business partner, but don’t go into business with friends and family unless you are prepared to lose them.
2. Always agree the key emotional issues upfront with your business partner(s), including: who the boss is, how you make difficult decisions, what you expect of each other and how you share the risks and rewards.
3. Expect to sacrifice something, every entrepreneur does. Think through what you will and won’t sacrifice before you fully commit yourself
4. Celebrate and promote every little achievement. Start this from the very beginning by writing down all your goals. Congratulate yourself when you hit them because others won’t and it’s easy to forget to pat yourself on the back when you’re always redefining your direction.
5. Live life in Beta. Recognise that nothing is ever finished and you can always improve your product or service. This will help you manage your own frustrations when everything seems to take too long.
6. Learn to love uncertainty, surprises, freedom – the wide open spaces of human possibility – and don’t be afraid of not having all the answers.
7. See the hand of friendship and support anywhere and everywhere. Ask people about what they are doing and talk to people about what you are doing. Most importantly, talk to people you would not normally talk to – you’ll be very, and pleasantly, surprised at what you find out!
8. Be crystal clear about your vision for your business and then focus on the execution. You can’t keep re-examining both the strategy and execution all of the time all – you’ll end up tying yourself in knots!
9. Use your gut instinct. It’s not a random emotion, it comes from hard experience and it’s one of the most valuable tools everyone can access. Ask yourself what you actually feel about an issue. Then say the answer out loud – you may be amazed by what you actually say you feel! Try reflecting on the decisions that you have taken that were strongly positive or negative. Cast your mind back to what you felt and try to link those feelings with the eventual decisions. See what they tell you.
10. Channel your reaction to failure as a positive and not as a negative thought. Use it to answer what will I now do better not what should I have done better?
Further Information
Confessions of an Entrepreneur is published by Pearson Prentice Hall, www.pearson-books.com, and available to buy now.
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