How not to go crazy startup owner?

Two years ago, working as a manager of a popular online service, I often scrolled in my head the scenario of creating my own company. It was like a movie with a happy ending - success seemed inevitable.

Only relatively recently, when the work on the OmniDesk was in full swing, I realized how much the reality is different from imaginary future accomplishments. The knowledge gained in hired work is very useful, I would even say that without them nowhere, but they do not make you a successful entrepreneur. They do not help to avoid the difficulties that appear in the way of creating your own business.
')
"Surprises" await at every corner. And they do not come alone. Fears and doubts are walking along with them. This article will be devoted to exactly how to stand and remain sane.

Must have equipment

Now I am not surprised at all by the fact that 90-95% of startups fail. It's damn hard. Many people think that a “brilliant” idea is enough for success. In fact, starting a startup, having only an idea, is the same as rushing to the embrasure. So you definitely will not fall into the cherished 5-10%.

Before you start, you must, at a minimum, make sure you have the basic equipment. In no case do not create a startup without a triple "body armor" - experience , skills and self-confidence . Each of these components will be subjected to a serious test of strength, so their "thickness" must be appropriate.

Experience in your chosen subject is necessary for understanding the needs of future customers. It may be solid, indirect, or, as some believe , superficial, but it is mandatory. Otherwise, you will look like a schoolboy who is trying to create a quality B2B service.

Without skills (coding, design, promotion) you cannot become an integral part of the team, and this is death like. Forget about having a cool boss giving orders and spitting into the stream. In this regard, startups are very different from large offline companies, in which the scope of bureaucracy and "related appointments" is such that even the tractor driver can hold a management position. There are no extra people in startups - everyone should plow and give all the best.

Confidence should be enough to fill the car and a small truck. The path will be long and winding. Every single day will have to make a bunch of difficult decisions. If initially confidence is not enough, then you risk completely despair along the way. At the same time, do not confuse confidence with the complete absence of fear. If you are a startup owner who is not afraid of anything, it means that you don’t understand what you are getting into.

Thousand and one bullet

You are fully prepared and decide on this step. Action begins without delay. No warming up. They fly from all sides, and each is different from the previous one. Yes, I'm talking about enemy bullets of different caliber. About doubts and fears that will mercilessly gnaw your body armor.

My battle began a little over a year ago, and the first battle — the launch of Omnidesca — will triumph in a few days. I cannot tell about what will happen next, as I only have to learn about it. But with the enemies of the front line is ready to introduce you now. I hope this helps to understand how difficult the test, which is all harmless, and some even with contempt, is called a "startup".

Bullet number 1 - Is the project idea good?

You chose an idea that you like insanely. You have the necessary experience and skills, and the decision to take on the project was not made due to the fact that it is just a "profitable business." Great, this is really important. However, doubts still will not disappear.

Suddenly the product will not be in demand enough? What if users don't see the need for your decision?

There are a lot of options to dig deeper and come closer to the true needs of customers. If you have not conducted an analysis of the market and competitive solutions, be sure to spend. You can take the MVP ( Minumum Viable Product) or MDP ( Minimum Delightful Product ) path to reduce the risk of creating an unnecessary product for anyone.

Whatever you choose, do not try to just copy the proposed concept. It is necessary to adjust for themselves. Do not blindly follow something, if inside you feel a contradiction. Ideally, you need to combine all the rational arguments and your "chuiku."

In this sense, I really like the analogy proposed by the founder of WooThemes - Adii Pienaar :

It is like walking along a long dark corridor. As you move above the light comes on. But the first step is always in darkness.

Only after a while you will be able to understand how good the idea is and how right your decisions are. Now try to trust yourself and move forward.

Bullet number 2 - Are the right people in the team assembled?

Finding good specialists who together make up a great team is quite difficult. I already wrote about how lucky we were - we were able to assemble a super-team quickly and effortlessly.

On the past, the project was less fortunate. Sometimes a hot seat was left vacant for months. There were also initial raptures, which eventually gave way to disappointment.

The truth is that there are no identical criteria for creating a dream team. Much depends on what kind of management style you are. Some like management in the style of "fun", the latter prefer the shovel version of unquestioning obedience to the authorities, and someone chooses the "golden" middle. From this you need to build on, picking up employees. There are also lovers of hard work, and those who do not organically digest it.

I, for example, are overly enthusiastic overly cheerful offices. No, I am not peevish, and the point is not that now salaries are paid out of my pocket. I disliked such ubiquitous fun even when I was an employee. In such a "wonderful" environment, it is hard for me to work. At the same time, I really appreciate the professionalism and responsible attitude to work. So it turns out that I need capable, moderately cheerful and self-organized people.

Of course, you will have (or already have) your own criteria, in accordance with which you will assemble your own Team "A". But there is a problem. Despite all this, you will often doubt that you have made the right move, deciding to rely on one or another employee. It's unavoidable. And here is an important point.

Remember, unpleasant incidents happen even in the best teams. Someone is relaxing. Someone has a black stripe in his personal life, which willy-nilly affects the work. Harmless discussions turn into controversy on raised voices. This happens. Therefore, learn not to write off people quickly if they are guilty of something. You once made mistakes and did not make the best decisions. You studied and grew. Others do the same.

Bullet 3 - Is the workflow optimally organized?

I admit, I adore project management systems. Every time a new solution appears, I’ll register and try to do a little more.

On the past project, we actively used Megaplan for several years. For personal use, Basecamp served me a lot. Therefore, when it became necessary to select a project management system for Omnideska, I took it as a matter of honor.

For the first time we tried a lot of different services. First we stopped at Asana, but after a week it became clear that we had to leave. A couple of days used Trello. After switched to Basecamp. We did not have time to rejoice, as non-arranging moments began to emerge on it. The task was to find the best solution, so I continued to search.

And then, at one fine moment, I felt uneasy. How can you spend so much time searching? The choice of a project management system is important, but thunder breaks me if it is more important than the creation of the OmniDesk. You need to adapt and work, and not be in the eternal search. As a result, we decided to stay at Basecamp and squeeze the maximum out of it.

About the same story repeated with Github. We spent a lot of time on creating the most thoughtful and convenient structure of branches. This time it came to us faster, but again, too late.

The moral is simple: it's impossible to optimize everything completely. There is room for improvement in any workflow. It is important to learn how to prioritize and understand when it is time to move on. Creative tasks are often more important than polishing, and in the case of a startup, their importance increases significantly.

Appreciate the time and do not engage in daily optimization, reducing the hours intended for other tasks. If you find it hard to breathe without a fit for yourself, then think about it on the way home and to work, and make changes in between the main tasks.

Bullet number 4 - How to cope with an endless list of tasks?

In recent years I have considered myself very productive. Always had time to perform a large amount of work in a short period of time. Could simultaneously deal with several major tasks. However, this time my productivity was not enough.

Starting a startup, you think that this is the best thing in life, because you finally decide your own destiny. Combined hours, work in moments of inspiration and reports just in front of a loved one. But almost immediately it becomes clear that events develop in a different way. Opposite, to be precise. Sometimes you are so involved in the administrative routine that you don’t even have a minute left for the main tasks.

Then comes the realization that now there is much more work than when you were an employee. That's because now tasks can be delegated only in two ways - move them deeper into your to-do list or pay someone from an empty pocket for their implementation.

The first time I watched a depressing picture - the number of tasks in Basecamp was like a snowball rushing from a very tall mountain. Required decisive action. Having considered various options, I came to the conclusion that only an increase in my own productivity would help to get out of this situation. There was no means for hiring an additional two-three specialists, so it was necessary to get out on their own.

The most interesting thing is that I did not do anything new. For several years I have been regularly reading articles and books on productivity and self-organization. That is what I continued to do, but I began to read differently. Previously, it was "interesting", and now - "I'm starting to use tomorrow."

The bottom line is that no articles or books help you until it's hot. Usually we perceive reading as a useful rest. When it is necessary to change something urgently, reading begins to look like a hunt for practical advice, which can be put into practice every minute.

I’m happy to note the books that pushed me to completely rethink my approach to setting and performing tasks. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t help you, as you need to read them at the “same” moment, not for the sake of interest.

First, I stumbled upon Daniel Granin's “This Strange Life” . In fact, this book can be called a manual on self-organization with great stretch. It tells the story of a scientist from the times of the USSR - A. A. Lyubishchev, who, from 26 years until his death, kept the strictest records of his time. The book does not even give clear instructions, nevertheless it magically prompted me to join the ranks of the true connoisseurs of time.

The second find was "18 minutes" by Peter Bregman. There are plenty of specific tips. True, as in many Western works, almost all the moments are repeated several times and can not do without water. Despite this, the effect of reading many times outweighed the flaws - I managed to transform my system of dividing tasks into lists, prioritizing and executing them.

I don’t even think about persuading you to read these particular books. In your case, the catalyst may be information from other sources. Whatever the case, you need to understand that when you go “hiring → manager-owner” without qualitative changes in your personal effectiveness and self-organization, you risk putting the success of the whole project at risk.

Bullet # 5 - How not to turn into a paranoid leader?

Most of us had a job where a snooper was placed. He tirelessly watched everything that makes each of the staff. At the same time, despite round-the-clock surveillance, he still found time to invent a “motivating” system of fines. Familiar situation, is not it?

I have always been a supporter of free graphics. Some people like to get up at 6:00, but I hardly get up at 10:00. Accordingly, he made every effort to find companies with adequate bosses and working conditions. But even in the best places there were unpleasant moments. Seeing all these flaws, I was absolutely sure that everything would be different in my company.

The irony is that we, too, are not behaving in the best way when we find ourselves in an “enemy” skin. It’s one thing to blame the manager for spying on your every step, another thing is to try not to lose the reins of the board in the company. Even if you really like a free schedule, at first it will be difficult to deal with distrust of your employees.

You come to the office, but the employee is not there. You begin to gnaw a worm from the inside - "How so?". This is quite difficult to handle. It takes time to teach yourself to focus solely on results, not on external manifestations. And yet there is a difficulty: the result can not be seen immediately, but the absence of someone or idleness catches the eye instantly.

Be patient. Learn to trust your team members. Trust has an excellent property to change the behavior of the right people for the better.

Bullet number 6 - How not to overdo it with involvement in the project?

Creating your own company, you are in a rather difficult situation, because in any case, “burn” the project more than others. You think of him in the evenings, on walks, in transport and even on weekends.

On the one hand, this is excellent, because, most likely, you threw everything on the map, but on the other - there is nothing special to be happy about. First, in no case can not turn into a possessed. If you work for 12-14 hours a day, then very soon just wither. Efficiency will rapidly fall, and it is unclear how this will end in the end. Secondly, employees will lag behind you in terms of "enthusiasm." If you do not cope with yourself, you will begin to blame them for lack of adequate returns.

You can not lose common sense. Work (even for yourself) should be in harmony with your personal life, and not absorb all your time. Excessive workaholism will bring nothing good. Many have been saying this for a long time . Be sure to research this question and try to steer yourself in the right direction.

Increase not the number of working hours, but your efficiency on each of them. Get enough sleep and rest. For example, I almost completely shut off at the weekend. There are, of course, moments when I just want to spend time on some task at work, and I gladly do it. But in general, I closely monitor that there is a rest from the project. This may seem paradoxical, but it is. I have to force myself not to work.

***

Bullet # 1001 - What if user expectations are not met?

No matter how well you understand the topic, the likelihood that all your decisions will be accepted with a bang, tends to zero. Of course, you can conduct research and surveys, but it’s known that users themselves often don’t know what they want. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that the implementation of some part of the project does not cause much enthusiasm.

Do not give up and do not give up. See wider. You must have a mission that will be traced in everything you do. This is a kind of guiding star, so necessary in situations where you go astray. Omnideska also has a mission: to help other companies provide excellent support to their customers.

With a mission, you clearly focus on customers. You understand that you are engaged in this business not so much for yourself, but for their sake. Of course, it sounds like another “marketing lure”, but you don’t need to write anything like it anywhere. Make this focus a secret - for yourself, within the company.

Clients will not feel it. In this case, their attitude to questionable solutions will be much more understanding. They will stay with you, as they will believe that a company with such an approach to business is doomed to success.

Love bullets flying in you

Getting acquainted with various projects, it is very easy to come to the conclusion that their leaders are fearless warriors, who always know what they are doing and are not afraid to look into the eyes of danger. Well, maybe there are such. But this is definitely not the only path to success. I often doubt and even fear.

Surprisingly, such doubts help us to get better. Thanks to them, we are doing everything possible to avoid the worst scenario. Therefore, you need to worry when we stop worrying, because it means that we are either in the dark or cool to our project.

Learn to transform fears from chilling to impelling movement. Do not cling to, and just smile in the face of fear and thank, because he tells you what to do next.