The first four questions for the company's founder.
In front of me is your profile. You are twenty with something or maybe a little over thirty. You start your own first business, the runway ends, and your business will either take off, or collapse and burn.
You clearly know the first steps: build a team, attracting the best people, start earning income from anchor customers, acquire partners who will tell about you. Or perhaps you are still refining your positioning and sharpening the product in the hope of providing this next round of investment.
')
All this is necessary to start the company. But these are not the bricks that make up a startup. The most important first steps are not operational, but rather psychological. Not rational decisions, but more of building relationships and experimentation.
Listen to yourself: Is entrepreneurship a part of your DTC? "Work on Uncle" - a nightmare for you? Taste of success fills you with pride? Fear of failure wakes you up at night?
I have no ready answers. But I can join the words of country star Waylon Jennings ★ : “I'm a bit older than you, baby. That's it. ” ★ . In general, after almost 20 years of work with hundreds of entrepreneurs and the launch of several of my own companies, I have compiled a list of four questions that are useful to answer if you are planning to start your own business.
1. What allows you to fulfill long-term commitments? I am not talking about how to be positive, passionate, or have business charm. It is difficult to remain so after many days of frustration in trying to tear the company off the ground. But it's about the insane endurance that you need to hold out in the field of entrepreneurship.
Many years ago, a guy named Daniel came to my office for advice. He struck me with a sharp mind, creative kind and boundless idealism with a bit of naivety. I lost sight of him and only recently discovered that it was Daniel who was now behind one of my favorite brands. After 15 years of struggle, full of doubts, triumphs and retreats, Daniel Lyubetsky ★ launched the production of KIND ★ bars and turned them into one of the most popular foods. In his new book “Do the KIND Thing,” he wrote about the courage that enabled him to go this way.
2. What is your lane? Some people have wonderful abilities for certain types of businesses. My friend Dave Schwartz, the founder of Rent-A-Wreck ★ , is brilliant in everything related to cars, real estate and warehousing - these are his offline achievements. But he does not pretend to what he does not understand, and he is cool in the ability to stay on his "strip". Dave warns about this category of people who have achieved some success, and now believe that they are "invulnerable and know everything about everything." The road may be wide, but stick to those areas and skills that are part of your nature. It is better to do what you do, than to fall into a dubious category.
3. Do you know which people you should hire first? Forget about the first full time employees. Often, even before you find a co-founder, you will need an experienced accountant, lawyer and insurer. It is these external professional advisors that allow you to lay a solid foundation for sustainable business.
Earlier this year, my long-time accountant, Steve Frushtik ★ , died suddenly. I was totally annoyed, as were his countless other clients. Of course, he helped us with paying taxes, but this is less, for which we appreciated him. We did not take a step without it - from building a compensation package for employees to concluding commercial transactions. Pals clients aptly called Steve "our financial rabbi." Do you have such a "rabbi"?
4. Does your entrepreneurial spirit find support and understanding for your “second half”? The irony is that there is a person who is most important to you, but usually you do not even work with him (or with her). It's about your husband, wife, partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc. One of my new acquaintances decided not to meet with anyone until his business grew stronger. I disagreed with him. The presence of a number of faithful person secures success and brings life to balance, if he (or she) provides support and feeds your dream, and does not call you to a safe office work “for uncle”.
Being not as insensitive to risk as you, your “second half” knows how to go through ups and downs, can appreciate achievements, at the same time reminding you and your startup are not the center of the universe. Sometimes, when everything collapses around, your partner may encourage you to take a break and just find a job that allows you to pay bills. But together you never lose faith in your ability to create something of your own.
Here's a word for you in case you forget these tips: the Alps (the ones that are the mountain range). Being a company founder is like climbing to the top. Having fixed, you will look back to understand how high you have climbed, and you will understand that this is the most exciting journey in the world. ∎
About the author: Marco Greenberg , president of Thunder11, a marketing communications boutique located in Manhattan. Successfully launched startups for a number of well-known entrepreneurs, business angels, venture funds and Fortune 500 companies.
Photos: Paul Nelhams , Petar Milošević
From the translator: this is my first experience translating articles. I would be grateful for comments and recommendations, whether in the comments or in a personal.
You clearly know the first steps: build a team, attracting the best people, start earning income from anchor customers, acquire partners who will tell about you. Or perhaps you are still refining your positioning and sharpening the product in the hope of providing this next round of investment.
')
All this is necessary to start the company. But these are not the bricks that make up a startup. The most important first steps are not operational, but rather psychological. Not rational decisions, but more of building relationships and experimentation.
Listen to yourself: Is entrepreneurship a part of your DTC? "Work on Uncle" - a nightmare for you? Taste of success fills you with pride? Fear of failure wakes you up at night?
I have no ready answers. But I can join the words of country star Waylon Jennings ★ : “I'm a bit older than you, baby. That's it. ” ★ . In general, after almost 20 years of work with hundreds of entrepreneurs and the launch of several of my own companies, I have compiled a list of four questions that are useful to answer if you are planning to start your own business.
1. What allows you to fulfill long-term commitments? I am not talking about how to be positive, passionate, or have business charm. It is difficult to remain so after many days of frustration in trying to tear the company off the ground. But it's about the insane endurance that you need to hold out in the field of entrepreneurship.
Many years ago, a guy named Daniel came to my office for advice. He struck me with a sharp mind, creative kind and boundless idealism with a bit of naivety. I lost sight of him and only recently discovered that it was Daniel who was now behind one of my favorite brands. After 15 years of struggle, full of doubts, triumphs and retreats, Daniel Lyubetsky ★ launched the production of KIND ★ bars and turned them into one of the most popular foods. In his new book “Do the KIND Thing,” he wrote about the courage that enabled him to go this way.
2. What is your lane? Some people have wonderful abilities for certain types of businesses. My friend Dave Schwartz, the founder of Rent-A-Wreck ★ , is brilliant in everything related to cars, real estate and warehousing - these are his offline achievements. But he does not pretend to what he does not understand, and he is cool in the ability to stay on his "strip". Dave warns about this category of people who have achieved some success, and now believe that they are "invulnerable and know everything about everything." The road may be wide, but stick to those areas and skills that are part of your nature. It is better to do what you do, than to fall into a dubious category.
3. Do you know which people you should hire first? Forget about the first full time employees. Often, even before you find a co-founder, you will need an experienced accountant, lawyer and insurer. It is these external professional advisors that allow you to lay a solid foundation for sustainable business.
Earlier this year, my long-time accountant, Steve Frushtik ★ , died suddenly. I was totally annoyed, as were his countless other clients. Of course, he helped us with paying taxes, but this is less, for which we appreciated him. We did not take a step without it - from building a compensation package for employees to concluding commercial transactions. Pals clients aptly called Steve "our financial rabbi." Do you have such a "rabbi"?
4. Does your entrepreneurial spirit find support and understanding for your “second half”? The irony is that there is a person who is most important to you, but usually you do not even work with him (or with her). It's about your husband, wife, partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc. One of my new acquaintances decided not to meet with anyone until his business grew stronger. I disagreed with him. The presence of a number of faithful person secures success and brings life to balance, if he (or she) provides support and feeds your dream, and does not call you to a safe office work “for uncle”.
Being not as insensitive to risk as you, your “second half” knows how to go through ups and downs, can appreciate achievements, at the same time reminding you and your startup are not the center of the universe. Sometimes, when everything collapses around, your partner may encourage you to take a break and just find a job that allows you to pay bills. But together you never lose faith in your ability to create something of your own.
Here's a word for you in case you forget these tips: the Alps (the ones that are the mountain range). Being a company founder is like climbing to the top. Having fixed, you will look back to understand how high you have climbed, and you will understand that this is the most exciting journey in the world. ∎
About the author: Marco Greenberg , president of Thunder11, a marketing communications boutique located in Manhattan. Successfully launched startups for a number of well-known entrepreneurs, business angels, venture funds and Fortune 500 companies.
Photos: Paul Nelhams , Petar Milošević
From the translator: this is my first experience translating articles. I would be grateful for comments and recommendations, whether in the comments or in a personal.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/291508/
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