Explaining bits and bytes of startups and entrepreneurship.
Time is money, especially if you are launching a business. Let go of old habits and focus on becoming more efficient.
From figuring out the perfect sleep temperature to dumping the clutter from your desk and learning how to let go of “perfect,” streamlining everyday tasks can lead to a more productive lifestyle.
Want to know more ways to become more productive? Check out the series of infographics below.
This article was originally published in Entrepreneur.com
Image credit: thenextweb.com
For some of us, procrastination isn’t an occasional kind of thing. It locks us in a vise grip and comes to define the way we approach everything.
“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today,” said Benjamin Franklin.
Pretty good advice, especially considering it comes from a guy who was an absolute whiz at productivity (Franklin was somehow an author, printer, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat).
Recognizing the wisdom in the aphorism, however, won’t stop most of us from putting off the “no-more-delaying-ever” regiment until tomorrow. (Which isn’t always so terrible: We’re not robots, after all, and leaving a project unfinished so we can hit the beach every once in a while keeps us human.)
But, for some of us, procrastination isn’t an occasional kind of thing. Instead, it locks us in a vise grip and comes to define the way we approach everything. If you’re like this, you know the exhausting ritual well: voluntarily delay a necessary task until the panic about meeting a deadline finally outweighs inaction. Not only can it send you into an unhealthy and crippling shame-spiral, it’s also one giant productivity killer.
Why are some of us more susceptible than others? Like most personality traits, a recent study published in Psychological Science finds, it has a lot to do with our genes.
Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder surveyed 181 pairs of identical twins and 166 pairs of fraternal twins about their work habits. Compared to fraternal twin pairs, identical twins reported stronger behavioral similarities regarding their ability to set and meet goals as well as their tendency to act impulsively. Based on this, the researchers concluded that procrastination is, at least in part, heritable and has a strong genetic overlap with impulsivity.
Impulsivity probably had an evolutionary advantage, Daniel Gustavson, the study’s lead author, says. For our ancestors – struggling to survive in a dangerous world, fast and decisive decision making was more important than long-term planning. Procrastination either evolved at the same time as impulsivity, or “evolved as a byproduct of it,” he says (when we’re impulsive, we become distracted from — and thereby put off — long-term goals). Unfortunately, circa now, where both goal management and the ability to delay gratification is rewarded, these two intertwined genetic traits hurt rather than harm.
But before you start blaming your penchant for leaving everything to the last minute on mom and dad, remember: most of our personality traits are, at least in part, heritable. The last thing the Gustavson wants is for people to read about his study and conclude: Welp, guess that means I’ll never change. “When people see big genetic influences on a trait, they often think they can’t do anything about it,” he says. “And that’s not true. Just because something is heritable doesn’t mean it can’t be changed.”
Tim Pychyl, a psychology professor at Carleton University in Ontario, Canada, and the author of ‘Solving the Procrastination Puzzle’, agrees.
The way he sees it, our limbic system (the ancient, reptilian part of our brain which just wants to feel good now) is in constant battle with the prefrontal cortex (a section that developed later in our evolution, responsible for executive functions and impulse control). Inevitably, the limbic system sometimes wins out. “It’s human nature to procrastinate,” he says. “You have to realize that you’ll screw up sometimes but you can change if you really want to.”
For all of us wrestling with genes that scream, “delay, delay, delay,” Pychyl shares a few strategies to help the prefrontal cortex emerge victorious.
Understand the true definition of procrastination.
This is super important. There are many forms of delay that are beneficial – life, of course, is a constant succession of tradeoffs. Often, you need to hold off on a project because something more pressing has come up. That’s not called procrastination, though. That’s called making an informed decision.
Procrastination on the other hand, says Pychyl, is never positive. “Anyone who thinks it has an upside is messing with the definition.”
Some of us may develop a warped, protective relationship with our tendency to procrastinate (see tip No. 2), but while there are many reasons why we do it, “none of them are healthy,” Pychyl says. “There’s no virtue in it.”
Stop making excuses.
This is closely related to Pychyl’s previous point. Procrastination is a voluntary delay of a beneficial intended act, and therefore causes uncomfortable dissonance, which we attempt to ease with a string of excuses.
The most common: I work better under pressure. “That’s nonsense!” Pychyl says.
“Everyone makes more mistakes under pressure – that’s been shown again and again. What you’re really saying is ‘the only thing that can motivate me to work is a huge amount of time pressure’…and there’s certain pathos in that.”
While procrastination can cause individuals to hyper focus, it’s simply because their backs are against the wall. The same amount of attention to detail – flow, as Pychyl calls it – is possible even when you aren’t under a time crunch. Learning how to voluntarily achieve a flow state requires time and effort but it’s the secret to productivity. Procrastinators, he says, need to realize that it is possible to concentrate without the motivation of deadline-induced panic. It just takes practice.
Minimize distractions and set strict deadlines.
If you have every distraction available at the push of a button, you’re more likely to check Facebook, check your emails, and suddenly three hours have gone by. Distractions, of course, decrease productivity for everyone, but for the chronic procrastinator, they’re real time-suckers. It’s better to eliminate as many of them as possible (be that blocking Facebook, deleting Solitaire off your desktop, whatever you have to do).
In addition, set a strict schedule for yourself. “Autonomy is good for non-procrastinators, put procrastinators need short, concrete deadlines,” Pychyl says. For managers dealing with procrastinating employees, Pychyl recommends having them articulate their goals in concrete terms. Specific details – rather than a vague “I’m working on X project – helps hold procrastinators accountable. Have them make implementation intentions rather than goal intentions” he recommends.
Don’t let your inner 6-year-old dictate your actions.
“I don’t know where we learn this, but somehow we internalize the notion that our motivational state has to match the task at hand,” says Pychyl. “We don’t feel like doing something, and we think that’s a reason!”
He calls this logic 6-year-old thinking. In reality, “For many of important tasks, if not most of them, getting started has nothing to do with how we feel.”
Still, we often dismiss the notion of getting started today with the perpetually hopeful “I’ll feel more like it tomorrow.” We almost never do, though, and so the task gets pushed off again. Why, then, do we persist in maintaining the delusion that a repellent task will be magically rendered less aversive in a mere 24 hours?
We tend to predict our future feelings based on present feelings, Pychyl explains. (Think about shopping for groceries on an empty stomach versus after you’ve just eaten a huge meal – most likely, your cart will be more crowded, even though rationally you know the week ahead requires the same amount of food). “When you decide to procrastinate, you relieve some stress which makes you feel good. So when you predict how you’re going to feel tomorrow, you base your prediction on your current mood.”
In addition, brain scans have shown that we tend to think about our future self as we would think about a stranger (known as temporal discounting), which explains why we often overestimate our ability/desire to accomplish an unappealing but necessary task three weeks from now.
The biggest myth that procrastinators need to dissolve if they want to break the delay cycle? “I’ll do it tomorrow,” says Pychyl. “Once you realize that this is an avoidant coping strategy, you’re on your way.”
Image Credit: incolors.club
There no better and enticing idea than one that hints at the possibility of being your own boss! Entrepreneurship is a mindset and requires quite a bit of clarity before being embraced.
There no better and enticing idea than one that hints at the possibility of being your own boss! But it pays to run some checks unless you want the startup startling you!
Being an entrepreneur is not just about being a business owner, it’s about knowing life as you knew it… and turning it 180 degrees on its head! Entrepreneurship is a mindset and requires quite a bit of clarity before being embraced.
Come to think of it, unless one is prepared it can be quite scary:
1. You no longer are in the comfort zone of a definite salary figure.
2. Days-off can no longer be arbitrary. Along with valuable time loss, it sends wrong message to your employees or partners.
3. There is so much more responsibility when you become vital for keeping kitchen fires going in several other homes.
5. You will now have to make decisions, sometimes split second ones – this is the boogeyman of grown up world.
6. Money coming in needs to move in a cycle; nothing can be achieved unless you are comfortable with the idea.
7. With technology and global audience, the concept of work-hours and leisure may need to be reworked in the head.
8. Hiring, motivating, firing will be on your plate! Tough conversations are something you need to brace up for.
9. Make time for something you haven’t done before – you will need to make sure you are SEEN and HEARD. Welcome to the game of eyeball grabbing! All this doesn’t matter in a salaried life… Now life will depend on it.
10. Inspiring others is an art. Your motivation led to the startup. Don’t let your or your employees steam fizzle out.
11. New disciplines await you – laws, regulations, accounts, taxation … You will necessarily need to wrap your head around them!
Image credit : http://www.meetup.com/NewEnglandParkour
These are 7 reasons why startup companies are becoming popular and preferred places to work at.
There are so many startup companies that have made it big and made a difference in the world. Quickly becoming a trend, startups offer the most creative, unique and desirable work culture. These are 7 reasons why startup companies are becoming popular and preferred places to work at:
Multitask, you know!
That’s practically the way, a start up works. A start up company lets you take your game to the next level. The freedom to try out everything at work, where else do you find that adventure while getting paid for doing so? That’s some survival guide, that came along! Eh?
Speak up! That’s the bliss here at a start up!
Moreover, a startup is one of the best places you can let out your creativity without anyone’s restrictions imposed on you. Within a startup, you can just let yourself and your creativity free, and this is probably the best part about working in a startup.
In a larger and established company, a lot of things will be kept hidden. Whereas within a startup, almost everything is known to everyone. Such an environment not only suggests an open and honest atmosphere to work in, but will also boost work performance. Everyone likes to know what’s happening!
Startups don’t favour scheduled meetings and conferences. If something needs to be discussed, it is done so impromptu. The motto is to do discuss less and do more. Startups are all for the doers!
You work and get the credit too!
There might even be a party to celebrate your achievement! Such attention is not common in a typical corporate workplace. Do a good job, get noticed and make it big!
A flat hierarchy is one of the best things that can happen to you!
In such a climate, you might often find yourself working beside the CEO. This kind of order allows people the freedom to do their own thing and share their opinions too. Here, you are your own boss!
Working in a startup is great if you don’t want your every action or word being judged. No dress codes, the freedom to be yourself and no fixed schedules are some of the perks of working at a start up.
With Start-up India along with Stand-up India winning the spotlight, start up companies are mushrooming more than ever. Cut through the corporate clutter and be part of the breakthrough! It’s time!
Image credit: breakroom.nora.com
Here are a handful of the things that most investors look for in promising startups. Which do you find most valuable, and which do you believe are irrelevant?
As an entrepreneur who’s looking to attract funding, it’s imperative that you understand what investors are looking for in start-ups. By getting a clear idea of what investors want to see, you can better frame your pitches, and guide your conversations to encourage positive outcomes.
Ask any investor what they look for in start-ups with high growth potential, and they’ll begin to rattle off a list of trademarks that they search for and red flags that they avoid. While they may not refer to their process as a formula, that’s essentially what it is. If you want to be a successful start-up investor, you must follow a formula. That’s the only way to keep your emotions in check, and make sound decisions that are likely to deliver high returns.
There’s no such thing as a perfect formula–and most undergo frequent changes and tweaks–but having a process will help you to identify profitable opportunities that others might miss.
Investing in an unproven business is a lot like betting on a sports team to win. You can study the trends, and look at historical data points, but you’re always taking some kind of a risk. If you want to learn about investing analytics, study sports handicappers.
As an investor, the takeaway is simple: don’t listen to what everyone else tells you. Do your own research, develop your own formula, and put your money where you believe it’ll deliver the highest return. Your investing formula is the only thing that matters.
With that said, you need to identify important keys, and give appropriate weight to the different factors that you deem valuable. In no particular order, here are a handful of the things that most investors look for in promising start-ups. Which do you find most valuable, and which do you believe are irrelevant?
There are certain elements of a start-up that can be fixed and others that are unchangeable. The makeup of the founding team falls under the latter category. You can’t force change upon a startup’s founder. They either have what it takes to be successful, or they don’t. An entrepreneur may have all of the knowledge necessary to launch a venture, but do they have the passion to navigate through difficult seasons? A founding team may be capable of creating colorful presentations and well-worded briefs, but do they really understand what’s happening at a foundational level?
As an investor, one of the first things you need to consider is the founding team. Look at their history, ability to lead, incentive to succeed, and overall versatility. If you don’t feel good about the founding team, you can’t be confident in the future of the business.
The next thing that investors turn their attention to is the pain point. Any time you’re studying a new start-up, ask yourself three questions in regards to the value offering:
If you can answer “yes” to the first two questions and “no” to the last one, then there’s a clear, unsolved pain point. This is promising, but it doesn’t mean that you’ve found a start-up worthy of an investment. You’ll now need to turn your attention to the actual product.
Investors want to be sure that a start-up will be successful before investing money in the venture. One of the best ways to do this is by studying past performance. While past performance isn’t always indicative of future success, it’s generally a good indicator.
You can look at any number of metrics to determine success, but analyzing sales momentum in the form of data is the most objective method of studying success. If the start-up has been in business for any amount of time, they should be able to supply you with this data.
A start-up can have the right people, a palpable pain point, and some sales momentum, but you’re investing in its future growth. What happened in the past does very little to deliver a return on your end. That’s why you need to study the start-up’s business model, and consider its feasibility.
Does the business have the right structure? Is the business plan accounting for future competition? What are the three, five, and ten-year goals? If you want to feel confident in the long term growth of the business, you need answers to questions like these.
As angel investor Basil Peter points out, “Over-valuation is one of the most common structural problems angel investors encounter.” If you over-value a start-up when you present an investment, you’ll find yourself swimming upstream for years to come. The negative repercussions of over-valuing are hard to overcome.
While a founding team obviously wants to attract as much capital as possible without giving up more equity than they feel comfortable forking over, the reality is that the investor often does the entrepreneur a favor by correcting the valuation. They may not like the fact that they’re getting less capital on the front end, but it’ll save a lot of headaches down the road. With that being said, make sure that you only invest when the valuation is fair for all parties.
This article was originally published in Inc.com
Image Credit: http://www.businessinsider.com
With the launch of ‘Start Up India, Stand Up India’ initiative this weekend, many would-be entrepreneurs who were earlier waiting in the wings will be more willing to take the entrepreneurial leap and start their own ventures.
With the launch of ‘Start Up India, Stand Up India’ initiative this weekend, many would-be entrepreneurs who were earlier waiting in the wings will be more willing to take the entrepreneurial leap and start their own ventures.
But even the most experienced professionals will agree that entrepreneurship is a tricky choice to make. On one hand there are so many things that you have to do to achieve success and growth, while on the other there is an equally lengthy list of things that you absolutely must NOT do at any cost if you want your venture to survive.
So, in a bid to empower the budding entrepreneurs with the knowledge to make the most informed and viable business decisions, here are a few things that you should avoid like a plague if you want your venture to succeed in India.
This is one of the most elementary mistakes a first-time entrepreneur can make, and yet it is one of the most easily avoidable ones. Often, while starting their ventures, entrepreneurs can be swayed by their own vision so much that they fail to factor in several key requirements to make their vision a reality.
Do you have enough employees to support your business? A viable revenue model? Do you know who your competitors are in the market? Any future strategies that will help you evolve past the initial stage? All these things need to be addressed before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.
Another easily avoidable mistake that most entrepreneurs starting their own businesses make is discounting the pivotal role data analytics and market research can make to your business.
Data analytic tools have improved to such a great extent today that they can often identify and predict consumer behavioural patterns and market trends well before they even occur. Leveraging them could give your business a big boost by identifying the strategic opportunities for your venture.
Moreover, a market research can also help you in identifying the target demographic for your product or service, which will make it easier for you to decide on the optimal brand positioning.
Jumping on board a particularly popular bandwagon is a needless pit that entrepreneurs often end up jumping into. Needless to say, most of these startups often fail to survive beyond the initial few years.
In a digital age where people have the attention span of a goldfish, what is popular today may not be popular tomorrow. Therefore, if you are in for the long haul, always devise your products to address market gaps instead of trends.
Most entrepreneurs start their ventures to ‘work for themselves’ and escape the tedium of their professions. This sort of approach can hamper the growth of a start-up. Entrepreneurs must always look to evolve their businesses beyond just another ‘job’ that they do and continuously work on expanding their business.
A great business has a great idea at its core, but at the same time it also has a great team working hard to make that idea a success.While the idea that you come up with might be very good in itself, you also need to hire individuals that can support your venture’s long term vision.
This covers everything from hiring to incorrect business decisions. As a first-time entrepreneur you will require individuals who work as an employee as well as independent freelance contractors for one-off tasks.Both have their own sets of benefits and drawbacks; a contractor getting paid on a pro-rata basis might fail to meet deadlines, while having an employee is a full-time drain on your resources. The difference lies in identifying what to choose as the best-fit for your venture.
A successful business is a seamless confluence of several vital functions – sales, administration, marketing, finance and operations.End up concentrating on only one area of your business and you end up neglecting the others. This can be detrimental to a budding start-up.
Many entrepreneurs often lose sight of the bigger picture in order to secure short-term gains. The effort, instead, should be on building lasting professional relationships with clients in order to ensure repeatable business. Will taking a cut in fees ensure the client will be associated with your venture for the long haul? Do it.
One of the most frequent mistakes that first-time entrepreneurs make is getting too attached to their idea. It sounded good when you told your colleagues about it and it looked good on the drawing board. However, always create an agile business model that will help your start-up survive the rough and tumble of the real market.
Never, ever, ever get into any arrangement without defining the contract. You and your clients mutually decide and agree upon certain terms and conditions when entering into a business deal; a contract is a documented proof of that agreement.
It often becomes your saving grace when the client expectations start to strain your budget more than your initial operational outlay. The benefits of a legal advisory, whether associated full-time with the start-up or on a consultation basis, cannot be stressed enough in these cases. Always ensure that you cover your legal bases in all your business dealings with clients or auxiliary service providers.
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One of the most important rules of happiness in life is to do what you love. But discovering that dream job and what you are meant to do in life isn’t always so easy.
One of the most important rules of happiness in life is to do what you love. But discovering that dream job and what you are meant to do in life isn’t always so easy.
Take a look at the happiest, most successful people on this planet: they are all doing something they love, creating something they believe in, living a life of purpose and passion. Do that, and it doesn’t matter how much money you make.
But what do you do if you don’t know what you want to do? If you don’t know what your dream is? This is a common problem, and many people wander through much of their life without discovering their passion, and go from job to job, unfulfilled and miserable.
If that’s you, don’t give up.
What follows is a list of suggestions that will help you discover your dream, and start on the road to living that dream. They’re things that have worked for me and many others I’ve studied, talked to, interviewed and admired.
While you don’t need to do every step below, they are all ways for your to spend time thinking about your passion in life, your dreams, and how to accomplish them. If you spend time thinking about your dreams, you are taking the first step towards making them a reality.
The first step is to give this stuff some thought.
This doesn’t just mean stamp collecting — it means anything you do with your spare time. That could be collecting comic books, reading about history, programming Linux utilities, writing on your blog, writing poetry, cooking, whatever. As it’s clear that this is how you like to spend your time, and that you’re willing to do these things without pay, it’s very possible that these are your passions. Give each of your hobbies some thought, and think about whether they’re things you love to do, and that you’d love to do for a living.
It’s been said that we each have at least one gift we’ve been given, and that the true purpose of our lives is discovering that gift, and sharing it with the world. There is much truth in that statement, and an important part of this process is discovering your gift. What are you good at? What talents do you have? What have you shown an aptitude for in your current and previous jobs, in school, in your personal life? Anything goes here.
A dream job includes not only what you want to do, but who you are doing it with. You should truly enjoy working with these people. In this step, you can name specific people you love working with, or types of people (creative types, programmers, entrepreneurs, blue collar, etc.). Use your ideas here to help you envision your dream job (more on that below).
The tools of the job are very important. If you love working with computers (even a specific type of computer), that’s a clue to your dream job. If you love working with clay, or paper, or people, or clothes, that’s a clue. If you like working with a hammer, or a piano, you’re off to a great start in discovering your dream.
An office, a college, a classroom, a construction site, the ocean, the forest? Where you work is also an important factor in your dream job.
Think back throughout all the previous times of your life, from childhood through adolescence, school, different jobs, different areas, different hobbies. Think about the happiest times of your life, and what you were doing, who you were doing it with, and where you were doing it. You may have dismissed some of these things for various reasons, but remembering that you were extremely happy during those times can make you realize why you were happy.
There are some great tools online for helping you find your purpose.
Now that you’ve given various factors some thought, and tried some online tools, make a short list of your top 5 passions. If you don’t have 5, list as many as you have. Then compare your top 5 passions, and rank them from top to bottom. This will be the starting point your guide to making your dream a reality.
Of the top 2-3 passions on your short list, can any of them be turned into your life’s work? What professions use those passions as a mainstay of their work? How would you get into those professions, and do you think you would love what you do if you did them?
Clarity of vision is the key to achieving your dream once you’ve discovered it. Take some time to think about exactly what your dream is, what your dream job would be, how you see yourself doing it, where you are, what you’re surrounded by, who you’re working with, what tools you’re using, the benefits to you and others. Write it down, and try to make it as clear as possible. You should be able to visualize this dream in your head. The more real it seems in your mind, the more likely it is that it will become reality.
Once you’ve clearly pictured your destination, what’s left is creating a map for getting to that destination. Try backwards planning: what’s the last step you’d have to do before attaining your goal? What would the last step be before that step? Keep going backwards until you get to the first step. Then focus all your efforts on that first step.
Sometimes there are more than one road to get to a destination. Brainstorm a bunch of ideas for getting there, a bunch of actions you can take to move yourself closer to your destination. Then put them together into your roadmap. Even if you don’t have a complete roadmap, having a clearly defined destination, and taking the first step, are enough to get you started.
Learn as much as you can about your dream. Check out some books from the library, do some web surfing, talk to others who are knowledgeable. Become an expert on the topic.
Find others who are living your dream. Read about them, write to them, meet with them. Find out what steps they took to get there, what’s required, how they did it. Then use that information for your roadmap.
While you’re taking your steps to realizing your dream, practice your passion as much as possible. Practice, of course, makes perfect … and you want to be as good at what you want to do as humanly possible. This isn’t an easy step, but it’s worth it.
Find others who are trying to achieve the same dream, see what obstacles they’ve face and how they’ve overcome them. Put up photos from magazines to inspire you. Read motivational quotes. If you’re inspired, you will have the energy needed to get there.
Along those lines, find motivation to keep you on your path. Motivation and focus are the keys to achieving any goal. What are your motivations? Making a public commitment, setting up rewards, inspiring yourself, tracking your progress, and joining a support group or finding a partner are great ways to motivate yourself.
Once you’ve defined your dream, focus on it completely. That means you need to put any other goals on the back burner for now, and have only one purpose in your life. Later, you can focus on other goals, but if you have multiple goals, you will become distracted and lose purpose. Focus. Simplify your life so that you are keeping your focus on that one thing.
A great way to keep yourself focused is to use Guy Kawasaki’s idea of creating a mantra instead of a mission statement. Boil your goal down to a few words. Guys’ mantra: empower entrepreneurs. What’s yours? Once you’ve defined your mantra, print it out, post it up, and say it several times a day.
You will not go anywhere if you don’t devote time to your dream. Set aside an hour (or at least 30 minutes) each day for working towards your dream. If you can do more, great, but one step at a time is all it takes. Set aside time either in the morning, or in the evening, or some time when you know you will do it every day. Make it a habit, and you will succeed.
Imagine that you cannot fail, that you may slip up and fall, but that you will get up and learn from that fall. Take away all fear of risk and loss, and believe in your success. Now act as if you cannot fail. And by acting so, you will make it happen.
How do you want to be remembered when you die? This is a common method for deciding how to live your life. If you want to remembered for realizing your dream, then don’t start on it when it’s too late. Start on it now. Live your life so that your dream actually comes true.
This article was originally published in Dumblittleman.com
Image Credit: http://www.prevention.com/
If you want to make yourself a better entrepreneur, look how some of football’s greatest coaches have led their teams to victory, and apply those lessons to your own startup.
One of the most important roles of an entrepreneur tends to get buried among all the others – the role of coach. Yes, entrepreneurs are leaders, decision makers and idea generators. All those roles are important, but without a well-assembled, motivated team to carry out your orders, all those awesome ideas falter.
Just like a football coach’s own direction and motivation can win or lose a game, an entrepreneur can make a startup succeed or fail. If you want to make yourself a better entrepreneur, look how some of football’s greatest coaches have led their teams to victory, and apply those lessons to your own startup:
Football and entrepreneurship are both competitive ventures. Successful coaches know that beating the competition is about more than just being as good as you can. You have to understand the psychology and makeup of the competition. If they have a weak defense, you need to take advantage of it. If they rely on one key player to win, you have to stop that player.
Key opportunities like these are critical in deciding the outcome of games, and the burden of effort lies with coaches to hunt them down. In the entrepreneurship world, competition is equally intimidating. It’s not enough to lead your company by “being really good.” You have to understand what drives your competitors, why people continue to buy from them and learn key weaknesses that your brand can use as differentiating factors. Without that understanding, you might end up with a good product but the “other team” will always have an edge.
The power of teamwork can’t be understated. Good coaches know that building a good team takes more than just finding good players. It’s better to have 11 decent players that work well together than 11 outstanding players who have no synergy.
Successful coaches like Joe Paterno worked to build this team bond by making the team do everything together, from practicing to cleaning the stadium. As an entrepreneur, you’ll need to keep this in mind as well. Don’t hire talented team members only because they’re talented, or you’ll wind up with a group of indifferent and selfish, yet skilled, workers who can never quite get on the same page. Create a culture before making hires. Always work to integrate new members into the welcoming whole of the team. Better teamwork means better communication, more positive environments and more efficient work.
In football and in a business, if you want a team to work hard and strive for success, you need to inspire them. You need to build confidence, invest in a team mentality, and help them find passion in their work. Emotion is at the root of motivation, and as an entrepreneur, you’ll be faced with a similar role. Get your team members to truly believe in your brand, enjoy their work, and take pride in your group accomplishments, and nothing will be able to slow them down.
A coach can make a long-term goal to improve offensive performance in the second half, and build up to that with short-term goals like doing extra drills every day to build up endurance. Every coach, even those completely new to the game, succeeds or fails because of their short-term and long-term goals.
As an entrepreneur, you’ll have to make long-term and short-term goals for your business. Where do you want to be in five years? How are you going to get there? What goals can you accomplish right now to get you moving in that direction? If you can establish these goals, and get your entire team is on board with them, you’ll have no issue making steady progress to your eventual destination.
When a football team loses a game, they don’t immediately give up, never to play football again. Good coaches will use the loss as motivation to try even harder next time. They know setbacks are unavoidable, but almost every setback is temporary. There will always be another game, and another opportunity to succeed.
Successful entrepreneurs are equally patient. When a competitor outbids them, they don’t sweat it. They just move on to the next opportunity. When they miss a deadline, they focus on what they can do now instead of dwelling on the past. Patience is key to overcoming those hurdles.
A coach’s responsibility don’t end with creating the plays, setting the goals or making all the decisions. He’s also responsible for bringing the team together and giving them all the resources they need to get the job done. Sometimes that comes as direction, sometimes it’s motivation. Sometimes, it’s just as a collaborator.
To succeed as an entrepreneur, adopt the coaching mindset. Your team can help you take your idea to the next level or drive yourself to financial ruin. It’s up to you which direction you take them.
This article was originally published in Entrepreneur.com
Image Credit: uk.sports.yahoo.com
