Starting a business is often very hard and even lonely for the founder(s). It requires both experience and support to avoid trap doors and also speed up the process. There are many support needs as we will see, in particular for startups created by young students freshly from the high schools engineering or commercial, or other higher education institutions and research laboratories.
Finding ideas to start a business
Very often the right idea is there. But it lacks a choice: its technological industrialization, a complete team, a business plan that takes the road from a financial point of view and / or an operational marketing and commercial approach. Engineers and sometimes salespeople do not are not always good marketers or good communicators!
The first part of this document is therefore a spring inventory of disciplines, subjects and questions that the entrepreneur must ask himself when he gets started and which often require support. This list is based on my own experience with several hundred startups encountered. The sorting is somewhat arbitrary and is not necessarily hierarchical, in particular with respect to the time dimension.
Questions at different stages of the startup
Certain questions arise in fact at different stages of the maturity of the startup. The business is not created overnight. First you need to state the basics of the company in a well structured (but constantly adaptable) business plan then get started in the operational aspects. The order of operations is often documented in the various information sites for entrepreneurs, some of which are discussed later in this document, especially in the timing of funding.
It should never be forgotten that the company is there to meet the needs of customers, expressed or latent. And that it involves a quality of execution at the level, even beyond their expectations if it does not cost too much, just to create surprise and difference. A good strategy will not work if the quality of execution does not follow!
elements need the attention of the creator of the startup as much if not more than funding and recruitment are:
- attention to detail,
- quality of service,
- responsiveness,
- care taken in creating its website (showcase or not) and its marketing tools,
- IT infrastructure,
Likewise, a strategy is not unchangeable. The entrepreneur must be both determined and focused, but also able to adapt to a deal that can change quickly for your business. Position changes are common in startups. These are called “pivots” and we will describe their characteristics.
In what follows, we will therefore deal with the following seven key points in order:
· The human component of the business, which counts above all others for its success.
· Strategy and business models where it is always good to have a step back.
· Marketing and sales strategies and tactics, where choices have to be made because you cannot
not do everything!
· Internationalization models, one of the biggest Achilles heels of our tech startups.
· Technological aspects and in particular, the organization of developments.
· Financial aspects, beyond the company’s funding sources.
· Legal aspects which do not only concern intellectual property.
They are most often organized into “questions to ask” in the creation of his business. Some answers and reading guides are offered … but not always.
Ordinary organization of an extraordinary day
Time-management is very important for business owners. But it is not easy to organize when you are an entrepreneur and it is not up to you learn it isn’t it? Here are the two principles of how to organize your day effectively.
Long live freedom but it has a price, that of being alone in the face of one’s responsibilities. You are your own boss, it has advantages, of course, but also disadvantages. No one is there to tell you what to do, when to do it and how to do it but the result alone is final and it’s cash!
Fortunately, there are many solutions to get organized and spend an ordinary day to an extraordinary day. The first of your responsibilities as an entrepreneur can be summed up in one word: profit. Make may your days be the most profitable for you. It is very often that things go wrong. I’m referring to my previous article titled “if you fear loneliness, don’t get married.”
The overriding factor in any organization is motivation. Remember this great motivation that gave you the energy you need to create your own. This motivation which makes you get up every morning hyper enthusiastic about the idea of reap the rewards of what you have sown little by little.
1. Motivation, like everything, can be learned
How? By adopting a positive attitude. And it just starts by clarifying your goals. Like any entrepreneur, you have goals. But there is no point in keeping them in mind. Writing them down on paper makes them concrete, making them more tangible. Inform those around you of your objectives, at least those who are listening to you, in whom you trust.
This process has two advantages:
- It is important to speak especially if you are alone in front of your machine or your computer most of the time. It turns your neurons out and takes you back to reality.
- The second interest may be very useful for all those who tend to postpone systematically on the next day.
Indeed, do you know that to declare publicly (to those around you) his intentions reinforces the idea commitment.
- Set your goals
Two types of objectives are to be taken into account.
- The first of them, your long-term goal at 5 years. We are in that I call the register of the irrational. This is the goal you dream of, both financial, material, affective. It is this so imagined objective that made you create your business.
- The second is the much more rational year-round objective. Your goals must meet to the questions why, who, what, where, when, how.
Define and set a goal for the year according to your financial needs (your needs personal and business needs).