….this is a continuation of the article posted earlier titled ‘7 Principles Every Startup Entrepreneur Should Follow ‘
4. Make Use of A PNL Spreadsheet
So many startups forget to manage their finances correctly. A Profit ‘N’ Loss spreadsheet is a must. Don’t trust your accountant to do it for you. This is the entrepreneur’s job! Keep a really close eye to it, because every penny counts in these inception stages.
List all your expenditures. Be honest with yourself, even if it’s hard seeing that you’re working 12 hours a day and your company is barely breaking even. This honesty will again make the difference between losing or winning.
5. Share Your Vision Daily
Your early employees will probably be underpaid. As such, you’re really looking to motivate them by other means. You’ll want to inspire them, and the only way to do that effectively is with your vision. Have daily meetings in which you talk about your company goals.
Since you are a startup, these meetings will consist of 2-10 people. Look each of them in the eye whilst repeating your company’s dreams. Don’t talk about shallow things such as profits or trashing your competition. Give your company a soul. Talk about how the work they are doing will impact your clients lives, will add value to other people in ways you all can’t begin to fathom.
Talk about how great it is to be involved in something so noble. Come up with a great, simple and memorable slogan. Use if often when talking to your people and clients alike.
6. Bond with Your Employees
“If you want to change the way people respond to you, change the way you respond to people.” – Timothy Leary
Treat your employees well, especially considering they do show faith in your entrepreneurial skills, as they are working for you. Don’t be afraid to share some personal stories with them; just enough to show your human side.
Follow the two principles below:
- Only praise them in front of their colleagues
- Discipline/critique only in ‘one-on-one’ talks
Nobody likes to be made to look like a fool in front of other people. So don’t do that, it will only affect your personnel’s productivity. But don’t let mistakes slide, it will hinder your credibility as a manager. Make sure you get your point across strong, without his or her colleagues hearing your critique. When it comes time for praise, be generous with it, and let them all hear.
7. Specialization Is For Ants
As the great Robert A. Heinlein used to say:
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
And ants, make for lousy entrepreneurs. Owning a startup makes you a jack of all trades. You’ll be understaffed, underbudgeted, underdeveloped and looking for a massive insight or miracle constantly. You will personally need to do marketing, customer support, finance, client acquisition, billing and well, almost everything.
That’s considering you didn’t go for a massive investment (which as you probably already know by now, is a bad idea!) And doing all this work on your own is a good thing. It will teach you volumes in terms of knowing what to ask from your future employees. So don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty! You’ll be grateful that you did later on!
Adhere to these 7 key rules and you’ll be on your way to having a great business.
Do you know about any other golden rules for startups to follow? kindly share in the comment section below.
source: entrepreneur
