Start-up profiles: 10 ways to prevent start-up exhaustion
Just read a nice article on ihub blog on how to prevent start up failure or exhaustion or whatever it is you want to call it. Enjoy.
Start-up profiles: 10 ways to prevent start-up exhaustion
Posted by Hilda Moraa
On November 9th, 2011
All businesses take a tremendous amount of time and energy, but for startups it can be totally consuming. To lead the road of success from a start-up to a mature Company, start up entrepreneurs would do whatever it takes to get there. The unending proactive participation in competitions to pitch to investors, sleepless nights of hacking code and developing their business idea on the ground, ends up being an exhaustion engine to themselves in this process of achieving success. Unfortunately, the results lead to huge consequences for their business and affects the health and safety of the individual members in the team.
Adelaide Lancaster is an entrepreneur, speaker and co-author of The Big Enough Company, She is also the co-founder of In Good Company Workplaces, a first-of-its-kind community, learning center and co-working space for women entrepreneurs in New York City, proposes 10 ways to help entrepreneurs ensure they are in line to achieving business success by preventing startup exhaustion:
1. Get in the Right Mindset. Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. Long-term success depends on your ability to maintain your stamina. You won’t get as far if you sprint out of the gate. Instead pace yourself, respect your limits, and keep the whole “race” in mind.
2. Establish Fair Expectations. There is no such thing as an overnight success. Good things take time, plenty of research, and lots of tweaking. Be generous when you do forecasting, project planning and goal setting. Remember that things always take longer than you anticipate. When you hit a goal, celebrate. When you don’t, shake it off, consider it a lesson learned, and readjust your expectations for the next round.
3. Make Progress with Small Steps. As exciting as the big vision may be, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by it especially when the path from here to there is unclear. Progress comes from moving forward everyday with small, persistent steps. When you feel stuck, break down your tasks into smaller chunks to make them even more actionable. Moving forward always feels good, even if it’s a tiny bit at a time.
4. Keep Your Goals in Mind. It’s easy to get off track and distracted, taking your business in a direction that doesn’t work for you. Remember WHY you became an entrepreneur and be sure to prioritize these motivations as you build your business. That way it will always be rewarding for you, both now and in the long run.
5. Prioritize What You Do Best. Everyone has to do a little bit of everything in the early days. But, in order to end up with a job you love you need to focus on your talents from the get go. Don’t hoard bad tasks or give yourself a job you don’t like. Instead leverage others and deliberately plan for the job you want. I guarantee that’s the only way you’ll ever get it.
6. Create a Support Team. Your network is one of your greatest assets. Not only do they offer support but they provide a wealth of information, wisdom, experience, and resources. They will help lighten your work load and prevent you from reinventing the wheel. You don’t need to learn all your lessons the hard way.
7. Set Strong Boundaries. The transition from startup to established business isn’t a discreet event. So the habits and routines you have in the beginning establish a precedent for years to come. A chief complaint of many entrepreneurs is that they are “always working.” Avoid this from the get go by setting and honoring clear boundaries. Off means off. On means on.
8. Shake Up Your Routine. Nothing’s more exhausting than monotony. Sure you’ll be multi-tasking and trying your hand at all sorts of new things. But if the work looks the same, for example every day in front of a computer or on the phone, you’re sure to tire quickly. Change it up with some rejuvenating work-related tasks such as time out to read, take a field trip or meet a colleague. The list and the laptop can wait until later.
9. Indulge Guilty Pleasures – Daily. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘what must be done next?’ mode. It’s great to be efficient and productive but an all work and no play attitude can only last so long. Instead create a sustainable routine by integrating small mental or physical breaks into your daily grind. Whether it’s a quick episode of The Daily Show, some perusing of your favorite blogs, or a trip to the gym a shift in focus and some levity will do you good.
10. Take Time Off. Aside from regular, short daily breaks plan to take some legitimate time off too. Time away from the business is actually quite productive. A break allows you to get out of the weeds and gain perspective on the business .
