When, for the first time in your life, you have ultimate control over something, it can be a daunting experience. You may have worked for people in the past, and so you are comfortable taking orders. Now, there is nobody above you and no one to tell you what to do. The onus is on you to make the company a success, which means that you will have to work harder than ever. Bill Gates didn’t reach his enviable position of power by slacking off or wasting time. He worked tirelessly, with just one goal in his mind.
If you are about to launch your startup, you need to know that things will not be easy. The road to success is full of obstacles and problems. If you want to make your company profitable, you need to give it everything, and then find a little extra to give as well. Your first year will probably be the hardest year of your life so far. Here are some secret hacks that will make it easier than it could be.
1. If something doesn’t work, move onto the next thing
The worst thing that can happen to you is that you get stuck. If you are working on a particular aspect of your company, but getting nowhere, you need a break. Since there is a wide array of things you have to do, you should move onto your next chore and come back to this one later. Avoid wasting time because it is your most precious tool.
2. Invest money in apps that will save you time
If you want to save yourself some time, there are loads of programs out there that can help you. You should set aside a budget for new company software so that you are 100% up to date with the latest technology. There is now everything from tax software to scheduling apps, which you might want to use. Do some research on the best software on the market so that you know what to get.
3. Find employees who share your drive and passion
When you are hiring people for your business, you need to judge them on their character. You can’t trust people who just want an average day-job. You know better than anyone else that this venture will take more work than a standard role. You need to make sure that the staff you hire, understand that too. Above anything else, you need to find employees who share your ambition and drive.
4. Keep an up to date calendar and stick to it
Your time is the most important thing to you right now. You need to make the best of each business day so that you can help your company progress. Schedule your days so that you have a list of things to do each morning. Only then, will you have control over each minute of the day. Update the calendar as you go along so that you can always stay on top of the things you need to do.
5. Schedule all your meetings in one day (per week)
When you first start a business, you need to spend much of your time reaching out to contacts and potential clients. That means that you will need to have loads of meetings each week. Do yourself a favor and schedule all your weekly meetings for just one day. You can dedicate an entire day to meeting with people so that, for the rest of the week, you can focus on work.
Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t make it. When you put your mind to it, you can achieve almost anything. If you work hard now, it will pay off later.
Image courtesy David Joyce (Flickr)