Do not take heed of any advice column or blog that suggests running a startup is a bad idea. Like anything, success is a mixture of knowledge carefully applied, wisdom, financial fluency and no small amount of luck – but also courage, inspiration, the willingness to make something from nothing and to make a difference. Too often are those with dreams discouraged from following them and trying their best to do so. What if we’d have told some of the most influential leaders of history, completely self-made men and women the same thing
However, despite this inspiration and courage, it must never be allowed to roam free. Like a prize horse trained from wild roots, it must be carefully tamed, carefully utilized, well maintained, and shown no small amount of care and love. This is where considering the humble realities any startup faces can help you better your courage by funneling it, working smarter, not harder.
This can seem like a sobering realization, but actually, it opens you up to a fantastic degree of potential. Let us consider what that might mean:
The Humility Of Your IT
No startup on this earth has begun life with a laundry list of powerful computers, a home server, the best programming and coding team and a range of tech support specialists. This only happens in Silicon Valley and similar areas like it in other countries, where incubators spend a lot of money to structure this situation.
Thankfully, you needn’t go without just because you’re a small operation. With managed IT services, you will have an excellent and thorough infrastructure at your back, with digital support agents, a caring, custom setup ready for you, and many implements you may not be able to afford if hosted by yourself. In other words, you will need IT help, but this can unlock your potential to no small degree.
With Friends Like These…
One of the most humbling parts of any startup growth is that the people involved will likely know each other. Perhaps they are college roommates, friends, or (shock horror) family members. This means that a startup can potentially strain that relationship, or make it all the more intense. You may not pay those working for your idea for a matter of months before you get your first revenue. It’s important to make this clear, but also to know and address the social constraints this might place on your relationships. This is a problem many startups have dealt with before, and it’s now your turn to do so.
Overpromising
Every startup wishes to become more stable. However, this can be a problem, because those who are pumped with courage and inspiration (as discussed before) may take this too literally and forget to balance themselves. This is where they may over promise on an order, suggest that delivery will be done in person despite that being a 200 mile drive, or perhaps overreach how many clients they have. It’s important to stay humble, and to be 100% clear about your potential capacity. If you can be truthful now, you can develop a stronger base later on.
With this advice, you’re certain to face the humble realities of running any startup.
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