9 Rules of Successful Enterpreneurship
- Choose the best associates and advisers and use their halo - Great names can significantly impact your business. Your association with well known individuals give the impression that your business is serious. Serious enough that even big names want to be part of it.
- Be persistent. Never, ever give up. Never accept no for an answer. Shop up - again, and again, and again. And equally important, follow up. The difference between successful entrepreneurs and the rest of the world is that the entrepreneurs get up very morning and start pushing the proverbial rock up the mountain.
- Choose a compatible partner. Most partnerships fail because the partners are not compatible, they don't have a clear division of labor, a clear demarcation of authority, and a clear agreement who gets what. Your partner should complement you and not duplicate you. Duplication is also a sign of lack of confidence on your part. It says that you need two of you to do the job.
- Plan your exit strategy from day one. An old proverb says, "The end of a task is in its afterthought". If you cannot envision how to make money from your idea, you probably will never make money from it. If you cannot imagine who will acquire your company, you will probably never find somebody to acquire your company. Having an exit strategy from the beginning does not mean that you will ignore opportunities that will come to you along the way, or that you will have to stick to a rigid strategy. It simply says that you have a clear plan in case none of these opportunities come your way or come to fruition.
- Don't give away your stock. Equity is more valuable than money. Offering cash instead of equity to pay service providers and employees, sends the message that you value your stock much more than cash, and therefore, your company is a valuable one. And in business like anywhere else, perception is reality.
- Stay virtual. Don't buy anything unless it adds shareholder value. In a start-up, your idea is your value measured by one featured only: does that cost item substantially add to the value of your idea? If it doesn't, it is a luxury you cannot afford. The basic rule is: if it does not generate income and/or add value and/or enhances your product/technology/service/idea - you don't need it.
- Court those upon whom you will depend on the future. You will need advisers, bankers, VCs, business partners. Instead of waiting until the moment you need them, create a list of potential partners (and yes, you should consider them your partners) and start building relationships before you need them. Send them periodic updates about your business, engage them in issues related to your business. By taking this approach, you will have created enough goodwill to engage them to move quickly when you need them.
- Don't get caught short. Benjamin Franklin once said that only two things are certain: death and taxes. I would add one more: in a start-up, everything will take twice as long, cost twice as much, take twice as long to be delivered, and work half as good as promised (or hopped). Luckily, there is a remedy for it. It's called MONEY. Sometimes, it will take lots of it to fix problems. So, make sure that you have at least 10 months of burn rate in your bank account and that you over estimate costs, delivery times, production times.
- BE LUCKY! It turns out that you need a lot of luck to succeed. Luck is something you make of. It is determination, perseverance, patience, persistence, burning desire to succeed, and lots of networking. Let the world know your company exists. The more you connect with people the more likely you are to come across some interesting opportunities truly out of the blue. Never stop talking about your company, because you will never know when the next big break you were waiting from comes. It could come from talking to somebody in a plane, at the dentist's office, or at the kids' game. GOOD LUCK.
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