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Startup Realities For Your Next Business

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I took a few months off from posting while opening a new waterfront restaurant.  As routines begin to get established and sleep becomes part of the daily routine again I thought I would share a few lessons learned from our own start up adventure.

You better be all in.  Forget the fact that we chose one of the most complex businesses – famous for its high failure rate – we chose to launch a new venture and that requires the same commitment that each new venture requires.   Our children miss us, our dogs need attention, the lawn doesn’t get mowed enough and our fish died.  That’s just the way it is – your new venture will demand 100% of you and that won’t be nearly enough.  Everything is new, problems are endless and you will always be the one called on to figure it out.  Stressful for sure but exciting as well, your vision is becoming a reality before your eyes, sharing that unfolding reality with the public is a terrific experience.

Don’t always listen to the critics.   As we spent the past year renovating an ignored gem of a property many wondered why we had made such a foolish investment.  “Nobody has ever made that work”, was a comment that became routine as local critics lined up to offer well-intentioned feedback.  Six weeks in the restaurant is thriving, exceeding expectations in all areas, and the same voices are quick to tell others that they “always knew that place was a gold mine.”

Standards and processes are critical.  Unless you purchase an existing business or pursue a franchise operation, every single thing you do is new.  In order to find some sanity in your day creating standard processes that allow others to manage routine tasks will be important.  Who will mow the lawn and when?  Who will make bank deposits and when?  Payroll, so many issues with payroll need to be standardized.  Depending on your industry the list can seem endless,  the sooner you embrace standard procedure creation the easier life will be.

Communication is even more critical.  Our small business has 33 employees, to me that is an army of people.  Of course we have bulletin boards and white boards and we do our best to cover new items face to face but stuff happens, important stuff that needs to be shared.  Our solution is a weekly e-mail and a monthly meeting.  Everyone buys in because they want to know what is expected of them.   Communication doesn’t end with employees, remember to keep key vendors in the loop, they can be valuable allies as your business grows and changes. Frequent face to face conversations with key vendors will lead to stronger relationships, something worth its weight in gold as your business changes.

Build the strongest possible team.   We hired experiences staff across the board, which is a double-edged sword.  Our employees know what they are doing and customers notice.  We spend far less on training and the launch went smoothly given the strengths of the team we invested in.  The down side is that they know the business and that means they know the short cuts.  Public recognition of strong performance and immediate communication when procedures are not followed become critical, even more so with an experienced staff.

The team is much bigger than you think.  Accountants, lawyers, consultants, contractors, vendors, maintenance crew – and competitors.  The team you create is often beyond the payroll.  External advisors and mentors add so much value and they have experience with businesses in your industry.  We have been blown away by the support we have received from competitors, the attitude has been that another healthy businesses will draw more guests to our community, an attitude we will certainly adopt moving forward.

Reach out for help, every day.  Not a day goes by that we don’t consult with someone on a new issue.  If you are launching a new venture there is no sense in pretending you have done this before, find someone who has and ask them to share some of their lessons learned.  It’s foolish not to take advantage of the learning that can come from someone else’s mistakes.  Remember to pay it forward.

Pay close attention to the details. Your customers, your competitors and your own staff see everything.  You need to do all you can to stay ahead of them so that even the details look good.

Get away.  The launch is an exciting time, but it is also exhausting.  Taking time away will not only benefit you physically and mentally but your staff will appreciate the break from your intensity.   Another benefit is the message you send by leaving your business in the hands of your staff – I know you can handle this without me – trust goes a long way.

Enjoy the ride.  Every now and then be sure to stop and look around.  Before long the venture won’t be new anymore and the excitement will fade.  You created something that didn’t exist if it weren’t for your vision and determination.  Once a week, before the crowd arrives, get a cup of coffee, find the best seat in the house and soak it up.

 


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