Successful Startup 101 Magazine - Issue 10

by Tabitha Naylor

  Failure can be a learning experience and recovery is common for many entrepreneurs. Some of the business: after all, you can rebuild a business.

  It is often hard to reach a lifestyle balance when so much time and energy are required. Travel may take you away for much of your life. You are spending excessive time trying to get the business off the ground and then you continue because the business needs constant care to grow. There are a thousand reasons entrepreneurs find their time slip away. The excuses are all valid and finding that balance can require more effort than building the business. The reality is that time does not stand still. The following are a few things you may want to try and hold near and dear. Their loss is something you may never recover and you may regret having never spent more of that valuable time holding on to these.

  1.Time: You will never recover tomorrow and each day you grow older. Things you always thought would be fun, wanted to see, or dreams of doing something slip away. There is never enough time to get to everything especially when you are so motivated in building your business. Consider finding one or two of these special things could be added to your to do list. Why lose all of them!

  2.Family: People do not live forever, an important fact to remember. The recent death of the husband of a friend points to how quickly loved ones can vanish. Your children grow and leave home. You may miss those precious times watching them in school events, seeing them date, or going on family outings. If you are not attentive, your significant other may grow weary of you not being around. Sometimes, they grow distant or find other things that take them away. Try to remember that occasionally there is no tomorrow and find a way to enjoy those special people in your life today!

  3.Education: Education occurs in many ways. Learning on the job is one type while the more familiar is school. Putting off learning about something you always wanted may place you in a position of never learning about it at all. Some want advanced degrees while others want to learn special skills. Try to make time to learn those things important to you or you may regret it!

  4.Interests: Developing interests and hobbies seems like a waste of time when you are so involved at work. It may seem a poor use of time, but those interests can be helpful and turned to an advantage. Reading books, taking on hobbies and volunteer work are areas for discussion that may make you less boring. Being with a group of people and the only topic you can discuss is your work makes you less interesting. Finding a way to develop a few special interests allows you to connect and communicate better, a true benefit when trying to grow a business. Try developing a few interests that you find enjoyable so you can become well-rounded and less boring!

  5.Property: Many entrepreneurs borrow against their property to build the business. This can result in loss of your home and create hardship for your loved ones. The first thing your family will find of concern is what happens to them in those bad times. It is important to remember that you are not the only one affected by financial losses. Try to put away funds for a rainy day so you can provide extra insurance that ensures your loved ones are safe!

  About the Author

  Taffy Williams has been a successful entrepreneur and advisor to entrepreneurs for over 30 years. The founder and president of Colonial Technology Development Company, which assists start-ups in technology commercialization. He has written more than 300 articles for: Startup Blog and Examiner Charlotte, NC- small business. Mr. Williams can be found on LinkedIn, Twitter @twilli2861, ColonialTDC, photo website, Google+, Facebook, and Startup Group. More on the agile concepts may be found in soon to be released book: Think Agile

  All You Need To Know About Hiring For A Startup

  By Steven Corcoran

  When people start offering hiring advice or social media tips, I typically cringe. What comes next is inevitably a flood of jargon completely devoid of actionable advice. In the last 3 months, I’ve spent a good deal of time on these subjects. I’ve spoken to everybody from CEOs who have sold their companies billions to hiring managers of failed companies. I’ve learned a lot and have tried to implement the same practices into my own hiring.

  Hiring is difficult at any size company. Though at a startup it’s even more difficult and more impactful. Your first hire will increase your company size by 33% if you’re a 3-person founder team. Large companies don’t have to worry turnover as much, but selecting the wrong individual can cripple a small company. At the very least, it can stunt its growth trajectory.

  Distilling the advice of all the amazing mentors and contacts we’ve had, here are five pieces of advice that have helped us in hiring.

  1. Wait for the Right Person

  When your company is growing quickly, it may seem impossible to wait to fill certain positions. For us, that role was a City Manager. We needed somebody to manage the day to day business operations. We were losing out on thousands of dollars of long term value every day we didn’t hire somebody. We had tons of applicants, and we did dozens of interviews. Unfortunately, we didn’t fall in love with any of the candidates. They were awesome people, but nobody fit the role precisely how we wanted.

  Our resolve began to weaken as we lost potential revenue every day. We almost slipped up and offered the position to somebody who was “solid.” But we held out. Because after all, we’re trying to build a billion dollar business. We need people who kick ass.

  Still, it was tough not to give in. Thank god we didn’t, though. After a few weeks, we met Alex (who wasn’t even interviewing for that position.) He kicked butt, and we now have the exact person we want for our team. Remember: it’s going to be hard to hold out for the best. But if you don’t have the best people on the bus, you will fail. Stay strong, and demand nothing less than the right person.

  2. Culture Fit

  It’s hip today to talk about your company culture and values. But when your company is smaller than 10 people, it is much harder to define. Honestly, we spent more time than we should have contemplating our values, which “type” of person we wanted on board, and who we couldn’t work with.

  But what happened was more simple. We interviewed candidates we really liked, for the most part. If anybody had an issues with a candidate, we didn’t hire them. When you’re a small team, and you can interview on a personal level like that, to figure out a “culture fit,” ask yourself this: If you sat next to this person for 80 hours a week, could you do it without jamming a pencil in your eye? If that person was in working on Sunday, and you had the day off, would you want to go in and help them?

  If you answered ‘yes,’ then you have a culture fit. If not, keep looking.

  3. Define What You Want

  While interviewing, I ran across a peculiar problem. Instead of a lack of talent, our candidate pool was filled with individuals with unique skill sets that could be applicable to our business in one way or another. We spoke to people who ran call centers, opened up international relationships, ran crews of low income individuals, wrote professionally, and owned lawn care companies.

  It’s too easy to become intrigued when you run into a valuable, yet unexpected, skill. That’s why it’s so important to define what you absolutely need.

  For us, it was simple. Here’s what our ideal City Manager looks like:

  They write well. Since content creation is a huge drive for our business, they need to execute our content creation over the winter.

  They communicate effectively with lawn care companies and contractors.

  They are an effective leader. The ability to manage people is crucial.

  They are capable of making their own decisions and trusting their instincts.

  They are sharp and want to constantly improve our processes. They learn quickly.

  Most candidates didn’t hit these required points, but we still debated hiring them because of some shiny new extra feature. If your core requirements aren’t satisfied, the candidate won’t work out.

  4. The Sliding Scale

  I rarely hear p
eople talk about compensation in hiring. This, however, is important. After choosing to offer somebody the job, how exactly do you figure out what to pay them? How do you split the salary and equity? After all, startups are cash strapped.

  The best strategy I’ve heard is to create a sliding scale. Basically, figure out the highest amount of salary you are willing to give. Next, figure out the highest amount of equity. With these two numbers, you have the top and bottom of your sliding scale. Theoretically, you’re comfortable with all the data points in between.  

  People often make the mistake of assuming they know what the new hire wants. The fact is some people are more worried about salary, while some find larger equity packages enticing. By offering a sliding scale, you let your future employee pick their desired combination. They’ll be happier, and as long as you value the equity properly, the end result is the same for you.

  5.  IP Assignment

  First time CEOs often make the crucial mistake of ignoring intellectual property (IP) agreements. Basically, without the proper agreements, your company might not own the rights to things your employees create while working with you. You can see where this would be problematic. In the agreement, allow the individual to claim any IP/patents they already own. Other than that, it’s in your best interest to have them sign over their past IP. That way, somebody can’t claim they created the concept prior to working with you.

  Hiring is hard. It’s also different for every company. But if you apply these five points to your own standards and interests, you’ll be well on your way to filling your company with the best possible people. You’ll have a kick butt team who will likely become your best friends. Now, get out there and scale that business!

  About the Author

  Steven Corcoran is the 22-year-old CEO of LawnStarter, a TechStars Company. He is also a college dropout, self taught coder, once upon a time bi-phasic sleeper, and a huge fan of startups.  

  Podcast

  The Marketing Bulls-Eye: What’s Missing from Most Startup Marketing Campaigns

  Want to learn:

  * The one thing that you think new business owners don’t spend enough time on?

  * What business plans do for startups?

  * The single-most important thing that small business owners do that usually overwhelms them?

  * When the right time to hire employees is?

  * One thing can startups do to close more deals with potential customers and clients?

  If so, you won’t want to miss this podcast!

  Tabitha Jean Naylor

  Founder of SuccessfulStartup101.com

  5 Ways to Win

  Presented by EY