5 Things I Say To Startups All the Time

With 10 years of experience starting and running my own business in different countries, online and offline, I see a pattern and repetitive things that keep reoccurring. Here are 5 things I always say to people who want to build their own start-ups.

1. It’s not about you but about your Customers and the problem you are solving

Startups tend to focus, particularly early in their start-up journey, on what they want, and what kind of company they want to be, rather than the they will solve for their customers.

When you start talking to your customer, you should focus on them and what their needs are, not just on getting a sale. It is all about providing value to your customers.

2. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will

Often we don’t have the confidence that we need throughout our start-up journey. But how can you expect others to believe in yourself, your company and your products and services if you don’t? One of the main things I would suggest you do is working on your confidence.

3. What happens if you don’t do this?

As entrepreneurs we seem to be caught up in all new technologies, social media channels and tasks that are not necessary and don’t move your business forward. Make sure you double check what you are doing and if it worth doing. Cut out the things that don’t get you anywhere. Beware though: Some things take time and you have to test it before striking it off you list.

4. Have a vision, but be realistic

We can get overexcited when it comes to our own ideas. Taking a step back and looking at it realistically can be hard. You might wat to consider taking your idea to the test with team members, friends or experts to see wat the outcome might be and then create a realistic vision for your idea.

5. Value your time

When starting out, money is often not at hand – or at least not as much as we would like to have or need. We tend to try to do all ourselves to save money. This leads to being in the famous hamster wheel, trying to catch up, not having enough time to work on the business but more in the business. And the worst: We are doing things we don’t enjoy! Trying to outsource certain things that take up too much time and you don’t enjoy will give you a fast push forward with our business. In the end – time is money and your time need to be values accordingly.

If you want to learn a bit more about “WHAT 10 YEARS ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY HAS TAUGHT ME”, check out my blog post about it all here.