Home > Entrepreneurs > Startup Contributor

Starting a Business Is Difficult. Here are Some Tips for Success

By Carlos Díaz - Parkeo
Founder and Director

STORY INLINE POST

By Carlos Díaz | Founder and Director - Mon, 11/14/2022 - 12:00

share it

Starting my business was a bet I made after writing my college thesis project, which  consisted of a 160-page business plan. I didn’t know what to expect, but I saw a big opportunity and a problem that — to be honest — pissed me off and attracted me enough to tackle it for the next few years.

As you may know, starting, growing and maintaining a business is difficult; it is not for everybody and it is a long-term commitment. You must be willing to go through all its ups and downs. The first three years of building Parkeo were an emotional roller coaster, full of illusions and deceptions, tears, what-ifs, lessons learned, freedom and growth.

In the startup culture there’s terrible pressure to  hit a home run fast. That’s not my case. Being a solo founder has made goals a bit harder and slower to reach, but not impossible. So, here are some tips I would suggest if you are contemplating the idea of starting your own business.

Define success on your own terms.

Decide what looks like a happy life and a happy business for you. Don’t let others — even yourself — tell you what you want or need. You know deep down, at your core, what kind of lifestyle you want, how big or complex you want your business to be, and how ambitious your vision is.

In my case, I knew I wanted to have a small but efficient company that helped a big city problem, and as a byproduct, gave me and my team time and joy. That means that I would have a maximum of 10 to 12 associates  who love working for Parkeo, solving big problems and generating opportunities for everybody: a place where you could work and be happy in the process.

In my opinion, the mentality of “growth at all costs” is very harmful if the business foundations are not set up correctly.

You don’t like solving problems? Don't be an entrepreneur.

Look at your business as a series of continuous experiments and a constant problem-solving machine. You don’t like solving problems? Don't be an entrepreneur. The road will be bumpy. Every day you will find hardship or things that are not going your way. Success will start to happen only after you pass the learning curve: it is a marathon not a sprint. 

You have to use your business for good: have a big problem to solve or have a mission or objective that will serve and bring goodness to everyone — or at least a lot of people. That mission will keep you positive and will be a reminder of your WHY. You will need it a lot, believe me.

If you are tech-based, make sure you start with a developer/tech partner with skin in the game.

The alternative name of this section could have been: Freelance developers vs. Carlos. But as you can imagine, I didn’t want to sound dramatic. Not finding a co-founder on the tech side of the business that would commit to the project has been the hardest part of my entire journey, my Achilles’ heel.  

Every version that was launched fell short for users and our business needs. 

We didn’t prioritize or plan according to what we really needed at the moment. The time needed for web/app development was ultra-lengthy and after we launched a version, we needed to continue improving that version and we needed to find available talent. The freelancers disappeared, sometimes with our up-front payments.

After four versions of different platforms built from scratch with different technologies and the available freelancers or agencies at the time, I found a partner who understood the problems I had encountered with all these previous tech guys. Proudly, next month our version No. 5, an in-house platform — our ultimate version — will be released.

Work with people and co-founders who are in it for the long run. This means choosing co-workers who will complement your talents and who will want to build a business with you for more than five years. Involve them early in the process and be sure they’re aligned with your mission, vision and your business’ needs. Don’t forget that accountability is everything. Look to work with people who are transparent, and be accountable to yourself. They’ll be the best co-workers and will make a huge difference.

Learn to ditch the noise. 

In this day and age, there will be tons of information getting your attention and ultimately your time and energy. You need to filter your sources. You’ll need to have systems to gather what works for you and your team and what does not. You will  need to systematically sum up and have them well-organized and ready to be processed and applied in the next iteration, experiments or solutions. 

Knowing who to listen to for advice is crucial. At the beginning, everybody will try to tell you what direction to steer in. And only you will know when to tune in or ignore. Prioritize time to listen to your intuition.

Don’t get big media or an expensive agency for paid ads before nailing your product’s market fit. 

Getting big media without having a well-crafted product might not be the best idea. Why? Because you will throw your money away on getting your mediocre product known. Instead, I suggest you pour all of your budget into refining and improving the product and processes.

The best marketing is a great product. The pleased evangelistic users will speak good about you and act as free ads, but with social proof. That’s the best thing that can happen to your business.

Adopt a “do more with less” mentality, and less is more. 

A “starting from the bottom” mentality helps. This doesn’t mean you need to start with little to no resources, but it is a reminder that hard, smart work is always better; it takes you further and tastes better when you reach your goals. You'll be extra resourceful and extra creative. If you have lots of resources, you’ll lose some perspective of what can really be done with less.

A “just do it” mentality is key.

As an entrepreneur you have enormous to-do lists and never-ending problems to solve, sometimes creating procrastination fueled by fear. Adopting the “just do it” mentality makes you tackle tasks and get into work mode. For example, you know you need to call a prospect or client but anxiety makes you lose some time doing other really non-important stuff. You know you need to do it, but instead you find all the ways possible to avoid taking action. You go to LinkedIn, scroll for a few minutes, then open your email. Suddenly, you check the clock and you've spent more than 50 minutes doing nothing, really. 

The “just do it” mentality puts you in the driver's seat and makes things happen.  No more waiting for the email to be perfectly crafted: done is better than perfect.

Avoid personal and startup burnout. Burn low and optimize for consistency.

  • Some keys to avoid burnout are: 

  • Know how to disconnect. 

  • Prioritize sleep. 

  • Cry if you need to. 

  • Don’t push down or avoid emotions. 

  • Keep other positive entrepreneurs close. 

  • Celebrate wins; reward and recognize your wins often. 

  • Share your struggles. 

  • Prioritize relationships. 

And — most importantly — know that you are here for the long run. Remember: slow but steady wins the race.

Photo by:   Carlos Díaz

You May Like

Most popular

Newsletter