Starting a business means … 5 things that founders like to forget
You have decided to start a business? That’s great, because now it’s really happening! You will show the world with your product what it has lacked so far. Investors will queue up and offer you their money. And, of course, you’ll be invited to talk about you, your start-up, and your background in magazines and talk shows….
Well, maybe, just maybe, everything will be a little bit different. Maybe life as a founder is not so glamorous. In order to prepare you a bit for what is going to happen now that you have decided to start your business, I have five tips for you – of course without any claim to completeness.
1. Starting a business means creating a business
To start a business does not mean having a nice office, playing air hockey and talking to the newspapers about your business on the phone. It means creating a business.
You have to run a business. You have to do sales, answer customer questions, talk to the tax office, and hire and fire people. Creating a business can be exhausting. Maybe there is no time for air hockey….
2. Starting a business means leading a team
Many companies are started by several founders. However, the dynamics in such a startup team are not always properly assessed from the start. In a startup team, it is people that come together. And as always, where there are people, there is a lot of “human touch” involved. That means in a startup team the whole range of emotions will break through.
But it’s not just about the founder’s team. Because at some point there will be the first employees. You also have to deal with them, motivate them, guide them. However, these people have their own lives and motivations that may not necessarily match the goals of the company or the entire team. Then, when the first notice is pending and the employee does not just accept it, the whole human side of a company shows up again.
3. Starting a business means dealing with the unexpected
Muhammad Ali is said to have said, “A plan is good until your opponent hits you in the face.” It’s similar to the plans that founders make. On paper, these look very good – until then the first difficulties occur and the plan wavers. And that can happen really fast.
Maybe the funding will not come as soon as planned, an investor cancels his investment or the product has not yet the sales figures that were expected. What do you do then?
Being a founder requires a lot of strength, stamina and perseverance and there will be a lot of frustration moments. Sometimes the whole company fails or you feel like a total failure. Founders need to be prepared for things to happen differently than expected.
4. Starting a business means rethinking formalities
In Germany, there is always a complaint about the bureaucracy. Surprise: It’s really not easy. The amount of regulations companies have to keep in mind is huge. And it’s not just about things like the founding process or tax filing.
Maybe your company has rented office space and wants to put a sign with the company logo on the front of the house. Then there may be specifications from the landlord, but also regulations by the city, regarding the sign.
Many regulations are very often simply not well known. Anyway, if these are not respected, then a letter with a warning from a lawyer can be found in the mailbox very quickly. Anyone who starts a business needs a certain willingness to deal with bureaucracy and administration.
5. Starting a business means taking care of yourself
Many founders are young when they start their business. Long nights, fast food in between and hardly any social contacts are no exception, but can quickly become the rule.
At first, that’s not a problem. But at some point the burdens take their toll. These range from simple lack of concentration over increased aggressiveness to health problems. Starting a business therefore also means rethinking the way you deal with yourself.
It is not self-evident to pay attention to what you eat, how you keep in shape – and that’s not just about muscle, it is also about how long you sleep and how you generally keep fit – and whether you still meet people outside of your company.
Paying attention to yourself is a challenge. This applies in particular to the emerging burdens of a new company. Nevertheless, only a few founders pay attention to it.
Conclusion
Starting a business if often painted in rosy colors. But every founder should be aware of what that really means: creating a business. Every founder has to cope with all the consequences – the positive as well as the negative – for himself and for his environment. The faster you make it clear to yourself what it means to be a founder, the better you can handle the challenges.
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Carsten Lexa is the former World President of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs´ Alliance (www.g20yea.com) and was as President of G20 YEA Germany the host of the G20 YEA Summit 2017 in Berlin. A corporate lawyer by profession and equipped with his own law firm, he advises German and international clients (who want to do business in Germany) in corporate and commercial legal matters. He is, by invitation of the European Commission, a participant in the annual SME Assembly. He is a member of the B20 Task Forces and was from 2014 to 2017 the General Legal Counsel and also a member of the national board of JCI Germany (WJD — Wirtschaftsjunioren Deutschland), the biggest organization for young leaders and entrepreneurs in Germany. He is also the co-founder of “Gründen@Würzburg”, the startup initiative of the German city of Würzburg and an ambassador for the “Großer Preis des Mittelstands”, Germanys biggest privately organized award for small and medium-size companies.
