5 Things I’ve Learned in My Company’s First Couple Months

Look at all the money we’ve made!

My partners and I are wrapping up our second month after launching our advertising agency, Makes Media. It’s not my first foray into an entrepreneurial endeavor, and we all come from extensive agency and advertising backgrounds. However, that hasn’t stopped the world from reminding me about the trials and tribulations when kicking off a company.

It reminds me of the time I learned to swim: I was five years old when my uncle tossed me into the deep end of the pool and calmly told my father, “He’ll figure it out.” And he was right, I did.

Here I am now, again in the deep end, to relay some factors to expect and prepare for when deciding to do something as crazy as starting a business. Some of these points may not pertain to you, while others may smack you in the face with accuracy. This has been my personal experience, and I’m willing to bet they may resonate with you too. Without further ado…

1. No one understands your vision like you do. This is your new baby, and you’ll treat it that way. You’ll be overly protective, easily offended when someone speaks negatively about it, and automatically assume everyone agrees with you that it’s the best thing since Starbucks instituted same-visit free refills. The reality, alternatively, is that no one cares. Not really. The part to remember is that’s okay because it’s your job to enlighten the masses, preach it from the mountaintops, and educate like the postgraduate-level professor you’ll become. You’re obviously an authority in your field, or you wouldn’t have struck out on your own! Use that expertise, lace it with patience, and begin the process of communicating exactly how you want to promote your product, service, or overall brand.
2. Everything takes longer than you think it will. It will take twice as long to close that first customer as you projected. Possibly three times. That website developer you hired via Elance and promised you the first draft by Thursday? Expect it on Friday. Of next week. Now I’m exaggerating for effect here, but the take-away is to plan conservatively so you’re not caught off guard. Everything is in disarray out of the gate, despite how well you planned your launch. You’ll be thrown constant curveballs (like when I’m in the shower, role-playing both sides of an inevitable argument with my fiancé, only to be taken by surprise when the real thing happens, and she doesn’t immediately agree she was wrong. For the record, she’s right way more than I am). Stay on top of timelines, projects, freelancers, employees, clients… basically juggle everything all the time. If you’re naturally talented at this, teach me. Please.
3. Your list of tasks is never complete. Speaking of juggling, settle in for the long haul because there is always — ALWAYS — something to do. Your business is now a constant game of Whack-a-Mole, and you’ll never feel like you’ve truly got a grasp on it. At least you shouldn’t. Unless you’re in a position to hit the ground running and backed by investment capital, you’ll be operating lean as a one-person army (or one of a three-person militia in our case). I was at a charity event a couple weeks ago, and the host asked me a favorite question among those speaking with new entrepreneurs: “Gotten any sleep yet?” No. Not since launch. I’ve tossed and turned thinking about everything on my to-do list, which is a feeling I’ve come to know well. The one night I got to sleep early, it didn’t stick. So I rolled out of bed in the middle of the night to write this entry.
4. Prioritizing accurately will keep you ahead of the game. If you spend an entire day deciding on what font to place on your business cards, I may have a timeshare to sell you. The truth is 90% of the people you hand that to are using it to feed their trashcan a snack. This is about time spent wisely on efforts that will actually affect your business for the better. Don’t get me wrong, I’m mentioning this because I’m just as guilty of this transgression as the next person. In fact, I once spent hours crafting an email to a prospective client before realizing I’d make less money on the transaction than the time equity it took me to write the email. The time investment just didn’t warrant the gain. Talk about ROI… We all want to glue ourselves to the pieces of our business we love and strike a chord with our talents, but it’s far more beneficial to take a step back and realize where the impact happens. THAT is where your time goes.
5. Sell, sell, sell. Then sell some more. I’m going to spend a little extra time here… You need revenue. Plain and simple. For some, selling is painful — a chore. But you have to just plow through and do it. You need to talk to people about your business on a daily, hourly, or even minutely basis. The desire to educate others about your goods should be emanating from your bones. Remember when I mentioned priorities? This is the big one. Now make no mistake — I’m not advocating you prematurely hustle someone with faulty services or broken products. Have your act together and stand by your goods to the point you know you can do right by others with them. And while we’re on selling? Please don’t peddle your business with the sole objective of closing someone. This isn’t Boiler Room (though I love that flick). Actually help your customer. Bring them value on which you can truly deliver so they’ll be your customer through next month, year, or decade. One of my favorite books on selling is Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” First, this was published in 1936 during the Great Depression, and Carnegie saw the strategy of relationship-building even in a tumultuous era. Second, it’s my favorite sales book that doesn’t involve selling. Yes, he recounts sales transactions and conversations. But he realized nearly 80 years ago what has come back around today: people don’t want to be sold something. They want to choose to buy it. His entire system revolved around building relationships, solving problems, and generating value for others. He knew this would attract people to buy and allowed them to come to that conclusion themselves.

Bear in mind, these are five of a few thousand lessons of which I’ve been reminded these past couple months, and I’m learning new ones every day. There’s a good chance you’ll face these or have faced them already in your journey. The entrepreneur’s path is long, chaotic, and full of obstacles, though much can be accomplished by learning from others. Let me know what you think about these points or others. We’ll share the ride together.