Before The Startup:
The 5 things I focused on in college on before I started ResumeRuby.com — and could not have gone without.
1. Become A Clear Communicator:
“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”
Over the past two years I have forced myself to write on a regular basis. It’s done wonders for nearly every part of my life.
When you leave little room for misunderstanding, most things simplify. That’s the beauty of clear communication.
Don’t worry: If you want to become a better communicator, you don’t even have to publish anything — but if you want to become a better communicator you need to practice. You don’t even have to write original content: I’ve found a ton of value in re-writing old-school sales letters to force myself to try and think how they think.
If I had to boil down what makes a good communicator in a couple of words here what I’d say:
- Find your voice — it should be similar to how you talk to a close friend
- When in doubt, end the sentence. Clear communication is concise.
- Develop a deep level of empathy. The context of how you present something is incredibly important. It’s not about you, it’s about the person you’re speaking to.
- Study the great copywriters of the 20th century and re-read your favorite authors (Thank you, Workshop)
- Learning the basics of visual communications is becoming increasingly important. A lot of these skills transfer to other mediums well.
Being able to communicate is a fundamental to master before you start your startup — regardless of whether you’re “technical or nontechnical”.
2. Show, Don’t Tell
(The alternative title to this section is “develop real skills”.)
Fuck “show and tell”.
Telling doesn’t do anything for the person you’re talking to (unless your demonstrating that your a great communicator, in which you’re actually just showing).
Oh you have an eye for design? Can you do design work in photoshop?
Your a good writer? Are you a great communicator that write the copy for our next Instagram campaign?
Specifically, what processes and frameworks do you use that demonstrate your “management skills”? What teams have you even lead?
Don’t tell me you’re “good with social media” when I can go to your twitter account and see that you haven’t used it a two weeks.
People “tell” what they’re good at because it allows them to vague enough to explain how they’re good at something without giving any tangible examples.
If you’re going to start a startup, you’re going to have real skills that are going to allow you to make your company great. It also allows you to find cofounders that are also great at what they do.It makes me cringe every time I get an email “help me find a technical cofounder” because I don’t feel comfortable referring you in a business perspective if you haven’t even take time to develop your own skills.
I’ve found the best way to do that is by doing side project after side project.
Do yourself a favor and get in the habit of showing, not telling. Develop tangible, valuable skills and you’ll attract other great people to startup your company with.
Actions are worth a million words — especially in entrepreneurship.
3. Become Relentlessly Self Aware
and/or find someone to give you constant, honest feedback.
While this is something that is difficult to develop, I thought it was just too important to not include.
Self awareness allows you to close your feedback loop of self improvement to nearly instantly. Being able to recognize where you need work or have strength is crucial.
Gary Vaynerchuk says it best so I’ll let him do the honor:
4. Develop A No-Handicap Attitude
In startups, results cure nearly everything.
Grit. Determination. Reltentlessly resourceful. The common song of what makes a great founder is not a misnomer.
The market doesn’t care about the fact that you’re a student, also have a part time job, or the fact that you might have 10k worth of debt.
You’re not going to get a handicap from the market. Everyone has their problems and you need to overcome yours.
If you want to become a founder, make sure you never find yourself making excuses. The best founders make things happen no matter what the circumstances are, no matter how “unfair” things mights seem.
Surround yourself with people that aren’t going to cover feedback in a bunch of BS and tell it to you like it is. If you don’t make a habit of sucking it up now, how do you think you’re going to make it through the 5–10 year grind of starting a company?
5. Master Your Own Processes
How can you run a company if you can’t run yourself?
Being a great startup founder requires a high level of performance all the time. Especially if you’re a founder, you’re going to have to lead by example.
The top players in the game, again, seem to describe the best entrepreneurs in a consistent way: high-performing.
While a lot of this is you being self-aware ;) in how you work best this is what I’ve found helpful to focus on:
- Deleting all “productivity” apps that require more time to use than needed. Too many features will often just slow you down.
- Audit your internet use with RescueTime and block the sites you use to procrastinate
- Read The Score Takes Care Of Itself — it’s fantastic.
- Wake up at the same time every day and spend the first hour of your day doing the same thing (ritual)
- Find a way to clear your head once a day (working out, mediation, walking)
Always remember: exceptional people acted exceptional long before they were considered so.
Taking Action:
Here are a system of questions to refer back to. Feel free to leave your answers with a comment:
1. How are you going to train yourself to become a better communicator?
2. What tangible, unique value will you bring to the table?
3. What’s your system for improving your feedback loop for self improvement?
4. What will you do when you find yourself beginning to make an excuse?
5. Why is your current system for organizing yourself the most effective?
Mitch is building resumeruby.com and writes about startups, technology, and life.
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Published in Startups, Wanderlust, and Life Hacking
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