Managing F@#$ in Start-Ups

3 key ways to manage one of the biggest startup killers out there…Fear.

Start-up. Defined above as the action or process of setting something in motion, as well as, a newly established business. While this word “startup” seems to be so clearly defined, it is safe to say that it is quite the opposite of that.

Through starting your own company, you learn many new things. Things that business schools, online seminars, or even books cannot teach you. True learning comes from doing. So to learn, all you must do is act, right? Yeah… Easier said than done.

“Doing” is a challenge that most of us face on a daily basis. It’s not that we don’t know how to act, it’s simply that there is an aspect of human nature that tends to get in the way. That aspect is fear. It is human nature to be fearful, yet fear is the number one startup killer out there. Fear can impair your decision making, impair action, and most of all, impair your creativity and innovation. Here are the 3 key action items that help our team overcome fear. These 3 points have enabled us to learn more than we could ever imagine, during our first entrepreneurial venture.

(1) Put things in perspective.

Look around at everything surrounding us. Everything, whether it is your computer or cell phone, or office building or home, or even the city you may live in; everything was built and created by individuals who had the same amount of time in their day as you. Our mind tends to forget that everything in this world was created by someone equally as smart as us, and we tend to create limiting beliefs that solely limit our creativity and ability. Don’t let your mind do this to you. Put things in perspective when in doubt, and realize that you have the ability to create. All you have to do is believe you can.

(2) Ask.

You cannot be afraid to ask for help. When it comes to making decisions, there are plenty of people out there who have most likely had to make similar ones. So connect with them and ask! Asking for help is one of the biggest challenges a lot of entrepreneurs face, yet it is one of the most helpful and useful actions that an entrepreneur can take. Remember that the worst thing that can happen when you ask for help (or advice) is that you hear “no”. However, if you hear a “yes”, then that could be the answer you needed to help steer your team in the right direction. That being said, be mindful that, as one of our mentors likes to say, “opinions are like assholes, everyones’ got one.”

(3) Be courageous.

If you treat every day as an ordinary day, you will live a plain, ordinary life. Be courageous with your goals and your vision. We are consistenatly reminding ourselves as a team that we must be bold and courageous in how we advance. Being courageous comes down to standing firm on your vision and not letting anyone belittle it. There will always be people who want to belittle your vision and your mission, however by listening to them, they will enact fear in you. This, in turn, will impair progress — Do not let them do it. Instead, consistently remind your team what your vision is and why you do what you do. We are consistently reminding everyone on our team, from our founding team to our interns, that our “why” is that we want to completely change how people buy and sell locally. Consistently reminding our team about our overall vision and purpose, helps eliminate fear on a daily basis, and justifies the scarier decisions we are faced to make as founders.

Fear is not something that we as humans can fully eliminate. However, it is something that we can learn to manage. For startups, managing fear is one of the most important aspects in creating a proper vision and value proposition. Fear can make or break you as a company and also a person. However, when you learn to manage fear, both personally and for your team, then that’s when the true entrepreneurial journey begins.