When you start your new business, make new business deals, or start any new venture in your current company, you want to make sure you establish it with a very solid core. The first three years of your company’s existence is one of the most critical times. By the time you have established your reputation, model and strategy, it is much harder to pull yourself in a different direction. Plan your steps carefully, and then take them quickly and efficiently. You need to use your early momentum and enthusiasm to build tools, structures and teams that will support and add their own momentum to your business once your initial burst of energy fades.
On my personal business journey, I remember that in my first year I felt like the world was ours to own. We had an idea and were great at what we did, and nothing could stop us. I focused all of that early enthusiasm and energy into growing the business (getting more clients) and working on projects, but I never once thought about trying to create solid processes for running a business. This meant that when fires would arise or tasks needed completing, guess who did all the work? (If you’re pointing at me, kudos to you – you’re already smarter than I was.) I didn’t plan on delegation and I didn’t structure my company to need it – actually, it needed it badly; I just didn’t see it at the time. I was so confident in my own abilities and “boundless” energy resources that by the time I hit year two, I was working 80+hour weeks, barely sleeping, and eating takeout for every meal.
Suddenly, what I had previously referred to as “amazing opportunities” became “just another stupid thing I have to do.” Without the proper balance of running a business and running around a business, I was quickly becoming bitter and overwhelmed. My business only ran when I was running it. Listen: When you own a business (especially a startup), it’s easy to think that you’ll save money and be more efficient if you carry all the responsibility. The biggest problem with this way of thinking is that money is a limitless resource; your time and energy are not. Repeat this with me: You can always make more money. You can’t EVER increase your own personal energy resources or time. They are limited. Spend them wisely in building a structure that runs without you turning the hamster wheel. As in the wilderness, if you don’t spend your energy on becoming self sufficient or getting found, you will quickly find that your energy drains. Without a business structure that includes shelter, water, and food, and is non-dependent on your personal energy output, you will lose the survival challenge.
