Ready to break free and found a startup? You’ll need to dig deep, but you
There was a time when the rule of the jungle was simple: go to work, listen to your boss, and produce—period.
Over the past two decades, this ideology has taken a 180-degree turn. Employees are gaining more power in the workplace, and demanding flexible hours, freedom, and a work-life balance.
Another shift has also manifested: the rise of the entrepreneur. Most entrepreneurs originally decided upon this route simply as a way to break out of the traditional mold and become their own boss.
“Employees are gaining more power in the workplace, and demanding flexible hours, freedom, and a work-life balance.
Being one’s own boss, however, isn’t the only motive. Other competencies are also borne out of being an entrepreneur; and more often than not, these competencies drive people to quit their jobs and take the leap into the world of startups.
What are some of the abilities you inevitably hone when you take the startup route?
Speaking to entrepreneurs from my own experience, one of the skills you realize you possess is perseverance. This is usually tested within the first year of starting up, and the amount of tenacity you show may take you by surprise. The determination needed—to stand up after a mistake, push through after a rejection, or fill in when your employee quits the day before your official opening—is substantial. This may be one skill you may already have, but it is only fully realized and tested when you found a startup.
No matter how much of an expert you think you are, how many “online certificates” you took that made you a “specialist” or “Bahrain’s only _____,” the reality of startups will still smack you in the face. It will push you down, and no degree or specialty can make you stand up. Humility will. When you realize that others know better, and that in this instance, you need to set your degree aside and get down to business, you learn humility. You need modesty in order to rise, not a smart mouth. With modesty comes likeability, and likeability ultimately brings money.
Relationships are important, whether you are in school, a corporate employee, or starting up. However, they are most important when you are running a startup. Startups need relationships to survive. Regardless of how your economy is—small, developed, cosmopolitan—you still require connection to spread the word, nudge that permit, and give you extra coverage in the press. Foster your relations, and don’t burn bridges, because you never know when you will need to use that bridge.
“The level of impact you have on your business can be liberating, but don’t misuse it and become the sole contributor to your failure.
Impact is a given when you operate as a startup. The decisions you make have a direct and immediate impact upon your business. That, in itself, is a risk you must take note of, because just as a good decision can impact your business upward, a miscalculated one can be detrimental. Impact is a double-edged sword, and should be treated with the utmost care. The level of impact you have on your business can be liberating, but don’t misuse it and become the sole contributor to your failure.
Last but not least, being an entrepreneur is a true test of faith you never knew you had: faith in your vision, yourself, and your mission. Faith gets tested over and over again, and without it, you fail. With it—the sky’s the limit.
