Ekaterina Inozemtseva, the author of the book Startup Uncut, together with her husband Dmitry Yurchenko, the author of the Life Button project, has been going through all the ups and downs of a startup’s life for four years now. Especially for Psychologies, she talks about how to set yourself up in order to succeed in entrepreneurship.
Any entrepreneur is shackled by many fears, the first of which is utter uncertainty. Imagine: it’s as if your eyes are blindfolded with a dark tape, a tight bag is on your head, and from behind someone is constantly pushing you in the back to go forward. From the sides, too, every now and then kicks are heard — sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker. This is what the real, uncertain life of a startup looks like.
The blindfold is the lack of practical knowledge of where to start and where to take the first step if you are doing business for the first time. The bag on the head is a complete break with the old life and reality. Everything changes for you: from the circle of friends and acquaintances to the old habits. Those close to you do not recognize you — now you do not go to the office from 9 to 18, like all normal people, and do not plan vacations in accordance with the «internal corporate calendar», but work 24/7 without a break for sleep and lunch. Business is worse than a small child: always hungry, always screaming and absolutely ungrateful. The good news is that this period ends sooner or later, and the fear of uncertainty eventually goes away, because you get used to it.
- «It’s never too late! I started all over again at 49.”
How to deal with fear in the early stages, when there is not a single clear answer:
1. Enlist the support of people like you. Entrepreneurship is a kind of sect. Take as your mentors a more experienced entrepreneur who has already gone through this stage.
2. Share more of your feelings with your partner (not employees!) — only not to shake in horror together, but then, so as not to create a false impression of your omnipotence. Nothing spoils a relationship like blind faith in a superhero who actually turns out to be an ordinary person, like the rest of us.
3. Burn bridges. Afraid to announce your decision to become an entrepreneur to friends and family? Quit your corporate job? Explain to your wife that your life will change dramatically in the coming months? Do it immediately. Burn all bridges. Let the solution be not ideal, but it is there, you do not sit on two chairs, do not rush between two fires — this is already a great success.
As soon as the first fear of uncertainty leaves, a new task arises: learn to get along with partners and resolve conflicts with dignity.
An ironclad rule for any entrepreneur should be the practice of not hushing up conflicts, but on the contrary, jumping into them with your head, not with a saber at the ready, but with a willingness to share your feelings and discuss options:
A) Tell your partner your interpretation of events.
B) To designate very clearly your personal view of the partner’s actions.
C) Ask a question about the partner’s feedback and his/her interpretation.
D) Give your feedback to the feedback.
E) Initiate a two-way dialogue in order to hear each other, and not once again speak out for yourself &
- Kaizen: a plan to achieve the goal
Conflicts, disputes, discussions with partners in any business are inevitable. This is a school of startup life: if they are not there, then the patient is more dead than alive. The main thing is to learn to see in a partner not an opponent, but an ally, because he or she explores the territory in the same way — soul and business. If you learn to go through this experience together, supporting each other along the narrow path, and not trying to fill the space yourself, it will be an interesting, educational experience for all partners.
The third fear is personal inner search. Entrepreneur or non-entrepreneur? Move on or stop? Exit now or drive a couple more stations? All these questions fall on the shoulders of a startup like a snowball. Finding a personal mission and finding integrity is not easy. The state of constant frustration, internal dissatisfaction, self-criticism and self-reflection are characteristic, perhaps, of every novice startupper. General nervousness, reinforced by the disbelief of loved ones or internal doubts, sad forecasts and unfulfilled first expectations, can make the most confident person an anxious paranoid.
At such moments, when everything seems to be turning against you, and the compass of the internal search seems to have gone berserk and does not give a clear answer to the question “Who am I?” and “Why me?”, it is useful to turn to a coach or mentor. It’s great if he himself has entrepreneurial experience or experienced a similar process of self-determination. If there is no such person, read books about goal setting and a holistic personality. Look for insights and inspiration from the environment, try to balance through yoga, meditation, reflection or reading — any activity that allows you to return to yourself, and not run in circles. A very effective tool for any entrepreneur is sports, preferably cyclical, meditative, in which you need to focus on technology and be aware. Swimming, running, cycling are great for full concentration and switching from external stimuli. The skill of extreme focus on breathing or rhythm will be of great help in business, when full dedication is required to move forward.