Health crisis, war, climate crisis and yet many more warning signs were ringing in our ears. There were many who warned us about the effects of our waste on the planet, about the dangers of nuclear power plants and about the globalization that would turn against those who only wanted to make a profit. Although many leaders learned well by heart, the fables of La Fontaine became merely an exercise in memorization. Shame !
Everyone knows the saying “consultants don’t pay”. You can meet people who are always optimistic about other people’s business and who are self-conscious, you can also meet pessimists or defeatists who don’t like to see others succeed and whose advice is jealous or frustrating. related to their feelings. It’s hard to locate a consultant like this when you’re at the top of the company’s boat.
If you start your own business you will soon find that everyone is ready to mentor you. This flood of recommendations will come from other entrepreneurs, your former bosses, your former colleagues, your friends, even your mother with their own little commentary for you to help. The problem is, a large part of this advice is completely irrelevant and may harm you rather than help you. To avoid falling into the trap, here’s a short list of advice not to listen to when you’re an entrepreneur.
“Copy your competitors, if it works for them, it will work for you”
The first piece of advice not to listen: “Copy your competitors”. If mixing good ideas in the market and providing an original good or service is a strategy that often pays off, then literally copying another company’s business plan and strategy is a very different thing. One of the simplest ways to demystify your business is to market with an offer similar to an already established player and that also perfectly meets the needs of the customers. Reflection “It works for this company, if I do the same it will work for me too” Rarely is it relevant. On the contrary, it is better to ask yourself what else can you bring, how can you differentiate yourself, stand out.
“An accountant?! You laugh? Do your own calculations, it’s still not complicated”.
When you head a startup, you often have very limited funds and therefore may be tempted to do everything yourself. However, accounting is a delicate task, which should be given special attention. Of course, if you have the right software and took a few accounting courses during your studies, you may be able to get by with more or less fine, but it is in your best interest to get help (if your funds are sufficient). ). , Doing the accounting yourself adds additional stress, as the task requires time, concentration and energy, all resources that can be used for the growth of the company. Hence an accountant will save you a lot of time but will also provide you with valuable advice for all financial matters related to your business.
“Running a startup means saving every penny”
Here’s another piece of advice that might get you into trouble if you apply it. Running a startup doesn’t have to mean saving a penny. It obviously doesn’t make sense to fall into the opposite excess, because no, dream offices will only be of very limited use to you in growing your business. Managing a startup is more about finding a happy medium, ensuring that every penny collected is as useful to the company as possible. Don’t be obsessed with not spending money, especially if it’s to save you time and improve your efficiency. This is especially true for computer tools, with a good computer, appropriate software and a high-performance Internet connection being the prerequisites to be expected to be successful. If you don’t have a computer and think you’ll be bringing your parent’s old Windows 98 model, forget that idea and go to the supermarket instead to get a reliable and efficient machine to help you with your tasks. Go
“The matter has been started for several months now, it is better to limit the damage and give up”
If things go awry during the first months of the adventure, it’s impossible not to meet some people who recommend you just throw in the towel. The goal here is not to try to make people believe that you have to work hard in all respects because there are companies that come to the market with inappropriate concepts and which would be better to stop early. But even so, the vast majority of successful start-ups struggled in the first few months or years. Perseverance is essential to overcome the first difficult moments. The people who advise you to quit are probably not experts and may not know anything about the potential of your business in the medium/short term.