Interested in owning a small business or launching a start-up, your life as an entrepreneur is going to be exciting, rewarding and unpredictable. You might have spent countless hours building your cash flow analysis, vetting your idea, doing competitive analysis and building a financial model, which will serve you extremely well going forward.
1. Build a support group
There are two types of support groups you might need on this journey. The first one is a professional one. It always to help to find someone who has been there done that. When I was working on my start-up idea, I was not open to confiding about my business. Let’s face it, not every idea is not patentable, or copyright protected. And that left me innovating in a vacuum. In hindsight, developing a network to strategically and discreetly discuss your idea can make or break your business. The second type of support group is, you guessed it right, a personal one. Are you are leaving a well-paying job to start your business or bootstrapping your business? Did you take on a second mortgage or withdraw from your 401K? Whatever the case may be, you would have realized that a few things that you took for granted are now luxuries. For instance, hiring a baby-sitter. Bringing-up a child in the US is expensive. Starting a business and bringing up a baby are like bringing up twins without exploiting any economies of scale. You don’t want to be caught without plans for childcare on the day you have to pitch to an investor. I have known business owners who have moved to be closer to family to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. Whether you move or ask someone to move-in, get creative about building a budget friendly plan A, plan B and a plan C.
2. Get started on a relaxation technique
The day to day details of an entrepreneurial life can be all consuming. It’s good to get started on a relaxation regimen that is easy to keep to. Pick a technique you can practice wherever. For e.g.: I’ve seen successful business owners, take power naps (10-15 mins), meditate, practice (laughter) yoga, put on your favorite track and sing along, go on a drive, water plants, etc. Whatever you choose, make sure you get into a habit of including it in your routine multiple times a day. It does not have to be hot-stone massages, mani-pedis, guys/girls’ trips, or having a daily dose of alcohol. There will be stressful days ahead, but you’ll have a coping mechanism to get you centered. The idea is to destress daily and frequently to avoid stress build-up.
3. Get routine in place that has nothing to do with the business
When I was in the pre-development phase, my start-up consumed me. I would wake up thinking about it and sleep on my laptop most days. In hindsight, this approach distracted me and ruined my health and relationships. I would suggest carving out an hour (at-least) to do non-business-related activities. I would suggest the first hour after you wake up. If you are anyone like me, you might also have this involuntary muscle that grabs the phone first thing in the morning to check time. Beat this urge. Get a clock. Business ownership is full of unknowns and unpredictable situations. Controlling and designing that first hour in the morning can set the tone for the next 23 hours.
4. Build your personal financial model
You’ve built your company’s financial model. Now build one for yourself. What are your and your family’s monthly basic expenses? If you have a savings cushion, then rule of thumb I follow is to set aside funds for 6-8 months. These funds are untouchable, and I would use the remaining funds for business needs. Don’t forget to include a salary for yourself, in case you are planning to raise money from the get-go.
5. Have the conversation
“We need to talk!” Maybe you do not want to use those exact words but break the news to your dependents/family/partner about how their lifestyle is going to change. When my husband started his own company, he gave up having coffee at Starbucks and spending on shoes. We stopped paying for cable and I put my mani-pedis on hold. I know, its not a big sacrifice! He wanted to bootstrap his company and did not want to dip into our savings, which I respected and appreciated. (BTW, though it is glamorous to raise funds, bootstrapping might be the way to go, if you can make it work. More on different ways to raise cash in a different blog. Stay tuned!) We also talked about things we would not give-up such as buying organic fruits and vegetables, a bi-monthly date night etc. The unintended benefit was our lower monthly expenditure. For instance, our grocery bills went down and not because we were eating less but because we were way less wasteful.
Hope this is helpful! I’d love to hear your views. Connect with me to share your story!
Thanks for reading!