Your Startup Needs You To Be At 100%

You are your startup’s strongest asset, at least in the early days, and if it’s going to be a success then it needs you to be operating at your full capacity. However, this is usually easier said than done. What tends to happen is the startup founder operates at around 60% at many things and at 100% at none of them. Below, we offer some tips to ensure you’re able to be the best leader you can be.

Playing To Your Skills

You are very good at some things and not so good at others. It’s up to you to determine which of your tasks falls into which category. Though it’s tempting to believe that you have the skills you need to make all the big decisions yourself, research has shown that companies that are subject to the decision making and plans of just one player (the boss) do worse than ones where more voices are given the opportunity to determine the direction of the company.

Spreading Yourself Too Thin

Continuing this theme, you should endeavor to ensure that you’re not trying to be a ‘jack of all trades’ and do everything yourself. Doing complicated tasks yourself might save you money initially, but it’ll cost you more in the long run if you didn’t have the skills to do the job properly in the first place. Instead of trying to be your company’s IT expert, hire a company like Spectrumwise to take care of the tasks instead. You’re probably not an accountant either, so this is another aspect of your business where it’ll pay to hire someone to do the work for you.

Taking A Break

You can’t be operating at 100% if you’re working 12 hours a day 5 times a week and then checking your emails over the weekend. If you do this, you’ll have burned out in no time at all. The problem here is that most leaders don’t realise that they’re feeling jaded until they’re away from their business taking a break – but they’re too stubborn to take a break. It’s up to you to determine when your body and mind needs a break, and then promptly take yourself away for a few days to recuperate.

Be Time Smart

Your hard work isn’t determined by how many hours you work – it’s determined by how effectively you use those hours. As such, it pays more than you know to be savvy with your time and ensure that you don’t waste a minute of your precious time. There are software tools that you can use for your time management, or you can hire a personal assistant (either a virtual assistant or “real life” one) and have someone else manage your schedule for you. You’ve got bigger things to focus on than time!

Be Ready To Evolve

You could start out at 100%, but if you’re not constantly learning and looking at ways to improve then your rating will slowly decrease. To stay at the top of your game, you need to listen and learn and be open to change. Reading the best books for entrepreneurs is one way to do this!