{"id":190,"date":"2015-01-30T20:04:56","date_gmt":"2015-01-30T20:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getgrowthstreet.com\/index.php\/2015\/01\/30\/founderdom-the-dirty-truth-5-things-ive-learned-and-why-i-wouldnt-change-a-thing\/"},"modified":"2022-09-30T10:03:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T10:03:05","slug":"founderdom-the-dirty-truth-5-things-ive-learned-and-why-i-wouldnt-change-a-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getgrowthstreet.com\/entrepreneurship\/founderdom-the-dirty-truth-5-things-ive-learned-and-why-i-wouldnt-change-a-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Founderdom: The Dirty Truth, 5 Things I’ve Learned and Why I Wouldn’t Change a Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"
My dream of starting my own business looked like a fog machine induced haze of controlling my own destiny, only working with people I like, changing the world, sharing brilliant ideas, growing and challenging myself, having more work\/life balance and being way more fulfilled in life. As I roll into Year Two as founder of Growth Street Marketing, I thought about the reality of hanging a shingle and no longer working for the man and how that translates into day-to-day life running a start-up.<\/p>\n
First off, there is no fog machine. The glamor of starting your own business is quickly doused by the harsh cold truth that you are a one-woman show. It’s a lot like when you are pregnant and someone tells you that having a baby is going to be the hardest thing, and you won’t sleep and it will change your life. You can’t understand it until you do it. Like having a baby, starting a company is one of the most rewarding, challenging, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, skin thickening, passion-inducing, life-changing, make you a better person things you may ever do in your life. I highly recommend it but founders beware, it is not easy. There will be things about yourself that you will discover. There will be things you hate. There will be things that make you want to quit. There will be things that challenge your values and make you question yourself. But, keeping the demons at bay and reminding yourself WHY you did this will bring you back to reality. It also helps to remember the things you learned along the way. I hope this will help those of you thinking about hanging a shingle and taking the plunge to founderdom. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing.<\/p>\n
1. Know what you’re good at.<\/em><\/p>\n Starting off, I thought I could do it all. The superwoman inside me says, “I can do it all!” but the reality is that I shouldn’t do it all because I’m not good at all of it. Being a founder often means you have to figure out how to get it done, or find people to help you make it happen. After a few misfires like pitching work that wasn’t in my wheelhouse or spending too much time trying to solve a client challenge or staying up too late figuring out how to custom code stuff on my website, I quickly realized that I have to stay true to what I am good at and what I can confidently deliver. I have a team of talented people who can help me, I outsource stuff I hate doing or am not good at or takes too much time and I try to focus on what I love and what drives the business. Everything else is just noise. I had to learn to recognize those things that take me away from what I am passionate about and find other people to help me.<\/p>\n 2. Surround yourself with smart people.<\/em><\/p>\n Years ago at JP Morgan I worked for a master networker. She was the queen of LinkedIn before it was a must-have for any professional and she pushed me to build my network of people who could help me. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the importance of what she was teaching me, but when I left big company world and joined the tumultuous start-up world, I realized my network was my biggest asset. I learned that my relationships with other people were worth more than I could put a price on. As I hung my shingle at Growth Street Marketing, it was a lonely place. But not for long. The power of my network helped me grow as a founder, as a business person, as a thinker, as someone who can make other business better. My network showed me the power of great minds and I continue to expand my network of talented people I work with every day. I never refuse a coffee or a phone call (okay, sometimes I do; see #4 below) and will always take an opportunity to connect with someone. It’s less about how they can help me and more about what I can learn from them and that translates into new ideas and usually how I can help them or how they can help me. Your network is your biggest asset. Spend time building relationships that matter.<\/p>\n