Yes, starting is the hardest part, and it is in every aspect of life. But there is a reason for it: without initial challenges, how can you build your own experience?

1. B Y A D A M G R E E N E C PA
STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE
HARDEST PART

2. STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART
Yes, starting is the hardest part, and it is in every aspect of life. But
there is a reason for it: without initial challenges, how can you build
your own experience? Committing mistakes and falling down it’s
important for knowing how hard the floor is… and God knows how
important is to stand on a hard floor. Startups are no exception. It’s
wonderful to have a great business idea, to draw a project, to
achieve all the needed resources, gathering the right people and
then start working. Nevertheless, at some point, you feel that
nothing can stop you until you find the natural obstacles of all
companies. It’s sad, but true: every entrepreneur finds a wall and
most part of them desist there, not because they can’t get through
the situation, but because they didn’t expect it.

3. STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART
Rather than looking for a career
without problems (something
impossible, by the way), the key is
knowing that (a) there will always
be problems, (b) most part of them
are not impossible to solve and (c)
if they are, there are other ways to
keep going. Never start a business
if you think everything will be
perfect. Thanks God it’s not: Every
stage of entrepreneurism is
wonderful, especially the
experience of solving the first
problems. Let’s get deeper into it.
Image courtesy of Chris Potter at Flickr.com
Related: How to Start a New Business
Without Failing in the Attempt

4. STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART
Lack of support
If you analyze the story of almost every successful company,
you will notice that most of them began thanks to the savings
of its founders, not because of third-party sponsorship. In
fact, almost eighty percent of small businesses in the whole
world started with personal savings and against all odds of
success. So when you complain about the lack of support
from the state or the absence of investors, remember that
you are not alone, and maybe it’s even more beneficial than
borrowing from banks.

5. STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART
Arguing over roles
Although each team member has a different specialty in business, it
happens very often that it’s not clear enough which are the roles of
every member and the scope of their decisions. Roles fights are very
common, especially when no clear rules are established from the
beginning. Perhaps everyone thinks they know what their job is, but,
months later, the counter wants to solve legal problems, the engineer
feels very secure about making design decisions, the lawyer believes
he has much to say about inventory management and the designer is
calculating tax expenses and salaries. It happens frequently, and it is
better to draw up a document in which all functions are specified. That
will save you a lot of headaches.

6. STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART
The difference between friendship and business
It’s common to find companies formed by groups of friends. It may be a
team that comes from the good days of college, or even before. It actually
fun and enjoyable at the time of thinking about ideas, raising funds and
finding a place to start working. However, when there's money involved
(or the lack of it), friendship may start to crack. The reason is simple: the
logic of business is not the same as the logic of friendship. A company
founded by a group of friends can work (and there are thousands of
examples), but it is absolutely necessary to know how to draw the line
between work and comradeship. If you are mature enough to discuss
money and power issues, and then relaxing and having a beer after work,
maybe there is no problem; but if that is not your case, the
recommendation is to work with partners, not with friends.

7. STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART
Accelerated growth
When a startup company finally finds its niche, what is naturally expected is
an increase in the demand for products or services. The workload will grow,
the phone will ring like crazy and the team must expand. It is the only way to
adapt and meet the needs of the increasing number of customers. Of
course, it sounds wonderful, and, in fact, it’s the idea of every business. But
it is important to handle this situation properly because it could bring
problematic consequences. "Entering into the growth phase means
restructuring the entire company", points out Adam Greene, from Greene &
Company. “Growth brings changes in the work volume, in the roles of each
team member, in production costs, campaigns, and of course, the priority of
customers will change. How fast can you adapt to change? It is a question
you must answer if you don’t want to fail.”

8. STARTUPS: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART
Unfair competition
Suppose your startup company is doing very well. Sales rise,
people speak well of your products or services, customers are
satisfied and numbers grow everywhere. Everyone will tell…
including your competition, and take notice that they will not take
it cool because your success in the market means a threat to their
income. The business world is not friendly, and what you can
expect is that your competition will lower their prices because they
know they can hold more than you. So, don’t play that game and
take this into account from the beginning. Develop a marketing
plan: how you will remain attractive to your customers when this
moment comes? Think about it. Think it well.