Founder's Jitters

There is a feeling you get when you know that the path you are on is not where you ought to be. It is like a silent voice in your mind that tells you you can do better, be better. That voice is soft but so loud, you try pushing it away but it whispers back all the time. Whispers are usually loud and irritating or is it just me?

As an entrepreneur in the making, I experience this often. I would say there are stages to it. First is embracing it then the second would be actually listening to that voice and establishing why it is there in the first place. Third is following that voice and taking the risk. 

I followed the voice and I am now on a journey of building my startup called Remote Gains. As such, I joined a community of young startuppers such as myself in order to get the necessary support to succeed or fail. Hopefully the former. Though the possibility of failure should not deter one's ambitions. I will share with you some of the tips I came across that will contribute to making the journey successful.

 1. The Problem

Those who have gone before us say that if you want to get rich, create a solution to a problem that people are facing. You need to know what it is you want to help people within the early stages of your business idea. This does not necessarily mean that you have to have the solution right away. Actually, it is good if you do not have one yet because then you have more time to conduct extensive research. A good way to do this is by listening to people while they complain about an existing product or service they use or asking them what challenges they have at the moment. Your work is to simply listen without thinking of a solution and then analyze that data to work your way toward finding one.

2. Not a Solo Mission

While you might think that you are the only one who understands what you want to achieve and where you want to be in the next say 5 years, treading this journey alone could be quite heavy. You, therefore, need to find someone who believes in your idea and would like to journey with you in realizing it. This person will be your co-founder and should complement you. They should be experts in their fields and have strong skills in areas where yours could be lacking. A marketer is most preferred unless you are one yourself.

3. Flexible Vision

You already have ideas in mind on how you would like to operate. You want to be in charge, which is good. You have your guard up lest someone steals your idea and that is fine because it has happened before. Sometimes things might not always go as planned still you need to stay the course. You might receive offers or seek offers that require you to loosen up a bit and that includes equity. It is like going to the Shark Tank, you have to give before you take. Be wise thought not to sell out.

4. Get Out There

You are the only one who knows what you have in mind and others will not unless you tell them. This is where you brand yourself as a person because you represent your brand however small. Take advantage of social media platforms and put yourself out there. You might not be proficient in all platforms but find one or two that you feel comfortable with. A platform like LinkedIn or Facebook would be great for business pages. Twitter and Instagram are quite tricky especially if you are scopophobic. You could be having a huge following in either one or two and now is the time to leverage that to your advantage. Hello TikTokers!

 5. Do Not Stagnate

You might have a business idea that ends up doing well in one market and has you think oh well this is great, thing is, you should not be content. You might venture into a new market and realize that your business thrives even more. Your ultimate consumer is not necessarily located where you are so take the risk. You could be in Africa but your consumer is in Asia or America.

6. Believe That

Knowing that what you have is bigger than you is the mindset that makes great founders. Your idea is what will create jobs for people someday. You need to trust in it, invest in it and believe it will succeed. It is the faith you keep that will give you the strength to say no candidly when a big shot somewhere offers to buy you out. At that moment you could be running on zero finances but the hope is alive.

I know how you are feeling because I am there too. I wish you all the best in this journey, enjoy while at it. Let me end with this; There is a reason why some people have to bear the burden of being a dreamer, not everyone can do it but those who have the seed, let it sprout.