Are you in it for the long run?

Having been in the start-up space for the past 18 months, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go in the blink of an eye; including some who have been deemed the “powerhouses” of the local start-up ecosystem. The underlying (yet interesting) truth here is that each city has its own start-up micro-economy, and they are each distinctly different in relation to “the keys to success”. So, let’s consider one of the most important of these: 

Something that confuses me, be it London, Manchester, Cardiff or any of the places where I’ve been visiting clients or friends, is that many start-ups are not staying ‘humble’ and/or asking for help when they need it. 

To my way of thinking, (especially since starting ARTIMUS at age 21), I have had no choice but to ask for help at each step of the way, (there’s no shame in that, right?), and to surround myself with those who are really good in their areas of expertise. People like Ian Brookes, Karl Nainani, and Simon Chan. What strikes me as interesting is that many of the entrepreneurs and start-ups I work with aren’t doing the same; they have nobody advising them on anything, nor do they feel that they can ask when they need help. Is it a question of pride or a fear of losing a potential sale? 

In my opinion, new businesses should be asking for help wherever they can, but they appear to be too proud to do so. We were realistic enough to recognise when we needed advice, and it’s helped us grow 500% in the past 12 months; far more than the growth of many of our local counterparts. 

The central point is, “Could I have achieved this if I viewed that person merely as a short-term customer?”

Bill Gates once said during his May 2013 TED Talk: “Everyone needs a coach. It doesn't matter whether you're a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast or a bridge player. We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” 

The same applies to business.

There could be a few reasons for why this mindset is so common: 

Reason 1; Being Precious with shares: 

As a start-up, I’ve seen far too many of my peers be too precious over share allocation, which hinders growth massively. Granted you shouldn’t go handing out 20% to every Tom, Dick and Harry, but somewhere between 2-5% for a NED who’s in it for the long run and wants to actively help you grow your business through their connections, is a huge benefit with an even bigger ROI. As the saying goes: “would you rather own 100% of a 100k company, or 80% of a 10m company?” It’s all about perspective. 

Reason 2; The infamous “trust nobody”:

I’ve seen a lot of people use this as reasoning for why you shouldn’t take on advisors and should just “go it alone”. A wise man once told me “never take advice from someone who hasn’t done exactly what you are trying to”, which narrows that pool even more. Clearly this is hard to come by without said person being a competitor in some shape or form, It's very important to take a stance on this whereby you can trust the person to advise you from an “innocent until proven guilty” viewpoint. For sure, you’re going to get burnt at some point; better to have it happen now and learn from it, than it happen further down the line when the cost and the pain could be much greater. 

Reason 3; Falling Fast:

A lot of businesses, in particular start-ups, are afraid to fall fast because they are worried about short-term cash flow and would rather drag things out to ensure they can pay their rent at the end of this month. Advice? Don’t! Having someone on board who can see things from a broader perspective or a systems thinking approach really helps to avoid this, and stops you making long term mistakes. If you are doing something wrong now, it’s better and easier to pivot while you are small than to do it when you have 10 employees whose wages you have to pay. Trust me on this. 

Conclusion?

It is very much worth being in your business for the long run. This means that if a client comes along who is willing to pay you X, but you know they could provide 100X as steady leads, business growth and advice over the next N years, why do you simply type their name into your CRM rather than develop the relationship to explore its full potential?

 We need to realise the most successful people in business are those who are wise enough to ask for, (and act upon), help when and where they know they need it. 

Go get a mentor!