The questions are simple, yet without them, it could mean the difference between success and failure in your startup (and also your life).
When it comes to nailing things down for your business, often times the attention is put on the idea, and then maybe after that, the money. These things are great, but you need to lay the foundation with two very important questions before going any further:
1. Who are you and what makes you tick?
2. Why THIS startup in THIS industry?
It’s important to fully understand yourself and what you’re all about before jumping too far into the startup industry. Or hell, even the world. If you don’t have a complete sense of self, you’ll be easily swayed by investors, employees, and everyone else. This can become a problem and make it hard to stay firm in what you believe in.
After that, you need to have a goal of who you want to become. You have all these business and financial models, but what about a personal model? If you’re aiming for a business model that has a result of x-amount of dollars, but you’re not aiming for an x-type of person, you’re missing half of the equation. So find out who you are and what you’re all about, on the most fundamental level, and set a plan in motion for your personal model.
Then you have to ask yourself, what exactly am I trying to accomplish with this startup? Maybe it’s the best idea ever and you’re going to rule the world when people find out how awesome it is. Great. But before you hyperventilate on your own essence, you really have to nail down why it has to be THIS EXACT STARTUP. And then, why this industry?
And finally, why am I choosing this startup? This is the bottom line, true ‘I’. Not the ‘I’ that’s put on display for the world, but the fundamental ‘I’ which is your true self. Why am I doing this startup? Does it align with who I truly am and what I really want? Lay out the pros and cons of your decision. Is it really what’s needed? Is the industry going to have a receptive market? Take your time and outline it all.
Once you have these nailed down, you’re ready to go into the world with a little more confidence and less possibility for you to be easily distracted and screwed over by other peoples’ opinions.
Good luck!