Quick tips from someone attempting to grow Ag Tech startups from Iowa. May be of some relevance to anyone wanting to be an entrepreneur. Take this as you will.
• You have to work smarter AND harder. Yes, I'm disagreeing with Scrooge McDuck. • You likely can't accomplish the above bullet as well as you'd like, if you're not striving to reach peak physical shape. Stop eating poorly. • If you're complaining about putting in long work days, and having to work weekends, reference the above bullet point before anything else. Then critically think to yourself about if you want to build a company. You have to believe the juice is worth the squeeze. • If you have to pay a membership, you can't set your own prices, and/or you rely on "bonus" checks, you're not an entrepreneur. You're being taken advantage of in one of thousands of business schemes out there. • If you want to be Gary Vaynerchuck, you can't start by being a social media influencer. Go and find a way to increase sales 10x in a niche market, grind it out, and then share your story 5 years from now. • My feeds are blowing up with "best-selling authors." So everyone knows, that's a rigged term in today's world, based on self-publishing and algorithms from such platforms as Amazon. • You do not have to be an expert in an industry to take action on your idea. Experts are often too tangled in what already exists; not the potential of what can exist. • Understand the different variations of entrepreneurship. Including Intrapreneurship. And not every entrepreneurially-minded individual wants to launch a startup. Thank God, because there would be even more depressed, pivoting, buzz word dropping people out there. • I say the above bullet mostly to point out that depression can be common in entrepreneurs. The weight of the world is often on our shoulders. Or so it feels for those with a sense of urgency. • Whatever you think the cost is, and the time required, double 'em. • Saying no more than yes will set you free (as free can be). • if you're a founder, there are 2 more terrifying obstacles, seemingly staring you right in the face over and over and over again. 1, you must be a public speaker at times. Just remember, no one in the room knows more about your business than you do. 2, you're a saleswoman or salesman, with 100% commission. Don't like sales? Don't start a business. If you have overcome both of these fears, you've already won. And please teach me how. • When you start a business, the band name will likely stay the same, but the band members will change over time. All of these are one crazy dude's opinions, based on observations from being deep in the startup trenches since 2014. Maybe I've been hit in the head too many times, and maybe I've dropped out of college too many times. My hope is that you'll be successful through creating value for others, one way or another, and that at least one of these points hit home.
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