Survey Findings

The survey found that today’s entrepreneurs are very optimistic about the current and future state of their business, including the potential to grow. Many attribute this confidence to the current economic climate. Yet, there are issues related to digital transformation processes, a lack of government support and the need for more resources. This includes the need to improve infrastructure, minimize the regulatory environment and continue improving the tax structure.

The survey also revealed that female entrepreneurs tend to struggle more during their first year of business than their male counterparts. Many noted that the challenge of leaving the confidence and financial security of their jobs to create their startups was the biggest issue. However, over time, this faded and those that have continued to build out their startups have mostly been able to survive and continue growing.

Struggling for Support

Over a quarter of black first-year startups and a quarter of Hispanic first-year startups have one or fewer business owners they can turn to for support or advice within their network. Financial support also appears to be an area where all entrepreneurs, including startups and older businesses, could use greater assistance.

There is a lack of support when it comes to understanding the basics of business setup, such as how to get payment systems and benefits for employees up and running, selecting a business structure, getting the appropriate licenses and becoming compliant with all regulations. Lack of advisory and support has even prohibited many from pursuing loans or grants that might help them continue to grow their startups and businesses during an economic environment they view as positive.

Room for Advisors

In serving as a business advisor myself, I see that there is a big opportunity for more current and retired business leaders to take on roles and fill in these gaps, providing support in the form of mentoring, networking and connections, education and strategic direction. First, you need to locate these entrepreneurs like those within this survey.

Reach out online through networking groups and share your interest in advising or mentoring any startup or company that needs help. If you participate in conferences, this is another good place to announce on stage or throughout networking at these trade shows.

Fill the Gap

Focus on an industry where you believe you can provide the type of support these entrepreneurs are seeking. Or, if you have any type of regulatory or government experience with lobbying or other connections, you could focus on this level of support. Look for the places where you can deliver the support rather than seek out a leadership role just because that’s where your experience lies. This goes beyond making a list of recommendations. Any consultant can do that.

I realized early on as an advisor that businesses didn’t necessarily need another leader — they could really benefit from an expert who could bring them up to speed on a particular area or build plans to propel the business forward. That means rolling up your sleeves and working wherever needed to help that entrepreneur. Even if you are pitching in with someone who has considerable experience, identify what they may not see and focus your assistance there. It’s a temporary position where you are filling a gap, not taking over the company.

Bring Results to the Table

Entrepreneurs are very much like the customers you seek among a consumer or business audience. They are unsure, untrusting and unaware that they may need a business advisor. That means presenting your value-add to them. Personalize what you can provide for them. Utilize past experiences and provide specific examples of what you have done in terms of various types of support. It helps to put together a list of references they can check. All this points to your capabilities and builds a case for how you can help.

Other Ways to Help

If you don’t want to go it alone as a business advisor, work as part of nonprofit or operate in conjunction with other organizations designed to help these entrepreneurs. Getting involved gives you more opportunities to build knowledge and experience across an industry or business niche. Also, it provides you with a sense of satisfaction that you are giving back or paying it forward in relation to all the support you might have received when you were in the same shoes.

For example, Techstars is an accelerator who created a nonprofit division called the Techstars Foundation to directly support minority tech entrepreneurs. They offer financial support, such as grants and scholarships. They also partner with numerous other organizations that have initiatives, programs and advisors directed at helping minority entrepreneurs. They are always seeking business experts and seasoned entrepreneurs to assist their efforts to support these entrepreneurs and work past these issues.

This was my first taste of personal and professional discomfort.

On any given day, I’d be working on 10 different things without knowing my exact purpose, whether it was combing through a construction budget or analyzing data for an upcoming direct mail campaign. I was new and didn’t know how to handle it. Discomfort set in quickly and I was ready to move back to my “safe zone” and chase the 9-to-5 life.

Luckily, I had a hard-charging boss who saw a glimpse of potential and was willing give me the tough love I needed. Every day was a surprise, but there was always a purpose behind his leadership tactics. I now consider him one of the most influential mentors in my life. On one of our many rides up to the job site, he told me that I needed to be where my feet were.

Those words motivated me to change the way I think. I wasn’t mentally present and my current path wasn’t at all aligned with the life I always told myself I wanted. I didn’t change overnight, but I spent the next three years focusing on how to get fully immersed in the business. I gained priceless experience as an entrepreneur along the way.

Who knows what would have happened if I had never heard those powerful words. Below are four skills to practice to help you “be where your feet are.”

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Stepping out of your comfort zone and embracing challenges will build your strength to overcome bigger obstacles. Entrepreneur and BAM Communications founder Beck Bamberger sets a great example: I began following Beck’s stories after meeting her virtually through an entrepreneur organization we’re both members of. She constantly puts herself in uncomfortable situations to see if she can get more comfortable doing bigger and bolder things in the world. Two of my favorite examples are when she worked as a window washer for a day on the side of a skyscraper, and lived homeless for a night in the city. She embraces being uncomfortable in the wildest ways. Take a moment and learn something new and remind yourself it’s only difficult the first time.

Can you imagine what direction your life would take if the fear of getting out of your comfort zone was nonexistent?

Take Ownership and Worry About Yourself

Your actions write the script of your reputation, so worry only about the things you can control and practice taking ownership in your life. This will help build your immunity to fear. And when you’re not scared of an outcome or things outside of your control, you will realize you’re solely focused on getting things done. For example, say that disaster strikes your biggest project due to the actions of a subcontractor. Should the subcontractor be worrying about who to blame, or taking ownership of the situation and implementing actionable steps toward a solution?

You’ll learn it’s easier to solve problems when you’re focused on what you can directly impact.

Refuse to Lose

When you are fully committed and performing at the highest level, you learn there is always a “win” in every scenario. It might not be the win you originally wanted, but it will be a win. This winning mindset will transform your previous negativity into an inventory of life lessons that drive performance.

This winning mindset will transform your previous negativity into an inventory of life lessons that drive performance. It took me a long time to figure this out, but the dots connected after attending a mental toughness academy with Ben Newman. It was a two-day event that transformed my mindset. After my first event, I ended up attending four more events and became a sponsor. I became a wild believer in mental toughness training and it’s directly correlated to my mindset of refusing to lose.

Learn How to Show Appreciation

It’s easier to be present when you have close ties to your peers, and showing appreciation is a great way to build those relationships. Keep it simple and start small. For example, if someone at the office helped you with an Excel formula and saved you hours of work, don’t just say thank you. Explain to them how their quick tip is going to skyrocket your efficiency. Connect their actions to your improvement and let them know the impact they made when they decided to lend a hand. Practice showing appreciation every day and you’ll develop much stronger relationships at every level.

People don’t get paid well to solve easy problems, and you’ll never learn to be an amazing problem solver if you’re not present. Making the commitment to be where your feet are and practicing these skills every day will have a compounding effect on your success.

When building a company, it’s beneficial to have battle-hardened advisors to help guide you through the ups and downs of a startup. A good mentor brings a different perspective to the table, provides invaluable introductions, and can save you days of work and heartache by providing you with informational shortcuts.

So the important question is: how do you seek out a good mentor and avoid the snake oil salespeople?

Think about what you need help with the most. 

The first step is to take some time to think about what wisdom and insights you need most. Know that a mentor will not be your all-knowing Yoda, dedicating all their time to only you on an abandoned planet. However, like Yoda, a mentor can accelerate your growth and take you to places you never knew existed. Deep down, mentors are people who happen to have had success in industries and verticals that your company has chosen to focus on. What makes a good mentor unique is that they are willing to share their hard-won knowledge with you at no monetary cost.

Establish a mutually beneficial relationship. 

This part is important: “no monetary cost.”

Paying someone to mentor your startup is a misalignment to the founder-mentor relationship. The entire reason for seeking out a mentor is to fast-track your way to a mutually beneficial goal. The goal is your unique reason for why you are dedicating your life to your company: why you are asking your early employees not to work at a big name company or another sexy startup. It is why you are asking investors to back you.

This is not to say that a mentor shouldn’t have additional reasons for giving you their valuable time and opening up their Rolodex for you. Indeed, a mentor worth their salt is worth shares in your company. You give a team member shares in your company, with a cliff and vesting schedule, of course. You offer these shares to align their current and future desires with your company’s. Consider doing the same with a mentor that will roll up their sleeves and bring quantifiable and long-term value to your business.  

Network like a pro. 

Now, find your Yoda. This isn’t as daunting as you may think. I drew Titans in my industry to give my company their valuable time with a little bit of planning, patience, a dose of ingenuity and a big scoop of engaging with people in the right conditions makes all the difference.

Technology meetups, hackathons and industry conferences are optimal environments for discovering your ideal mentor. Once you find someone who can help you achieve your goals, have a genuine conversation with them and let them know what you’re doing, why you’re going to be successful doing it, and how you think they could help.

Keep in mind that the advisor-founder relationship is slightly different than those you have with an involved investor. You must feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with your advisor and show them works in progress, because they are there to massage your marketing and sales plans, help vet potential hires, and jump on last-minute calls to weigh in on your prioritized sprints. You need to have the trust in them to fully consider their words when they tell you something won’t work.

Your investors have a portfolio of companies to attend to. They excel at helping you with your next raise. Your Yoda is there to ensure you have established the correct KPIs and are hitting them every week.

Trust your instincts. 

The final step is to listen to your gut if you are questioning whether a mentor is worth granting shares to or not. If there is doubt, they are not the advisor for you.

If they pass the gut check, move them onto a serious discussion of what exactly they will bring to your ecosystem. Make sure you get hard numbers and commitments in writing and signed by all. You can find some great jumping-off templates with a simple search. Finally, ensure that you protect your company’s IP: A good advisor will sign an agreement created to preserve the integrity of your business. A great advisor will suggest improvements to your agreements before signing.

Recall Yoda’s wise words when entering into a mentor-founder relationship: “You will find only what you bring in.”

“Failing Is Cool”

Recently, I read a New York Times article about Silicon Valley founders and their startup failures. They wore them as a badge of honor, as if it’s a big accomplishment to bankrupt a company. The underlying message (not being afraid to fail) is noble. The acceptance of failure, however? That’s far from noble.

In Jason Fried and David Heinemeier’s book Rework, the authors ask a simple question: Why fail?

Failure is sometimes necessary in order to achieve greatness: That’s the message that needs to be heard more clearly in tech. The market may simply not be ready or willing to accept your idea. You may be ahead of the curve. Does that mean your entire business model is a failure? Certainly not. With that being said, opening a coffee shop with a friend or family’s money and sitting in the back all day playing Pokémon Go is not a reasonable excuse to bankrupt your company.

Failing is a necessary evil on the path to big accomplishments, but it should not be an overwhelmingly accepted circumstance.

“Your Time Is Your Most Valuable Asset”

Since Tim Ferriss released The 4-Hour Workweek, entrepreneurs have been watching the clock. They want to ensure that they don’t waste their time by working on something they are not 100 percent on board with. Entrepreneurs have convinced themselves that their time is extremely valuable, and that every moment should be spent on building the next Facebook. Nickel and diming your time, however, is only holding your company back.

Recently, I emailed the CEO of a technology startup here in Atlanta. I offered to get together for coffee and discuss his sales strategy. He replied quickly, letting me know that he was looking for a VP of sales and would be very interested in speaking with me. He then asked a few follow-up questions regarding my experience with SaaS sales. I told him about the companies I had worked with in the past (an impressive list) and requested a time and place to meet.

I was planning to tell him in our meeting that I was currently in the process of co-authoring a book with someone who created the modern SaaS model; I simply did not want to divulge that information via email. Before I had a chance to explain this, he replied and told me that he wanted someone with more SaaS experience. His time was valuable, and he would not be taking the meeting.

Because he was under the impression that taking a coffee meeting may be a waste of his time, he missed a possibly fruitful opportunity for his company. I take almost every meeting that comes my way now, because you never know who is going to bring what to the table. And that is exactly how you create something out of nothing.

I recently invited a gentleman I met at a networking event for coffee at my office. With no preconceived plan of how he might make me money, I chose to explore the opportunity. Today, he and I are working together on a deal with a Fortune 500 company that will result in significant profits for my firm.

“Say No to Everything”

The fact is, to become wealthy, you need to say yes to almost 90 percent of the opportunities you are presented. You then need to explore them critically and make your determination. You need to fully realize the potential that surrounds you. Some of my best deals have come out of the meetings that I initially thought were going to be a waste of time. Be open to opportunity and constantly remain on the lookout.

If nothing else, remember stay vigilant in networking, and don’t close yourself in. Time is money, but time spent forming bonds with peers and embracing opportunities is priceless. Examine your failures rather than blindly accepting them. By doing so, you’ll empower yourself to get ahead. Finally, keep in mind that many renowned businesspeople have traversed the same uncertain steps, but they met their goals by knowing how to disregard poor advice or damaging myths.

I was fired from my first job, working as a member of the IT staff at my high school, shortly after starting. While most would simply accept it and move on, I didn’t. Instead, I called a meeting with the school headmaster, stated my case, and was rehired with a 100% raise. This taught me that simply accepting what is given to you isn’t always the way to go.

Four years later, as a sophomore in college, I started my first business. By senior year I had my first full-time employee while taking an 18-hour class load and working full time. We had only $2,500 in the bank and couldn’t afford to “take it easy.”

I worked during classes, left for meetings, skipped class and missed exams. It was incredibly difficult, but that time taught me the value of being cautious about who you take on as a client, because a poor fit could mean the end of a fledgling business for busy founders.

How (And Why) You Should Vet Potential Clients

In the early days, we decided to take on a prospect despite having reservations about working with them. By ignoring these instincts, we found ourselves working with someone who didn’t care about our business being able to finish his work, just how much he could get out of us. For example, in the middle of building the website, he decided that he wanted a second website for free. When I let him know that wasn’t in our discussions or agreement, he replied, “Well, the way I see it you’re a young kid, and I can sue you. Would you rather be sued or build a second site for free?” We built the site, and I learned to trust my gut.

Fast forward 11 years, and I still take that lesson with me into every prospective client meeting. Rather than seeing every potential sale as a “must-have,” we instead treat the meeting as if we are looking to hire a new person. They have to check the boxes for us in being a good, honest company that is genuinely interested in succeeding the right way. They have to recognize the value in our work and be willing to let us bring our creativity to bear in helping them. If any of those criteria aren’t met, we’ll refer them to another developer for the project.

If they check the right boxes, we then ask the question: “Is this the best opportunity possible given the limited time we have available?” Under these filters, we have turned down approximately 75% of the companies who come to us for a redesign.

The Benefits of Being Picky

On the surface, that might seem completely crazy, but consider the costs that have come from clients you took on who weren’t a fit. The amount of emotional energy trying to satiate a client who would never be happy, the time spent doing things you knew weren’t in their best interests because they didn’t trust you to guide them — these are real costs that cannot be understated. Now consider the power you have to prevent those situations from happening in the first place.

I won’t claim we’re always 100% accurate on this, but making the decision to actively avoid those situations wherever possible has allowed us to grow into an awarded and recognized company in our space, while creating work that our entire team can be proud of.

There’s no shame in turning away business, because no matter who you are or what you do, the fact is that you won’t be the best fit for everyone. Recognize and embrace that fact the next time you take a sales meeting. Instead of making it about why you need the business, make it about what makes that organization special and whether they are going to be a true fit for what you can do for them. If so, you’ll knock it out of the park. If not, have the courage to send that business to someone who you know will do it better based on their needs.

Identifying what actions cause failure – and learning how to avoid them – is a bit more challenging. Picking the wrong co-founder, for example, is cited as a common problem entrepreneurs face. The relationship you have with your partner and the skills they bring to your startup can set the tone for success or failure. All too often, entrepreneurs lack sufficient self-awareness regarding their own strengths and weaknesses, and don’t choose a partner with complementary skills.

I’ve worked in my fair share of entrepreneurial environments over the years, and have certainly made mistakes along the way. From my personal experience, these are three of the most common mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make. They’re three mistakes I have made myself, and ultimately learned the hard way how to avoid repeating them in the future.

Hiring Employees Based on Salary Requirements Rather Than Talent or Experience

When funds are tight, foregoing top talent can help cut costs. But those short-term savings can haunt you down the road. Talented people know their value. Sure, some may be willing to take a small pay cut to join your team, but they’re not going to work for peanuts.

Using cost as the primary driver for hiring decisions is one of the biggest mistakes I made at my startup. Despite being advised against this approach, I went with my (incorrect) instincts to hire unproven and inexperienced employees. I thought I was being smart by being scrappy. I believed I could train these employees to make up for their lack of experience. I got what I paid for: poor execution, with output lacking in both quality and quantity. A better approach? Hire for fit.

Waiting to Launch the “Perfect” Product

Your product will never be perfect. The longer you wait to launch, the more you will start to obsess over details that ultimately won’t matter to the user. Build something quickly, get the early model out, and start testing. Otherwise you risk sinking significant time, energy and financial resources in a product that is not aligned with consumer needs.

When I founded my startup, we acquired a product that we could have gone to market with on day one. But my background at Fortune 500 companies and product teams had conditioned me to a very exacting product standard. Consequently, I resisted launching since the product wasn’t perfect. Instead, I decided to rebuild it from scratch. I wanted to incorporate new technology stacks and deliver a superior user experience.

After months of execution, we were way off of our development timeline and not even remotely close to launching the new version. In the end, we were forced to launch our initial product and saw significant traction within a matter of just weeks. What if we had launched sooner? The right thing to do would have been to launch with a minimal viable product, test it for market fit, identify problems, and evolve the product accordingly.

Failing to Create and Listen to an Effective Support Group

Who has your back? A strong support network should. When I founded my startup, I became consumed by day-to-day management. I knew it was important to build a network of advisors, but I kept putting it off. As a result, I made strategic mistakes that experienced advisors would have caught (and advised against) if only I had taken the time to actually build my advisory team in the first place.

Being a successful entrepreneur takes more than just accepting that you do not know everything. You need to proactively take steps to surround yourself with the people who can make up for these knowledge gaps and who will speak up to stop mistakes. Seek their advice and act on it.

Starting your own business is inherently a risky venture. You may not be able to control external factors, like a sudden fluctuation in global markets. But there are many factors that are within your control. The biggest one? How you react to mistakes. Even if you avoid making the mistakes I discussed above, it’s inevitable that other mistakes will happen along the way. Don’t let your business become a failure statistic. Acknowledge what went wrong, pivot where necessary, and keep moving forward with a new plan.

The business world is no different: It runs on social connectivity, expanding networks and fostering connections. In an era where the newest iPhone acts as our event planner and chauffeur, we still value face-to-face meetings and the structure that a collaborative environment offers.

So where do entrepreneurs fit into all of this? Simply put, entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of a steadily growing economy. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the idea of making your own way appealed to young people en masse. This can be viewed as a boon, as the world needs young entrepreneurs and their innovative ways of thinking. But just as much as the world needs them, they too need our support.

Why a Support System?

Becoming an entrepreneur is inherently risky: That’s precisely why that path is often not touted (and even discouraged). But that’s a major mistake, and it’s an attitude that needs to change on a cultural level.

The world needs those individuals — those highly creative thinkers — who can offer a bird’s eye view of the larger business world. Innovative figures in history, like Madame C. J. Walker and Henry Ford, were cunning, original thinkers who dove headfirst into uncertainty. Decades later, we see their results as part of the mainstream. This is how the entrepreneurial spirit truly thrives, and will always continue to do so.

No great entrepreneur of the past has ever succeeded without feedback and support. Successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with like-minded peers who challenge them, push them and brainstorm with them. Anyone who has achieved business renown has done so by working together with others, and constantly opening themselves up to new ideas.

It takes drive, gumption and intent to get involved in a dynamic support system. This is where outside mentors can step in and act as guides to young entrepreneurs so that they can mature into well-rounded business people. These mentors could be industry veterans, peers, or even former clients! Connections form in surprising ways.

How to Find Support

Before you set out to find a mentor, you need to understand where you are in the entrepreneurial process. Do you know the first thing about running your own business? You need thorough guidance: someone who has been through those initial first steps. This isn’t necessarily so they can hold your hand along the way, but instead to show you what works and what doesn’t.

Even if you are a few years in and have the basics down, a more seasoned mentor can evaluate your business model (marketing, SEO, services, etc.) and offer some critique. Many young entrepreneurs fall into the trap of being satisfied with preliminary, initial success. That’s a mistake. In order to fine-tune your skills and reach the next level, you need to keep on learning, and you do that by remaining open to the “student” mindset. Pride will only hurt you in the long run.

That’s exactly why, at my company, we’re so keen on “Monday Morning Meetings,” our own support system for entrepreneurial clients. Rather than simply offering a solution and walking away, we consult with them in a collaborative environment and make sure that they are on the right track.

We start with a refresher on sales training and strategies, then open up the floor for questions. We find that there are many, and that’s why this is the perfect way to start off the week: sessions like these lead to a motivated and empowered mindset to tackle those problems ahead.

Networking is also key, not only for finding a mentor but for connecting with peers and future business associates. In addition to establishing your brand via a social media presence, you must reach out to others through live networking events in order to make your presence known and get noticed.

Whether you’re running a startup or an established brand, you should always be connecting. LinkedIn is a prime example of a goldmine resource for young entrepreneurs. Locate and engage with your peers or find prospective clients. While Twitter and Facebook are more “social,” they also offer similar benefits.

There are many more digital tools that aid young entrepreneurs immensely: Buffer, for example, is a valuable time saver. By managing and optimizing your social media presence, this tool affords supreme organization to entrepreneurs, and organization is a necessary prerequisite to success. Additionally, consider setting up a presence on professional entrepreneur websites like StartupNation. Utilizing forums to chat and connect with like-minded peers and business owners is a no-brainer.     

As a young entrepreneur, you need to foster that creative, unique spirit of business innovation. Prioritize networking and building rapport with others, utilize social media to join groups, reach out to others and make connections.

It’s good — necessary, even — to get out of your shell as an entrepreneur. You’ll thank yourself for it in the long run.