The secret ingredient for a successful startup

"If you are passionate about something pursue it no matter what anyone else thinks. That's how dreams are achieved and that's how winning is done."

If it was easy to get everything you wish for in life, everyone would have got what they wanted.

Let's be honest. If life gives us everything we wish for, would we be happy? Sure.

Only for a few days. But why?

Evolution. That's why.

We as human beings are meant to outgrow ourselves.

If we know ourselves, we understand the real happiness lies in knowing we tried our best.

Even if we don't end up achieving our targets, going all-in makes up for everything.

And that's how the world we live in evolves.

Salute to the legends who evolved themselves into super-humans by turning all the lethargy, criticism and failure into positive and motivating feedback and made their way to the top.

Entrepreneurial-ship isn't for everyone.

The fame entices many to begin this journey but doesn't show the years of struggle, hardship and sacrifices.

Hence some of them see the light at the end of the tunnel. While only a few embrace that spotlight.

What separates these courageous brave-hearts from others?

What differentiates them from a group of wannabes?

The secret ingredient for their success is their clarity.

clarity - noun - clar·i·ty | \ˈkler-ə-tē, ˈkla-rə-\ : the quality or state of being clear

Where do you want to go?

What do you want to achieve?

Why are you doing what you are doing?

When is the right time?

How is it going to happen?

THE POWER OF QUESTIONS

Questions are meant to gain information on a related subject.

Questions in return ask for something concrete.

Driven by curiosity, the urge to know and understand a concept attracts a valuable piece of information to solve the puzzle in your mind.

The objective of asking questions is to learn.

We should not be afraid or hesitate to ask but also willing and patient to listen.

Questions invite answers which in turn help you gain clarity.

And clarity is vital if you want to solve a problem or build a product that brings your audience one step closer to gratification.

You should ask questions and demand answers from yourself.

It's equally important and critical as asking others.

To evaluate oneself, we should consistently introspect our decisions and thought process.

Doing so makes us choose consciously rather than repeating previous habits.

Questions like -

What is the purpose I am trying to achieve?

Is it going to help people - save their time and money?

Is my product going to bring a positive or negative impact on society?

Is watching a movie more important than completing the presentation for tomorrow?

Should I buy or rent laptops and save capital at this stage?

To go somewhere you must see that place in your mind and have a clear vision of what you want.

Feelings and emotions are going to drive you when the days turn into nights and your desk becomes your bed.

Asking yourself the right questions prepare you for outcomes you would have never thought initially.

Asking others complements your preparations and gives you the new insight about your product or service.

THE POWER OF CLARITY

Now if you know where you want to go the next step is to take the next step.

But how?

You, my friend, are a powerful human being capable of anything in the world.

You have a pen and you have paper.

And if you're willing to be an entrepreneur you are creative and designer at heart.

The clarity you have gained with the help of questions you can design your way and draw your roadmap or blueprint.

Here are again, a few questions to get you on the right track -

What is your business plan?

A business plan is a written document handcrafted by you, which describes the nature of your business and it's applications. Features such as -

- Preparing the title

- Executive summary

- Industry description

- Plans for 3 years down the road

- Marketing strategies to achieve those plans

- Competitor's analysis based on their weaknesses and strengths

- Plans for design, development, operations and management.

Create at-least 3 pages of crisp, clear and accurate information for each topic. You're going to revisit it time and again to redirect your focus and update it as you move forward.

How are you going to fund your idea?

There's no fixed number to get you started for your dream project.

Since you have developed a clear and concise business plan you do have an estimate.

Here are a few ways to get you started with your funding process.

- Apply for a bank loan

- Apply to an angel investors group

- Join a startup incubator to develop your infrastructure

- Start a crowd-funding campaign online

- Gain some traction before approaching Venture Capitalists

- Ask the government for small business grants.

- Fund your idea yourself or pitch your needs to your friends and family

DEVELOP YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Take action. You have to start.

You alone won't be able to solve all your problems and carry out all the operations.

Admit it you are going to need help.

Ask people for advice and get them to do it.

It's better for you if people implement their ideology.

Get yourself a Co-founder who pushes you and does the work which is beyond your area of expertise.

Create hype by selling your product or service, even if it's not yet developed.

This way your audience will know something is coming up.

Hire experts remotely or on a contract basis to steer your development process.

Learn along with the experts and the internet to gain deep knowledge about the manufacture or production process.

You cannot be an entrepreneur if you don't know each and everything about your product or service.

Develop a team to cover the maximum number of tasks.

Your choice of team is going to lead you to success or failure.

Their incompetence shows your lack of judgment and inability to get people of different mindsets and backgrounds on the same page.

It's your startup. And every step is your responsibility.

Marketing and Sales

If you have a brilliant product or an amazing service that saves people time and money and they are not aware of it, why are you even developing it?

As we said earlier being an entrepreneur isn't easy and made for everyone.

Let us make you wear one more hat.

You need to be a marketing expert as well.

The only way to become one is to learn or hire someone who already is.

Hiring someone is going to cost you a good amount but also save you time and gain heir valuable and experienced insight.

At some point, you will have to learn and master marketing strategies and invent some of your own.

Prepare for anything.

Remember you are not going to get everything in your way the way you thought.

But being clear on your plans and objectives prepare you to handle the turbulence.

The reason why clarity is crucial at every stage is to keep your entrepreneurial-ship on the right track and away from the tricky iceberg problems which are only meant to distract and deviate you from the right direction.

Yes, it's going to be hard. But it's going to be worth it.

It's going to take everything you have and much more. And it's going to give back in abundance.

With clarity in your mind, you are bound to enjoy the process.