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Must-Know Tips for Managing a Startup

Ryan O'BlenessRyan O'Bleness administrator Posts: 1,137 Site Admin
edited October 2016 in Business Planning
After speaking with Rich Sloan, co-founder here at StartupNation, we came up with a few must-know tips for managing a startup.

1. Try. Measure. Analyze. Repeat.
Stay in this rhythm to be on top of what’s not working, what is working and how to prioritize your finite resources. This will lead to greater efficiency. Additionally, it gives you the chance to create a plan and outline for future operations because you know what works for your business and what doesn't.

2. Have team meetings at a set day and time each week. .
This allows all members of the team to stay organized and also allows for clear communication on all aspects of the business. It creates awareness of overall issues for all employees, even if it is not their specific responsibility, and creates a more unified team that’s respectful of what everyone needs to accomplish for overall company success. As the manager, it also helps you manage more effectively. From my personal experience, these meetings are crucial for prioritizing as well.

3. Have specific goals and targets.
As they say, if you don’t know where “there” is, you’ll never get “there." Clear goals and targets help provide context and clarity to everyday work. This keeps you focused, organized and constantly working toward something.

Community, do you agree with these tactics? What would you add in order to effectively manage a startup? Let us know!
Ryan O'Bleness
Community Manager
StartupNation, LLC

Comments

  • tscthtscth subscriber Posts: 1
    I agree with your all tips but i think that each startup has a different vision or point of view which make it separate from another one. Confidence plays a massive role in these kinds of things and it makes us strong and stable in incompatible situations. what you say?
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  • Ryan O'BlenessRyan O'Bleness administrator Posts: 1,137 Site Admin
    I agree with you, Tscth. Each startup has its own vision, goals, needs and business model. However, these tips are geared toward a general philosophy, and I think these principles can be applied anywhere.

    With that said, I don't think startups fit into a "cookie cutter" model. If your business isn't unique or doesn't offer something new or different, then it likely will struggle. Even if it is a recycled idea, what makes it stand out? You bring up some solid points for sure.
    Ryan O'Bleness
    Community Manager
    StartupNation, LLC
  • QuickFMSQuickFMS subscriber Posts: 36 Bronze Level Member
    edited July 2016
    All are really important and basic need of a business startup but the major concern is how an entrepreneur effectively manage all these requirement. I think, In this world of technology and digitalization we need to have proper setup of technology to be used for our business management as well as other required spaces depending on nature of the business.
  • Ryan O'BlenessRyan O'Bleness administrator Posts: 1,137 Site Admin
    QuickFMS wrote:
    All are really important and basic need of a business startup but the major concern is how an entrepreneur effectively manage all these requirement. I think, In this world of technology and digitisation we need need to have proper setup of technology to be used for our business management as well as other required spaces depending on nature of the business.

    Yes, using the right technology for your business is key, of course. Also, it is vital that everybody on the team knows how to use the office's preferred technology. However, technology is not always reliable. Hackers, system failures, operational errors, power outages, natural disasters and other uncontrolled elements can all affect our connectivity and the availability of technology. When you think about it, we use technology for almost every aspect of our work. Even the most basic functions, that we often take for granted, such as using a computer, Wi-Fi, email, cellular phones, etc. What would we do without Internet connectivity? What would we have to show without access to a printer or copy machine? If something happens where our basic technologies, let alone our advanced technologies, were not available to us, how would we react? While this would be a rare occurrence, a good leader would have an emergency plan in place.

    Don't get me wrong, technology is absolutely essential for every business in every field. The things that these programs can do in today's day and age, from one-on-one personalization on targeted ads to advanced analytics tracking to cloud computing and everything in between, is nothing short of amazing. But, maybe I have more of an "old school" mindset, and I think we should all understand that technology cannot always be counted on. So, it is important to have those tangible ideas I had mentioned in my previous post in the workplace as well, and a backup plan for when technology is not available.
    Ryan O'Bleness
    Community Manager
    StartupNation, LLC
  • QuickFMSQuickFMS subscriber Posts: 36 Bronze Level Member
    QuickFMS wrote:
    All are really important and basic need of a business startup but the major concern is how an entrepreneur effectively manage all these requirement. I think, In this world of technology and digitisation we need need to have proper setup of technology to be used for our business management as well as other required spaces depending on nature of the business.

    Yes, using the right technology for your business is key, of course. Also, it is vital that everybody on the team knows how to use the office's preferred technology. However, technology is not always reliable. Hackers, system failures, operational errors, power outages, natural disasters and other uncontrolled elements can all affect our connectivity and the availability of technology. When you think about it, we use technology for almost every aspect of our work. Even the most basic functions, that we often take for granted, such as using a computer, Wi-Fi, email, cellular phones, etc. What would we do without Internet connectivity? What would we have to show without access to a printer or copy machine? If something happens where our basic technologies, let alone our advanced technologies, were not available to us, how would we react? While this would be a rare occurrence, a good leader would have an emergency plan in place.

    Don't get me wrong, technology is absolutely essential for every business in every field. The things that these programs can do in today's day and age, from one-on-one personalization on targeted ads to advanced analytics tracking to cloud computing and everything in between, is nothing short of amazing. But, maybe I have more of an "old school" mindset, and I think we should all understand that technology cannot always be counted on. So, it is important to have those tangible ideas I had mentioned in my previous post in the workplace as well, and a backup plan for when technology is not available.

    Agree with your insights! @RyanOBleness
  • Ryan O'BlenessRyan O'Bleness administrator Posts: 1,137 Site Admin
    Another element that I would say is important for startup managers is putting the right team in place. Your employees are handling most of the day-to-day functions and operations of the company. Hitting your goals, seeing results and achieving growth is all done through the people working at the company.

    As the manager, it is vital to surround yourself with the correct team members. Hold weekly meetings with them and see what they have in progress, have completed and what future projects might entail. It is also important to treat employees the right way. Know what motivates them, have a lot of positive reinforcement and make yourself available to them when they need you. If an employee makes a mistake, help them find a solution, don't tear them apart.

    To me, this is just another thing that would help make your startup successful.
    Ryan O'Bleness
    Community Manager
    StartupNation, LLC
  • min_harpermin_harper subscriber Posts: 9
    Another element that I would say is important for startup managers is putting the right team in place. Your employees are handling most of the day-to-day functions and operations of the company. Hitting your goals, seeing results and achieving growth is all done through the people working at the company.

    As the manager, it is vital to surround yourself with the correct team members. Hold weekly meetings with them and see what they have in progress, have completed and what future projects might entail. It is also important to treat employees the right way. Know what motivates them, have a lot of positive reinforcement and make yourself available to them when they need you. If an employee makes a mistake, help them find a solution, don't tear them apart.

    To me, this is just another thing that would help make your startup successful.

    Ryan this is a great point. A business is only as good as the team behind it. As the manager / owner it's up to you to pick the right team and motivate them appropriately.

    I have a unique challenge because I manage my team remotely - I'm on the East Coast, and they're in LA. Because of the distance, adhering to a rigid schedule of goals and deliverables is incredibly important; probably more so than if we shared the same office. It's so easy to get off track when the manager isn't around, so our internal systems need to be strong.
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  • Ryan O'BlenessRyan O'Bleness administrator Posts: 1,137 Site Admin
    min_harper wrote:
    Another element that I would say is important for startup managers is putting the right team in place. Your employees are handling most of the day-to-day functions and operations of the company. Hitting your goals, seeing results and achieving growth is all done through the people working at the company.

    As the manager, it is vital to surround yourself with the correct team members. Hold weekly meetings with them and see what they have in progress, have completed and what future projects might entail. It is also important to treat employees the right way. Know what motivates them, have a lot of positive reinforcement and make yourself available to them when they need you. If an employee makes a mistake, help them find a solution, don't tear them apart.

    To me, this is just another thing that would help make your startup successful.

    Ryan this is a great point. A business is only as good as the team behind it. As the manager / owner it's up to you to pick the right team and motivate them appropriately.

    I have a unique challenge because I manage my team remotely - I'm on the East Coast, and they're in LA. Because of the distance, adhering to a rigid schedule of goals and deliverables is incredibly important; probably more so than if we shared the same office. It's so easy to get off track when the manager isn't around, so our internal systems need to be strong.

    I can see how that may be a challenge. One of our cofounders lives out west, while we are in the Midwest, and oftentimes we don't get face-to-face interaction with him, but he does a great job of keeping in touch with us. We hold weekly meetings, and we keep him in the loop on what we are working on, and he informs us of what he has going on. He also flies here as often as he can.

    If you don't do this already, my advice would be to hold those weekly conference calls with your team, just so all parties involved know what is currently going on and what is expected of them in the future. Is there anything else you would recommend?
    Ryan O'Bleness
    Community Manager
    StartupNation, LLC
  • alisonbakeralisonbaker subscriber Posts: 1
    I agree with all of these tactics. But, I think besides all of these things, the usage & proper setup of the latest technology is must for business management.
    I am a business lover. I like to read business ideas.
  • Ryan O'BlenessRyan O'Bleness administrator Posts: 1,137 Site Admin
    I agree with all of these tactics. But, I think besides all of these things, the usage & proper setup of the latest technology is must for business management.


    Yes, technology is a key element for businesses in today's day and age, and without it we would have made very little progress to get where we are today. The capabilities are really endless. It is important to have a complete grasp on all technological aspects.

    I fear that we have become too reliant on it, though. Servers can go down, natural disasters can take down your entire infrastructure, and hackers can do just about anything they want. I mentioned this in a previous post on this thread.

    Now, we are moving toward the trend of artificial intelligence and machine learning with out technology, which brings up even more issues, such as possible invasions of privacy. We need to determine a way to use and manage technology in the most optimal way.
    Ryan O'Bleness
    Community Manager
    StartupNation, LLC
  • abdelrhmanabdelrhman subscriber Posts: 35 Bronze Level Member
    Tested and approved tips and we all agree with it , I think the first tip is enough to start seeing your business needs it really needs time to achieve this tip but it's really effective when it's done correct and in the right way .

    Thanks
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  • Ryan O'BlenessRyan O'Bleness administrator Posts: 1,137 Site Admin
    abdelrhman wrote:
    Tested and approved tips and we all agree with it , I think the first tip is enough to start seeing your business needs it really needs time to achieve this tip but it's really effective when it's done correct and in the right way .

    Thanks
    Abdulrahman

    Yes, everything takes time, and it is important to analyze and see what is working and what is not working. This will allow you to tailor your operations, marketing efforts, content, etc. It's important to try to bring back returning users to your site, or customers to your product,, while also attracting new users. How do you do that? You learn from your past mistakes and capitalize on your past successes.
    Ryan O'Bleness
    Community Manager
    StartupNation, LLC
  • YojurYojur subscriber Posts: 3
    Thank you for sharing these tips! As an early-stage startup we are applying these tips and will be happy to share results as we grow.

    Yojur Inc.
  • loroloro subscriber Posts: 1
    All are really important and basic need of a business startup but the major concern is how an entrepreneur effectively manage all these requirement. I think, In this world of technology and digitalization we need to have proper setup of technology to be used for our business management as well as other required spaces depending on nature of the business.
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  • saravanansaravanan subscriber Posts: 389 Silver Level Member
    • Establish a process for every recurring task that you have and have it automated. This is a big help to streamline your work and save a lot of time, as well as your sanity.
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