What are the 5 major errors to avoid when you decide to open an activity? To answer this question we turn to a Bplans article written by Jordan Fried : Founder and CEO of the well-known Fried information site and the millionaire Buffered software company. Ready? Let’s start right away!
# 1- Hugging a Microgestion Policy
Among the worst mistakes made by those who choose to open a StartUp, Fried is the one to embrace a policy based on micro-management : it actually translates into the will to administer its business, paying too much attention to detail and minimizing the involvement of the staff. Such attitudes must be eliminated before they can go in their own, because, besides demotivating staff, they also slow the execution of projects.
The solution is to take on the resources on which you can truly trust : figures ready to provide constant updates, but at the same time able to carry out tasks entrusted with some independence. All this helps the holder to focus on really important issues and to lay the foundation of business as solid as possible.
# 2 – Do not look at how the business is going
According to Fried, microgestion is as damaging as the inability to adequately control the performance of the underlying business : it is not necessary to thoroughly analyze the whole work of all employees, but at least monitor the workflows and progress to have Always under control. To do this you can rely on project management systems such as Trello : highly professional solutions that allow you to use different management styles depending on the staff.
While allowing the holder to have a clear overview of all business-related developments, on the other hand, they help employees organize workloads effectively , reduce errors and maximize performance. Of course, in order for all this to be possible, it is desirable to form the resources in such a way as to make them autonomous in the use of the chosen software.
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# 3- Organize weekly meetings with staff
Those who decide to open an activity should not, according to Fried, arrange weekly meetings with their staff. Although the direct and frequent involvement of the staff may seem important to the growth of the business, it really only causes an incredible waste of collective time.
To prevent the holder from being overwhelmed by such meetings and for collaborators to consider taking hours as leisure times, it is advisable to use fast communication systems, such as chat or other similar tools: they allow you to talk in A moment with the people you need, without having to waste valuable hours in office or home office shifts.
# 4- Do not have an environment to work with
Although for those who want to open a StartUp you may not have to hire fixed employees right away, Fried says that it is necessary to have a place to place your office. Certainly, nowadays, to start a business, it seems sufficient to have a room in your own home equipped with internet connection.
In fact, however, having a dedicated environment in which to work and accommodate customers, suppliers, and collaborators simplifies business management much. This space (which can also be very small), as well as allowing you to better perform the various tasks, serves as a benchmark for the company’s operations.
# 5- Manage your business by yearly reasoning
Managing a reality year by year is for Fried completely counterproductive and obsolete, because this strategy does not allow you to deal with real-time situations.
What we need to do is split the annuality into quarters of 12 weeks (3 months) to infuse a greater sense of urgency and to motivate ourselves and the staff with rhythmic goals and deadlines. In addition, in addition to increasing performance, it is easier to fly and change any wrong routes before drifting.
These are the 5 major mistakes to avoid when choosing to go wrong: more or less common mistakes that, according to Jordan Fried, can jeopardize the success of a business.