![]() More than ever, people care deeply about who’s behind the companies they’re purchasing from. It will make the mornings when you wake up and wish that it was someone else’s problem much easier to bear. However you come to your idea, you should feel like you have no choice but to start this particular business at this moment in time. Maybe you’re simply met with a very specific frustration every day, that others are sure to share. Or perhaps you’re part of a consumer segment that’s underserved by the current offerings. It could be that you have experience working in an industry and understand its shortcomings firsthand. But the strongest fuel is a personal connection to what you’re doing. Starting a business is not easy, and scaling it is even harder. ![]() Here are a few principles that I’ve learned along the way, that aspiring entrepreneurs should consider before sending that “I quit!” email that you’ve been fantasizing about: Identify a problem that you feel driven to solve. As a founder who works alongside many other founders, I’ve seen firsthand what leads to success, as well as what can go wrong. Thirteen years later, I have been fortunate enough to co-found a branding business, and to partner with some of the world’s best entrepreneurs, helping them launch and grow their businesses with brand baked in from the start. It was because I had too little power to effect change. It wasn’t because I had too much going on at work. Suddenly I realized why every Sunday night I was overcome with a feeling of dread. What she told me was that stress is not about how much you have on your plate it’s about how much control you have over the outcomes. During that time, I was lucky to have an amazing boss who explained a simple principle that fundamentally altered my path. But I grew restless and bored, tasked with coming up with new campaigns for old and broken products that lacked relevance, unable to influence the products themselves. I worked in advertising for a few years, and learned an incredible amount about how brands get built and communicated. ![]() I took a job in advertising, which was seen as much more rebellious than the reality. Med school, law school, finance, consulting: these were the coveted jobs, the clear paths laid out before us. When I graduated from college in 2001, I didn’t have a single friend whose plan was to start his or her own business. If you have a genuine connection to your idea, and you’re solving a real problem in a way that adds more value to people’s lives, you’re well on your way. How will you make their lives easier, more pleasant, more meaningful? How will you go out of your way for them at every turn? When considering your competitive advantage, start with the needs of the people you’re ultimately there to serve. Consumers have more power and choice than ever before, and they’re going to choose and stick with the companies who are clearly on their side. It’s not about who’s first, it’s about who does it best, and best these days is the business that delivers the most value to the consumer. That doesn’t mean you should give up, or that you should rush to market before you’re ready. You may think you’re sitting on a completely original idea, but chances are the same cultural forces that led you to your business plan are also influencing someone else.
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