Entering into a new business venture can be a lot like starting a new relationship: both endeavors are exciting and often romanticized beyond reality. Aspiring entrepreneurs may have dreams of innovation beyond the nine-to-five workplace, but, before jumping into a startup, self-evaluation is key. One has to know oneself before starting a business from the ground up, otherwise, it’s easy to overestimate what can be accomplished.  Plans for what to achieve may not be as easy as thought or even possible.

Knowing one’s limitations and strengths can be liberating.  But, beyond that, it’s necessary to do a thorough self-evaluation before creating a company. This is the topic Marty Zwilling covers in this blog entry. Zwilling points out that in a startup environment, “… the burden is on you to capitalize on your strengths, find co-founders and team members to fill the gaps and find mentors and advisors you trust.” This requires all new entrepreneurs to take stock of themselves in critical, objective ways long before leaving the steady paycheck and seeking out angel investors.

This might seem excessive, but the seven key reasons Zwilling outlines creates, at the very least, a helpful checklist to go through when self-evaluating:

1. Know yourself in order to start the right business.
2. Understand what you don’t know so as to bring the right people on board.
3. Have confidence in yourself.
4. Be genuine and authentic.
5. Understand your strengths when making business decisions.
6. Learn how to say “no” without feeling guilty.
7. Be in tune to what you need personally so as to address, and, if need be, fix your own issues so as to be productive.

It’s important to remember that very few people possess all the traits necessary to successfully run a business. Every CEO has gaps to fill which is why it’s vital to build a team.  A strong team, with overlapping skills, can account for all of the attributes necessary to succeed.

Consider particular attributes in yourself when deciding whom you might need on your team. For instance: whether you are more creative or data driven; if ideas come to you easily, and, whether you are apt at explaining concepts and implementation. By really scrutinizing your own strengths and areas of needed development, you will have a better sense of whether the startup world suits you.

Reference:

Zwilling, Martin. “Why You Must Really Know Yourself Before a Startup.” Startup Professionals Musings. n.p. 10 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.

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Last updated on November 8th, 2015 at 02:23 pm