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Turning a long thought out dream vision into reality is definitely not easy. Neither is it easy to just up and leave a well cushioned 9 to 5 job (that you worked oh so hard to get all your life) and take that leap of faith into uncertainty and volatility just to work for what you believe in.
Starting a new venture and seeing it though the end to success takes a lot of thought and even more guts to begin with. The journey is a never ending roller coaster ride which only surprises you with more ups and downs as you go along.
There are of course the tangible issues to deal with – staffing, product design, budget, office management etc. What we very often tend to ignore are the non-tangible emotional and mental health of the team which needs to be addressed head on, with complete confrontation.
Startup life comes with a range of underlying emotions which the founders, co-founders and employees go through as team. The trick is to identify these emotions and handle them as a team instead of in isolation.
This is by far the most obvious emotion any new venture team would go through. No matter how well thought out and wise a decision maybe, and no matter how big or small a decision, it will always come with the fear of the unknown.
Tough situations like cost cutting, increasing scale, possible shutdown etc. all come with inherent fear of something going wrong. It’s best to understand that what matters in the end, is the long term health of the venture and its mission and go ahead with the decision, however hard it may be.
Getting anxious during the course of a startup’s journey is all but natural and your body’s way of reacting to any stressful situation or decision to be made.
Your start up experience will be full of moments where you think you’ve done your homework and research before taking that big call but something in the back your head will keep criticizing your move. Embrace that emotion and trust your gut instinct. Sometimes it’s best to not overthink things, which you know all too well is the correct thing to do.
Negative emotions aren’t the only ones ruling the brain when you start off on your dream journey. The tiniest glimmers of hope after tasting initial success can turn into euphoric joy!
Your passion and belief in the idea is what drives the business at the end of the day. Every day struggles need to remind you of that dream so that your passion drives you on to make your venture evolve. Happier more driven entrepreneurs are proven to be bigger and more confident risk takers.
Bottom line is to take the whirlwind of emotions to your stride and acknowledge them with your gut feel to make crucial decisions. Keep in mind the following, to ensure that emotions do not get the better of you and the success of your business.
It’s always best to look at situations and make a judgment based on foreseeing the future. An entrepreneur needs to look beyond the present day chaos and focus on the long term view to reduce the impact of any immediate pitfall. Weighing out costs and benefits of the company in the past, present and future will ensure regulation of emotions in the now.
When investing time, money and effort in your venture, always be sure to consider emotional and personal satisfaction as measures of success.
Sure, profits and high inflow of revenue is what makes the business survive, but appreciating and enjoying the process of creation will do wonders for the mental health of the team and hence help the organization flourish.
Free, transparent and bilateral communication among team members and founders is top priority in any new organization.
You need to be open and direct about the company’s vision and the opportunities it will provide for the employees. Inviting participation and discussing issues on the floor instead of keeping it confined only to top management will boost the team spirit and zeal in the organization.
An entrepreneur will exude faith and belief in the idea being built. Thus conviction and determination in the body language is what investors look for in a new venture before blocking their money with them.
Passion and drive is what will bring more funding from VC’s who can smell the success of a new organization by mere inspection of the founder’s will to build the business.
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