3 Essential Tips For Founders Getting Ready to Launch
With the wild world we’re in (cough cough - 2020), there are many new entrepreneurs emerging and new founders afoot. As someone who has started two businesses—and consulted, advised, and been in the trenches with a number of other growing companies— I figured I’d share a few of the lessons I learned while stumbling along the way (read: wish I would’ve known...or at least listened to for real instead of politely nodding when someone tried to tell me).
These ‘tips’ have become non-negotiables and where I attribute some serious credit when asked why my companies are still standing 5 years in (with some losses, some wins, and all still going strong!).
*NOTE: While I’m all for the lofty ideas that many articles like this lob across to the reader, I’m going to make you a promise. Every piece I write will include tangibles: real recommendations, systems, tools, and takeaways that you will be able to take action on as you read. Your time is valuable, and my intention is that while I have your attention, I will honor that.
1. Budget: First, know your numbers.
Before you start your new business venture—or, if you’re already started then really whatever stage you’re at—get your budget locked down. It’s important to think through the necessary (and often difficult) questions of budgeting. This includes knowing what your revenue targets are, what is in your bank account when you start, what you’re expecting to come in, what expenses you have going out (operating expenses or OpEx), and really understanding your runway (runway in startup terms is an analogy referencing an airplane runway and means the time you have left to either take off, or, crash) or the timeline you have to remain operating based on your current capital compared to your capital output, your numbers.
Ask yourself: What IS my budget? What is the revenue I need to bring in monthly, annually etc. in order to cover my operating expenses, put aside money to pay taxes, invest in business development, and hopefully, pay myself a salary? What do I need to bring in to stay afloat? What is my bottom line - essentials vs. frivolous expenses? How much working capital, or initial money/seed funding do I need to put into the business to get started, or seek from investors to get started?
Here are some ‘know your numbers’ tools & resources I’d recommend checking out:
Template: Annual Budget Tracker Template (FREE, just click in and make a copy)
Tool: Wave Apps software, like quickbooks, can manage your clients, do invoicing, accept payments etc! (FREE, literally free, you pay-per-use for credit card processing, but the bulk of the tool is...yup, free).
Book: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz (If you’re anything like me, accounting and finance conversations made my head spin. Michalowicz’s method flips traditional accounting on its head and helps you set up some systems to save yourself from... well, yourself).
2. Know Your ‘Why’
Get clear on your why because you’ll need to remind yourself of it everyday, especially when things get complex. Your why becomes your north star, your roadmap, your guiding light. Your why is your company’s overarching goal; it’s your mission in action. Your why leads to your goals. You do this work because “why” and you plan to accomplish “goal(s)”. I articulate it that way specifically because your goals will change and should grow as you grow, you’ll have weekly goals, monthly goals, quarterly goals, annual, etc. Your why will be the constant that helps you determine your goals. I like to use an analogue—yep, pen and paper!—journal for this piece. (See resource list below for link to my fav and a special discount).
In order to determine your why, think deeply about your driving force. What would be missing from the world without your company? What problem are you solving? Then, as you define your why, you build out your goals specifically based on the result you’re going for and why this matters to you, to your customers, and to the world. Whether it’s your world in your business lane, or the world at large, that’s up to you and your business planning; but it’s important to think big and apply small, think about the full picture and outline the steps to make progress. For example, “The “end result goal” is very important to me to achieve because…”
Example: Codeverse
Why: To build a digital universe that promotes inspiration and creativity by providing children an environment to learn and tools to succeed.
Goal: To teach a billion kids to code.
From there, take it a level deeper, as you develop your why, and your why builds into your goals, ensure each of your goals is S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. SMART goals will help you set your performance indicators so you can track and measure your progress and know where you’re succeeding and where there is opportunity for growth. Formally tracking and measuring your goals or project success is also known as KPIs or Key Performance Indicators (more on this in a minute).
Purposeful “why” exploration & goal-setting tools & resources:
Explanation: Simon Sinek Ted Talk “Start with Why”
Tool/Journal: BestSelf.co This is, hands down, the best journal I’ve used for motivation, organization, and accountability. Use the code BestSELF FWD for 10% off!
Book: Traction by Gino Wickman, a book stuffed with exercises on how to get traction by setting your why and articulating your goals.
Exercises: Linked below are a few PDF exercises from Best Self on setting your goals to build your business & increase your revenue.
3. Set & Start Measuring Your Goals
What does it really mean to set SMART goals? We hear about goal-setting all the time and how important it is for them to be realistic yet motivational. But what we don’t always learn is how these goals relate to our KPIs, which becomes the marker of not only our progress, but whether or not we’re going to actually meet those goals.
KPIs—Key Performance Indicators—aren’t just data metrics. They are key components of your business that indicate both the level of your performance and how you’re getting your goals accomplished.
Think of this in terms of “engines” — that’s how I measure. I have KPIs for sales, marketing, etc. and those break down to each specific layer or “stepping stone,” to get to the final goal.
For example, here’s how your “Sales Engine” KPI’s might break down:
If you need $X revenue in 6 months
You’ll need to make $X per week
In order to make $X per week, you need to know how many calls/pitches you need to make and what the conversion rate is for those calls.
So the KPI tracker (I use a Google Spreadsheet) could be broken into measuring:
# of people contacted
# of meetings
# of proposals
$ (value) of proposals
# of sales
$ (value) of sales
And then have those totals tallied per week, per month, etc to see if you’re tracking to hit your goals!
And, here’s a screenshot example of one of my “Marketing Engine” KPIs spreadsheets:
KPIs vary for each business. Yes, we’ll measure things like revenue and sales, but how we get there is personalized to your business. (And trust me, it’s harder than it sounds). True success in this area is all about knowing your high-level goal and then working backwards into the smaller pieces to see whether or not you’re on track. To start, you’ll need to figure out your data points, track accordingly, understand your metrics and conversion rates, and then move towards your success metrics.
Tracking & measuring tools & resources:
Tool: Asana - This is an excellent tool for tracking (literally everything). It’s originally built as a project management tool, but really can be a great resource to track and organize your work so you’re free to get work done! A great place to learn how to use Asana like a pro is the Up Level With Asana course by Louise Henry. She also has a number of other tech resources and a really amazing YouTube channel filled with helpful tips and tricks.
Tool: Google Sheets - Sure, this is the more scrappy version of a full-blown project management tool, but it gets the job done. You just have to be consistent with it.
Resource: How to Set KPIs by Stacey Barr, the Performance Measure Specialist
Resource: How to Develop KPIs/Performance Measures by KPI.org
Are You Ready to Launch?
Here’s the thing: you’ll never be “ready” to launch. Even the most well-prepared entrepreneurs or budding business owners will tell you that there’s no perfect moment. The best you can do is align all of your processes, do your due diligence in terms of research and understanding your industry, and then get down and dirty with your numbers and your why, which builds into setting your goals (yes, before you begin).
From there, you can step forward with confidence -- and track, measure and iterate along the way!
I’m Michael Donnelly, Founder, FWD (For Women & Diversity) and am grateful that you found this article. I hope that it was helpful to you on your entrepreneurial journey.
For more articles on business development and launching, click here.
Have questions? Let’s get in touch. You can shoot me an email here.
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