Entrepreneur Party of One

Launching a dream is not easy. 

You have an idea. 

You decide to go for it. 

You have no income. 

You take all the risk. 

Maybe you find an investor. 

Maybe you do it on your own.

Either way- both are hard. 

One comes with strings to the investor. 

One doesn’t... but you are now party of one. 

You get it going, you find a few clients, you have work & income & then suddenly- it’s too much for party of one. 

Now you need help. 

New tech. New office. New equipment. New employees. Etc. etc. 

You go from worrying about your paycheck to giving that up to be able to pay others. 

You can either burn yourself out or hire more staff. 

Sound familiar? 

I’ve been there. Given up my paycheck countless times to ensure others got paid. Stretched a dollar until it bled only to have someone ask for a raise at the same time- that in most cases is well deserved- but not possible. They have no idea that they are asking for blood-  and you just have to say- no.

But no comes with consequences and the anxiety just grows.

Will they leave if you don’t and head down the street to your competition?

It can sometimes never end. 

You’ve finally made your small business dream a reality - and the “dream” can sometimes feel like a nightmare. 

Should I keep going? 

What is this all for? 

How will this ever get better? 

These are the woes of starting a business. It’s hard. It’s risky - and in a lot of cases, it doesn’t work out. Even with the best idea or the best intent- they just don’t survive. As an HR consultant working with countless numbers of  business owners for the past 20 plus years- I’ve seen them rise & fall. I’ve seen founders give up & throw in the towel.

And I’ve also seen them thrive. 

What’s the difference? 

• Passion 
• Adaptability
• Resilience
• Planning. 

Hiring people is an extension of you. 

Passion:  They have to believe what you believe. And you have to keep believing it.

Adaptability:  They have to be able to pivot like you when those critical moments come with your clients. 

Resilience: If you model getting back up after a punch & move forward- so will they. 

Planning: if you don’t know what’s happening today, tomorrow, next week or next month- neither will they. Planning requires people rowing in the same direction- and if you don’t- the boats will end up on different sides of the ocean. 

There is a method to the madness of starting a small business. And leading & managing people is part of that method. When you are a start up- this is just as critical when you are in growth mode. 

You need the tools. 

You need the help. 

When you have 10 employees each one is a 10th of your workforce. That’s far more critical than losing one when you are 100 employees. 

Don’t build your business on a shaky foundation. Start at the beginning- and do it for the long term. 

Make the investment in HR - it may seem like a cost center - and it is- but if you have the right partner- it’s also critical for growth. And if you don't, the cost center triples.

When you are 10 employees - you aren’t too small. I’m tired of hearing this: “I only have 10 employees- we don’t need all of this.”

No you don’t if you just want to survive. 

But yes you do, if you want to thrive.