The Five Must Know Priorities to Manage a Startup Rollercoaster
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4. Always Be Building Relationships
On a similar vein to your mentor network, frequently meeting peers in your industry is a great source of learning and perspective.
It’s helpful to hear challenges they are dealing with and how they approached them, what they would do differently if they had the chance and advice they were given as well. Meetups are a great way to broaden your network. But don’t let the conversation stop there.
Working casual coffees and lunches with colleagues into your schedule is a great use of time and can help reset your perspective when you return to the office. Just don’t overdo it on the caffeine 🙂
5. Stay Positive
Last but certainly not least, stay positive! Let’s face it, times will get tough when you’re starting out or early in your company’s lifecycle.
Maybe you don’t get the level of funding you anticipated. Maybe you lose a key deal that would have helped you get a foot into a new market. Or perhaps you hit a financial bump and have to make the tough call of letting talented people go.
Uncertainty and speculation can spread like wildfire during challenging times in young companies. No matter what obstacle you encounter, I can’t stress enough the importance of staying positive. Now that does not mean ignore the situation, but rather to look for the lesson learned in the situation so you will be that much smarter moving forward.
People will feed off this energy. I caught this comment on LinkedIn from Justin Burleigh recently and really think it reflects the point well.
Will these tips prevent crazy turns from happening along the way?
No, but then again, nothing will. But will they help make the rollercoaster ride a bit more manageable? You bet. And over time will pay off more and more. So enjoy the ride, remember to stop and take it all in along the way!
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