Over the last 8 years I have spent most of my time working on or with start-ups. I started and shuttered two start-ups, and have advised or worked at countless others. During this time, I have narrowed down what I believe to be the secret sauce to success and the traps that lead to failure. Here is my start-up mantra born from previous mistakes.

The three things every entrepreneur needs to get right:

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1. Focus:

This lands in the top spot for a reason. In my opinion, this is why most start-ups fail.  Lack of focus can strain already limited resources and send you down a rabbit hole full of no customers.

Things move fast in entrepreneurship, and if you're doing it right, you are talking to a lot of people.  Whether it be potential customers, advisors, or investors, they will all have something to say.  The key is to cut through the noise and get at what matters.

Here are a few tips:

Stay the course, until it's time to shift your focus:

You are the expert on your product/service. No one knows it better than you. It is natural to have doubts about your approach or model and you will get advice like "you need to do this," or "that will never work," or even "this is amazing!" This advice is essential and could, in fact, be spot on, but don't let it distract you from staying the course. Start-ups are all about proving assumptions. If you layout a thesis, you should design a test to prove it, using as few resources as possible.  That test, in most cases, should include talking to as many humans as possible.  

While you are talking to humans, it is vital to be aware of 2 things:

The shiny object:

Just because it's fascinating doesn't mean you should be doing it. As entrepreneurs, we are a naturally curious bunch, and this can be both a strength and weakness, depending on how you harness that curiosity. It is, however, essential to take a step back from time to time and evaluate if you are working towards growing the business and not just working on the part that you find most exciting or engaging.  

Bad advice from well-intentioned people:

Remember, a market size of 1 does not make a business. This is especially true for early-stage start-ups. If you get advice on a pivot or change, look into it, but be wary of your time (see number 1). One person may think they have all the answers, but that is likely not the case (remember you are the expert on your business).  If you are hearing the same version of concerns or advice from multiple people, it's time to dig in and spend some time on it. Depending on what you find, you may need to adjust your focus.  

2. People:

I'm sure you have heard the saying that having a co-founder is a lot like being married.  You need to have trust, open communication, and a shared vision.  You will also argue, laugh, and cry together, experience all the highs and lows together.  This makes it even more necessary to find someone you're comfortable doing all these things with. It is only after you're convinced that you can weather all the storms together and the communication works that you should get into each others skillset and responsibilities.

I don't have much advice on how to go about this given each entrepreneur is unique and has a unique working and communication style, other than to stress that you should spend more time on this than anything else.  Also, don't be afraid to try a working relationship out first  before making a commitment. You can do this via contract work or in some cases a vesting schedule (a topic for another time).  

Here are a couple of things that can help:

Create a user manual.  
Read the strengths finder and take the test.

Most importantly, don't rush into anything. Take your time on this piece. If you get this wrong, it can be catastrophic to your business.

3. Self Care:

Entrepreneurs often talk about this quietly amongst each other, but until recently, this has not been talked about openly.

I think this is key to the survival of your business, not to mention an important factor in your health and sanity.  As entrepreneurs, we are passionate about our venture, and it tends to consume us. Working on it gives us purpose, and we have to be driven to succeed.   But that same passion and drive can be detrimental when we are not taking care of ourselves as a result.  

This profession is REALLY hard, there are euphoric highs and horrible lows, and they can happen in the span of a half-hour, let alone a day/month or year.  It's important to step away from time to time and make sure you are taking care of yourself and your relationships.  

How you do this exactly is up to you, but here are some of my tips:

-- Make sure you are exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep (Every day if you can), this will also help you be more productive with the limited time you have each day.

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-- Seek help when you need it. Whether its other entrepreneurs, a therapist, your dog or cat, don't be afraid to connect and ask for help. You are not alone in this.

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-- Find a hobby.  Do something that isn't your business for a few hours a week, let your mind rest. Step away for a bit. It will help, I promise.  

Also, if you have the time, check out this article in INC.

Out of all the advice, I have gotten from founders, established start-up CEO's, venture capitalists, and small business owners, the ones who tend to have the most success are very skilled at, if not experts in all three of these areas.

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