KEY LESSONS FOR ENTREPRENEURS STARTING A BUSINESS PART 3

11. Advertise and Market Your Business Like Crazy.

To attain success in business, you need to continually attract, build, and even educate your target market. Make sure your marketing strategy includes the following:

*Learn the fundamentals of SEO (search engine optimization) so that people searching for your products and services might find you near the top of search results.

*Use social media to promote your business (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.).

*Engage in content marketing by writing guest articles for relevant websites.

* Issue press releases for any significant events.

*Network continually.

12. Use Consultants and Freelancers to Supplement Your Team.

At the early stages of your startup, you will likely want to have a small employee team to minimize expenses. A good way to fill in for specialized expertise is to use freelancers or consultants. That way, you avoid taking on employee costs and benefits payments. And there are a variety of sites that can help you access freelancers, such as Freelancer.com, Guru.com, and Upwork.com.

13. Make the Deal Clear With Co-Founders.

If you start your company with co-founders, you must agree early on about the details of your relationship. Not doing so can potentially cause enormous problems down the road (for example, see the Zuckerberg/Winklevoss Facebook litigation). In a way, think of the founder agreement as a form of “pre-nuptial agreement.” Here are the key deal terms your written founder agreement needs to address:

*Who gets what percentage of the company?

*Is the percentage ownership subject to vesting based on continued participation in the business?

*What are the roles and responsibilities of the founders?

*If one founder leaves, does the company or the other founder have the right to buy back that founder’s shares? At what price?

*How much time commitment to the business is expected of each founder?

*What salaries (if any) are the founders entitled to? How can that be changed?

*How are key decisions and day-to-day decisions of the business been made? (majority vote, unanimous vote, or certain decisions solely in the hands of the CEO?)

*Under what circumstances can a founder be removed as an employee of the business? (usually, this would be a Board decision)

*What assets or cash into the business does each founder contribute or invest?

*How will a sale of the business be decided?

*What happens if one founder isn’t living up to expectations under the founder agreement? How will it be resolved?

*What is the overall goal and vision for the business?

14. Get the Right Business Lawyer.

In a misguided effort to save on expenses, startup businesses often hire inexperienced legal counsel. Rather than spending the money necessary to hire competent legal counsel, founders will often hire lawyers who are friends, relatives, or others who offer large fee discounts. In doing so, the founders deny themselves the advice of experienced legal counsel who could potentially help them avoid many serious legal problems. Founders should consider interviewing several lawyers or law firms and determine if the lawyers or the law firms have expertise in some, if not all, of the following legal areas:

*Corporation, commercial, and securities law

*Contract law

*Employment law

*Intellectual property laws

*Tax laws

*Franchise laws

*Venture capital and angel financings

It is not necessary that the lawyer or law firm has experience in all of these areas, because certain problems can be “farmed out” to different specialized lawyers or firms. But it is often best that you retain a firm that can handle some, if not many, of the areas of expertise listed above so as to provide continuity between you and your legal counsel.
There are a number of ways to locate competent legal counsel:

*Ask friends and business acquaintances for recommendations.

*Use state bar referral services.

*Ask for referrals from venture capital and angel investors.


15. Things to consider Before Hiring an Employee.

Before hiring an employee, do the following:

*Make sure the employee has relevant experience for the job.

*Have several people within the company do an interview to make sure there will be a cultural fit.

*Be sure to check references and academic credentials.

*Make sure the employee signs a well-drafted employment “at will” letter (allowing you to terminate the employee for any reason).

*Make sure the employee signs a confidentiality and Inventions Assignment Agreement (see Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreements for Employees.)

16. Anticipate Enormous Challenges and Be Prepared for Them.

The biggest challenges to starting and growing a business include:

*Coming up with a great product or service

*Having a strong plan and vision for the business

*Not having sufficient capital and cash flow

*Finding great employees

*Firing bad employees quickly in a way that doesn’t result in legal liability

*Ensuring that resources are managed prudently

*Not getting discouraged by rejections from customers

*Managing your time efficiently

*Maintaining a reasonable work/life balance

*Knowing when to pivot your strategy

*Maintaining the stamina to keep going even when it’s tough


Reference 
Richard D. Harroch.