Startup Tip # 1: Spend the most time doing what’s hardest

Think I’ll start a series based on startup advice.  In my short life, I’ve worked on about five different startups – most of which never panned out but some of which had some success. As a self-proclaimed entrepreneur this may come in handy one day :-)

So, for my first bit of advice. Invest the most time behind the most challenging aspect of your business. Don’t have any idea as to what will be the hardest part of your new business? Ask people, but more than likely the answer you’ll hear will be ‘marketing’. There are other challenges that you will face later down the road, but this by far will be the biggest show-stopper for most business that rely on high-volume, frequent transactions for growth.

Once you’ve identified your biggest hurdle, make sure your time is proportionately spent tackling it. Most wet-behind-the-ear entrepreneurs focus on their strengths and spend most of their time on what they’re most comfortable doing. If you’ve spent most of your life as a software developer, then you’ll have no problem spending 95-percent of your time cranking out code for your awesome new product. That may not be a bad thing if the product you’re building is viral in nature (think MySpace or Facebook) but if it’s not (and most likely it isn’t)  then you’re not tackling the one thing that’s gonna hold you back.

You got to fully engross yourself into anything that’s going to hinder your chances for success, even if it means crawling out of your shell and learning something new. That means becoming an expert on something you may know very little on. And trust me, finding someone who is a “expert” and using them will never be as effective until you take ownership 100-percent.

Also be wary of marginalizing or pushing back the most challenging part of your business. Once you’ve identified your biggest problem, it deserves your immediate attention. Don’t ever say to yourself, “Well marketing maybe my biggest hurdle, but I need to build a product before I can market my business.” If that’s your line of thought, then you’ve already failed. It’s never too early to create buzz, to justify your markets or to plan.