time management for startups

Time Flies!

In early May, I will be speaking at the SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit about the opportunities and challenges that innovators and entrepreneurs face.  And, one of my topics will be that time flies!!  Bringing innovation into educational markets is hard work, and there is way more to do than there are hours in the day.

This past month, I have created pieces of my business plan, financial projections, a website, overviews of the company, and a concept video. I have traveled nearly half the time meeting customers, partners, advisors, investors, developers and my team. I have worn more hats than I can imagine.  I haven’t managed to cross everything off my list in months.  And, Carrieonfire.com has suffered from this flight of time!

Here is what I do when time is flying (and spinning out of control!):

  • Focus on the 2-3 critical success factors for your company today, and give yourself milestones with due dates for these priorities.  For me, it’s setting up pilots and seed funding.  I know what I need to accomplish and when.
  • Take things off your list.  You can’t do everything, but it is better to delegate or postpone than to regret that you failed to complete something critical. Jim Collins, one of my favorite leadership gurus, argues that we all need a “stop-doing” list, because we have too many projects and initiatives.  Isn’t that the truth!
  • Build a team that is GREAT and brings the expertise, skills and passion for things that aren’t your forte.  If you don’t have a lot of money to hire people (most of us don’t), your team can include partners, advisors, potential and current vendors, and friends and family.
  • Take a day off every week.  Starting a company is grueling work, and you need to get away from it or you will burn out. About 10 years ago, I learned this the hard way when I landed in the hospital and spent 3 months recovering my health.  Even when I am swamped, I try to take off one day a week.  And, I find time every day to clear my head.  I exercise or practice yoga nearly every day, and I take walks with my dog, Luna.
  • Give yourself a break when you fail or fall behind.  You are only human.  And, you know that every successful entrepreneur encounters many pitfalls along the way.  You will be a lot less stressed and more effective if you  acknowledge your failure to get something done or that big SNAFU and let it go so that you can move on.

Charting A Path Through The Desert

DesertA few months ago, I transitioned away from running my first company, O’Donnell Learn.  That first Monday morning, I went into the office, sat down and thought, “now what?”

Starting a business is like charting a path through the desert.  There is nobody but you to figure out how to spend your time.  And, you have to be very disciplined about your time.   You have to plug along and put all those pieces in place so that you have a business (with customers) when you cross that desert.

Here are the primary ways that I spend my time these days:

  • Networking—meeting with      people who can help me get this off the ground, and helping others get      their initiatives off the ground.
  • Researching the market to      understand the problems and pain points, the need, and how my company can      uniquely fill that need. This involves hours of reading, and also speaking      to customers, experts and potential partners.
  • Planning the offering or      product.  This is a staged activity,      called market development.  Work with      customers every step of the way to shape your offering.  Right now, we are creating a two-minute video      that demonstrates our offering, which we will take to customers for      feedback in prep for creating our detailed product requirements.
  • Putting together my      advisory board and founding team—finding the perfect people for it and then      recruiting them to join me.
  • Articulating the vision      and message—then trying it out on others and then rearticulating it.  This takes a long time for every      business and new offering.  Getting      it right is essential!
  • Developing the business      plan and pitch for investors.

Wow.  That is a lot to get done!  And, I need to be very disciplined so that I am not scattered all over the place.  Here is a video I found that gives three great tips for time management.