CEOs have Boards, advisors, executive coaches; so why do you think you have to go it alone?
The popular mythology around entrepreneurship is unhelpful in many ways, but this may be one of the more pernicious. We all know the stories: the sole visionary who’s struck by a brilliant idea and drives relentlessly toward their dream against a chorus of naysayers.
Except it doesn’t happen that way. It certainly doesn’t have to. Other voices, independent viewpoints and outside support are helpful, if not crucial, at many points along the way.
Having a community for support and advice is one of the key reasons we started Paddling Furiously, but there are many great options (and you should try them all!):
✅ Customers: A founder is, by nature, too close to the problem and has spent too much time considering it to truly understand how customers think and act. So talk to customers, to others who serve your marketplace and learn from them. Added bonus: people love to be asked for their opinions and tend to feel added loyalty to companies who seek them out.
✅ Mentors: Score, your local Business Development Center and other organizations are filled with people who’ve seen – or run – other companies facing the same challenges you’re up against now; they can help. Or seek out mentors in your industry, your neighborhood or just someone you admire.
✅ Other business owners: even those in other industries, newer, older, larger or smaller than you. They also have unreliable employees, insufficient marketing budgets, growth-related challenges and more things to do than they have hours in the day. They may know of resources you don’t and, in any case, can provide support to help you feel less alone.
So beat those CEOs at their own game! Build your own advisory team to super power your company.
