I want
my baby
to grow....
my baby
to grow....
If you are reading this to find something about infants, I am really very sorry to disappoint but its nothing related to babies. I am writing this to compare and make everyone aware how a startup is similar to a infant as I have been going through this parenthood with lots of plans for my baby to come soon for life.
1. Pre-Planing :
When you know you are going to have a baby you plan for certain things, you start planning things like where your baby has to sleep, how its going to be living with a infant in house, can we manage everything that a baby needs from our earnings. I have also seen people putting up nice baby posters before a baby arrives. Its same with a startup, It needs a lot of planning after you know that you are ready for the next step i.e parenthood in business. It needs planning knowing what you are into. For a startup software company you need to be aware and pre-planned of the things you may need to have, starting from hardware to other infrastructure needs, Planning for near future economic needs of the company should have been started way before or this is the right time to start and get your startup a angel investor who would be willing to invest in your idea or produt. Make a business plan on paper with timeline, this will also impress the investor and will help you to put it as a poster and look whats your business going to be like.
2. Find a perfect nanny :
You are having a baby for first time and you don't know even how to handle a baby. You need a nanny! yes, at start there is going to be a lot of responsibilities which is difficult for a person to handle, you need that extra help. Is any nanny fine? No, you would interview and get to know each one as the responsibility is going to be totally on to a nanny. startup also needs a nanny, if you have partners, most of the work can be divided but if you do not, you may need to hire someone who is qualified for multitasking. In most of the startups these are the people who give a great lift for a startup and are also key persons in company growth, So hiring a reliable and responsible candidate is of utter importance.
3. Baby is born now what?
Ideally you would call people to let them know! I would suggest same with your startup, a bit of free publicity is always helpful. Let people and the world know about your startup and your product through press releases and social networking sites which may be helpful in future where you will need social circle to market your product. Also, few press releases about your product and startup will help you get the confidence.
4. Feeding the baby:
You should know what and when to feed a baby in the initial days. Startup needs to be also feed with different things, most of the times its new ideas and money. Initially the feed needed cant always be generated from profits you make and you need to approach more investment opportunities from outside. Startup also needs to be feed with new tiny ideas that would keep the product gaining the needed customers in market. Get to know more about the market and your business and decrease the gap wherever needed.
5. Handle the cry and clean the baby piss:
Baby is not always going to be happy, its going to cry someday and also going to piss on you. you make baby smile by showing them small toys and colourful things. Everyday in your new business is also not going to be a happy day. Customers are going to get pissed at you for something or the other. Handling customers with patience is the key factor and that's the time you show them those toys and colourful things to make them happy. Give them new small features to the product, show them hope and commitment that you are trying to make them happy. Also, be economically prepared for the illness/sickness a startup may get.
6. Baby crawling and trying to walk:
After a certain time baby starts crawling and trying to walk and this is the time for more precaution. you want the baby to crawl and then walk but don't want a fall that can hurt it. For startup also, once your business is through initial stages a time comes when you need to take more precaution as you now have competitiors and a small customer base. This is the time you need to try and keep the existing customers happy and concentrate more on new customers. whenever you get a feeling the existing customers need more attention, do give them and try to get the profits from them. Its not squeezing the existing customers but trying to get profit on your previous good deeds by impressing them. its always better to invest time in making current customers happy and gain profits than investing 100% time on new customers and playing a luck game.
7. Baby is always learning:
Babies are always leaning, and learning things their parents do. This is the right time to teach your startup a process. The Business process does not have to be one similar to those written in theory but expanding and making the existing business process more reliable and efficient is a must thing for you to take your company to the next stage, where you no more would be called a startup and baby would never be called a baby but may be kid.
With each of this step comes a love and dedication for your startup company which is very important. There would always be things which would not motivate but "keep on working to grow" is the real mantra. I hope you get a slight idea how a business parenthood is challenging and lovable at the same time and you too strive hard to achieve it. One thing I would recommend is to have few clicks of your baby from time to time which would make a memorabilia and you can say one day "Yes I have raised my own baby".
