What the Failures of Startup Companies Can Teach Us About Discipline

When I was a young boy, my brother and I were always competing. We competed for a seat in our father’s car, for the best places in swim races; to see who would finish his dinner first, heck, we even competed to see who got the best grades. I guess that was what made us so successful in sports; being competitive was engraved in our DNA.

Our parents, teachers and swim coaches had to always keep us in-check so we would concentrate on what was important instead of looking over each other’s shoulder to see what the other one was doing. It got so bad that, one day when we were 9 and 10 years old, our mother threaten us to send us to boarding school. That really made us react.

Realizing how close we were to having the life we knew taken away from us, we decided, unlike kids of that age, to behave.

Sometimes, as human beings, we need to go through experiences like this before we learn to walk a straight path. The lessons we learn, both in life and in business are what teach us the steps we need to take to become successful. No one comes into this world knowing, although we are all born with the ability to learn. Those who succeed in life are those who learn to take the “gravy” out of life experiences and leave behind the “crumbs” they don’t need.

One key aspect in learning how to walk consistently toward success is discipline.

Learning to develop self-discipline is crucial in the success of a business.  Now, it is important to understand that, regardless if your business is brick-and-mortar or online, it is a business. You must put in the work to reap the benefits.

So many entrepreneurs and business owners start with fire-in-the-belly excitement, just to end up losing steam when things get tough. Indeed, one very important first step is to take action, but once you get over that step, it’s time to get down and dirty into the inner workings of your business.

Developing a relentless level of discipline will likely get you past most of the challenges all business startups face and will put you above the majority of people that start businesses.

I recently started a new venture with a partner. Learning from advice of people I hold dear and some lesson from the past, I decided to map what was going to be the daily operations of the business and how we were going to ramp up the services we were planning to offer. This map served as a policing system that guided us toward the hardest part of any startup; focusing on the essentials of the business.

Once you develop self-discipline, it’s time to complement it with consistent and methodical courses of action. Here’s where a lot of new business owners tend to drop the ball, and is the main reason why some unique business ventures end up disappearing into the sunset.

Develop a routine. Dedicate time to everything but do it when is due. Set a time to work on administrative tasks; set a time to engage with your customers (in the end they will be the ones that will buy your products and/or services). Set aside times for strategic tasks like budgeting and long term goal setting (make sure this meets the criteria you defined in your mind map). Finally, develop a level of consistency that will give you recognition over your competitors. One example of what we have done is publish updates every day at 7:00am. After six weeks of posting updates, our social media followers rely on our posts to show up on their inboxes and timelines every morning.

Marvelous, you have developed a level of discipline that’s keeping you in-check. You have also taken methodical action that is setting you apart from your competitors. You are well on your way toward success road. One more thing is missing. The thing that characterizes the high achievers from the rest of the pack; Never-ending learning.

One of my favorite teachers of this doctrine is Mr. Robin Sharma. I love Robin demeanor into what you need to absorb from life teachings to become a high achiever beyond your wildest dreams. Similar to other great motivational speakers, Robin has his own proven methodology. But, I believe what sets him apart from the others is his level of commitment to life-long learning.

Give yourself to knowing your niche. Develop an unearthing passion for offering the absolute best products and services your customers will ever receive. Make sure the message you send with every interaction resonates with your audience. If you do this consistently, you will achieve credibility and legitimacy that you competitors will find difficult to match.

Don’t forget, every business requires that you make certain sacrifices before you start to reap the benefits of your hard work. I don’t know of many successful entrepreneurs that haven’t given up leisure time to learn more; given up TV time to get better marketing campaigns put together, and given up precious sleep to earn quiet time to dedicate to the creative part of their business. If you put in the time, and that time is quality time, targeted toward a well envisioned goal, you will indeed find the highway toward a fulfilling, money-making business.

GUEST POST WRITTEN BY TOMAS BISONO:

“Born to excel, other kids were playing with their legos and dolls while Tomas was breaking records in the sport of swimming. Since a very early age, Tomas has been an athlete. Member of the Dominican Republic’s National Swim Team, Tomas achieved his athletic peak by placing eight in the 200 meter backstroke during the 1991 Panamerican Games, held in Havana, Cuba. During his tenure at Florida Atlantic University, Tomas was the varsity swim team captain for two straight years, finishing his eligibility having earned the school’s outstanding student athlete in 1992, and undefeated in conference competition.

Today, Tomas Bisono is a process improvement expert, passionate about Self Improvement, fan of social media, avid reader of modern business concepts and practices, known for rallying teams behind a proven methodology, helping those teams to excel through an effective approach to coaching. As a leader, Tomas thrives in adverse situations, motivating teams to the attainment of results, through a relentless pursuit of excellence. As a loving Father and husband, Tomas shares his passion for life, books and movies with his wife and two daughters, ages 3 and 10.”

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