10 things you need to know about running a startup

This article was republished with permission from blankanvas, the personal blog of Pat Law. Pat is the founder of GOODSTUPH, a social media agency in Singapore.

GOODSTUPH has passed its two-year mark without needing Government’s funding* nor a bank loan. It has kept steadily in the black from Day One.

Along the way, we gave birth to two other babies; GOOD Stories – a creative platform that brings the best stories forward and has often seen a 100% attendance rate event after event, and Another Good Thing, a social laboratory that produces creative solutions that make life better (an example is SocialKit).

I think it’s safe to say, by some 30 brands we manage and market, that we’re not your typical douchebag of a social media agency.

I’d be the first to admit that whilst I was comfortable churning strategic plans and campaign ideas, running an agency was an unfamiliar domain I had yet to visit then. I’ve witnessed some of the greatest creative minds fall when they went independent. So yes, the fear was inevitable.

There were certain values and processes I integrated into running GOODSTUPH, which I thought, might be useful for the budding entrepreneur reading this. Enjoy the following at your own peril. Here are the 10 things you need to know about running a start-up:

1. Be extremely self-aware and address your weaknesses heads-on.

I haven’t run my own business before. Ok, let’s ask a few people who have.

I’m bad with numbers. Ok, hire the best accountant in town to manage the books (my accountant is that good, she gets IRAS providing me a rebate on taxes).

I’m not a natural car salesman. That’s fine. No cold calls or massive pitches. Focus on clients who’ve been with you for the last decade. They know what you’re capable of.

My personality is not for everyone. That’s fine too. You have a choice now. You want clients who inspire you to put your life down on the line for them. You don’t want clients who make you want to quit the industry altogether. You certainly don’t want a slimming centre for a client who places a feminist quote about true beauty coming from within above a “10 slimming sessions for $888” fugly slimming offer (true story).

2. Stop behaving like a startup.

Successful start-ups are never referred as start-ups, and one can’t help but wonder – why not? Microsoft. Apple. Leo Burnett. Ogilvy. Louis Vuitton. In their infancy stages, were they all not start-ups?

GOODSTUPH runs with the same level of professionalism as you’d expect from a typical agency (contact report within 24 hours, production timelines, detailed post-campaign reports, blah blah blah) and the personality of an indie label (we wear shorts and work from a café on Fridays, we talk to our clients like human beings and not stiff retards in business suits and ties, and we don’t wait for a brief in order to think of an idea).