This week’s top stories include small business advice covering the following four topics:
Most Entrepreneurs (Unintentionally) Lie When They Tell Their Stories, and They’re Setting You Up for Failure
Why it’s important to embrace the Great Resignation and just let people go
5 Common Urges Among Entrepreneurs That You Must Fight Against to Be Successful
Studies Prove the Benefits of Mentors, So How Do You Find Them?
Each week we scour all the top business-related magazines and newspapers for articles with the best advice for the small business owner, so you do not have to.
Most Entrepreneurs (Unintentionally) Lie When They Tell Their Stories, and They’re Setting You Up for Failure
My favorite Disney song is “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” in the classic animated film Mulan. It’s fun to watch Mulan transform from struggling rookie to seasoned warrior in three minutes and twenty-two seconds.
The arc feels familiar: Mulan is struggling. She’s out of her depth, and her captain has decided to send her home. Then, something clicks. We watch her set her jaw and tackle a physical milestone none of her fellow soldiers could master. Her moment of brilliance changes everything. Suddenly, Mulan is sprinting with weights she couldn’t lift before. She vanquishes her captain in a sparring match. Everyone loves her. Who could avoid being inspired?
It seems no company is safe from the Great Resignation. The most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that more than 3.6 million people quit their jobs in May. And there isn’t yet an end in sight: A report by Monster.com indicates that a whopping 95% of workers are considering leaving their jobs.
Freshworks is my ninth Silicon Valley tech company and it’s clear that our focus on employees has a very positive impact. We have a demonstrably strong culture with high employee satisfaction scores, a well-liked, inspiring CEO, and strong ratings on Glassdoor. We’ve implemented “Fri-yay” days off every six weeks and announced our #AndIt’sOK program to help employees handle the additional stresses of juggling stay-at-home life. We are doing everything we can to inspire and retain our talent.
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. One of many reasons most entrepreneurs fail is that in order to build a large sustainable business, you have to fight natural human urges along the way. I have met countless founders who run their company based on natural human instinct, and I’d estimate that the result is failure nine times out of 10.
Being an entrepreneur and creating something from nothing is anything but natural. That said, here are five common urges that every entrepreneur needs to learn how to fight:
Mentorship might seem like a quaint idea reserved for young, fledgling professionals just starting to spread their wings. Studies have found, however, that mentors predict a greater chance of success even for entrepreneurs who already have considerable experience of their own. Successful startups are more likely to be led by entrepreneurs that have been taken under the wing by a more experienced mentor.
These findings beg the question: How does one find a mentor? Finding a mentor seems particularly problematic for more experienced entrepreneurs and executives. We are no longer rookies or interns who can learn on the job from our superiors. We are the superiors. Fortunately, the growth of mentorship among entrepreneurs and the C-suite provides some guidance on finding a mentor right for you.
