By Ashley Cummings
The beginning of a new year always calls for reflection on the past, with the hope that you’ll achieve more and do better this year. Instead of making promises to go back to the gym, eat less sugar or quit smoking, six Miami entrepreneurs dug a little deeper and shared with me their entrepreneurial resolutions for 2014 that will help their companies and teams grow stronger.
Here’s what they had to say:
1. Focus on The Team.
When you’re going 100 miles an hour and are so heavily focused on making your product or service grow, you can sometimes forget about the people that actually make it all happen. This year, invest more time and energy into helping your team grow and achieve their personal goals. Frankie Coletto, CEO of PassTheNotes (a cloud-based education startup) suggests, “focusing on pushing people up. Your company is only as successful as the team leading it. Making sure your people have all the resources necessary to reach their full potential, will ultimately lead to your company going from good to great”.
2. Design First, Code later.
If you’re a tech startup looking to build a new product or service, you’ve probably struggled with design versus code. Brian Brackeen founder of Kairos (a facial recognition company) suggests, “Design first. Spend more time with your designer (get one if you don't have one) and less time with your coders. A strong design will take you much further and answer questions that your coders would never think of.”
3. Streamline and Focus.
The New Year provides you with the perfect opportunity to take the time to reassess your product offering or target audiences, and find ways to be more focused. It’s easy to get sidetracked when you’re too busy to take a look at the bigger picture and see if all the pieces fit correctly. In 2014 Brian Breslin, CEO of Infinimedia is planning on, “streamlining our focus to offer fewer services. This will allow us to be more effective with our existing customers and new ones as well. Many small consulting firms fall into the trap of trying to offer every service under the moon in one shot, but then stretch themselves too thin. By focusing on fewer services, we incur less technical debt, can offer services more profitably, and deliver higher caliber end products to our customers. End result? Everyone is happier.
4. Be Persistent.
There are inherent ups and downs that come with being an entrepreneur. You’re bound to hit some roadblocks, but you have to power through and be persistent. In the words of SportsManias‘ CEO, Aymara Del Aguila, “An entrepreneur is inherently passionate, driven and focused on reaching a very specific goal. Persistence and vision are the strongest components of success, regardless of any obstacles that may be faced. There is no age, culture or gender bias when it comes to accomplishments that are reached through diligence and momentum.”
5. Find a Work-Life Balance.
There’s always more work you can do and another project or deadline that needs to be met. However, it’s important to make a concerted effort to take time and recharge your personal battery. It will make you a better, less moody leader. Adriana Castro, designer of exotic-skinned handbags, feels that “it is important to spend time traveling, resting and doing what makes you happy outside of work. If you’re too focused on work and never come up for air, you miss out on the great things happening around you, and even chances to be inspired.”
6. Remember the Human Factor
While you’re busy making your service or product succeed, don’t forget the human element behind what you do. At Our City Thoughts my co-founder Binsen Gonzalez and I, are making sure we stop and think about whom we are affecting through our work this year. We want to ensure that what we are producing is positively affecting the people in our community and making a real, tangible difference.
What are some of your New Year’s Resolutions for 2014?
Ashley Cummings co-founder and chief communications officer at Our City Thoughts, a non-profit organization that seeks to give voice to and highlight Miami’s emerging community of startups, entrepreneurs, creators and thought leaders. She is a bilingual integrated communications professional who has helped develop and execute PR campaigns for start-ups and established consumer and technology companies.
Posted Jan. 11, 2014