the startups.com platform about startups.comCheck out the new Startups.com - A Comprehensive Startup University
Education
Planning
Mentors
Funding
Customers
Assistants
Clarity
Categories
Business
Sales & Marketing
Funding
Product & Design
Technology
Skills & Management
Industries
Other
Business
Career Advice
Branding
Financial Consulting
Customer Engagement
Strategy
Sectors
Getting Started
Human Resources
Business Development
Legal
Other
Sales & Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Public Relations
Branding
Publishing
Inbound Marketing
Email Marketing
Copywriting
Growth Strategy
Search Engine Marketing
Sales & Lead Generation
Advertising
Other
Funding
Crowdfunding
Kickstarter
Venture Capital
Finance
Bootstrapping
Nonprofit
Other
Product & Design
Identity
User Experience
Lean Startup
Product Management
Metrics & Analytics
Other
Technology
WordPress
Software Development
Mobile
Ruby
CRM
Innovation
Cloud
Other
Skills & Management
Productivity
Entrepreneurship
Public Speaking
Leadership
Coaching
Other
Industries
SaaS
E-commerce
Education
Real Estate
Restaurant & Retail
Marketplaces
Nonprofit
Other
Dashboard
Browse Search
Answers
Calls
Inbox
Sign Up Log In

Loading...

Share Answer

Menu
Startups: As an entrepreneur, how do you avoid wearing too many hats by finding what you're real strengths are?
DB
DB
David Berman, Bootstrap Expert answered:

Your question contains an assumption that I think we need to address before I can answer properly.

The assumption is that you avoid wearing too many hats by finding what your real strengths are. The inference is that determining your strength(s) is the key to avoiding too many hats. And I disagree with that assumption. Here's why:

Many entrepreneurs and business owners know what they are good at. They know where they are passionate. They know which activities drive them and fill them with excitement and energy. Yet they still end up wearing "too many hats" because they never do one critical thing... They never determine foundational goals and they never build a solid business strategy to achieve those goals.

Without a solid strategy the entrepreneur jumps from one "opportunity" to another... They run around putting out fires and implementing undirected but exciting tactics. And though they may do so with passion and skill these things will generally fail to result in building a business. Lack of focus (on foundational goals and the strategies they've chosen to attain them) results in a poor probability of success.

Okay.. enough pontificating. The answer to your inferred question "How do you determine which hat(s) to wear?" is this:

1. Figure out your foundational goals (personal and then business)
2. Build a financial and revenue model that gives you the greatest probability of achieving those goals (I call the resulting business a Minimally Viable Business Model)
3. Complete your business model such that you identify your market, USP and message, product/service menu, etc.
4. Use that model to choose and develop at least one In-bound and one Out-bound marketing process
5. Deliver your message to the determined market, track your results and make adjustments as needed to increase your probability of success

In doing these things you'll end up with a clearly identified list of actions you must take on a day to day basis. The aforementioned steps will tell you:
-Who to market to and where to find them (or how and where they'll find YOU)
-What to communicate to them (including your USP and an irresistible offer)
-How much you can afford to invest in acquiring clients/customers (aka spend on marketing)
-How to price your products/services
-Who to hire
and dozens of other things you need to know and execute in order to grow a successful business.

Then, based on your resources (i.e. time, capital, connections, etc) you, as the owner, can decide what to personally do (aka which hat(s) to wear) and what to either hire others to do, outsource, etc.

I use a 6 step process that encompasses ALL of this with my clients - And the main thing they tell me it does for them is to help get them out of reactive mode. They are then able to (finally) focus all of their energy and passion and resources into suddenly obvious action steps to help them build their business.

If this is of interest to you - give me a call.

In any case - I wish you massive success and the best of luck!

Talk to David Upvote • Share
•••
Share Report

Answer URL

Share Question

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Google+
  • Share by email
About
  • How it Works
  • Success Stories
Experts
  • Become an Expert
  • Find an Expert
Answers
  • Ask a Question
  • Recent Answers
Support
  • Help
  • Terms of Service
Follow

the startups.com platform

Startups Education
Startup Planning
Access Mentors
Secure Funding
Reach Customers
Virtual Assistants

Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.