the psychology of starting up (startup europe week 2017)

The Psychology of Starting UpXeni AnastasiouBrain Cube Communications

• I am a new female entrepreneur

• I am 38 years old

• I love life

• I am loyal

• I own a digital marketing consultancy since 2011

• I hold the belief that I can make the world a better place through my

creativity and the principles I practice through my work

• I am committed to my business 100%

• I am ambitious

• I am loyal

Who is Xeni today?

• I live with discipline not with boundaries

• I am a giver

• I have an analytical mind

• I love completely

• Some people find me to be a pleasure to work with

• Others find me to be challenging, difficult to work with, unrealistic

and a stressful personality

• Others don’t align with my belief system at all

Who is Xeni today?

• My business partner

• My start-up family

• One female lawyer

• One female personal assistant

• One male auditor

• One male CEO of an investment firm

• One male manager of an insurance company

• One male high-school friend who is also an entrepreneur

• One male university student studying multimedia

Who is my business ecosystem today?

What do they have in common with me?

They share the same beliefs but with different

perspectives

• My business partner

• My start-up family

• My traditional family

• My mother

• My father

• and my two brothers

Who is my business ecosystem today?

What do they have in common with me?

We Love each otherWe Care for each otherWe Support each other

• My business partner

• My start-up family

• My traditional family

• My clients

Who is my business ecosystem today?

What do they have in common with me?

The belief that we can create something unique

together

• My business partner

• My start-up family

• My traditional family

• My clients

• My employees

Who is my business ecosystem today?

What do they have in common with me?

They are creative, ambitious, givers in life,

loyal

• My business partner

• My start-up family

• My traditional family

• My clients

• My employees

• My collaborators

Who is my business ecosystem today?

What do they have in common with me?

They are creative, ambitious, disciplined, we

trust each other

• My business partner

• My start-up family

• My traditional family

• My clients

• My employees

• My collaborators

• Those who provide me with services: My bank, my lawyer, my

auditor, government etc.

Who is my business ecosystem today?

What do they have in common with me?

We help each other to survive and grow in the

business ecosystem

• My Self

• My Belief

• My Idea

Who was my business ecosystem in 2011?

What should I have been thinking at this point?

Ask Yourself these 5 Questions once a month

What are you thinking?The Psychology of Innovation

• I have a unique idea and I believe in it 100%

• It is time for a new chapter in my life and I am ready for it

• I wish more control over my financial destiny

• I wish a lifestyle business where I am responsible to nobody but

myself

• I wish to finally have a boss I truly understand: the person I see

every day in the mirror fits that description better

• There is great value to the community at large if my idea gets

implemented

• And there is one critical question someone should ask you every

month: are you making money?

Are you making money?The Psychology of Implementation

• This is the question that differentiates between your new business

from a hobby that excites your or relaxes you

• If you say you are in business, then you’ve got to focus on making

money

• Our clients are used to doing business over coffee tables in offices.

The physical distance between the buyer side of the coffee table and

the seller’s side can be measured in centimetres

• But the psychological distance between buyer and seller is

measured in miles

• You need a drastic change in perspective to bridge the psychological

distance and close deals.

So, what does change of perspective actually mean?

• You are not simply changing job titles. You are changing perspective. If you

do not find this process scary, it means you do not fully appreciate what you

are about to do

• Having a paid mentor will help you focus since it is the mentor’s job to

ensure your success. Executives in transition can provide excellent advice.

Invest in them

• Expect to pay them a fee since you are in business to make money. This

conveys you are prepared to take your advisors seriously. Improve their fee

as you make more money

• The important thing is to select people with similar beliefs but different

perspectives from yours. Select people who you can trust to be honest with

you in all the challenges you will face. And avoid bringing in people whose

main value is that they "might" open doors for you

What got you here won’t get you there

• Learned habits of success got you far in your career

• Those same habits of success might become future barriers for you

• You are on the seller's side of the coffee table now, your perspective

is not the same

• If you think learning is hard, compare it to the pain of unlearning your

habits

So, will my idea succeed?

Go through this checklist consistently

How much time are you spending on new business development?

How much time do you spend reading about or watching great sales

professionals? You will probably notice that they display an abiding

interest in others’ issues and needs supported by perseverance,

money motivation, ability to prospect, and close deals.

Have you learned to start listening to the unsolved problems of

those with the authority to write cheques to you?

Does the market like your idea?

If it does, will the market stop liking your idea before you've

recouped your investment?

Are the costs of an innovation eating too much of your profit?

Are you making money??

Thank you!!How to find me:

Xeni Anastasiou

Managing Director

Brain Cube Communications

LinkedIn: cy.linkedin.com/in/xenianastasiou

Telephone: +357 22 200 999  

Facebook: @BrainCubeCommunications