Mark Cuban's 12 Rules For Startups

9 Quotes From the 'Shark Tank' Stars to Inspire You to Reach Your Goals

1. A goal without a timeline is just a dream. -- Robert Herjavec

Every entrepreneur has a goal, but it is the plan to reach that goal that separates the successful ones from the millions that fail. If you watch Shark Tank, you will notice that some of the pitches sound good until the contestant is asked how long they have been working on their idea.

 

Some will be several years into it without gaining any traction. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the idea is bad -- it just means they have never put together a timeline for hitting their goals. Set goals with a specific timeframe to reach them. This holds you accountable and keeps you focused and on track.

2. It comes down to finding something you love to do and then just trying to be great at it. -- Mark Cuban

You have to absolutely love what you are doing, first and foremost, because if you don’t you are going to be completely miserable. Being an entrepreneur and starting a business will command the majority of your time -- you have to be prepared to eat, sleep and breathe your business.

If it isn’t something you love to do, it will be very hard to put in the dedication and work required to make it successful. When you create a business around a true passion you will naturally want to make it better.

3. Follow the green, not the dream. -- Mark Cuban

You have to focus on what is working in your business when it comes to growth. Every entrepreneur dreams of rapid expansion and growing his or her business into something bigger. However, simply expanding for the sake of expansion can be a death sentence for your business.

If your sales and customer demand warrant growth, then go for it. Even though you might want to expand you always have to turn to the revenue and determine whether it is a good time to pursue that growth.

4. Nobody has a monopoly on good ideas. -- Kevin O’Leary

Kevin O’Leary will often mention “creating a better mousetrap” on the show. If something already exists but you feel you have a better solution then go for it. Look at the app WhatsApp. There were several text-messaging apps available but WhatsApp founder Jan Koum felt he had a better mousetrap.

The entrepreneur that was once on food stamps sold the company to Facebook for $19 billion -- something that wouldn’t have happened if he never pursued his idea because he felt there were already messaging apps available.

5. All you need is a laptop or a PC and an Internet connection and you can pretty much do almost anything and create almost any type of company. -- Mark Cuban

The Internet has created an endless amount of possibilities for entrepreneurs. My company helps people who are selling websites in a wide range of industries and niches. We constantly come into contact with entrepreneurs that have started businesses based on individual needs, wants and passions.

The Internet allows entrepreneurs to start small, eliminating a lot of overhead in the beginning, and work from virtually anywhere in the world. This flexibility and convenience gives entrepreneurs the chance to pursuer their dreams that wouldn’t have had the opportunity in the pre-online era.

6. As an entrepreneur, you can always find a solution if you try hard enough. -- Lori Greiner

There are going to be times that you hit brick walls and are faced with challenges that at first glance seem nearly impossible to overcome. I was presented with several challenges when starting my business and I was forced to work hard in order to develop solutions to navigate around every challenge presented to me.

The hard work will never disappear -- there will always be challenges in business, so get used to becoming a great problem solver in the beginning. You will learn that you can overcome any obstacle if you try hard enough. 

7. Make sure you pick good people to build your business with, as they'll determine 80 percent of your success. -- Barbara Corcoran

Assembling the best team is vital to the success of your business. Whether we are talking about co-founders or employees -- the right people will propel you towards success and the wrong people will sink your business.

Make sure that anyone you are considering bringing on, in any capacity, both fully understands and shares your vision. If not you have a recipe for disaster. Also, if you do end up making a hiring mistake don’t be afraid to make a change. The longer you hang on to a toxic employee the more damage it will cause.

8. Everyone has an idea, but it’s taking those first steps toward turning that idea into a reality that are always the toughest. -- Daymond John

Think of how many times you have heard someone say, “I had that idea years ago,” when reacting to something new that hits the market. People have amazing new ideas daily, but the only way to make them a reality is to take action.

Becoming an entrepreneur has a lot of risks in the beginning -- something not everyone is willing to take. The first steps, including the decision to move forward, are what separate successful entrepreneurs from the millions that just have great ideas.

9. The road to riches is never straight and narrow. It can be riddled with financial land mines. -- Kevin O’Leary

When I started my business, I bootstrapped its entire growth, but not all entrepreneurs take the same path. While bootstrapping can be a longer journey to the finish line it eliminates the added stress of taking on debt. Some entrepreneurs think that success will come sooner if they accelerate their growth by taking on debt to make some things happen sooner.

It’s never as simple as racking up debt and then paying it back when you hit the entrepreneur lottery. Blindly taking on debt without multiple plans to repay it can create a huge mess that can cause your business and dreams to implode.

Mark Cuban's 12 Rules for Startups

BY Mark Cuban

Image credit: ABC

Anyone who has started a business has his or her own rules and guidelines, so I thought I would add to the memo with my own. My "rules" below aren't just for those founding the companies, but for those who are considering going to work for them, as well.

1. Don't start a company unless it's an obsession and something you love.
2. If you have an exit strategy, it's not an obsession.
3. Hire people who you think will love working there.
4. Sales Cure All. Know how your company will make money and how you will actually make sales.
5. Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them. Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but aren't as expensive to pay. 
6. An espresso machine? Are you kidding me? Coffee is for closers. Sodas are free. Lunch is a chance to get out of the office and talk. There are 24 hours in a day, and if people like their jobs, they will find ways to use as much of it as possible to do their jobs.

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7. No offices. Open offices keep everyone in tune with what is going on and keep the energy up. If an employee is about privacy, show him or her how to use the lock on the bathroom. There is nothing private in a startup. This is also a good way to keep from hiring executives who cannot operate successfully in a startup. My biggest fear was always hiring someone who wanted to build an empire. If the person demands to fly first class or to bring over a personal secretary, run away. If an exec won't go on sales calls, run away. They are empire builders and will pollute your company.

8. As far as technology, go with what you know. That is always the most inexpensive way. If you know Apple, use it. If you know Vista, ask yourself why, then use it. It's a startup so there are just a few employees. Let people use what they know. 

9. Keep the organization flat. If you have managers reporting to managers in a startup, you will fail. Once you get beyond startup, if you have managers reporting to managers, you will create politics.

10. Never buy swag. A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo-embroidered polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, it's okay to buy for your own employees, but if you really think people are going to wear your branded polo when they're out and about, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money.

11. Never hire a PR firm. A public relations firm will call or email people in the publications you already read, on the shows you already watch and at the websites you already surf.

Those people publish their emails. Whenever you consume any information related to your field, get the email of the person publishing it and send them a message introducing yourself and the company. Their job is to find new stuff. They will welcome hearing from the founder instead of some PR flack. Once you establish communication with that person, make yourself available to answer their questions about the industry and be a source for them. If you are smart, they will use you. 

12. Make the job fun for employees. Keep a pulse on the stress levels and accomplishments of your people and reward them. My first company, MicroSolutions, when we had a record sales month, or someone did something special, I would walk around handing out $100 bills to salespeople. At Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions, we had a company shot. The Kamikaze. We would take people to a bar every now and then and buy one or ten for everyone. At MicroSolutions, more often than not we had vendors cover the tab. Vendors always love a good party.

Mark Cuban

A serial entrepreneur, Mark Cuban is co-founder and chairman of Denver-based independent cable network HDNet and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. He is also an active investor and regularly appears on ABC's reality series, Shark Tank.