Founder Harvey Hughes of Mountain Home’s SEAS Education, an Innovate Arkansas client firm, likes to keep things simple. Here are his five tips for startup success:
- Be a problem solver. If you solve problems others can’t, customers will always need you. Focus on a problem worth solving. You will get tired and you will need motivation and passion to keep you from quitting.
- Work hard and work smart. Basic lessons our parents taught us. Get off the couch and get busy. Both productivity and laziness is addictive. But you can’t do both.
- Be the first to market. Being first gives you the chance to improve; being second gives you a chance to be compared to the first. Don’t be consumed with being perfect to go to market, just be relevant.
- Don’t develop an ego. No matter how successful you become, never forget you had help. Always be willing to learn and improve.
- Pay it forward. It is your responsibility to help others. Remember someone helped you. Success breeds success, so help others. Your time will be well invested.