CheatCodes - Experience > Failure, Avoid overinflated job titles, and forget about the mistakes you make
It's not failure, it's experience.
"Go for it.
Whether it ends well or not, it was experience."
The other day someone sent me a message that read:
"Hey Tim, really want to start my own company when I finish University but I'm worried I might not get a job after it if I don't build experience first. Any tips?"
My response was the quote you see above.
Truth is, it really doesn't matter whether the venture you try works or not, because the next time you try, you'll be LEVELS ahead of where you were before.
No, you probably won't succeed on the first try.
Chances are you won't succeed on the second, third, or even fourth try.
But with each attempt and each failure you get much, much closer to your goal.
Remember, a winner is just a loser who tried one more time.
Don't give out overinflated job titles
This is one of the biggest mistakes I made in the early days of building my last company.
Giving overinflated job titles.
Here's what I mean:
Calling your first marketing hire, "Head of Marketing."
Calling your first accounting hire, "Chief Financial Officer."
Calling your first salesperson, "Director of Sales."
Chances are, these people are not the right fit for these high-standing titles.
If they were, you probably wouldn't be able to afford them in your early days of building a company.
Instead, keep the titles modest and then promote people IF they show that they are capable of handling this extra responsibility.
Problem is, if you do give out inflated job titles and realise they're not the right person, then you have a very, very, very awkward conversation to have with that early employee.
OR
You start making up job titles to not hurt feelings and soon have a "Head of Sales," "Sales Director," and "Head of Revenue" all doing the same job with no clear hierarchy.
I made this mistake early on and it became a real pain point for me. It took a lot of work to undo, and ruffled a few feathers to say the least, so avoid it.
It's not worth the risk.
Don't worry about mistakes, worry about how you fix them.
This excerpt is from the book "The Entrepreneur's Guide To Getting Your Shit Together" by John Carlton.
Everyone makes mistakes. There's no hiding from them.
But how you deal with your own shortcomings is telling on the type of person you are, and how successful you're going to become.
Those that make mistakes, then curl up in a ball and pretend they never existed - fail.
But those that make mistakes, recognise them, and find a solution - succeed.
Living with this rule in mind helped me ensure I was spending time with the right people, doing the right things, and achieving success as a consequence.
It's a life rule I believe everyone should live by.
