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NatashaClark Lrg photo e1452803624450
Startup

The Five Things I Did To Launch My Startup In Only Three Months

Have you ever met a person that has said, "I'm going to launch my startup" and then nothing? Maybe you're that person. Here's what to do to start:

Getting a startup rolling is not as scary as you may think. Depending on your industry, it can take a little more elbow grease. The most important thing you have to do, is get your butt moving. Here are the five things I did to launch my startup in only three months:

  1. I zeroed in on my customer.

Lioness magazine was created to serve women just like me, so that’s where I put my focus. What kind of articles would I want to read? What would inspire me? What are my digital media peers not doing? The sooner I was sure who I was serving, the sooner I could focus on their needs.

  1. I launched the freaking thing.

I didn’t sit around and perfect my idea. I wanted to get my product in front of my target market to test it and validate that women even wanted it. When we started scoring quality interviews and gaining readership, we paused and went on a month hiatus, then came back ready to serve.

  1. I got help.

Even though I initially launched as a solopreneur, there was no way I could pump out a digital magazine on my own. People have been quite generous to me – offering discounts, giving me extensions to pay invoices and providing guidance when I need it. None would have been possible if I didn’t ask and remain honest about what I needed.

  1. I wrote out my vision and mission.

Putting down the purpose of my startup on paper helped me stay on course when crafting the Lioness brand. Of course, there were pivots we made along the way, but the essence of the company has not changed one iota.

  1. I put myself out there.

No one wants to fail, let alone publically. However, I needed to be the face of my brand and get the word out about what we were doing. In the beginning, I was relentless. I emailed universities, entrepreneurs, PR companies, conferences – ANYONE who had contact with my target audience. Out of 100 emails, I would receive 20 responses, sometimes five and other days NONE. The next day, I would get up and send 100 more.

So what are you waiting for? Do you have some things you need to work through in order to get going? We might be able to help you get unblocked. Use the comment section to tell us what you need help with and we’ll see what we can do to help!

ROCK the day!

About the author

Natasha Zena

Around age eight Natasha Zena was told it was a woman’s job to take care of the home and since then she has built a career out of telling women they can do whatever the hell they want to do. She is the co-founder of Lioness, the go-to news source for everything female entrepreneur. Natasha was recognized as an emerging leader in digital media by The Poynter Institute and the National Association of Black Journalists. She has mentored women entrepreneurs and moderated panels at a number of national accelerators, Startup Weekends and conferences such as The Lean Startup Conference, the Massachusetts Conference for Women, Women Empower Expo and Smart Cities Connect. Natasha is also the author of the popular whitepaper, "How To Close The Gender Gap In Startup Land By 2021." In her spare time, she writes short fiction and hangs out with her son, Shaun.

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