Caroline

Upon college graduation I categorized myself as a person who had their ish somewhat together. I’d accomplished most of the goals I went to college to tackle, made a good amount of friends, and had enough weird stories (both inside and outside of the classroom) to last me a while. In other words, I had freaking made it. Who was more excited? Me or my mum? We’ll never know the real answer given it’s a really close tie.

I silently gave my dyslexic/complicated learner self a pat on the back for finally concluding my 22 years of education. As a child, young adult, and full-fledge college student with learning disabilities, I had been waiting for the days of education to cease. Sure, I had overcome my struggles in learning, but now I had finally made it to the day where academia would no longer reign supreme. Learning, for me, was fun, but difficult. The future (and ultimately employment) promised a free land with no books, assignments, or homework.

My first post–college job was working for a fantastic and inspirational mid-size start-up company HD Made in New York City. I hope my lessons learned listed below for how to be successful in the challenging landscape of the start-up business.

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1. Work Successes (And Failures) Are Magnified

Although jam packed with perks such as gym memberships and a fully stocked pantry and fridge, it's possible for big corporations to occassionally fail to notice the individual responsible for a brilliant piece of work - or worse another employee can snag the credit. When working for a start-up business, you are immediately praised for your big or small accomplishments as a small environment demands positivity - often encouraging you to be your best self.

On the flip side, a hypersensitive small work environment will also notice your failures more quickly.  For me, this has been a good thing. For one, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to slack off during down time and more importantly, you won’t want to let your close knit team down.  With this in mind, you’ll be more than certain to make sure you don’t make mistakes and upset your colleagues.

When considering how to be successful working for a start-up business ask yourself if you're ready to have the magnifying glass on your work at all times.

2. Happy Atmosphere (Most of the Time)

If there isn’t a publicly shared joke at least once an hour, something is wrong. A situation even stranger than a lack of jokes is a musical drought. If the Big Jambox isn't pumping out the latest communal Soundcloud playlist your entire team collaborated on creating, then you are having a very, very, weird day.

When all of the stars align, and the office as a whole is jiving smoothly, high fives are given, and sometimes chest bumps are received. Encouragement runs easily through the workplace without any member of the community straining to receive it. To be blunt, happiness comes quickly; it’s rather simple.

On the other hand, challenges are more quickly felt by every member of the team and can be more distressful as the responsibility rests on a each team member's shoulders. Remember to keep a positive outlook and stay focused on the task at hand no matter the environment if you're looking for how to be successful working for a start-up.

3. Fun Attire is Easy (If You Can Still Be Productive)

I’m proud to say I wear workout gear and sneakers to work. If I’m feeling sassy, I wear jeans, boots, and something entirely too washer and dryer friendly. When you work for a start-up, you work in clothes that and comfortable and compatible with your work environment and rarely spend your dolla, dolla bills on dry cleaning. It’s glorious. And, if you want to keep it glamorous, ladies, there is no problem with going a bit over “start-up” attire.

On the rare occasion that I wake up feeling like a glamorous ass kicker (instead of just sneaker wearing/casually-dressed ass kicker), I put on…wait for it…a dress. In the summer, we wear shorts and sandals. In this wonderfully casual atmosphere rain or shine, you'll find yourself drinking beer at work…but only on special occasions.  Kidding.

If you're someone who can work a hundred miles an hour in a relaxed atmosphere, then it will be no problem for you to be successful working for a start-up. If, however, you need structure and are not able to perform your best work unless you're wearing business formal, then working at a start-up might not be for you.

4. You Can't Be a One Trick Pony

Whether your start-up has an ample amount of funds or they are still rubbing two pennies together just to get by, you’re going to need to learn a few more tricks of the trade than you knew when you started your job. There is no room for the “I” in the startup community. Not only do you need to be prepared to learn from your peers and absorb some of their skills, you will also need to be able to take on multiple projects at once.

Your tech saavy senior strategist may need to right copy for your high fashion women’s sportswear client, or the client relations intern might need to back-end code for your start-up’s blog. But hey, you do what you have to do, and if your personality and skill set can coincide with the asks of startup culture, you will not only thrive, you’ll also have learned more than you ever anticipated from your creative office hub.

The key for how to be successful in your start-up culture is to eat a slice of humble pie and learn the skills of your peers and be willing to jump in and manage any task (even it it isn't what you were hired to do).

5. Appreciate the Hungry Creative Dragon

You might work in a large agency where you see and appreciate the creative process. This environment might offer the creative incubation for you to hone your skills and learn from some of the best over the life of your career. Working with a small team can put a lot of pressure on every team member even before you might feel ready for your ideas to greet the public. The positive side of this pressure and in being a part of the ample intimate brainstorming sessions is that feeling like the outcome is your own baby. With so much pride in your work sometimes it’s hard not to shout (tweet) it to the heavens.

But if you feel you need additional industry training or would rather spend the part of your career learning from those who have gone before you, working in a larger organization might be a better fit for how to be successful in your job.

Your start-up and your start-up alone are responsible for your company’s success. If you’re ready to work for a startup, you’ll find the experience exhilarating and more than worth your time. If you’re looking for how to be successful when starting your own business - the skills you acquired at said start-up will propel towards success having prepared you with the challenges and thrills working for a start-up business. 

 

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