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Creating a startup is a pretty big deal, and it’s not for the weak of heart.

Among other things, you need to be resilient, determined, creative, flexible and hard-working. But most of all, you need to have a good eye for hiring the right talent, with the right type of personality, for the right role.

In the end, your team is what’s going to make or break your business. The people who you surround yourself with will help you keep up with changing tides, with new innovations, with the most up-to-date marketing strategies.

You can’t do it all by yourself.

Unless you’re Superman, in which case you can probably skip the rest of this post and go save some kittens from the burning comet headed right for earth.  

On the off chance that you’re not superman and/or you’re not preoccupied with saving kittens from a deadly comet, please feel free continue reading to find out what are 4 most essential personality traits that every team member in a startup needs to succeed.

Photo courtesy of m_shipp22(CC Attribution)

Have you ever wanted to teach a pack of thirty 12 year old kids?

No?

That’s OK. Not many people find the prospect appealing.

But I did it for three years, and while it wasn’t easy, it was very rewarding.

I loved my experience as a teacher, and I was disappointed that I couldn’t continue to teach when I moved to Vancouver (without doing another 4 year degree, of course).

But as they say: When one door shuts, another one opens! And with my move to Vancouver came a career change and I found myself launched into the wonderful world of marketing.

As with any job, your old experiences influence how you approach a new position.

This can sometimes be a negative thing, but at other times, a positive. I wasn’t sure what connections there was between teaching and marketing or what influence my teaching experience would have on my current role as a marketer, but as time goes by and I get more comfortable in my new career, there have been certain areas where I can see my old teacher-self shine through. 

Photo courtesy of Sarah Burke

That’s a lot of dough.

And that’s also a great content marketing opportunity for businesses, so why not tap into it by making some Halloween content?

I know, I know. You’re going to say: My business hasn’t really got that much to do with Halloween, or costumes, or sweets… or it’s just not scary at all.

But I’m here to tell you, where there’s a will there’s a way! And there’s always a will.

Photo courtesy of archangel_raphael(CC No Derivatives)

I confess: I’m one of those people who loves anything to do with puppies and kittens. My current obsession is with pugs. People share them on my page, I pin them on Pinterest, I’ve even – I kid you not – searched the term “cute pugs” on YouTube.

Just to watch them.

But it’s actually not that unusual, as is evident from the hundreds of videos that were returned by my “cute pugs” query.

Yes, we’re all a little puppy mad. Or bunny mad. Or cat crazy. Or… Ok, just generally cute crazy.

And as soon as one of these funny lil guys pops up we’re quick to share it on social media, with little or no hesitation.

It’s a marketers dream.

Photo courtesy of Drawnhy97 – Freepik

When it comes to marketing, it’s easy to solely focus on the more technical aspects of the business, such as blogging strategies, SEO, content marketing, click-bait titles and social media distribution.

But what happens is that we then forget the basics.

And I’m not just talking about the basics of marketing, SEO, title creation etc. We have more than our fair share of “Content Marketing for Dummies” posts going around the web that are sure to last us a lifetime.

What I’m talking about is the basics of communication itself.

How we express ourselves is really important in every aspect of life. From first impressions in an interview, to talking with lifelong friends, communication is central to making these relationships successful and meaningful.

But even if you’ve got the fine art of verbal communication down, let me ask you this: How are your writing skills?

Photo courtesy of Sarah Burke

Have you ever thought about whether people consider whether you’re male or female as they’re reading your blogs? Or if people can guess your gender without reading your byline?

Have you ever wondered if it actually matters?

Recently a friend of mine sent me a link to a analyzer called the “Gender Guesser”.

The idea is that you copy and paste a sample of your writing into the analyzer (about 300 words), and it guesses your gender just by your writing style!

This is a guest blog post by Ivan Serrano.

Are you deciding to begin a start-up? 

Want to know what to expect? What competition awaits you? What to do and what not to do?

Well then, you’re probably familiar with the hit ABC TV show, Shark Tank, where new businesses and start-ups propose their start-up ideas to a group of successful high-powered business people (or, as they’re known on the show, “Sharks”). 

Watching the show is a good idea for any potential start-ups. It’s a wealth of information as to what to expect, what you should know when meeting investors, and what enterprises have worked and what ones haven’t and why. 

Photo courtesy of ryn413(CC Attribution)