The Anti-Diva Guide To Startups

By Danielle Tate, CEO of MissNowMrs.com

Approaching a startup with a diva attitude is a great way to fail before you even begin.  To launch a successful startup you need to be willing to work harder, longer and for less (usually nothing at the beginning) than any other person out there to make your idea become a reality.  Essentially, you need to be the anti-diva.  All attention and energy should be focused on your startup, not you.  If that sounds contrary to your ideal life scenario, you may want to take a pass on entrepreneurship, sister.

However, if you have a burning desire to transform your idea into an amazing business, here are a few anti-diva rules that will help pave the way to your startup’s success:

1. Share the limelight.

The quickest way to kill startup team mentality and creativity is to take all the credit for good ideas and company successes. Celebrate big successes by giving kudos to the appropriate people and rewarding your whole team with a happy hour or sporting event.  Celebrate the little successes with thank you notes and a token gift like flowers or a Starbucks gift card.  Small amounts of personal appreciation from you will pay huge productivity dividends from your team.

2. Never let your mood dictate your manners.

It truly doesn’t matter who you are, if you are rude people will not want to work with you or for you.  Those stuck under your employ will be less inclined to “give it their all”, which is exactly what you need for your company to be successful.  An anti-diva can take a horrible mood/day and use her angst to power through projects instead of venting on innocent coworkers.

3. Channel your frustrations into innovations.

Do you feel slighted by some part of the business startup world?  Instead of throwing a pity party, or worse, a divalicious hissy fit, do something to fix the problem for yourself and future female entrepreneurs.  The solution you find may pave the way for your startup’s success and possibly thousands of others.

4. Ask for help, even when it hurts your pride.

Everyone likes to feel completely confident and knowledgeable in matters pertaining to their business.  In reality, launching a startup involves more questions than answers.  The entrepreneurs who ask for help and wisdom when they face challenges are infinitely more successful than their peers who cobble together solutions to save face.  If you want to see your startup succeed, you’ll need to prioritize it above your personal pride.

5. Support other women in business.

Be a mentor or simply connect young entrepreneurs with the people that can help make their business dreams come true.  Paying it forward makes a huge difference to the people you help, and the ripple effect has a way of rewarding women who aid other women.  Strong business women supporting each other inspire other women to start their own businesses, and who doesn’t want to inspire positive change in the world.

An added perk to being an anti-diva occurs if you ever need to ask for investment funds.  Put yourself in the position of an investor for a moment.  Would you be inclined to give money to a me-centric diva who is completely focused on herself and what people can do for her, or an anti-diva who is devoted to her company’s success?

As one anti-diva to another, welcome to the wonderful world of entrepreneurship.  I hope my tips help you begin the journey of a lifetime!

Danielle Tate is a name change expert, on-camera personality, writer, author of a top rated Google newlywed blog and a bridal magazine contributor.  It was a 13-hour struggle to change her name after getting married in 2005 that prompted Danielle to leave her medical sales career to develop and launch MissNowMrs.com, a premier online name-change service created to simplify the name-change process for brides and newlyweds nationwide.