I think entrepreneurs are very optimistic. We tend to underestimate time and resources we will need for a particular task. If you want to launch and sell a product or raise capital, and you may believe you need X amount of resources. My suggestion is double the amount. If you think two people are required to do a job, multiply it by two. Double the amount of money, resources and time that you think is required. For instance, when you try to sell a product, you may be confident that it will take two years.
But it could even take four years. When you double all your resources, you are preparing yourself to face the reality, so when it actually hits you, you will not look like a fool. This rule of thumb has been very helpful for me.
The other lesson I have learnt from my mistakes is that you should never have partners or employees on part time basis. And you as an entrepreneur also, should not have a Plan B in your place. To give one’s best, one has to be 100% into a job. But when you have a second job or a Plan B, as soon as you hit a road block, you will switch to the alternative plan. This hampers the growth and success of your current startup.
(Ambrish Gupta, Founder of Knowlarity Communications, a cloud-based communications solutions)