Master Grazia’s life skills

The first thing I’d say to anyone who’s thinking of launching a start-up is: go for it! But be prepared for the mental and physical strain it can put on you. Put protections and boundaries in place, as you can quickly become utterly consumed. Focus and determination are necessary, especially in the early days, but perspective and emotional resilience are also key. Things that help me are sleep, meditation, exercise and chatting to my friends and family regularly.

Keep things simple and don’t over-hire. A small team is far easier to manage and more efficient. Keep your communication channels simple, too. Nothing beats email and phone calls. Face-to-face meetings are important, but unless they are well-structured they can be a drain on time. Keep your management structures clear. When my business grew, I went through a phase of having poor management systems. This affects everyone, as people aren’t sure who to report to. Just because you’re the founder/ceo, doesn’t mean everyone has to report to you. I quickly learned that having one person report to me and trusting them to manage the rest of the team was the best way for me to run my business.

Before you dive in, you need to plan the following: the idea (can you summarise it in a sentence?); the USP: what makes your idea unique? Target market: who will buy your product/ service? Business model: how will you make money? Competitive analysis: is anyone else doing it? Competitive advantage: why will you win?

It’s hard work but I absolutely love it. The day I stop enjoying it is the day I’ll have to step back. Life is too short to do something that doesn’t bring you happiness and satisfaction.

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