What A Founder And CEO At Mustard And Moxie Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Startup Industry
Anna, Founder & CEO of Mustard & Moxie, learned that starting a business "is not that hard," but achieving success is challenging; the key to their success has been seeking help, taking risks, understanding the competitive landscape, and maintaining a clear vision driven by the desire to "make a difference," a realization that could have propelled them to entrepreneurship earlier.
Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Risk-Taking, Goal Setting, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Anna Boudinot
Founder & CEO
Mustard & Moxie
New York University, 2000
UCLA Anderson MBA
Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Scholarship Recipient, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. It's easier to start a business than to make it successful. Focus on profitability from the beginning.
2. Don't be afraid to ask for help and make connections with people who can support you.
3. Set clear goals and have a vision for your business's impact; consider how you want to be remembered for your work.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would've told you before you entered this industry?
What I've learned about being a business owner is that it's not that hard to be a business owner, but it is hard to have a successful business. So, let me explain.
I think I would have started my own business much sooner if I realized that I had the full capacity to be able to do it. I only started my business when I was in an MBA program at UCLA and was surrounded by classmates, professors, resources, and an executive coach.
If you have expertise in a specific area where you want to start your business and have people in your life you can reach out to for help, or if you are comfortable making new connections and relationships with people you can depend on, that's really all you need to get started. Running a business is not rocket science.
You're going to have to figure out accounting and legal matters, but all of that information is available. Running a profitable business is the hard part. I think there's a statistic that most small businesses fail within the first two years.
I've been around for almost three years now, so I feel like I've hit a milestone. Some of the things that have kept me in business are not being afraid to ask for help and not being afraid to take risks.
I also have an understanding of what else is happening in my industry and sector, including who I'm competing with. These competitors aren't always direct; sometimes they are other companies or individuals meeting my client's needs in a different way.
Having a clear set of goals and knowing what I want to achieve is also important. I think about what I want in my obituary. If someone were writing it, talking about who I am as a person and the work I did with my company, I want that to be exciting, memorable, and really cool.
I don't want to be remembered as someone who just worked a job for 30 years. That's not what I want for my life, nor how I want to be remembered.
I want to be remembered as someone who made a difference. If someone had told me sooner that that was possible, I would have dived into this work sooner.