In this day and age, it seems like there’s nothing easier than setting up and starting your own business. With so many resources and information available, it doesn’t come as a surprise that more and more people are starting their own businesses, establishing companies, and referring to themselves as self-employed. Sadly, as enthusiastic and well-prepared you think you are, there are many things you should be aware of that concern new businesses. If you want to make sure that your startup won’t fail but that it will grow and expand, here’s what you need to know and do:
Make sure you’re wanted
One of the most common reasons why 75% of startups fail is because they have been focusing on a product or a service that people don’t actually need or want. You don’t want to spend a lot of time, money, and effort building and developing something only to discover, much too late, that people aren’t interested in what you’re offering. You need to do a bit of research and test the market to see if your idea is going to work in the real world. There are different ways you can test your product or your service before you actually launch them so that you know whether or not you’ll avoid failure.
Analyze the feedback
You might be telling your clients that they are your priority, but unless you actually focus on their needs and listen to what they have to say, your startup is doomed to fail. Ask your clients to give you feedback information and actually take time to go through it after they submit it. This will allow you to see what exactly they need and want from you, and you will be able to focus your efforts and resources into improving your services, much to their satisfaction. Even negative feedback offers you a chance to grow and improve, so don’t ignore it.
Never lack supplies
Depending on the kind of startup you have, you need to make sure that you never lack anything. Your office should never run out of printing paper and ink, your beauty salon should always have plenty of hair and beauty salon supplies, and your small café should never run out of craft beer and its signature blend of coffee. Building a reputation on a certain service or product means that the said service and/or product should always be available to your customers. Otherwise, you seem highly unprofessional and irresponsible, which is terrible for your business.
Ask for help
Startup owners are often very proud, and they believe that they can do everything on their own. They work themselves to the bone and never ask for help, stubbornly refusing to admit that they aren’t omnipotent. Let’s face it – all startups need assistance, and there’s no way you can do everything without someone’s help. Work with mentors and advisors – they will help you avoid traps and deal with problems successfully.
Pick the right people
A lot of entrepreneurs make a big mistake and start working with people they’ve known for years and they love dearly, only to realize the bitter truth: just because you’re good friends with someone, it doesn’t mean you should be working with them. Also, it would be a shame to invest a lot of time and effort into finding and hiring the perfect candidates only to discover that this group of amazing individuals makes a terrible team. People you’ll be working with should complement each other in terms of strengths and weaknesses, so you have to make sure that your team is properly balanced. You’d be surprised, but sometimes it’s the “imperfect” candidates who balance each other perfectly.
Before all your startup dreams come true and your new company soars high, you need to overcome certain obstacles and be careful of most common “traps”. Sadly, most startups and new businesses will fail in the first few years, and if you’re not well-prepared, you might be going along the same path. You need to apply the right business principles and stick to your plans, as well as to learn as much as you can from everyone: those who succeeded as well as those who didn’t.