6 Startup Lessons You Don’t Want to Learn the Hard Way
Reading Time: 4 minutes There are around 100 million businesses started annually. Each of them is hiding startup entrepreneurs’ hopeful that their business will be the one to succeed. Many are lucky to survive, others fail. Learn from other people’s mistakes and get your business on the path to success.
Table of Contents
Every business is about sales
As an entrepreneur, you base your business around your vision, an idea you had which you thought could bring profit and make this world a better place.
However, an idea on its own is not enough but is still essential. You need your idea to differentiate you from others, but you need a practical application to make the sales. As startups are meant to be innovative, you cannot allow yourself to conform to others and sell something already widely available on the market.
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You need to apply your idea to problem-solving and sell it as a remedy. It will then have a specific purpose, but it will still be your own.
You need money to make money
It is obvious that every business is about making money. The money is not only required to cover expenses and salaries. You need it if you want to progress. Money pays for education, research, new products, marketing campaigns, as well as any other investments. Therefore you should refrain from splurging the moment your business kicks off. Basically, there is no right moment for splurging as there are no limits to business growth.
Step-by-step is the right pace
As much as you would like your business to grow, you want to be able to monitor the growth carefully so it does not become too much. This will ensure you stay in control. Growth is not just an accomplishment, it is also a burden. Bigger businesses have bigger expenses.
Also, there are more fields to be covered and you need the right personnel for that. Prioritizing is the key to staying in control. First, your daily to-do list will probably have an unrealistic number of tasks.
You need to complete them one by one without missing any important issues. If you prioritize your to-do list you will ensure everything that really needs to be done is actually done by either you or the person you delegated the work to. Furthermore, the same rule can be applied to opportunities.
If you have a lot of business deals coming your way, you need to learn to select only the best ones and say no to some. As much as it sounds tempting, taking on too much will only reduce the quality of your service and destroy your reputation.
Every employee is a valuable asset
A small business can afford fewer mistakes. You need to be surrounded by skilled, hardworking people you can trust. As much as you would like to, you will not be able to supervise everyone’s work and you need it to be done the best way possible.
You want to be free to delegate work without second thoughts. Also, a good working environment is essential for creativity and productivity.
Marketing is as important as an excellent product
Regardless of what it is you are selling, you will be the most successful if you believe in your product/service. However, no matter how good it is, it will not sell on its own unless people somehow find out about it. Carefully target your audience and focus your marketing efforts.
Getting the best out of your campaigns and not wasting money is the goal. This is why you cannot afford to fail too many times, your resources will run dry.
Outsourcing can save you a lot
Startups usually commence their activity as a one-man band or as a small team of people. Each one of them has a lot on their plate without having to deal with tasks they have no skills for. Employing more people needs to happen gradually and is usually for the team dealing with the main business activity. Outsourcing services such as call center or cleaning could save you a lot.
The administration is usually dealt with by the owner who cannot be fully trained for it. This is why they should hire professional accounting services, as well as a legal consulting firm to help them by doing what they specialize in. Making mistakes with taxes or signing poorly drafted business contracts could cost you a lot down the track.
Do not forget your dream about being your own boss, no matter how hard it may seem. You will feel lonely and desperate at times, but remember that as long as your business is running, you managed to fulfill your dream of making your idea into a success story.
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