5 Tips for Making Sure Your Startup Doesn’t Fail
Many entrepreneurs call their startup business their “baby.” When you take a look at the time people put into their businesses, it’s no wonder. Your startup is a reflection of your biggest aspirations. And nothing is better than watching those aspirations bloom into a tangible, booming enterprise. With that being said, nothing is worse than watching it fail. Make sure your startup blossoms instead of breaks with these five tips.
1. Find the Team That’s Right for You
As much as you might want to, you can’t run your business by yourself. You need a team. A team that will help lift you and your business up; a team that’s just as passionate about your startup as you are. Be sure to vocalize your own passion for your business, too. Your passion is often the spark that lights the fire in your employees.
Once you’ve found the right team, “Get out of the way.” “Hire great people . . . then get out of their way. You should strive to hire people who are smarter than you and, if you succeed, they will get irritated when you get in their way. Delegate and keep your eye on the important stuff,” said Shamir Karkal, co-founder of Simple.
2. Listen to Your Customers
Listen to your customers from the very beginning. They’ll be the first to tell you the good and the bad about your business. By engaging with them through customer service or keeping tabs on customer reviews with sites like Yelp, you’ll be able to put your business’s best foot forward. This also builds a “customer fan base,” to “engage and nurture” them into advocates, said a CEO of Backblaze on TNW News.
3. Use Organization and Restructuring Techniques
Without the correct organization of team members and a willingness to embrace change, your startup will surely fail. The best businesses are nimble and have the ability to change courses when they’re not seeing the returns on investments that they want. Services like Ruota Consulting provide the tools and techniques startups need to help them grow to their full potential, using Organizational Adoption, Behavioral Change, and People Readiness.
4. Plan, Then Do, Do, Do
Image via Flickr by Mike Rohde
Some planning is definitely necessary for creating a startup that will last. However, some entrepreneurs plan so much that they never get started. Give your startup goals “due dates” to make sure you’re always moving forward — using a planner specific to your business is a good start. Make sure to update your goals as you go.
5. Creating Interest is Key
Some startups forget that they need to save some money for marketing their product or service. Putting the initial money into products and services is well worthwhile to ensure the quality customers are looking for. However, no one will engage with your business if no one knows about it. Dodge this startup faux pas by creating a marketing strategy and starting conversations through social media.
Creating a startup is rewarding and fulfilling if it thrives. However, with 90 percent of startups failing, it’s best to ensure your success with these top five tips.
