by Mike Carroll
There are people with ideas, and there are people with good ideas. There are those who want to work on their own, and there are the few who know how to do it. Most new businesses fail for insufficient passion and planning. But, thinking ahead, you can lay a strong foundation.
Making your startup succeed.
Believe in your brand.
Your product or service must have a unique sales proposition, a pitch that differentiates yours from others. You must have a purpose and believe your brand will achieve that purpose.
Buckle up.
Chasing a dream will take you for a bumpy ride. You need to be flexible. It takes courage and conviction, and they differ from stubbornness and myopia. You may not like it, but you must let go of dreams that prove unrealistic. Your job is to create solutions.
Budget well.
You do not have the money to start a business if you have not planned well. It takes some over-budgeting to anticipate all the expenses you will incur. From business cards to technology, from insurance to signage, and from labor burden to regulatory compliance. Expect your actual costs to be well above your budget.
Consult pros.
Entrepreneurs risk failure when they ignore or fail to solicit the advice of professionals in law, human resources, accounting, and so on. For example, running a Delaware business search will identify business entities and help you form a regulatory-advantaged Delaware-based corporation.
Defy competition.
Writing for Forbes, Eric T. Wagner recommends, “Prepare to be copied. Don’t start unless you’ll survive imitation.” The most successful startups work innovative responses to copy cats into their plans. They build response and recovery into their business plan.
Hire performance.
It’s your mistake to hire friends and relatives. Confident and possessed by you idea and purpose, you must assemble the best team you can. The business does not need people; it needs specialists, skills, and smarts. It needs performers to run finances, operations, and marketing. As long as the product is yours, you manage the relationship and retention.
Grow business.
Revenue follows sales. So, early sales are crucial for needed income. They are also vital as relationships you can strengthen. Customers are the source of referrals and continuing income.
Lead well.
A leader defers more than manages. You must surround yourself with talent and, then, step out of their way. In Entrepreneur, Lindsay Broder says, “leadership is about creating and guiding an environment built around success.” It takes management – not micromanagement.
Strengthen connections.
The entrepreneurial drive and passion strains personal at home and professional relationships at work. While you must manage and control, you cannot afford to disconnect from your internal support and delivery systems.
Your startup is a GO!
A successful business starts with an idea. It’s fed and energized with passion and commitment. But, there is a very strong element of genius, too.
Whether you are thinking of an opening a dry cleaner or bringing a new app to the internet, you cannot compete without a unique sales proposition. You need that special reason to cross the street to buy or make your app the go-to online option.
When you start a business, your customers want innovation and quality. It’s your job to make that happen and keep happening – despite the challenges coming from every direction.
Those problems will continue and change their shape. But, successful startups accept those challenges as opportunities. They somehow understand their business is all about recognizing problems and selling their solutions.
You’re ready when you have positioned your head and body to life the life of a startup leader.
Mike Carroll is a contributor to OutreachMama and Youth Noise NJ who helps businesses find their audience online through research, content copy, and white papers. He frequently writes about management, marketing, and sales with customized outreach for digital marketing channels and outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.
