Whether you are thinking about starting a business or whether you have registered your company for the very first time, you ideally need to give it the highest chance of success. With data showing that over 20% of companies fail within their first year, you need to make sure that you do not end up falling at the first hurdle.
Not Having a Plan
During the heady days of starting your business, writing a full-blown plan can feel like somewhat of a chore. Refining all of your products while setting up a website can be tough. You will also have to develop a range of marketing emails. This is stuff you really can’t overlook, and a plan can help you to ensure that this is the case. New business owners often think that their plan exists so that they can demonstrate to an outsider whether it is a banker or an investor that their business is going to operate in a certain way. Although this is true, it does not showcase the bigger picture. Your business plan should help you to tell a story, beginning with where you are now and then detailing where you intend to go. A good plan will give you some clarity regarding your progress, your targets and even your potential strategies. If you can make sure that you have information like this to hand then you will soon find that you can spot the areas you don’t have covered, which will make a major difference to you overall.
Pretending You’re on Your Own
You also need to make sure that you don’t pretend that you are on your own. There are very few, new genuine business ideas that won’t overlap with your own. Rather than spending your time being perturbed by your competition, or being completely ignorant, you need to use this to your advantage where you can. The corporate world is made up of many companies that take ideas and then improve upon them. You have to make sure that you do the same. Do your research and know that every business out there is potentially your competitor. If you can do this then you will soon find that you can get the result you want.
Hiring Early and Not Having a Process
As far as business milestones go, making the hire for your first employee is huge. With that being said, if you do this too early then you will end up struggling quite a lot. As a new business owner, one thing to know is that you will undergo periods of intense stress. The solution may be for you to try and get help, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t mean that you have to commit to hiring a full-time employee. In fact, it may be way better for you to try and hire a freelancer. If you can do this then you will soon find that you can test the waters, or you can outsource to a dedicated service provider. This is a great way for you to scale as you grow your business.
Source: Pexels
Making a Poor Impression
Being a small business owner is not an excuse for you to look like an amateur. It doesn’t matter if you give the best product or service within your industry, because if you don’t scrub up then you will never end up being able to attract the right customers. At the end of the day, consumers are somewhat forgiving and you will be judged on absolutely everything. Your company name, your website and even your physical address has to make you look good. If you don’t have a business email or if you are using your personal email to handle enquiries then this won’t be doing you any favors at all. You also need to better your business image where possible. One way for you to work around this would be for you to undergo additional training. You can look into a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt online and when you do, you will learn everything you need to know about getting your business off the ground. If you can do this then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to come out on top and take your business to that next level. You may also find that you can be more professional with the people who you work with too, which is great, to say the least. If you can keep this in mind, it’ll help you a lot going forward.
Ritik Singh
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Sarah Williams
Rachita Kotian