Running a startup might be your dream. But taking that dream and turning it into a reality requires hard work, sweat and tears. With so many businesses failing within the first year—about 78 percent, says the Small Business Administration and reported by Business Know How — then you’ll want to make sure yours survive well beyond the first year as well.
Here are some handy tips to make that happen:
Start a Business For The Right Reasons
If all you want to do is develop revenue streams to supplement your income, this might not be the right move to make. A business takes time and patience—and plenty of sacrifices—to bring off the ground. You have to love what you’re doing. Be passionate about it.
You can’t let failures pull you down. If you thrive on meeting challenges and believe the service or products you provide fulfill a need in the market, then those are all great reasons to get started.
Manage it With Care and Caution
Poor management is one of the many reasons why companies fail. If you haven’t got enough managerial experience to fall back on, no worries. You can hire someone else to handle that for you. Don’t try to do everything on your own. You’ll need help. That’s where hiring the right people comes in.
By looking for employees that are a culture fit for your company, you’ll start to see your startup grow by leaps and bounds. That’s because the right hire can bring something else to the table. It’s not all about experience and skill. The first employees you hire basically form the cultural backbone of your organization. By hiring the right people, you set the kind of work culture and environment your employees will follow for years to come.
Have Enough Cash Flow
Operating costs can suck your startup dry. If there aren’t any angel investors in sight, you’ll need to keep a firm eye on the money to make sure you have enough to keep the company afloat. By opting for cost-effective solutions like video conferencing, you can get the job done—market your products, connect to possible clients and business partners—all without putting your capital at risk. With a video conferencing system like BlueJeans, companies can lower their operating expenses.
No need to travel for meetings because video calls make that a thing of the past. Wasting resources, looking for qualified candidates to fill up hiring vacancies? No need to wait till Kingdom Come.
With video calls, you can interview, hire and even manage remote employees with ease. That’s one way to get the right people on board without bleeding your capital dry. Whether they’re in a different state or country, you can easily reach out to anyone on your team.
Build Online Presence
Your site and social media pages help you establish online credibility and presence, two qualities that build consumer trust. The more trustworthy you are, the more likely it is for consumers to give your product or services a try. No one wants to be swindled. That makes customers extra wary of falling for scammers. With an established online presence, customers are sure to take a second or third look until they eventually pay for the service or goods you have on offer.
Video technology can help you establish that credibility. Posting promotional videos can boost traffic to your pages and lead to higher conversions and sales. Given the growth of video consumption in the past, that isn’t surprising. FB says it had a record of one billion video views in the span of a single day. When 2015 finally drew to a close, that figure had jumped to as much as 8 billion, Social Media Today says. By taking advantage of video solutions, you can expand your market reach and grow your business.
Expand Right
Don’t try to rush through your growth and expansion, though. Some companies make a mistake of expanding too soon and find out, the hard way, how rushing can lead to bankruptcy. However, that doesn’t mean repressing your company’s growth as well. Steady and slow is a good pace to follow.
If you think it’s time to expand, though, be sure to check your options. Find out what the costs will be then focus on hiring people to help you manage your business and keep it running without any problems. By expanding right, you have a bigger chance of surviving well beyond the first year.
It’s going to be tough. But these steps should help you get a better gauge on what you need to do if you want a thriving and successful business in the future. Don’t let lack of capital or poor communication tools get in the way of your freedom and success. Heed these tips to guide you through your first step toward starting and managing a business.
