Many people would fancy being a successful entrepreneur. There is a notion that starting your business online is intriguing though very demanding task.
Answer:
People often desire being a business man. The idea of starting your own bussiness may seem tempting and adrenaline boosting, but in real life this could be more terror than pleasure.
New entrepreneurs have to deal with a lot of issues during the initial days of their businesses: hiring employees without ID, relying on verbal contracts instead of formal contracts, etc.
Below are the top 5 most common issues for new start-ups and ways to avoid them.
Not Having a Plan
At startups the founders are often guilty of not planning enough. Sure, speed and agility is in the DNA but companies without a plan barely manage to survive. A plan keeps a company on task, attracts funding, and will eventually succeed. In addition to spiralling expenditures, new businesses must grasp and forecast their ‘burn rate’ – the rate of money consumption per month. This is especially critical as companies with higher rates of consumption are less likely to hit the milestones before they run out of capital. Startups usually should avoid debt financing – it is usually not a wise thing to do, efficiency-wise. Institutional debt can cause serious problems for companies in cases when they are forced into bankruptcy. For example, a budget will make money flows much clearer, hence, you will be more focused on achieving all your goals.
Not Having a Budget
It becomes a huge obstacle during the business’s early months to the extent that any startup that fails to create or stick to their budget for their operating expenses is doomed to failure. One piece of advice Fors gives startups is to ‘assume that costs for development and manufacture, or for shipping your unit to your customer, are a lot higher than what your kit manufacturer has told you. It always is.’ She also encouraged startups to ‘engage with a CPA [certified public accountant] or somebody in finance early on to talk about the potential accounting rules for your company’. Another mistake you will frequently see is lacking a marketing plan or knowing how to leverage marketing tools. Set aside funds and budget for marketing activities, and use tools to track what’s working and what isn’t. This will help you determine which works and which doesn’t.
Not Having a Marketing Strategy
Companies need to run a marketing approach. Without it, customer awareness and engagement are not possible. The marketing approach should entail a strong value proposition that addresses customers pain points and speaks to their interests. Additionally, demographics should be met through digital advertising channels. Implement a customer-service strategy: if you are going to be selling many products, after all, you’ll need self-service opportunities for customers, as well as a support team that keeps pace with rising demand. Act in a way that will earn trust and loyalty – not to mention another marketing channel! Moreover, startups need to make sure they are running different ad campaigns on different platforms and trying different tactics to appeal to users. This way, they won’t be saddled with too much money invested in an underperforming ad campaign, and they can track mentions online and see what other people are saying about their products, allowing them to see what can be improved upon and take advantage of any emerging trends.
Not Having a Sales Strategy
A tight budget makes starting a startup more difficult, so you should record expenses and forecast future income to help get things moving. Doing market research to better understand customer problems that your product aims to solve, or the alternatives that could work as substitutes for your product, are ways to reduce overproduction. Additionally, you should always listen to your customers to determine the most effective sales plan for your business: keep track of their feature requests, objections (and how they are handled) and details about software they may be using from your competitors. This way, you will ensure that you are closing more deals while keeping an eye on all the most relevant key performance indicators.
Not Having a Customer Service Strategy
Superior customer service isn’t fluff – it’s key to empowering employees and serving as an example of how a great company should act. This means making it clear to every employee, from the shipping clerk to the marketing manager, that the company’s mission is to make sure that every customer interaction, from touchpoint to touchpoint, makes its customers fall in love with the experience – thus, almost inevitably, falling in love with the brand as well. Planning towards these objectives starts with SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound) customer service goals; tie them in with your overall business objectives so that these happiness programmes are directly linked to revenue and growth. Revising your customer service strategy based on feedback from your target market, which you can realign and revise continuously in reaction to their reactions to your presence, is a critical aspect as well – all the while keeping track of emerging channels and technologies through which your customers choose to communicate with you.