You Don’t Want To Remain A Startup Forever, Do You?

“If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.”

Owning a start-up is like riding on a roller coaster, you never know the next turn might throw you down or simply take a plunge towards the sky.

As the quote says if you are not moving with the pace that scares you, my friend, it’s time to think there is something that is not going right.

Being an entrepreneur requires a lot of hard work, perseverance and lots of years of being undervalued in your niche, so if you are at a very early stage of your business, the only thing that you can do is keep working for the goals that you have set for your business.

But is just running blindly will help you attain success? No right!

The research says, 50% of the start-ups fail after five years in the United States.

Well, that’s a huge number!

Now the question is, do these start-ups really get involved in their business? Have they ever notice the signs that their business gives while it’s suffering to lead to the dead-end?

The answer to these can only be found from someone who has been through this journey. So based on the feedback from some of the industry experts, here is what we could say;

“The start-up owners after attaining some profits starts chasing the race that the other in the niche follows and tend to lose the soul with which they started their business, here they unnoticeably avoid some signs that their business shows and thus get shut down in the short span”

So for all those who are struggling to get their business on top, make sure your business is not showing these signs, and if it is, then you are surrounded by the firewalls.

 Signs that you are not with the competition

• Big plans zero implementation

An idea is just a perception if it’s not executed. Your research, great plans are of no use if your team is not able to implement them.

So while you are planning, make sure you keep its feasibility in mind. The priority of implementation and planning must be kept equal. Don’t suggest your client something that your company will not be able to deliver, as this could affect your brand reputation in the market.

• Your strategies are not solution-oriented 

The business that nowadays gets the most profit is the one that provides some solution to the problems that its target audience is facing.

If your business is not serving its customer with some extra-ordinary solutions like the competitors in your niche is serving, it’s a loophole that your business has which is stopping it from achieving the heights that it deserves.

• No relation between trends and business plans

You make a great business plan, but what if the information you used or the idea of the plan is outdated? Your customers are no way going to like it!

So if your team has no new or innovative output, or are working with the same old trends as before, there are no chances that your business has any chance to grow in the near future.

• Your employees are not happy with you

The most important factor behind a business to attain success or failure is the team and the hard work that they put behind it.

So if this important factor of your organization is not happy or are unsatisfied in terms of work, money or culture, there is a serious issue that your company could face in terms of resources that can surely affect your work.

• Profits don’t convert into growth

Is your profit amount spent paying the debts that you had while starting your new company? Yes, there are many cases where the owners are doing good in terms of business but are unable to grow as they do not have enough cash flow that could help them invest further.

So if you as an owner are facing such an issue with your business, it’s time you take help from someone who is an expert in your field and can guide you get better solutions to grow your business and help you face the startup business problems.

Wasn’t that complicated..? Don’t worry we have something more here to help you get an idea about growing your business…so just go with the flow!

So now when you are aware of the symptoms, it’s time to discuss some solutions to it, so here is what you can do!

Small business hacks that can bring some big changes

• Check on your investor pitch

Being a start-up, you would always need some good investors to grow your business. But the way you approach them makes all the difference.

Prepare a great investor pitch deck instead of showing him your business plan. This pitch should include the information about the innovative ideas, products, team and the other investors to make him believe in your work and develop a trust about why he should invest in your business.

• Creating a prototype is better 

There is a great time, effort and money invested to create one final product. So being an owner, it’s wise to ask your project leaders to create a prototype of the final product and get it approved by the client before jumping into the final execution of the product.

Adopting this method will help you save your team’s time and also will save your money invested in the product if in case it gets rejected in the end by your client. Try to maintain the same strategy with all your projects and see the outputs turn out to be great.

• Your competitor might make some mistakes 

The best strategy to grow in your business is researching and keeping an eye on what your competitors are up to. As everybody makes a mistake, there might be a time when they miss at some point in their business giving you the opportunity to grab it and make it work for you.

You can only get these things if you are constantly sitting on the edge of your chair researching and finding the chance that can lead to business growth.

•  Redefine the meaning of word customer experience

Well, this is the area where you can win and is subjective to your business. It’s up to you how you make your customers feel by serving them the best or giving them the experience of a lifetime.

Going beyond the expectations should be the motto of your business. Develop a habit of getting feedback from your customer, build a relationship apart from your service that lasts longer. Give them a personalized experience that they would never feel to go to your competitors to get themselves served.

So, hey you start-up founders, don’t fumble out if your business is not growing because every business has its phases where it gets converted from an idea to the fully matured business.

But during this journey, the only thing you can do is sense the destructive signs by keeping yourself involved in your business and take the right actions needed for growth and profitability to co-exist.

That’s all folks!

Author Bio:

James Vargas is an experienced business expert, consultant, and manager at Get Everything Delivered, a business consultancy service. He has 1.5-decade corporate experience and is tailoring the best project delivery practices to the start-up owners based on his knowledge to generate great revenue for their business.