It makes for a nerve-wracking starting line, but four out of every ten start-ups won’t still be around in five years. Getting through that first year, and then the early years, takes grit, determination, and a pretty good serving of luck. However, there are certain things you can do to ensure you make your first year in business, and beyond, a success.
Top-Notch Business Plans
A clear and concise business plan is an opportunity to clearly establish your goals, and specifically the path you’ll take to achieve them. By having a distinct business plan you can see what you need to do, and stay focused on the goal. It also facilities decision-making at a business level, which can tie in to shorter-term targets.
Focus on Marketing
Whilst we’d all love to just hope our product or service just gets seen, the reality is that in the modern marketplace you’re trying to be heard in a lot of noise. You need to focus on marketing, in line with understanding your audience, and harness marketing to your advantage.
Omni-channel marketing is the modern business’s staple diet and you will need to use marketing tools ranging from social media to email marketing, and print marketing to exhibitions.
Expect the Unexpected
One thing is certain: nothing is certain. Your business plan needs contingencies and you need to be an awesome problem-solver. This couldn’t be more true than when it comes to costs. For start-up businesses there are literally dozens of unexpected costs just waiting to pop up.
You might have done the budget, but unless you’re capable of seeing the future, you almost certainly will have left things off.
Be Productive, Not Just Busy
You’re standing on the precipice of probably the busiest time of your life. Starting a new business requires plate spinning on a scale of which the Moscow State Circus would be proud, but there’s a fine line between productive busy-ness, and busy-ness just for the sake of it.
You’re not an employee, you won’t get paid for looking like you’re doing something. You need to actually do it. So you need to focus on productivity itself rather than doing something because you think you should. That means taking worthwhile shortcuts and enlisting technology to help out.
Keep Track of the Accounts
In the buzz of setting up a new business it’s easy to let admin tasks fall by the wayside, particularly if you haven’t got decent systems in place yet. However, accounting and bookkeeping are tasks that grow exponentially the longer you leave them.
If you don’t want a whopper of a headache at the end of your first year, then get Pandle cloud-based bookkeeping on board, and make your bookkeeping a cinch.
Churn the Profits Back In
Growth and success are what will ensure your business doesn’t fail. It’s important, especially in these early days, to churn the profits, as much as possible, back in to the business. Reinvest continually, and don’t let things get old before you’ve barely begun.
We love to see new businesses take off. The ones who survive and thrive are the ones that heed these points.
