9 Riveting Ideas To Follow When You’re Running A Startup

Entrepreneurs have to be prepared for running a startup — if you’re in year 1-4 these principles will help you keep from running your startup into the ground.

9 Riveting Ideas To Follow When You're Running A Startup

Source: Pexels.com

Fascinated by the idea of starting your own business?

What, you’ve already started running a startup?

Sounds like you’re an eager entrepreneur…

Don’t set yourself up for failure by starting without developing a course of action first.

According to data published in smallbiztrends.com, only 56% of the startups that were formed in 2014 made it to its fourth year in 2018.

You’ve got less than a 50% chance of success right out of the gate.

So what’s the secret to running a successful startup?

You have to be passionate and willing to carry out consistent hard work. Many of these very same startups fail only because the entrepreneurs tend to give up too soon.

As an entrepreneur, you need to take your startup journey one small step at a time and be prepared to weather a couple really hard years. Understanding the principles below can be the difference between a failed startup and a successful one.

#1. Have a solid purpose, vision and mission

Everyone has an innate sense of belief or purpose — use this as your source of inspiration.

A well-crafted purpose statement connects all stakeholders to this common purpose. It is helpful to constantly communicate this purpose with both the external and internal stakeholders using practical methods.

“Vision and mission of your startup are essential to provide a strategic direction to your business. They elaborate on what and who the business is for” quips Jack Newman, a COO and academic advisor for Myassignmenthelp.

So, clarity in mission and vision statements will always motivate and keep the focus intact.

#2. Build a responsive website for your startup

You should devote adequate time and effort to build a seamless and responsive company website. Prospective customers, investors, and partners will inevitably land on your site, and you want to impress them with a professional product. Here are some pointers to consider, in this case.

  • Browse through competitor sites.
  • Settle on a template for your site.
  • Make sure that the site is search engine optimized (and hence more likely to appear at the top of the search results).
  • Present high-quality SEO content.
  • Make sure your website is mobile optimized.

#3. Gather a thorough understanding of your market and audience

If you don’t have a clear idea about the market and audience, all your strategies and plans will fall flat. Use Twitter or develop AdWord campaigns to get an idea of your niche and target audience.

“It’s quite usual for business owners to change the target audience. They do so while justifying their business model. However, you need to delve deeper to discover who the target audience is. You have to find out their issues, interest, daily routine, and more. The more insights you gather, the easier it gets to step into the shoes of your target audience.” says Jonathan Wagers, VP of Marketing and assignment helper at Essayassignmenthelp.com.au.

Don’t focus on pleasing everyone but your market and audience.

goals

Source: Pixabay

#4. Work on your elevator pitch

An “elevator pitch” is a compelling and concise introduction to your business.

You can tweak your elevator pitch depending on who you are pitching to. This means you have to take a different approach while prospective investors, customers, employees, or partners change.

Take note of these pointers.

  • Show enthusiasm and positivity in your delivery.
  • Keep it to 60 seconds long.
  • Remember that practice makes perfect.
  • Try not to use industry jargon.
  • Elaborate on why your business is unique.
  • Pitch the problem you are resolving.
  • Invite the listener to participate; this indicates they are interested or engaged.

#5. Ensure that there is really a market for things you want to sell

You may think that many people will buy a specific product because you like the idea or know some people who want the product. This is one of the biggest blunders to make. To reduce your risk for loss, never assume there is a market.

You can try interacting with actual potential prospects (who aren’t friends and family) to know if whether they’d be interested in buying your products. And if they consider buying what price are they willing to pay for the product or service.

#6. Keep your investors informed at all times

It’s always a great practice to keep your investors in the loop about your operations on a monthly basis via email. These updates don’t have to be incredibly detailed, but here are some items you want to consider including in your updates.

  • Team and recruiting update
  • Summary of the progress of the company
  • Summary of product development
  • Recent press or PR
  • Key areas you are paying attention to

It’s vital that you maintain a great rapport with your investors. That will eliminate the chances of them being surprised when you need to go back to them for additional financing.

#7. Maintain visibility of your startup business

In a world where every process is digitized, it’s essential for a startup to be visible to its target audiences. In this case, there is no better platform to promote your business than through social media and particularly through influencers. You can appoint a PR (Public Relations) firm that can enable you to become a household name through both digital and traditional PR practices.

While online platforms have their advantages, we still need an offline platform like on-site events and print media for reaching out to more consumers.

#8. Develop foolproof marketing strategies

To succeed in your startup, you have to constantly be building, engaging, and even educating your target market.

See to it that your marketing strategy includes the following:

  • Learn the aspects of managed SEO (search engine optimization) so that people searching for your products and services might find you easily.
  • Use social media to promote your brand and products
  • Indulge in content marketing by writing guest articles for relevant websites.
  • Issue press releases for any crucial events.
  • Build a solid network.

#9. Patience definitely pays

Success isn’t an overnight process, and it would take a few years before you can reap the rewards of success. Organizations that are investing in themselves and strategically planning ahead for prolonged efficiency can hope to achieve profitability around their third year of business.

But every organization is different, and some may require more time to achieve success than the others. Steve Jobs founded Apple in 1976, but it wasn’t until 1984 that Apple climbed the ladder of success. And even then, Apple was struggling until the arrival of the iMac and other consumer products in the late 90s.

Endnote,

You may be already brimming with profound ideas for running a startup successfully; these tips will help ensure you’re on the right path to success. Just make sure to pay close attention to every aspect of your business and dive deeper into solving a real problem.