Published on September 6th, 2018 | by Guest

Fundamental things you need when starting a business

You, like many other people have a great business idea. Maybe you want to solve a problem affecting your community, have come up with a great mobile app, or simply want to make an income. Whatever your reasons may be for starting the business, you need to treat them very cautiously as they stand a high chance of failure.

Data shows that a majority of small businesses will close shop during the first 10 years. 20% fail in the first year, 30% fail in 2 years, 50% fail within 5 years, while up to 70% will fail in 10 years. Following such worrying trends, its crucial for an aspirating businessperson or entrepreneurs to take the necessary measures to be among the successful businesses. The following are the fundamental things you need when starting a business:

1. Keep it Simple

Entrepreneurs and businesspeople have been told to keep everything simple. Yes, you may have worked with a leading Tech Company and are well versed with the coding terminologies. Yes, you may have a great understanding of the banking jargon. However, using technical terms doesn’t guarantee you success. In fact, chances are that you may scare off potential consumers.

Warren Buffet, one of the most successful and wealthiest individuals, says that he always keeps everything simple. This makes it easier for your target customer to understand the business and product. You should research the market to fully understand the consumer. Use words and language that is associated with them. For example, “Cool” “Trendy” are terms that teens and the young adults love you hear and use. Kids on the other hands love colorful images. Ensure the access into the product (website, mobile platform) is simple and easy.

2. Prioritize more on the market and not the product

You may have a great gaming app that will bring a new experience to the users. In fact, you may be getting encouraging reviews from avid gamers. However, you won’t receive the same opinions from the elderly. As we know, gaming is more suitable for the young people. A taxi-hailing service will be perfect for the big city but will not be very effective in the rural areas due to the lesser population and minimal movements.

When starting a business, you should pay more attention to the market compared to the product. Who is your main target? How do plan to reach them? What will make them prefer your business to that of your competitor? How do you plan to sustain them in the long run? These are some of the questions you need to answer.

3. Have a strong team

The kind of people you work with influence how long your small business will remain sustainable and grow. With a stronger team, you stand a higher chance of succeeding in comparison to a weak team. It is important to look for individuals who have similar visions and goals with you, who are passionate about the business, and will leave no “stone unturned” just to deliver the services.

Looking at the top corporations in the world such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Uber, Apple, they all begun by friends. The founders had a similar passion, made lots of sacrifices, and worked surround like-minded individuals

4. Raise more money than you actually need

One of the challenges for most business is ascertaining how much is needed for the business to take off and also making it sustainable before it starts making money. Owners will research and carefully go through their plans to ensure they know what is required. Additionally, they will raise the capital before starting the process.

Unfortunately, many will soon discover that some things were overlooked. The market may change and some things will become more expensive. New government or institution regulation may also affect the costs. To stay safe and avoid going under, you should have more money than you actually need. This helps to cater for the rainy days.

5. Make use of an app

“Do you know that you need an app?” Quite a number of businesses have not thought about making a mobile app for their business. Many see it as an unnecessary evil whereas others believe it is more useful to the young population and techy individuals. If you look around, most of the services are readily available via the mobile phone or tablet. And according to statistics, mobile phones have surpassed desktop computer when it comes to e-commerce. People prefer shopping, making inquiries, researching and making comparison via the mobile phone. They will also make payments via the same platform.

6. Create a healthy cash flow fast

Research shows that many startups and small businesses ran out of money sooner-rather-than-later. Some will run into new problems that they had not foreseen, while others will need to pump in more cash in a growing business. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds, you will struggle and eventually close shop. Getting funding for a newly established business that is yet to make an impact or create a reputation is also hard. When starting a business, give income generation priority and strategize on how to start receiving money fast.

7. Seek professional guidance and assistance

Many small businesses will discover their mistakes when it is too late. A good number will have known how to handle the problem, but simply lacked the time because they were sorting something else. Others may lack the technical expertise to deal with the problem. And as you know, problems will always arise. What distinguishes a successful from a not-so-successful business is how fast they deal with the problem.

When starting and running a business, you should hire a professional agency to guide you in the process. The right company will share the same vision with you, is credible, has been in the scene for many years, and has delivered its services to many similar businesses. Following referrals, reading reviews, and researching about the company are some ways to get the best service.

It is easy to come up with a great business idea. However, ensuring that it remains sustainable or successful is much harder. As research shows, many will not even last for 5 years. For you to avoid being part of the troubling statistics, you need to follow the right approach. In this article, we have listed down the fundamental things you need when starting a business. They apply to most businesses and can be customized to suit specific needs.

With the world becoming techy, creating successful apps is becoming inevitable. Many consumers and clients will reach you via their mobile phones and will prefer communicating through social media. Hiring a professional agency in the setup, running and creating an app is also a good approach. The firm will help to identify problems, iron out any bottlenecks, and keep you updated on the latest developments and trends.

Tags: business, tips and tricks