90% of all start-ups will fail, and it can be for a few different reasons:
- Poor Planning
- Financial
- Under-resourced and over-worked
- Lack of a marketing strategy
- Motivation
The last point mentioned above is all about YOU! Drive is required to be a successful entrepreneur - if you are a driven individual, great - there are a few things you can do to make your start-up succeed.
Plan your journey
Know your industry and more importantly know what you will be offering. Compare that to your competitors and ask yourself what makes your business different to them? This USP (unique selling point) will determine your businesses 'journey'. Use this understanding to plan the 'journey', you can do this in the form of a business plan or keep it simple (and save time) by developing a lean canvas (created by Eric Reis).
Crunch the numbers
Are you selling something physical or are you offering a service, either way there will be costs - write them all down. Worst case scenario is you won't see any money in your account for a while, can you live with your business account being in the red for a while?
Don't do too much
Lean start-ups are smart start-ups. Don't make it complicated and offer every product that all your competitors offer. Do what you do well - the product or service that you are most confident in, start with that and see how potential customers respond. Are they buying? Are they even interested? Instead of wasting time setting up every product or service you want to offer just get information on each one, one at a time, your most basic offering - this is called your MVP (Minimal Viable Product).
Be your Brand
Your brand isn't just your logo, it's everything your customers touch when interacting with you. Your website, your business card, your emails, your voicemail, your speaking tone. Acquire a positive brand image and you'll have every chance of succeeding.
Be part of the 10% - be a successful start-up!
Excellent Company has Start-Up Packages for businesses wanting to give themselves the best chance of succeeding. Your success is our success. Contact us or email josh@excellent.company.