By Ann Gabriel | Negosentro
Setting up your business is never easy. You’ll go through series of steps – from registration, licensure, marketing and writing a business plan. But the most important components are the ones you won’t see on many “How To’s” and business checklists.
It’s ironic that some entrepreneurs still manage to overlook these simple steps out of excitement and delight of starting a business. Here are the things you can’t afford to skip if you want to make your startup a success.
- Name Your Purpose
Most startups are born out of passion – things they love doing or something that keeps them motivated. Successful entrepreneurs don’t start a business out of thrill. Whatever your reason is, it should be properly communicated to everyone involved in the company.
Make sure your startup has a purpose; a reason for being that our customers, partners and employees can care about and get behind,” said Derek Roos, CEO and founder of app development platform Mendix.
Entrepreneurs must know why they’re motivated for the right reasons. It’s less of a chance to survive the ups and downs if you’re just looking to get rich. “All entrepreneurs should be working for something bigger than themselves”, said Avner Mor, Co-founder and CEO of encryption and authentication solution provider Dyadic.
- Create a Diverse Team
In setting up your team, it’s important to look for business partners whose experiences and skills will complement yours. “Pick really diverse founders,” said Justin Benson, CEO of payment solution provider Spreedly. In this way, you will have a foundation of broad expertise. Co-founders who work well are the ones who have completely different skill sets. It’s chaotic when founders find themselves clashing because their talents are redundant.
- Establish Trust
Apart from getting competent business partners, make sure to consider trustworthiness in creating your ideal startup team. You can’t give it all when you can’t trust your partners and may end up spinning wheels. When something goes wrong, a person who isn’t trustworthy will willingly stab you in the back. That’s why it is vital that you develop good relationships with you co-founders.
The spirit of friendship trust and harmony will help you work through business conflicts and help you improve on your weaknesses.
- Minimize Your Risks
The key to the success of startups is trying to minimize risks and understanding them through strategic planning. “Study after study shows that the majority of businesses fail, not because there isn’t a need for them in the market but because of an unprepared plan or absence of one”, said David Ruggieri, CEO of Florida Technical College. The idea helps you decide what you want but the plan facilitates prosperity.
Ruggieri also recommended studying your competitors specially the ones that didn’t go long and learn from their mistakes and failures.
If you want to launch a restaurant, you need to know what other food businesses are in your area and which ones are no longer are. This exercise will help you understand strategies that work and those that didn’t. Learn from successful entrepreneurs’ experiences who did what you’re attempting to do – how did they overcome challenges along the way.
- Build Up Your Personal Resilience
They say, you won’t get rich out of your everyday job but of setting your personal business. Entrepreneurship is one of the most rewarding career choices you can make – be your own boss, work at your own time, do what you’re passionate about – but also one of the most difficult. Knowing how to bounce back in difficult times is an invaluable skills you should have.
Building personal tenaciousness and resiliency will help you overcome the ups and downs of a startup. Pieces of advice will come along but it’s also critical to remain true to yourself when you receive conflicting suggestions. Have an attitude that’s always open to listen and learn but firm with his beliefs and core values.
