How Startup Owners Can Reduce The Risk Of Business Failure

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | How Startup Owners Can Reduce The Risk Of Business Failure | Business Startup

According to the research highlighted at Fundera, 20% of new businesses fail in their first year, 30% fail in their second year, and 50% fail after five years. It’s enough to put anybody off the idea of starting their own business.

However, it’s also important to turn those figures around. While there are those businesses that fail, there are also those that survive. This should be a cause for optimism.

To reduce the risk of business failure, startup owners should:

#1: Find out why businesses fail

Why do businesses fail? According to Research Briefs, there are many reasons. 42% of businesses fail because there is no market need for what they are selling, according to figures highlighted. 29% of businesses fail because of cashflow problems. And businesses also fail because of such issues as the might of the competition, poor marketing, and the lack of a proper business model.

When the startup owner knows why businesses risk failure, they can take steps to alleviate any future problems.

So, they might look for a niche in the market in a bid to reduce the competition, for example. They might outsource their marketing to those agencies that understand their business model, such as a software marketing agency if they were running an SAAS business. And they might commit to market research before starting out to ascertain whether or not there is a market for their particular product or service.

#2: Seek assistance from a business mentor

The business world is hard for anybody, especially those who are just starting out in their particular industry. This is why it’s always useful to have somebody on speed dial who knows what they are doing. A mentor can help the startup owner become a success, with advice on the pitfalls to look out for, a list of contacts with the resources the startup owner needs, and other information, such as tips on hiring, financial management, and goal setting.

Of course, this is assuming the startup owner knows somebody who can mentor them, although it shouldn’t be too hard to track somebody down. Networking events, social media sites, and small business development centers are just a few of the places where somebody might find the help they are looking for.

#3: Improve their skills

The startup owner doesn’t have to be the master of everything. They can hire staff members to take on some of those tasks that they can’t do alone, and they can outsource too.

However, there are the basics to consider, as skills in such areas as management, leadership, and communication could be considered the bare essentials when trying to run a successful business. To learn more, the startup owner should consider a business course or any other line of study and training that enhances areas they are weakest in.

With a good foundation of knowledge at the beginning, they will be less likely to make many mistakes down the line.

So, take heed if you’re a startup owner, but be assured that failure doesn’t have to be an inevitability. You can override the risks involved, so consider our suggestions, and get help from other sources if needed.

 

Saving Money As A Startup – Ways To Increase Your Margins

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Launching a business is never a walk in the park, not least during a pandemic when the future is uncertain. Despite economic concerns, there are advantages to setting up a startup at the moment. The Covid-19 crisis has caused widespread disruption, but it has also created opportunities. If you’re just starting out on your entrepreneurial journey, it’s crucial to keep a close eye on the books. In this guide, we’ll explore ways to save money and increase your margins.

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Saving Money As A Startup - Ways To Increase Your MarginsInvesting in technology to improve efficiency

Increasing efficiency in business is often an effective means of saving time and money. Technology has become increasingly critical for businesses in recent years, and it offers company bosses the chance to streamline and speed up operations, reduce the risk of errors and introduce cost-effective ways of working. If you’re thinking about investing in technology for your startup, undertake extensive research, keep track of what your competitors are doing and look for devices, machinery, software or equipment that will enable you to work faster, provide a better service, offer a more diverse range of products or services than your rivals and lower costs. Think about what your business needs and consider hiring or buying second-hand equipment to save money. Hiring makes financial sense for short-term projects, while buying used machinery can work out a lot cheaper than buying brand new models. Whether you’re looking into water cooled chillers, construction vehicles, coffee machines or computers, it’s advantageous to explore the options on the table, compare prices and analyze the impact of your investment. Search for value for money, rather than the lowest price, and choose reputable manufacturers and trustworthy retailers.

Flexible staffing options

For many fledgling businesses, paying wages accounts for a substantial portion of the monthly budget. The majority of businesses need to employ staff, but there are alternatives to hiring employees on permanent contracts. You may find that flexible options work better for you, especially if you run a seasonal business, or you take on multiple projects. If you run a construction company, for example, you may want to look for talented individuals to work on specific jobs, rather than employing a team of workers on a full-time basis. If you manage a store that sells Christmas decorations, or you run a business that handles vacation rentals, for example, you will go through busy and quiet periods, which demand different staffing levels. Hiring on a short-term basis will ensure you have access to the staff you need to thrive during busy periods while saving money when sales start to dwindle. You can also save money on wages by starting with a relatively small team and adding new recruits as your business grows.

Another option to consider is whether you could hire a student to support your business? Students will cost your business less to employ but in some cases can do the job just as you require. Many will be looking for a job to support their degree, so if your business is within that field, then their knowledge could be invaluable. Plus, when you hire a student, you could use their student ID when buying their equipment to save some money. If you require them to travel, student ID’s will help reduce the train fair or bus fair depending on who they travel with.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing has become increasingly popular among small and medium-sized businesses, and it can offer a cost-effective alternative to employing new members of staff. Outsourcing involves working with external agencies or hiring freelancers to take control of certain jobs. It enables you to access skills that you might not already have on your team, and you can also free up time for your employees. Examples of tasks and services that businesses commonly outsource include professional cleaning, accounting and payroll management, IT and marketing. If you own a clothing brand, for example, and you want to drum up interest and try and boost online sales, you could outsource marketing, joining forces with a digital marketing agency to draw up and manage targeted campaigns that are designed to increase sales and improve your ROI. By outsourcing, you can save money on hiring while also benefiting from access to expertise you don’t have in-house.

Negotiating with suppliers

Negotiating skills are imperative in business. Whether you sell products or services, it’s highly likely that you will need to engage with suppliers, distributors and logistics firms to get your business off the ground and provide your customers with an efficient service. At every stage, be willing to negotiate on price, but understand the importance of presenting a professional image. There’s nothing wrong with trying to drive prices down, but be realistic and make offers that are reasonable.

Streamlining your marketing strategy

Marketing plays a crucial role in helping businesses to connect with customers, generate leads and increase the chances of making sales. When you launch a marketing campaign, you want to ensure that you have the best chance of achieving your objectives. This is why it’s beneficial to seek expert advice and to link up with agencies or individuals with an outstanding track record. There is a risk of a campaign falling flat, and not every marketing strategy works. You don’t want to invest money in techniques that don’t work or campaigns that don’t reach the right people. Streamlining your strategy can help you pinpoint target customers, generate high-quality leads and promote your brand in the best possible light. Make use of analytics to track progress and use market research and customer feedback to improve and modify your strategy. If you’re targeting young people, for example, advertising and sharing posts on sites like Instagram is going to be more effective than posting on Twitter. If you’re setting up a local business providing services like roofing, dog walking or gardening and landscaping, focus on local SEO and use flyers and local press adverts to connect with residents in the area. Over 85% of people who search for local businesses on a smartphone will either make contact or visit within 24 hours. By focusing on methods that work, you can increase ROI and eliminate expenses related to techniques that have failed to make an impact.


Every dollar counts when you’re running a new business. If you’ve recently launched a startup, or you’re in the early stages, there are ways to lower costs and increase margins. Think carefully about your recruitment strategy and explore flexible staffing solutions, negotiate with suppliers, invest in technology that will enable you to save time and money, consider outsourcing and streamline your marketing strategy. If you can reduce expenses at the same time as driving sales and optimizing performance, your profits should grow quickly.

How do you start your own business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start your own business|How do you start your own businessLife teaches us important things. As time goes by, different experiences turn into different lessons. Running a successful business is almost the same. Your business becomes your life and you learn new things in business as you experience different events. However, stepping into the unknown without at least a little bit of help can turn into a very short trip.
Just like parents give lessons to their children, other entrepreneurs offer advice to business owners in order to help them avoid some of the unpleasant circumstances that can place both them and their business at risk, and advice that can help them thrive and succeed. Here are a few business lessons every founder should be familiar with.

Manage a Tight Budget

Most business owners launch their businesses with a limited capital, hoping that profits will be substantial with the right investments. This is true, by making the right choices, a return on investment can become a good source of profit and income. However, investments take time to fully develop, while additional expenses and unforeseen costs can set back your business greatly. Make sure you promote your business and think about different strategies to do that.

Find ways to manage your finances efficiently and effectively in order not to spend your entire capital in one place. Furthermore, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to seek venture capitalism or investors, make sure you do it before you actually need it. You don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you have to beg for money.

Messing With the Law

Many business owners run into legal trouble without even understanding why or what they did wrong in the first place. You might not be aware of the certain taxes or you may not even realize that you need a specific license. Furthermore, the state can legally bind you to acquire surety bond insurance, under the federal law that you might not even know about. The point is that the bureaucracy and red tape can put an end to your business faster than any other issue you might run into. Therefore, learn a valuable lesson from this and make sure you sort out any tax, license or insurance matters if you want your business to run smoothly.

Learn from successful businesses

One of the most lucrative industries is the oil and gas industry and if you want to find a business that is sustainable and a great option, you may want to learn something from professionals. The main thing every startup will learn from big industries is to adapt to all the technological changes. Even big industries need to change with all the new technology and equipment and the use of all the latest upgrades. Things like efficient oilfield equipment are the best way to achieve great results and take your business to the highest level.

Don’t Get Discouraged

Every business has its good and bad days, and so will yours. You may think everything is going well while at one point, results may start to decline. Business fluctuations are completely normal. Furthermore, the market and customer demand are constantly shifting. The important thing is not to give up just because your business has hit a rough spot. Most businesses fail because their founders decide that the risk is not worth the gain and that tough times are too much to bear. However, businesses change all the time and a rough patch may even become an opportunity to shift focus and direction. Your business will constantly evolve and it’s up to you to navigate it from troublesome situations into profitable endeavors.

Hire Smart

Hiring the right people for your business is crucial for its success. A key to a profitable and successful business is a stable and effective workforce. In order for your business to thrive and prosper you must take time and make an effort to hire the right people for the job. Anything less than that, and your business might face employee turnovers, additional expenses and slow or lack of any work progress.

This is an important business lesson because a good employee will help you achieve your goals, while a bad employee will only slow you down. Besides, hiring the right people from the very beginning will develop a suitable business culture and make your job a lot easier from there on.

Planning Ahead

The most important aspect of your business is to plan ahead and always be prepared for the best and the worst outcomes. You can estimate the market and run metrics to calculate the risks. Also, you must always thrive to be at least one step ahead of your game. This will ensure that when the time comes, you are ready to make the right move, invest in a good opportunity or save your business from its downfall.

For entrepreneurs who decide to run a successful business, it will be like learning how to walk – one step at the time. Of course, we learn the best when there is someone there to give us a little push or teach us a valuable lesson, so we don’t make mistakes that can ruin us.

How to Start Your Own Business Online

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start a Business Online|How to Start Your Own Business OnlineStarting an online business does come with plenty of benefits to it. As an entrepreneur, it gives you the freedom and flexibility to make money irrespective of where you are in the world. It also allows you to determine your work hours, work from home, choose the niche to focus on, and require little to no startup costs. There is absolutely no wrong in starting your own online business. However, you need to know that one of the most important steps to being successful with your online business is choosing a business or an idea that is in line with the strengths and skills you already possess.

It doesn’t matter whether you are looking to make it a side hustle or a source of passive income, or you’re going in as a full-time online entrepreneur. You must make sure that your service or product fulfills your customer’s specific needs or target audience. That’s the only way you are going to be successful in building a profitable online business.

Although it’s much easier to start a business online, however, when it comes to growing your business, maintaining, and sustaining it, the processes that it takes are much similar to that of a traditional business. If you are looking to start your own business online, here’s a list of authors’ processes at research paper writing help that you might find handy for you.

1.Choose your business idea.

This should not come as a surprise to you. It’s the first step you have to take, but you have to consider a few things in doing this.

Why are you doing this?

The reason you are doing this will go a long way to determine how much you will be willing to put into the business to ensure that it succeeds. It’s a lot harder to grow and maintain a business than it is to start one. You have to make sure you are driven by passion.

What are your strengths?

As mentioned earlier, you must build your business on the strength and skills that you already possess. You don’t follow an idea because others are doing it; you might not have the strength to pull it off. Make sure that whatever business idea you are starting is based on what you can do.

Are you solving any problems?

The goal of all businesses is to meet their target’s needs, and in doing this, they are solving a problem. So, what problem are you solving with your business? The only reason people will patronize you is if you are solving a problem or pain point for them. An excellent way to choose a profitable business is to look around for common issues that you have the skill and ability to solve and build your business around it.

2. Validate your idea

Once you have determined a business idea that’s good for you, the next thing is to validate your idea. The good thing is, this is not a complicated process. It often involves asking questions and researching people’s problem points and what they think the best solution is. This will give you an idea of how to chart your business course.

When it comes to validating your idea, there are different ways to go about it, especially since you’re dealing with an online audience.

Go through customer reviews.

You’re not starting a business that no one has ever heard of, so you already have competitors before you start. Go through some of their customer reviews to see people’s pain points and suggestions.

Survey your potential customers

Talking to your customers or targets is still the best way to validate a business, but since it is an online business and you can’t meet the customers in-person, you can talk to them over the internet too. An excellent way to do this is through online surveys. Create a survey and promote it to gather and sample people’s responses.

3. Make your business plan.

You can start creating your business plan once you have determined enough potential interest in the business. The good thing is that the process of defining your idea and validating it would already give you a head start for creating your business plan. Now you have to make sure that it is possible to forecast finances and pursue funding while growing.

Lean planning

When starting, make sure that your business plan is as lean as possible. Note down what you can do in the next 30 minutes instead of the next six weeks. This means that you’re only dealing with essentials, and it’s easier for you to get started this way.

Carry out market analysis

You must know the market that you are going into before you launch yourself or business in it. You should already have an idea of this during your validation stage, but this is where you do the real analysis. To do this, you need a SWOT analysis. This will help you determine your distribution methods, pricing models, your competitive advantage, as well as your weaknesses.

Consider your success metrics and funding.

You must think through your plans to fund your business and identify for startup costs. It does not matter if your business is only a side gig or you’re not a full-time entrepreneur. You must regularly review your metrics.

4. Set up a website

The fact that you are an online business means that you need a website. It is a matter of necessity. Creating a website is a much more complicated process than setting up a landing page for a preview. You have to make difficult decisions about your hosting platform, the kind of design that works best for your business, etc. Your website is essential because it is the first thing that represents your business to your prospects and targets. You have to make sure that it accurately reflects what you’re doing and the kind of service and products you offer.

In building your website, there are certain things that you have to ensure.

Make your website mobile-friendly

It is vital for the success of your business that your website is mobile-friendly. If you want to have good enough visibility online, your website must be compatible with mobile devices. If you don’t optimize your website for mobile devices, there will be very few positive experiences on your website when people visit with their phones. The fact that most people now surf the web with their mobile devices means your website visitors will have a more negative experience on your website. That’s not good for business. It becomes challenging for people to find your website organically too.

Use high-quality images

You would not be enhancing the credibility of your website by using poor or low-quality images. If you’re selling products on your website, for instance, you must have high-quality pictures of the products that you are selling. It makes a world of difference to your business. If you think you have to hire people (professionals) to get high-quality images, please do. Do whatever it takes to ensure that the quality on your website is top-notch. All of these form part of your reputation and credibility and go a long way in determining your business’s success.

Open a blog

Content marketing is an effective digital marketing technique, and blogging allows you to create more than enough content for your prospects and customers to continue visiting your website. However, you have to know that this isn’t compulsory. If you don’t think you are cut out for it, you can leave it out but if it is something that you can do or you’re okay with hiring people to write blog posts for you, then go ahead. It helps to drive traffic to your website and also creates more awareness for your business.

Conclusion

That’s all there is to creating an online business. There are different types of online businesses that you might want to consider, but don’t forget to only settle for one that fits in well with your strength and skill. Afterward, starting an online business is easy. The hard part is maintaining it. That’s where you need passion to remain consistent and push through.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Charlie SvenssonCharlie Svensson is a fast, engaging freelance writer at assignment help at My-Assignment.help. Skilled in content writing and blogging. The favorite topics of his posts are education, social media, marketing, SEO, motivation blogging, and self-growth. Excellent adaptability of skills to reach diverse audiences.

How to Start Your Small Business Online

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start your small business|How to Start Your Small Business OnlineIn this article, we’re going to discuss why you should place your business in the online world, even if you’re just starting up. Also, you’ll find a list below of helpful pointers that are important considerations when readying your business to go online.

Why you should venture into online business

If you prefer to operate a traditional business in brick-and-mortar, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, you’ll be well served to take into account that the world is changing, and people’s buying patterns are changing as well.

With over four billion users as of July 2020, diving into an online business venture is not a bad idea. This might even be your business’ salvation during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from working remotely, an online business is cost-effective and competitive (based on your marketing strategy). This gives your company, no matter how small, a fighting chance against mammoth industries in your niche.

This is one reason why we recommend starting your online business sooner, rather than later. And here are the five easy steps that you’ll need to do to kick-start your online business:

Five easy steps when starting a small online business

1. Create a business plan

Identify what problem you are solving

Your business is a solution to your potential customers’ problems. But first, you need to define the problem at hand. What problem does your business want to solve? What need do you seek to fulfill?

Take some time to think about whether your skillset solves real-world problems. If it does, check if your competitors offer the same strategies. And if they do, what makes your solutions unique?

This will be your leverage against your competitors. Analyze these factors to see whether your market is thriving or nonexistent.

Manage your startup budget

When you’re starting a small business online, you will need startup capital to cover a range of necessary expenses. For beginners, you need to estimate the budget by having a good guess of your operating expenses.

Pay attention to the expenses that must be covered and make sure they are budgeted. The more cost-effective your startup, the more income you will have to work with.

2. Choose your business structure

When you’re starting your business online, you should define your business structure. You can operate solo (sole proprietorship), or with partners (LLC or corporation).

Sole proprietorship

This is the simplest type of business structure. You can operate this on your own even without filing a lot of paperwork. However, there are risks to this business structure.

Your business won’t have protection from liabilities of debts and business obligations. You will be personally responsible for all of these. That’s why you only choose sole proprietorship when you can handle your business on your own with little need for liability protection.

Limited liability company (LLC)

This business structure allows you to share your business liabilities and obligations with other individuals. If things go south, a LLC protects your personal assets from the liability of business debts.

Through a LLC, you share your liabilities with other individuals. The business is owned by you and these individuals share in profits and liabilities.

Corporation

You’d want to use this business structure if you choose to gain investors for your business. Corporations are like LLCs, but with outside funding possibilities and more personal protection.

In order to interest possible investors in purchasing your stock, you’ll need to arrive at a business arrangement. They will need to trust that your business will deliver. You can close more deals with investors if you know how to write a winning RFP response.

3. Market research and analysis

By the time you write your business plan, you’ve already done your market research. You know what is missing from the puzzle, and how your business can provide this missing piece. But you’ll need to dig deeper in order for your business to succeed.

You need to understand how your target market works. Do market research and analyze their buying patterns, market needs, etc. Know your market’s queries on search engines, what keywords they use, and other competitive advantages that you can use as leverage.

4. Poise yourself as an expert in your field

Contribute to your niche by providing expert ideas and solutions that come from trusted sources. Build your profile in your community. This builds trust between you and your potential consumers.

5. Design and optimize your website

Your website will be your online storefront. This is where you will communicate and exchange products/services online with your consumers. Thus, your website should be customer-friendly in order to give users a good experience. Some tips that you’ll need to keep in mind when designing a website:

  • Keep your website clean and simple
  • Make your website easily navigable
  • Every element on your website should contribute to converting your visitors to sales.

Final word

When you’re starting a small online business, you want to begin with your best foot forward. Get a step ahead of your competitors when you start your online business using these five easy steps!