Startups tend to be some of the most disruptive and innovative companies out there. Thanks to their unique ideas, small team and fewer obligations, they’re afforded a lot more freedom than most other companies. This is usually great news for whoever owns the startup, but it’s very easy for startups to fail if they’re exercising a bit too much freedom. Perhaps this is why startups have a high failure rate; maybe having too much individual control over your business can actually be limiting their success.
But that’s not the only factor that could be holding back your company. There are many ways in which a startup impedes its own growth, and in this article, we’ll be listing eight of them.
1. Trying to create a market for something with no demand
A surprising number of startups end up trying to grow in markets that have almost no demand. Pushing your products without a good reason will usually end up slowing down your business.
2. Running out of money or failing to budget
Trying to run a business on a tight budget can be incredibly difficult. Make sure you establish a steady stream of revenue to keep your business running and budget accordingly so you don’t waste money.
3. Failing to train or hire the right team members
Hiring new recruits might be enough to keep your business running, but you also need to train them in order to grow your business. Make sure you’re encouraging existing employees to learn new skills and train new recruits so they have an easier time fitting into your workforce.
4. Falling behind the competition and failing to adapt
Analyzing the competition is a very common strategy for small businesses. You need to understand what their good points are, where you can compete with them and how to identify sections of the market that you can take advantage of.
5. Forgetting about the importance of customer service
Customers need to be treated well if you want them to return, so make sure you don’t forget about the importance of offering a good service to them to keep their business and ensure they don’t wander off to your competitor.
6. Being stubborn about hiring outsourced services and freelancers
A lot of startup owners want to save money by doing everything themselves. However, growing your business is difficult if you’re stubborn and don’t hire outsourced services or freelancers. Considering paying for small business IT services to help you manage your company more efficiently and ultimately grow it.
7. Ignoring what customers are saying
Make sure you listen to your customers and take in all of the feedback they give you. This is valuable information that you should be using to grow your business and improve on products.
8. Poor product release timing
This is perhaps one of the biggest problems that startups face. Even if your product is fantastic, you need to release it at the right time to ensure it’s not overshadowed by the competition.
The coronavirus is impacting every business around the world. As such, it’s important to make sure that your business is prepared for the challenges. You need to guarantee that your company is able to operate effectively.
Are Your Customers More At Risk?
Your first step is always going to be considering whether your customers are more at risk when they visit your company. There’s a strong possibility that this is the case and if so, then you are going to need to think about how you can solve this issue. Supermarkets have already been effective here. New markings on the floor ensure that customers know how much space they need to keep. New hours mean that shelves can be restocked too.
Is Your Team More At Risk?
It is possible that it’s your team who is more at risk of contracting the virus. For instance, fast food joints are facing particular trouble here. In a fast-food, joint team members operate in a very tight space, close together. This is by design to ensure that food can be transferred as quickly as possible to customers and remains hot by the time it reaches them. It’s also how companies keep prep times so low. However, when you’re looking at a highly infectious virus it’s one of the worst environments and situations imaginable.
Of course, if your team is more at risk, then you might be dealing with a higher number of sick days. A temp labour agency can help here and ensure that your business is not left without crucial workers.
What Changes Do You Need To Make?
It’s likely that your business will need to make changes to the model that you currently use. The changes in question could vary dramatically. For instance, you might need to consider whether it would be best if most of your team members started to work from home and whether this is even possible. You might also want to think about if you need to reduce your number of workers to ensure that social distancing regulations can be applied. It’s also possible that you will need to scale back the numbers of people you let into your business. Cinemas are already talking about reopening at 50% capacity and they certainly won’t be alone here.
Are You Prepared For A Second Wave?
Finally, you do need to be thinking about the potential threat of a second wave. While there is a great debate about whether this will occur, experts are already warning that a second wave isn’t just possible it’s highly likely and it could be significantly worse than the first. The reason for this is that it will likely coincide with the flu season and hit through the winter months. As such, businesses need to be prepared. It’s not too late to ensure that you have the right insurance plan in place to help deal with any financial issues caused here. However, you should also think about how you can cut your costs to prepare if your business is hit a second time.
Finances and profit margins are important for any business. Keeping on top of finances and knowing what money moves to make will mean the difference between success and failure. Sometimes you may be making mistakes you are not even aware you are making. Here are some simple tips to help you know which financial moves are right for your business.
Streamline expenses
One way to reduce overhead and get a handle on your finances is to streamline them. You can streamline your expenses by looking at the assets you have and liquidating any that make sense. You can also improve the way you process your business in order to be more efficient. You should also look at all your current contracts and renegotiate for lower rates or premiums where you can.
Smart Purchases
When you do need to make a major purchase for your business, it is important to look at all your options. Make sure you check all the places to purchase and compare options and prices. You should also look into alternate choices that will be more cost effective but fulfil your need like a portable warehouse instead of building a storage facility.
Business and Personal Funds
It may be tempting, especially if you are just getting started to mingle your personal and business finances. This can spell disaster when it comes to legalities and taxes. Even if your business is very small, be sure to keep everything separate. This helps to keep all records neatly organized and helps you to not overspend.
It will also help you see where you can improve your business and will make filing taxes much easier. In the case of legal issues, it also protects your personal finances from becoming tangled in the problem.
Timing Purchases
You need a firm grasp of when your bills are due and when you have money coming in. This helps you to be able to time other purchases to align when you have some extra money instead of overdrawing your accounts. Just because the numbers work out each month, doesn’t mean that you are going to have enough all month. If most of your bills fall on the same week, then you are going to be stretched thin that week and need to put off any extra spending until your bank account has some time to recover.
Budgeting
When you sort out the timeline for your expenditures and income, you should also make a budget. Knowing exactly where your money is going and why can help you see places where you can improve. It will also give you some perspective on what other purchases you can make because it gives a clearer idea of your money situation.
Inventory
You probably order inventory for your business and supplies to keep it running. It is a good idea to manage your inventory to make sure you are buying the proper amount. If you have a surplus of some items, then you can probably cut back on your spending. You may also find ways to consolidate items to save even more.
You’ve got a hold of some land, and you want to put it to good use. Yes, you want to make some money for yourself, and bulk up your portfolio a little, but you also want to make sure you’re serving your community, and you’ve got other people in mind. What do you do next? Well, we’ve got some ideas to help you plan out your next move below; be sure to read through them if you’re in need of some inspiration or guidance in the world of real estate.
If you want to be able to serve your community, and also give your land the best chance possible for attracting interest from the people around it, make sure you take the time to discover your area. You’ll be able to discover what’s most needed within your local community, and what people are looking for in terms of both entertainment and practicality. Not to mention, you might find other land for sale nearby that could be a smart investment choice too.
There are a lot of things missing from your average local community, and providing for these multiple needs could make your plot of land very popular. Let’s go through a couple of examples:
People may be looking for hang out or community spaces, such as setting up allotments or a local garden; giving them the green space to plant and cultivate could be a great way to bring the community together, and all thanks to your efforts. Similarly, people may be looking for storage space; having a place to keep both in home contents they no longer need, as well as giving businesses a space to keep their tangible assets, could work wonders for the local community.
Put it Up for Rent
At the same time, you’ve got to be making money, to ensure your vinestment was worth all this time and effort. And to make the most amount of money, it’d be best to put your land up for rent, as well as any developments you’ve built on top of it. After all, this won’t be a one time payment – you’ll be collecting rent each and every month, and that’s ongoing and diverse revenue for you.
Following on from the examples above, it’s important to offer your land for rent to the right groups of people. You can rent out to people looking to build a garden, or people looking for extra farmland. You can offer the land for people looking to host hangouts, festivals, or weekly clubs in the outdoors.
Allowing these people to pay a fee on a case by case basis ensures you have plenty of money coming in, as well as keeping the price tag affordable for anyone looking for the right space to rent.
You’ve bought some land, and now’s the time to decide what you’re going to do with it. Make sure you keep the above ideas in mind as you go about this process.
When you start a business, it’s important that you are aware of the potential legal issues that you may face. There are so many laws and regulations to wrap your head around when you run a business, and it’s easy to go wrong. It is important that you take steps to avoid legal trouble, but it’s also important that you know how to deal with it if you are accused of a crime. Many business owners don’t really think about it because they think it will never happen, and then when it does, they respond badly. These are the important steps that you need to take if your business is accused of a crime.
The first thing you should always do is seek legal advice. Before you start making statements and speaking to investigators, get in touch with a lawyer and have them present. Any mistakes that you make now could come back to bite you later when you are in court, so it’s important that you deal with a lawyer before anybody else.
If you have been personally charged with a crime and put in jail, posting bail should be a priority so you can get out and deal with the situation properly. If you are struggling to find the money, you can use a company like Case Closed Bail Bonds to post bail on your behalf. You cannot deal with this situation from jail, so seeking legal advice and getting out is your main priority.
Keep All Business Records
If you have been accused of a crime, it is important that you collect as much evidence as possible to build a case in your defense. That’s why it’s so important that you have a good record keeping system in place and as soon as you are accused of a crime, you put a stop on any document shredding or file deletions. You never know what kind of information you will need in your defense, and in some cases, you may face penalties for getting rid of documents that are considered important evidence, so make sure that you keep everything, no matter how trivial it may seem.
Consider Suspending Employees
If certain employees in the company are being charged separately because they are believed to have committed crimes, it may be a good idea to suspend them. As a business owner, it is important that you are seen to be distancing yourself from any criminal activity, and if you keep these employees on, it can make you look very bad.
Improve Your Public Image
Regardless of whether you are found guilty or not, legal issues will always have a negative effect on your public image. After everything is resolved, you need to start making an effort to improve public relations and win back the trust of your customers. Things like partnering with charities, for example, are great for improving your image.
It’s never a good situation when your business is accused of a crime, but if you handle it in the right way, you can survive it.
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