5 Big Keys to Surviving Year One as a New Startup
In a recent article from Intuit, I outline five keys that successful businesses can use to help conquer year one. Each of the keys is a step in building a solid foundation to help support your startup through the first year and for years beyond. These include:
- Get A Solid Support System: Surround yourself with positive friends, family, mentors and colleagues who will support you and provide unbias advice during your building period.
- Know Your Customers: Even the greatest business idea will fail if there is no market demand for it or if you fail to get it to your target market. Research, test and tweak until you get it right.
- Know Your Strengths: According to Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, successful entrepreneurs have common core strengths. Know what your strengths are and then play to them.
- Plan to Be Unprofitable: The first few years of any startup are very rarely lucrative, so be realistic about that and come to terms with it. That means finding ways to survive without a steady salary.
- Measure Results: Every single thing that you do as a startup should be measured and analyzed. This is the only way that you’ll be able to gauge accurately what’s working and what’s not and then make needed adjustments.
The life of an entrepreneur and a startup business is filled with unknowns, endless hours and lots of ups and downs. By going into the process with realistic expectations, a solid plan, a lot of determination and these five keys, you’ll have a greater chance of being one of the 75 percent that survive year one.