New businesses emerge every day because an average youth prefers to start his own business. Unfortunately, many startups fail to survive the harsh corporate business terrain. Based on that, this article offers a few tips that can increase the chances of survival of your business.
You should have enough funds to run for a year
You need to understand that sales or patronage may not begin to roll in when you start off. And when they do, they may not be enough to run your business. It usually takes about 6 to 9 months before you start earning enough to cover your overheads. So, it is advisable to gather enough funds to run your company for a year before you start off.
Lack of cash flow has killed hundreds of startups because the founder never imagined that it will take so long before sales begin to roll in.
Get enlisted in a business directory
When they need services, a lot of people usually search online business directories for the contacts of the providers of such services near them. So, getting your business enlisted will increase your chances of being patronized.
Marketing is as important as the business
No matter what your business is, you are either selling a service or selling a product. You can only make money when you are patronized. Starting a business without adequate publicity is like winking in the dark. Unfortunately, many startups died because only very little fund was set aside for marketing and publicity. To avoid making the mistake, prepare to keep marketing your products/services for as long as you remain in business. Up till now, Apple, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola still market their products despite their huge popularity and success. So, why should you stop marketing your business?
Continue to engage your clients and customers
If you eventually begin to get sales, you should keep engaging your customers on how to improve your services. There are two benefits to this. First, it will help you retain your existing customers. The second benefit is that it will be difficult for a new competitor to surpass you and clinch some of your customers. You know new businesses usually carry out investigation on how to build on the shortcomings of existing players. Remember how many people were obsessed with blackberry messenger (BBM) before the emergence of WhatsApp. The latter just came and drove the former to obscurity because it (the former) had fallen into a deep slumber.
In other words, keep improving in your services and continue to carry your clients and customers along. Surpassing you will be difficult that way.
Uphold meritocracy over favoritism
When people believe that promotion is based on their performance, they will continue to give their best. This will lead to more productivity for your business and more bottom line. Unfortunately, favoritism kills companies gradually. When you keep promoting a certain set of people for other reasons apart from their performance, they will lose the motivation to strive harder. The non-favored employees will not give their best either. It is your business that will suffer in the end.
Consider business espionage
The more information you have about your competitors, the higher your chances of beating them. You need to know what your competitors offer. If you sell a particular product at $50 and others sell the same product at $49, do you have any idea how many potential buyers you will lose because of $1 difference? This is why you need to keep monitoring your competitors. Besides, chances are high that some of them are already monitoring your business.
Conclusively, while these few tips may not be all you need to survive the harsh business world, they will make a tremendous difference if you apply them properly.