Start-Up Founders, Don’t Miss These Five Crucial Steps for Protecting Your Business

Startup owners gather around! Have you ever baked a cake? Isn’t it similar to running a full-time startup? Wondering how? Let me explain. Both activities seem extremely easy from the surface level, whisking some passion with a hint of correct ingredients by your side, like funds, efforts, and team. However, the fate of the cake, i.e., its rise and fall, is only determined by the oven’s temperature, timing, and patience. And if by any chance you over bake or half-bake your product, it’s a sure shot fail!

Well, leaving the cake to the baker’s rescue. Let’s understand some of the most common mistakes startup owners make that lead to a colossal failure of their ventures in less than a year of commencement;

Skipping Paperwork:

In the enduring lists of mistakes, skipping critical paperwork tops it all. Some startup owners believe in getting things done by verbal communication. Hence, they skip the paperwork, which can sometimes backfire on their startups immensely, like delays or supply shortages from the end of someone in the supply chain. Not having proper documentation and records can also put a question mark on your business’s authenticity. Secondly, no one could be held accountable if things go wrong and take a legal route.

Not Identifying Target Audiences:

The following fault that so many startup owners end up doing is not identifying their target audiences. While preparing their business plans, multiple startup owners have a clear set of defined target audiences their product will cater to; however, there are also numerous instances where startup business owners just let that discussion for later just hang in between there without a defined niche. This makes it difficult to understand their clientele, preferences, and buying patterns, and eventually, they become loss-making startups.

Poor Management Of Finances:

Lastly, the most impactful and bizarre error that owners commit is poorly managing their finances. This incorporates excessive cash burnout and ill-managed inventory, leading to overstock or stock-out situations. Business owners can only sail through situations like this and attain profitability through well-planned cash flow management.

Read about some of the best strategies to maximize your business’s profitability in 2024!

Be mindful and don’t fall prey to these common mistakes; instead, follow these five crucial ways to protect your new growing startup, come what may;

Pivotal Ways To Protect Your Business:

Risk, hard work, and success are very well-known phenomena from the perspective of startup owners. There’s no doubt about the fact that only a perfect blend of the three can result in boundless success for the business; however, there are also other things as well that need a considerable amount of attention from business owners to ensure their business always stays in the pink of its health;

Stay Grounded And Realistic:

To begin with, startup owners should stay grounded and realistic with their business goals and aspirations. I understand that when you see your brainchild business taking shape and growing up in the market, you will get overambitious about it. Refrain from letting this feeling succumb to the growth of your business inorganically. Where you superficially set unachievable targets it hampers your success. Today, this is the sad reality of every 1 in 5 businesses that fail in the U.S. within the first year of their operations. (U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics) due to unachievable goals set by their owners . So don’t just get carried away with momentary success; keep it real and going.

Choose Your Team Wisely:

When it’s a startup, there has to be a team. A team that is as passionate about work as you are. Surround yourself with the right kind of self-motivated and ambitious people to categorically boost your business’s efficiency and sales. As per a report by CB Insights, around 23% of startups have failed due to issues with their team and teammates. If you choose demotivated people who lack the zeal to learn, adapt, and grow, you are digging a pothole for your business in the long run.

Plan For The Best, Prepare For The Worst:

See, uncertainty is a parameter always there, and it entirely depends on your mindset as a startup owner how to go about it. There can always be two outcomes of every action that takes place in your business and its journey: either there’ll be success or failure. You, as an owner, have to maintain the equilibrium. Learn to prepare for the worst and always plan for the best outcomes possible. The fear of failure shouldn’t hamper your own business’s rate of innovation and trying out something new.

Take the example of the automobile engineering marvel created by Ola Electricals. Their engineering team thought they were taking a first-mover advantage in the Indian market by launching electric scooters. However, things went haywire regarding the delivery part, and the company received a lot of backlash for being unable to deliver the products at the desired time due to production delays. So, even if you plan for the best, ensure you are also ready for any uncertainty.

Learn The Art Of People:

As startup owners, one of the most significant achievements can be mastering the art of people. How you conduct yourself in front of people, how you promote team culture, and how you stand by your ethics can make a big difference. To learn how to tackle people, begin by delegating the right talent at the right place to boost your organizational efficiency and excellence.
Plus, also remember that team culture begins with you, so make sure you avoid making these mistakes;

• Canceling meetings at the last moment.
• Deliberately delaying the salaries of your employees.
• Not being around your team when they require your attention and presence.

Don’t Rush, Take Time:

Ultimately, don’t rush to expand your business or hire more employees without having a proper scalable plan and required funds. The hasty execution of expansion without a proper strategy can lead to a never-ending cycle of debt and tarnish the reputation of your business. Take calculated risks and take appropriate measures like insurance before expanding or scaling your business.

End note:

Every startup someday has bad days, failures, and setbacks, which can sometimes not be avoided entirely but are mitigated indeed. This is where the role of entrepreneurs and business owners enters the scenario. They can follow the strategies mentioned above and tactics to safeguard their business. Also, they can avoid following the herd and learn from the mistakes of others; by doing so, they can find a way through roadblocks and increase the chances of success for their business.