Harris KhanLaunching a startup is a daunting task for every entrepreneur, especially for those who haven’t had any previous exposure to the business world. According to an HBR study, entrepreneurs who were successful with their first venture have a meager 30 percent chance of success with the second. The research paper also mentioned that 20 percent of entrepreneurs who failed at their first attempt succeeded in their next one. While these numbers aren’t high enough, understanding, assessing, and preventing risks will make or break your prospects as a successful business owner.
So what do you need to take your startup from barely surviving to become a fruitful venture? Well, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula to grow businesses. Instead, it is a combination of various strategies, hard work, and good planning. Sure, survival is vital for your startup. However, if you want to see real growth, you have to take your business one step forward by taking some calculated risks. With that in mind, let us take a look at a few tips that will allow you to fast-track your startup’s growth and gain more bang for your bucks.
Work on your entrepreneurial and business skills
Entrepreneurship may or may not be an innate skill- this debate will probably always be hot! Regardless, we have to mold ourselves and acquire various skills that may increase our chances of success. In fact, entrepreneurial and business skills are obtainable with the right type of education and experience. So, if you want to fast-track your startup’s growth, your best bet is to learn as much as you can about running a business properly. If you don’t want to take the traditional route, you can enroll in an online MBA no GMAT required and speed up the learning process. A flexible, low entry barrier program will equip you with skills to function more appropriately and work towards your startup’s growth in today’s fast-paced business environment. Not to mention, such a degree will improve your decision-making, managerial, and interpersonal skills- all of which are required to run your business smoothly and efficiently.
Pick a mentor who’s done it before
With the aid of a mentor, you’ll reduce the chances of making silly blunders, which will inevitably shorten your timeline to growth. In fact, according to an ICF survey, entrepreneurs who hire a business mentor or coach can increase their income by 42 percent and boost their self-confidence by 52.4 percent.
These results are astounding because hiring a person to lead you through change is a low-investment idea. But, that said, you must find a coach who possesses the skills and qualities to help you with your startup’s growth. So, go ahead and shortlist a few names and conduct interviews to determine whether the coach or mentor you want to hire shares the same vision as yours.
Build/hire a good team
You might feel overwhelmed by the thought of hiring more employees. But, investing in employees is worthwhile and pays off in the long run. Start by identifying the skills and qualities you require from your employees that will allow you to get the most done with the least investment. Then, search for individuals who are good at things you don’t like to do or business tasks that you aren’t good at, and hire them.
The trick here is to begin your search early on. If this means raising money to invest in your recruitment program, do it as soon as possible. If you leave it till the last moment, your startup’s chances of growth will decrease day by day. After all, there is some top-notch talent out there that is just waiting to be hired!
Automate your business processes for better time management
Time management is an essential skill, especially when your objective is to get things done fast. When you launch your startup, you will feel burdened by the amount of work you need to do to get it off the ground. So, setting realistic goals and allotting time to achieving each goal is crucial. Moreover, business process automation will come in handy if you want to stick to your expansion timelines and grow your startup in the process.
In short, business process automation or BPA uses technologies that increase your startup tasks management and completion efficiency and improve its bottom line. Moreover, with BPA, you can handle multiple cumbersome business tasks simultaneously, boosting overall productivity. Not to mention, there is less chance of costly human errors and mistakes. In the end, automation will speed up your startup’s growth as it will allow you to focus on your strategy instead of doing mundane tasks such as bookkeeping.
Conduct market research
If you’re venturing into the business world for the first time, it is essential to be unique in order to survive. Meaning, you have to find a market for your product/service and search for ways to stay ahead of any possible competition. Market research is vital to your startup’s growth, and the best place to start is by looking at what your competitors are doing.
Start by creating a list of indirect and direct competitors; this will require a few Google searches. Then, try to learn everything about them. For instance, what do your competitors do better than you? How much do they charge for their services and products? What marketing strategies are they utilizing? Moreover, as every business evolves its strategies according to market demands and trends, this is an ongoing process. In the end, staying on top of your competitors will let you learn from their successes and failures.
Conclusion
Sustainable growth requires a collection of effective strategies, and hard work, and most importantly, a lot of patience. After all, success and growth are two things your startup won’t achieve overnight. So, consider the tips mentioned above. Try to incorporate them into your growth strategy one at a time, and your baby idea will turn into a thriving venture in no time!
