4 Founder Mistakes That Make Most Startups Fail

1) Believing that revenue is optional This is indigenous to the tech startup scene, but it definitely crops up elsewhere too. There is a mythology, perpetuated almost entirely by the Silicon Valley VC set, that a startup is somehow a new and trendy concept whose primary model is basically "raise lots of money, acquire as many users as possible, and then figure out how to monetise them or sell to someone who can".

It's a seductive idea because, for the founder, it bypasses the daunting prospect of having to worry about revenue, sales and all those other scary things. This feels great of course, because it allows the founder to stay in their comfort zone and indulge the satisfaction of making the perfect product without having to rely on sales to get there. In reality, it's merely delaying the day when the company has to face rejection and criticism from potential customers.

It's an approach that taps deep into our human fear of rejection and failure and promises a comforting alternative where these fears can be avoided altogether. It's such a powerful fear for most that an enthusiastic, widespread and elaborate mythology has developed around this type of "business model", with the sole purpose of trying to affirm something that we want to be true. But it isn't true: a startup is a business, and sooner or later it needs to make money. Founders who realise this and have a plan to monetise from the start are far more likely to succeed.

2) Underestimating the importance of cashflow I learned this lesson the hard way when my first business was snuffed out almost instantly by a lack of cash. The rate at which the cash ran out was much faster than I expected, but the speed at which the rest of the business fell apart as a result of running out of cash was alarming. Thankfully I was only 24 and was able to recover fairly quickly, but I see the mistake being repeated over and over again with new startups.

Why does this happen? Similarly to the previous point, it's largely avoidance psychology: the prospect of running out of cash triggers the primal fear of failure so people will go to surprising lengths to avoid facing it. Naivety is also often a major factor: spending too much on the less important things such as big plush offices and equipment, hiring too many people too quickly, failing to hustle and negotiate better deals on costs, and other such missteps. Lack of information is a common problem too, as critical cash drains like tax, insurance and travel costs are often either underestimated or simply not accounted for in the early forecasts.

All of which is avoidable with some proper planning and research before you dive in. Founders who are willing to spend the time doing that (often tedious) groundwork are giving themselves a much better chance of success.

3) Focusing on the sexy stuff Being successful in business is hard work, everybody knows that. But what separates many successful founders from the rest is their ability and willingness to do the tedious, repetitive work that drives a business forward day in and day out. In other words, pushing through the grind instead of focusing entirely on the sexy and glamorous work.

The problem is that it's very easy to be extremely busy as a founder, as there are so many things to do at any given point. And as human beings we naturally gravitate towards the things we enjoy first, leaving the boring slog work until later. As a result, many founders who are guilty of ignoring the truly hard work probably don't even realise it, only to scratch their heads when it all goes wrong.

By grind work I am not specifically referring to admin - which can easily be automated or outsourced in a number of low cost ways today - but rather activities such as analysing your customer behaviours every day, trawling through social channels daily to build up momentum, writing regular blog posts that nobody seems to read, speaking to tax advisors about R&D credits, filling out patent and trademark forms, building and testing marketing and sales automations, and all the other energy-sucking bits of unsexy work that go into building a business's early momentum. These are all things that a founder must be willing to do themselves at first, knowing that the reward is much further down the line. Many founders make the mistake of believing that they are above this type of work from day one, and they are nearly always wrong.

4) Giving up too easily This is a big one, but I see it derail people so often (myself included, in my earlier ventures). At some point, the general struggles of starting a business up from scratch will become overwhelming, and some major problem will push the founder to the edge of wanting to quit. I refer to this as the wall, in reference to the wall that marathon runners hit when their body starts screaming at them to give up.

This is often a critical milestone in a business's development. Just as in a marathon, a person's ability to push through this wall is a huge determining factor in their likelihood of finishing the race, and business is no different. But really, this is the central essence of running any kind of business. The ability and fortitude to overcome difficult challenges is one of the foundational characteristics of any successful founder, and the struggle should be the fuel that drives them. Founders who expect, embrace and face challenges head-on will be amongst those left standing after the 90% have faded away.

Conclusion The 90% statistic is accurate, but it is also an oversimplification of the landscape. Succeeding at business is not a game of chance, it is a battle of will where the most realistic, durable and pragmatic individuals thrive. Founders who have, or are willing to build, these characteristics will have the best chance of being in the 10%. Those who don't or won't, will be found out quickly enough.

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Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Marc_Crouch/2301747

How to Transform an Idea to a Successful Startup

For startups, it is often easier to come up with a number of business designs and plans, but it's more challenging to actually deploy those ideas. A business idea is a bridge between a plan and distinguished hard work. It emphases one's thinking so that the entrepreneur can identify the essentials of his/her projected venture. Transforming an idea into a business concept involves thinking about how the product or service will be traded and who will buy it, the profits of the product or service, how it is distinguished from comparable ones, and methods of delivery.

An effective business idea empowers the founder to neatly describe the precise nature of the business to suppliers, customers, lenders, and resource team members, which is an significant skill for entrepreneurial success. For example, it is not satisfactory to say "I want to start a management consulting company." This tells the listener little. Instead, one might say, "I plan to start a management consulting company that provides strategic planning services to mid-sized businesses in the Southeast. Each consulting team, tailored to meet the unique needs of the client, will provide assessment and planning services to help clients improve efficiency and institute processes for innovation and change, resulting in cost reductions and sales increases."

This version of detailed elaboration tells the listener much more than the first statement and supports the potential client to visualize the business and its offerings.

When describing his/her business idea, the entrepreneur should answer the following questions:
• What is my product/service?
• What does my product/service do?
• How is it different or better than other products/services?
• Who will buy the product/service?
• Why will they buy the product/service?
• How will the product/service be promoted and sold/offered?
• Who are my competitors?

Often the business outcomes changes during feasibility testing and business planning as the entrepreneur learns more about the market and potential viability of the business. Eventually, however, the entrepreneur should be able to correctly, clearly and succinctly describe the core of the business to others in two or three sentences.

Once the business idea and outcomes are clearly defined, the more detailed work of business planning and implementation may begin. Now it's time to implement you great idea and convert into a big successful business that accommodates enough revenue to run your business in profit. As, no one want to live in debts. However, you should consider one thing that idea alone is nothing, hard work is the key to success.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Micheal_Ethan/2415681

What You Need To Do To Make Your Startup A Success

If you plan on striking out on your own to start a new company, you'll find that there are ample resources that are designed to guide entrepreneurs through this process. Starting a company is cheaper and easier than ever before given the ability to leverage the Internet in order to effectively connect with people while minimising your operational and outreach costs. There are, however, a few important things you have to do to ensure that your startup is a success.

Although starting a business is currently cheaper and easier than ever before, it is still important for business owners to have a secondary and steady source of income throughout their first year of operation. This will take the pressure off of your company to succeed immediately. You will have sufficient funds for covering your ongoing operating costs and your basic living expenses and will not have to function in a constant state of panic.

Establish a solid working schedule so that you are devoting an appropriate amount of time to your new organisation. A lot of new business owners expect that they can earn massive sums of money overnight, without having to invest a whole lot of time or effort. In reality, however, must successful entrepreneurs work long days and nights, particularly during the earliest stages of business development.

Make sure that you have a functional and attractive website for connecting with your prospects and customers. This will likely serve as your primary sales platform unless you will be maintaining a blog to sell affiliate products, using third-party classified or auction sites to host your wares or opening up a brick and mortar store that people can visit in person.

Get help with the web design process so that your pages are both viable and accessible on a broad range of devices. You want people to be able to connect with you irrespective of the tools that they are using to search the web. Professional web development will also make it easier for you to optimise your pages for search engines.

Create a solid business plan that will serve as your guide during the most formative stages of your endeavors. It is important to have a clear strategy for how you will get things done and a cohesive outline of what you hope to accomplish. This will make it easier to properly allocate both your business development monies and your time for optimal returns.

Seek help when you need it but avoid over-staffing your company so you don't run into any serious financial troubles before your profits become consistent. It is a good idea to work with people who are skilled in the areas you are not. It is also prudent to limit the number of financial obligations you take on, until you have sufficient money in savings for covering your operating expenses during slow periods.

Take the time to get the training you need in various technical areas in order to run your office efficiently and according to the requirements of your chosen industry. These can include Microsoft Office courses, training in human resource management and instruction for receiving any professional licensing your company requires. The more skilled you become, the less trained talent you will require to hire in order to establish a fully-functional organisation.

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Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/VS_Singh/2182324

Why My StartUp Won't Work?

The ugly truth is that three out of four startups fail. Try being the one that doesn't!

"But that won't be me!" you're saying to yourself. "My idea is brilliant! Everyone wants my product!"

Unfortunately, it takes a lot more than a great idea to launch a startup and much more to make it a successful one. There are thousands of would-be entrepreneurs out there with brilliant ideas that simply didn't take because of funding issues, a bad marketing strategy, or any number of other reasons.

Here are seven likely reasons your big idea is currently on a fast track to the startup graveyard.

o My Business Model is borderline pathetic

A great product idea does not make a business model! If you can't monetize your product while acquiring customers at a reasonable rate, you have no hope of scaling your product or establishing a revenue stream. Unless you are planning to run a charity organization, you're not going to make it very far.

I get it, business models are boring. It's a lot more fun to hit the ground running and turn your idea into a reality. But that doesn't mean you can skip the important steps of market research, competitive analysis, and developing a monetization strategy. If you're so negligent as to skip these important steps, you're only leading yourself on a slow, painful journey toward startup death.

o I am a Know it All... Hmmm...

A mentor? Business advice? Who needs that! With all your brilliant ideas, you've got this covered. Instead of humbly seeking the wisdom of successful entrepreneurs who've gone before you, you're reinventing the wheel all on your own.

Forget venture capitalists who want to guide your startup to a successful launch. They can keep their money - you don't want them meddling in your business! After all, as a first time entrepreneur, you know everything there is to know about successfully launching a scalable startup. Right?

o No one will fund ME!

Any entrepreneur anywhere will tell you, it really does take money to make money. If you can't find access to funding, whether through family and friends, an angel investor, or a business loan, you're going to have a tough time getting your product to market.

o Did I Even Think About a Marketing Plan?

You've been so focused on developing your brilliant idea, you completely forgot to develop a go-to-market strategy. What will your sales process be? Who is your target market? How will you reach your customer with news about your product? Do you have any idea?

The old "if you build it, they will come" philosophy might work in baseball-but unless you've been hearing voices lately, you probably shouldn't expect the same for your startup. No matter how great your idea may be, no one can buy your product if they don't know it exists. If you want any hope of saving your startup from certain doom, you need to devise and implement a solid marketing plan to spread your company's message and increase demand for your product.

o Customers hate ME!

Well, no they don't. Not yet, at least. But that's only because, as we just discussed, you don't have any customers. But if you did magically discover some first-time customers, they would quickly be bad-mouthing you all over town, because your customer experience is absolutely atrocious!

Do you have a plan and a properly trained team in place to make sure your customers are happy? How will you deal with complaints? How will you back up the quality of your product? What will you do when things go wrong?

Oh, nothing is ever going to go wrong? Is that right? Keep dreaming...

If you put yourself in the position of delivering a bad first impression with your customers, you'll never be able to recover. There's almost nothing more dangerous to a new business than a bad customer review.

o I am Stubborn

The truth about the startup world is that things change constantly. You have an idea for a product, but the research tells you to go a different direction. You're halfway through development, and then a competitor shows up out of the blue with a product exactly like yours. Few, if any, ideas make it to launch without several changes along the way.

If you can't roll with the punches and adjust your business model when challenges come up or new information prevails, you're doomed to live out your days talking the talk about your big idea that went absolutely nowhere.

o I am Running Out of Cash

The challenges above may have halted your startup's progress, but this one will be the final nail in the coffin. In the startup game, like in Monopoly, running out of cash equals game over. You're done!

But not for you, right? You've got this. With no set budget, you'll keep the Dom Perignon flowing every night of the week. It'll all work out, right? After all, you have a brilliant plan!

At some point, if you haven't secured funding and don't have a solid plan in place to get a revenue stream flowing, you're going to run out of cash. Even the most frugal of ramen-eating, Grandpa's garage-based startups needs cash to keep the lights on.

Inevitably, this will be the moment when your almost brilliant venture officially goes under. You're out of money. The show can't go on. You've failed.

If your startup is still on life support, stop and re-evaluate. Which of the areas above sounds most familiar? How could you turn around your strategy?

Figuring out why you were on your way to failure might just be your ticket to performing the miracle that turns your near-failure into a real deal StartUp Success!

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Bhavyassh_Agarwaal/2301666

Should I Start My Own Lawn Care Business?

Starting a lawn care business can be easier than you think. Really the difficult part is deciding on how you want to operate your business. I've had my own business for about five years now, and look forward to helping someone who is interested in getting in the field. So I have put together some questions that you should ask yourself before you start your business.

Decide whether you want your business as part time, or a full time venture?

I attend college while I run my lawn care business on the side. If you're just starting out and don't have a job already you're going to have to remember "Rome wasn't built in a day." If you have bills you need to pay, at least get a part time job doing something else. You could even work for another lawn care company. The goal Is to get enough clientele until you can branch out on your own, and still support your needs. I have a friend who works 40+ hours at a local landscape company, and on the weekends he runs his own lawn care route. You have to remember lawn care is seasonal, so having a second job can save you in the winter.

Do you want to eventually have someone running day to day operations?

Sometimes people think because you're the boss you can just sit back and relax. This is not true, if you want to be able to just sit back and put bids on jobs, you are going to need to get employee's that you can trust. You have to have someone that can make decisions on your behalf and who will please your customers. You are going to have to mold these employees' in your image.

How are you going to manage your profits, and expenses?

During my business I had pretty much no expenses other than food, insurance, and taxes. So it wasn't hard to budget because as long as I could cover those expenses I could spend as much as I needed. You also need to keep a record of your expenses and mileage for the IRS.

Are you going to do without equipment until you can afford it, or will you finance it until you can pay it off?

Living with my grandparents I was able to purchase a residential Hustler zero turn in cash. If you have too many bills you have two options. You can buy a push mower, and use it until you save enough money for a zero turn, or you can finance a new zero turn on payments. If you buy your equipment on financing, you need to pay the bills monthly. You can use this formula below to calculate your monthly income stream for each yard. (Mows per year*Charge per cut)/(12 Months)

Is working outside something you enjoy doing?

If you don't like working outside, lawn care is not for you. Here in Florida its hot, muggy, and humid. Don't feel bad working outside is not for everyone.

Do you want year round contracts, or are you just wanting summertime work?

The biggest difference between the big companies, and the small ones is the way they do the payment system. Bigger companies will require new customers to get on a one-year contract. This is so that they can have a fixed payment plan throughout the year, regardless of the amount of grass that they cut.

My last and final point. Do you enjoy it?

There is more to lawn care than just mowing, and weed eating. You have to enjoy it. I can say first hand that no one lasts very long that does it for the money. Running a lawn care business, I found that sometimes you're spending as much as you make. If you work hard, and treat people with honesty, you will prosper. Just start small like I did, and work your way up. It won't take more than a year to realize if this is something you want to do full time.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you're interested in the field I hope this may have given you some insight on starting your own business.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Colby_Sullivan/2384037

Starting a Service Based Company

Every individual has to take into account, a basic set of guidelines when it comes to starting a service catering Company. The value of service should meet the expectation level of a customer in order to become popular. Many Companies agree that the value of a service should be measured by what the customer is willing to pay for, than on the cost of the services provided.

The purpose of any Company's Service Management department is to ensure that it has the right combination of services in order to balance the investment it has made and the ability to meet business outcomes. Service Management department should contain a catalogue of all services that the Company has promised to its clients it will deliver, the services currently delivered and those that have been taken off the field of its competitors. It should also focus on the aspect the revenue received because of services.

For example, an individual starts a small Company based on services on which he/she is experienced. There will be important factors that he/she has to concentrate on. Some of the important factors that he/she has to consider are: demand, finance, knowledge, problem management and business relationship.

Demand: The popularity of demand stems upon the fact that any new individual starting a Company based on services should have understood, anticipated the importance of influence that the customer can have for his/her type of services. The owner as well the staff should keep tabs on "capacity" to confirm that the services promised to the customer will be provided on time and when it is needed.

Finance: A proper method and source of funding is needed by a Company for designing, developing and delivering services that should comply with the needs of the customer. The financial aspect should have information on costs, issues, benefits and problems that have to be tackled.

Business relationship: A transparent relationship should be established and maintained between the Company and customer. It should also identify customer needs and ensure the services promised to the customer are provided even if the requirements change according to circumstances. Normally, a receptionist or service desk is the first point of contact for a service oriented Company. Extreme care has to be taken in this aspect, because a Company will have excellent parameters and staff but if the service desk is not up the mark, it will lose its position in the market within a short frame of time.

Knowledge: The very purpose is to share ideas, information and experience to confirm that these factors are available at the opportune moment at the required time. A database of issues, problems tackled should be maintained as this will not only save cost but also time in rediscovering knowledge.

Problem Management: An experienced individual or efficient team should be in place to tackle any kind of problems. The team or individual should take steps in the direction to not only solve the problem, but should also identify the root cause if any, keep a tab on recurring problems, design workarounds if needed and minimize the time to restore service as quickly as possible.

A team that is interested in constant learning and redefining themselves according to the circumstances should be selected.

SathyaNarayana B has done Masters in Applied Geology and is interested in writing articles on martial arts, pet care, travel, herbal remedies, daily health tips, recent IT trends, recent IT courses.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sathya_Narayana/808334

Entrepreneurs and Ideas

Who is an 'Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is that fellow who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risks and rewards of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale. An entrepreneur is a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes.

Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy. These are the people who have the skills and initiative necessary to improve any economy. The reward for taking the risk is the potential economic profits the entrepreneur could earn.

Yes, I know that's hard. It's a lot of work. And that, folks, are what makes entrepreneurship so friggin' hard. And so friggin' necessary. What can I say, that's life. Besides, look on the bright side: You get to do what you want and you get to do it your way. There's just one catch. You've got to start somewhere. Ideas and opportunities don't just materialize out of thin air.

The only way I know to get started is by learning a marketable skill and getting to work. In my experience, that's where the ideas, opportunities, partners, and finances always seem to come from. Sure, it also takes an enormous amount of hard work, but that just comes with the territory.

If you want to do entrepreneurship right, let me share the story of an African lady you've probably never heard about, her name is Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, 34, grew up in Zenabwork, a poor village in the suburbs of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

She came up with her business idea after she noticed most of the artisans in her community, who made beautiful footwear, remained jobless and poor.

Today, her company, SoleRebels, is one the most popular and fastest growing African footwear brand in the world! It sells its 'eco-friendly' brand of footwear in more than 50 countries including the USA, Canada, Japan and Switzerland.

SoleRebels' footwear is unique because it is 100 percent made by hand using locally-sourced and recycled materials like old car tyres and hand-loomed organic fabrics.

A few years ago, SoleRebels became the first footwear company in the world to be certified by the World Fair Trade Organization.

By using local craftsmen, Bethlehem has built a global brand and a hugely successful business that has created jobs and improved livelihoods in her local community.

She started SoleRebels in 2004 with less than $10,000 in capital she raised from family members. Today, the company has more than 100 employees and nearly 200 local raw material suppliers, and has opened several standalone retail outlets in North America, Europe and Asia.

Despite its very humble beginnings, SoleRebels now makes up to $1 million in sales every year, and according to her projections and expansion plans, the company could be making up to $10 million in sales by the end of this year (2016).

Buoyed by her success with SoleRebels, She recently launched Republic of Leather, a new business that trades in luxury leather products like bags, belts and other non-footwear leather accessories.

Bethlehem was selected as the Young Global Leader of the Year 2011 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and was a winner at the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship in the same year. Bethlehem and her inspiring success story with SoleRebels have been featured severally on Forbes, the BBC and CNN.

As an entrepreneur, the sky is your limit. You can achieve anything you want! We can all be Bethlehem, start thinking and creating...

See you at the top!

Femi Adefioye is an Investor, A business man and Internet marketer, a motivational speaker, a financial consultant. He is also an Analyst. He has wealth creation blog http://entrepreneurship-skills.blogspot.com where he writes life transforming articles on entrepreneurship and wealth themes.

Notice - You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author's name, bio and website links must remain intact, active and included with every reproduction.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Femi_Adefioye/271306