Five Common Start-up Hurdles and How To Fix Them
More than 50 million new businesses kick start every year, and approximately 137,000 come into existence every day. The age-old question remains: out of all these high numbers, how many startups actually survive the winds of change?
As digitalization and tech innovations open new possibilities, startups are experiencing a swift paradigm shift. This shift changes startups’ functionality by creating both opportunities and hurdles in the wake of success.
Businesses, particularly new ones, are susceptible to many challenges. And every business owner knows there will always be some that they will have to face one day or another. Some business hurdles might come as a surprise, while others they will expect from the beginning. However, there is no single challenge that can derail an aspiring entrepreneur from their road to success. Here is a list of hurdles that entrepreneurs typically expect while launching their startup and ways they can overcome them.
- Not managing finances efficiently
One of the biggest hurdles that any startup faces is the effective management of its finances. These can range from arranging money to fund the business to blowing up all the money on bad and useless marketing strategies. And as most seasoned entrepreneurs will tell you – when you run out of money, it is game over!
Therefore, it is essential to plan and manage your finances properly. Keep an open mind while looking for funding options. Also, develop short-term and long-term money management plans that will help keep your startup afloat.
Every business works differently and has varying financial needs. It would help if you took out the time to find funding options to fulfill your cash-flow requirements. Once you obtain the required capital to invest, you will need to hire a professional accountant or become yourself to ensure adequate financial management. If you’re keen on the latter of the two options, an online masters in accounting no gmat is a quick route to achieve the goal. Either way, both of these options will allow you to handle your cash more diligently and avoid closing up shop before you even start to see profits.
- Not hiring the right team
Numerous researches show that a startup is more likely to kick off if it is a team effort and not a solo effort. And the “I can do it on my own” mindset is yet another hurdle to success!
Being self-reliant is a fantastic personality trait, but sometimes it just doesn’t cut the deal. A team of skilled employees forms the backbone of every business. The employees do all the grunt work that eventually makes the business venture a success. Many times startups fail to recognize this and end up hiring the wrong employees or get into partnerships that hurt their business in the long-run. When do I hire my first employee, who should I consider hiring, and how can I manage and evaluate your team’s progress? These are a few crucial questions that entrepreneurs should think hard over when they start a new business.
It is essential to create a hiring strategy at the early stages of launching your startup. When you have an idea of the talent your business needs, conduct interviews with multiple candidates accordingly. Not only should you ensure that the choice you make is right for the designated job, but that they are also a cultural fit for your business and long-term vision.
- Bad time management
Whether it’s running a startup or some other everyday activity, bad time management is a costly mistake! There are a thousand and one decisions you have to make as an entrepreneur, and there only twenty-four hours in a day to make them. Pair them with other distractions, especially personal ones, and you will eventually find yourself in a hot mess in no time, pun intended!
A wise decision would be to focus your energy and time on the most impact business-related things first and get them done ASAP. Also, eliminate all distractions in your way of managing your startup.
Ask yourself what is essential and what you can delay till the next day or what are the things that are stopping your startup from growing. When you set your priorities straight, managing time will be easier, and you’ll still have a few hours left at the end of the day to give yourself a well-deserved breather from your startup.
- Lack of an effective marketing strategy
Your startup can have the best product or service idea in the world, but it will be totally worthless if no one knows about it. Unfortunately, many startups end up failing because of this very simple reason! Not having a good marketing strategy is a big hurdle to developing adequate brand awareness and generating quality business leads.
An effective marketing strategy is a crucial startup aspect. And effective does not have to be costly. Don’t assume that you will have a great marketing strategy from the get-go. Word of mouth is great and all, but it will only get you so far. You will need a well-planned and well-executed marketing strategy to generate quick leads and maximize ROI.
Sure, you can throw all the money in the world into your marketing efforts. You can utilize all available techniques. But being a startup, you won’t have the money or the time to give all your attention to marketing. To overcome such a hurdle, utilize cost-effective marketing techniques such as social media marketing.
- Competition
Competition is good. It stirs innovation and creates the need for businesses to do even better. However, for a startup, it can mean a quick death!
Running a business is tough, and there will almost always be others offering the same solutions as your startup. You might be the new kid on the block for some time, but the market is ever-growing, and other startups, who provide the same products or services, will quickly level the playing field.
When talking about your competition, you will have to create a balance between them and your startup. It would help if you were confident with the products and services you offer. However, you also need to keep track of your competitors. Create the right strategy, and be quick on your feet to adapt to changes. It will define whether your startup succeeds or fails.
Conclusion
Business hurdles are part of the game. As an entrepreneur, you will encounter them at some point during the business life cycle. The sooner you deal with them, the faster will you be able to focus on improving your business. Success inevitably depends on how you cope with the downs while evaluating the ups. Create streamlined processes, manage your employees properly, and always keep an eye on your competitor’s offerings. Once you do that, you’re already ready to succeed.