Startups come in all shapes and sizes as well as success levels depending on industry and demand. Getting your startup profitable as fast as possible is the goal for many founders, but those really successful founders are setting themselves up for sustained success. Sustainable success can come from increased demand or a higher quality product at a competitive price. There are so many factors including geography, time launched, and whether Amazon has plans to do it that decides whether a startup is a success. The following are ways to set your startup up for success and running as efficiently as possible.
Make Sure Your Processes Are Scalable
The processes that you have set up for your business must be scalable. One huge order from a client can break systems and ruin a business relationship in its infancy. Scalable processes will be able to take any size order so make sure that you automate as much as possible. The less work that clients have to do to put in an order or resubscribe should also be extremely easy as repeat customers are what build companies into business empires. Take the time to optimize as much as possible while things might be slow in order to be ready for the big rush that happens in nearly every industry during the year.
Minimize Employee Turnover and Hire The Right People
The hiring process should be thought out with “gut feelings” being thrown out of the window for the most part. Those people who have great references and work autonomously can be great for a startup. Far too often those at a startup will simply stop working unless they are given something directly to complete. For this reason, you need to find those that will not sit there on social media but will help organize processes or figure out other ways for revenue streams. If a person cannot take the time to look up resume samples they are not worth the company’s time. Give an assignment that will be much like the job they are applying for, and during the second interview, you can see what you are actually getting in terms of an employee.
Expand When Absolutely Necessary
There are far too many founders who want to buy an incredible office or rent an office that is far beyond the company’s needs. This could be for reasons to do with ego and thoughts that the staff is going to explode. Hiring when absolutely necessary is important as hiring simply to have more employees can dry up cash flow quickly as the employees are trained. Finding the perfect office building or office park for your startup should take some time. Do not pick one of the first few you view just to get the process over with. This is the place that your startup is going to grow and hopefully succeed.
Don’t Wait To Market
Do not wait to market your new business until you have opened the doors as you will be behind the curve by then. Creating a buzz is as important as ever and with social media creating the buzz can be done affordably. If you are creating a product, it is important to get the product into the hands of important influencers in your industry. An endorsement from a thought leader can be worth its weight in gold. Take a look at the influencers to make sure they are not promoting products that are obviously garbage. You want your brand to get exposure, but you also want to generate sales via influencer marketing.
Getting your startup off the ground is going to be a stressful time, but there will be a moment when everything comes together. This will make all of the hard work and begging investors worth it in the end!
