It’s 2018 and building a startup has never been easier. On the other hand, this simplicity is deceptive. The cake is a lie. While building startups have become easier, keeping it running healthy and sustainable is still just as challenging.
Moreover, while many have learnt from the startup mistakes in the past, new business trends mean that there are new mistakes to watch out for. The following are some startup mistakes that you should actively avoid to keep your startup healthy and happy.
A Weak Plan
It’s so easy to have a startup that many entrepreneurs can be impatient to start it, even when their business plan is still relatively weak or has many areas which still require a lot of work. There’s a reason why a strong business plan is necessary before you start anything. With a weak plan, there are many areas where problems can arise and have no solution for them.
This can end up hampering the healthy growth of the business or completely blind side it and bring it to a complete stop. Curb the enthusiasm and make sure that your business plan is foolproof. The starting years of a startup are extremely volatile and weak business plans can end up being the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Over Confidence
So you have a product that you are confident that will sell well. But how does the target market feel about it? Having confidence in a product is necessary for businesses to be able to market it well but don’t be too ready to back the wrong horse here. If you don’t understand your target market and just throw a product out to them, not only will they be confused, but you will be too.
Assuming that you have enough information just from a few cursory surveys or more doesn’t mean that you understand it. Conduct lengthy and detailed market research before you start to produce a product. This allows you to properly evaluate the want, demand and the prospective growth you can expect to have from it.
Premature Growth
Sometimes, a startup might be doing very well in a target market which can make the entrepreneurs feel excited and ready for growth. All the factors are pointing towards it. There is a great demand and a great response from consumers and even if you can’t enter into a new market, you can expand your demographic reach in the form of a new branch.
However, premature growth can be problematic since it tends to hamper the ability for the business to focus and make sure that one area is full proof. With two different branches, you end up having to deal with two different markets, two different demo graphs and have to invest twice as much in advertising, marketing and research and more. If a startup isn’t ready for this, it will collapse.
Poor Hiring
Another mistake that modern startups make is by having too many people on board or making hires which are not wise. For a startup, every person you hire does make a huge difference and the wrong people will mean that the startup will collapse. Look for a person who would make a good fit and contribute towards the business. Credentials don’t always matter if the person just doesn’t fit in with the goals that you have in mind.
