Five Startup Mistakes that You Must Stay Clear From

Startups are hitting the groove like never before and there is a startup culture brewing all over. That’s definitely a sign of entrepreneurship picking up substantially and surely a piece of good news for all sectors. But it is also pertinent to mention here that there are some aspects that a startup should focus on so that the going stays pleasant all through. In the following sections, we will take a look at some points that a startup should stay clear of so that they do not hit a roadblock after some time.

Not having a clear vision

Without having a clear purpose or a vision statement, a startup can just meander around and get lost after a while. Moreover, without a clear vision, when tough times hit the business (and they will), an enterprise may not find the leaning shoulder that can help in bailing it out. Deciding on a working purpose can help a business in getting identified as it can provide the meaning to the work being done by it. It can also be the reason for people and other businesses to connect with it. A product or service offered by a business can get the needed weight through a proper vision and that is why it is so essential for any startup to have a statement of purpose.

Lacking the needed focus

Even if a startup has a vision but lacks sufficient focus, that can hamper its growth. In fact, a lot of startups are guilty of not addressing this aspect properly so that they put their hands on too many things at a time. A clear focus for any startup delves with correctly communicating what is the product or service intended to do and who can be benefited from it. By simply trying to lure everyone and adding features to a product haphazardly, the focus can be lost and most importantly, a convoluted product may get created that benefits no one.

However, it is easier said than done. There can be real pressure on certain aspects every day from investors, promoters and other stakeholders but politely refusing all demands that do not add value to a product can be worth all the appreciation in the future. Saying ‘no’ may not be that bad after all if a usable product has to be developed. In his way, better decisions can be made so that focus stays intact at all times. All successful entrepreneurs stick to a disciplined way of working that can help reap rich dividends.

Effective communication holds the key

Communication in all forms is very vital for the success of a startup. Whether its internal or external communication, it is one aspect that can make or break the prospect of an enterprise. One to one conversation or in a group can be productive, motivating and knowledge-oriented. However, most startups these days have a ‘remote-working’ culture so that more employees are offsite. In this scenario, a smart solution is needed to keep in regular touch with them. Moreover, offsite employees may also need to connect at times for a plethora of reasons.

A cloud-based PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system can come in to bridge this gap in the most correct way. It can aid the communication process in any organization so that employees can stay in touch with their peers as well as among themselves easily. Moreover, it is a scalable solution that can be upgraded or downgraded without making much investment. It also comes with a range of features that can be very helpful for all employees.

Growth plans are essential

Make a product and it will run by itself? It does not seem convincing enough. Customer faith and acquisition can really do or undo any startup. All serial entrepreneurs appreciate this fact that more than 90% of entrepreneurship has to do with some form of sales and marketing and without it, any enterprise cannot succeed in the long run. A customer base has to be cultivated and intruding a bigger market is highly imperative because without scaling, a business cannot survive.

Any significant product in the market has made itself visible through sufficient sales and marketing efforts, developing the product in itself cannot guarantee success. Getting customers, creating sufficient interest and hitting the market are all those areas which we hardly take note of for any big brand. Every major name must have gone through that period to reach where it is today. Therefore, it is important to find out what type of awareness will work for a brand so that sales can be generated from it.

Hiring poorly can affect the prospects

Hiring plans can be quite important to a startup so that hiring too soon without knowing a person can be disastrous. Budding entrepreneurs keep searching for co-founders at all the wrong places. It is important here to understand the vision, values and the drive that keeps an entrepreneur going so that these qualities can be looked out for in a potential employee. A close bond with an entrepreneur can only develop when an employee shares the same set of concerns that is reflected by the entrepreneur.

Hence, having a strong culture is highly essential in a startup to keep the employees amply engaged. After, all, research has also found that happy teams tend to generate better revenue for an organization. Hence, startups are also fast switching to it.

We have discussed here five areas that a startup must look into at the beginning itself so that its future journey can stay satisfactory. These areas may not seem compelling at first but they do have their consequences, in the long run, more so if a couple of them come at the same time. That can be a recipe for disaster! Hence, sorting them out earlier can help a startup stay clear of any impending issue and an organization can scale in the most compelling manner.