5 Easy Steps to a Brighter Business Startup

The failure of business startups is a problem in most developed countries, and, according to The Telegraph 50% are failing in the UK. However, it is a problem that can be traced back to some main failures in business structure and practices that should be easy enough for new companies to avoid; or at least be prepared for. Here are some of those “main culprits” for failure and how you can avoid them

Marketing

Get your business known, or it will surely fail. Marketing comes in many forms, and to be successful, most are beyond you or me. We can dabble all we want, but we will never have the nous of the professionals. If you are really serious, you should employ a marketing company to research your customer base (and whether your business is actually viable), before pinpointing your customers and devising a strategy to get your service or goods noticed by them. Your business will fail, no matter how good, if you have no customers.

Business Plan

Your business plan should be the map of the start and future of your company, and without that map, you could wander around aimlessly hoping for some guiding light to show you the way to a profit. A new business can be a complicated affair, and the more complications, the more planning is required. You can find business plan templates online that will give you a great start, and enough advice to make your own from scratch. Just make sure you use one.

Finance

Part of your business plan should include how you will finance your venture, and how much you will need. Financing the whole of your venture yourself can be risky, and any finance you try for will need proof that your business venture could be a success. Make sure that you have enough money available to see you through any times of non-profit, and never assume that you will make enough money to see you through bad spells. Possible finance is available through business loans, government grants, peer to peer lending, and crowdfunding, to name a few. The better your business plan or the more successful your business is, the more likely finance will be; so plan well before applying for finance.

Business Partnerships

Business to Business trade is often more important to a company that business with the public; and yet it is often ignored by businesses until too late. Take a business like Cannonsteelsltd.co.uk, a successful steel supplier that not only supplies the general public but also other businesses. The ability of a firm like this to be able to source new custom from several industries widens any customer base, and enables business networking too. This is what all startup businesses should be striving for, and building business partnerships are vital for almost all businesses.

Expansion

It is a sad fact that many firms fail because of their own success. Many businesses expand too soon because they have been successful, but often the expansion destroys business relationships and customer service, doesn’t take into account extra finance and skilled workers, and loses the personal touch of an owner who oversees everything in the business. If you are going to expand, do so slowly and in stages, and make sure you have all the finance to pay your way.

These 5 reasons for business failure are the tip of a very treacherous business iceberg, but they are surely the ones that you will need to plan for the most. If you take care of these from the start of your business, your other problems will be much smaller and easier to control.