11 Tips to Survive Your Startup's First Year | Eurokick

How Do You Survive Your First Year As a Startup?

You have taken the first step. You have decided to follow your passion and start your own business. But it is well known that a company's first year of operation is the most challenging. Creating your own company can be exciting but involves significant risk. You will grow as a person, make mistakes, and achieve great success.

Starting a company from the beginning takes extensive preparation, planning, and time management skills to keep track of the many moving parts involved in making a profit, paying bills, advertising, producing goods, and selling them. New businesses will always start, and you want yours to be one of the survivors. 

However, how can you survive your first year as a startup? How can you be a startup of the year?

That's why we compiled the best 11 advices to help your startup succeed in its first year and beyond.

1)Have a Business Plan

To begin and grow your company successfully, you need to have a well-thought-out business plan, including your goals, target market, products and prices, funding strategy, top priorities, and marketing and sales initiatives.

The time and effort you put into developing a great business plan will pay off in the long run, whether you ask for finance or present to investors.

2)Set Long-Term Goals

Short-term thinking is one of the worst things a business owner can do. Most people who are successful in business have long-term goals in mind when they start a new venture, according to statistics

Do not start a business if you want something right away or if you want to make money in the first or second year. It is unlikely to happen. You should expect to lose money in your first and second years. The first two years are challenging. But most of the bumps and kinks have been worked out by your third and fourth years.

3)Determine How You Will Fund Your Business

Money is the most crucial part of a business, of course! The search for venture capital is frequently seen as a company's first and most vital step. However, you can support your company in several ways: using savings, part-time jobs, money from friends and family, loans, angel investors, and customers. Think carefully about the best choice for you, your co-founders, and your company.

One of the main reasons why small business owners fail is that they do not keep track of their money. Really:

80% of small businesses fail because they can not make enough money, according to estimations.

Set up checkpoints for your financial goals for the year so you can stay on track. Watch your cash flow and when you get paid. Ideally, your income should always be more than what you spend, and it is also essential to always have some extra money in case something goes wrong. Getting your finances under control can be scary, so get help whenever you can.

You should also consider hiring a freelance financial advisor or manager to handle this critical part of your business.

Top Tip: You always need capital to hit the ground running as a brand-new startup. Read our guides, 6 Ways To Find Investors And Raise Millions For Small Business, and The Basics of Venture Capital for Your Business to learn more about investment for your startup.

4)Be As Organized As Possible.

Many entrepreneurs have failed because they did not have enough discipline. They have a great idea, but they do not put in the effort to make it happen. Learn about your money and keep it in order. If you see something wrong, fix it. If you keep trying, you will get something out of it eventually.

In addition, during the first year in business, you should expect a heavy workload filled with meetings, specifications, strategies, calls, projects, travel, conferences, and more meetings. Avoid the common mistake of depending on a Notepad software, some Sticky Notes, and your memory to keep everything in order.

Try talking to other company owners and entrepreneurs to learn how they manage their time. Identify and use a strategy that provides intended outcomes. Maintain a daily check-in and update schedule.

5)Set Clear Expectations For Everyone

Maintaining consistent expectations is essential when interacting with customers, business associates, or employees.

A clear after-sale plan can reassure your customers and encourage repeat business. All of your workers need to start with a clear understanding of their role and the expectations you have of them that are in line with the overall business mission.

Resentment over underperformance or overreaching can quickly put an end to productive cooperation. It is essential to have a mutually agreed-upon job description.

6)Follow The Trends  

Promotional efforts on social media platforms, especially in the form of video, are on the rise. In today's digital environment, video material, particularly live video, is the most effective way to reach your intended audience. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and Tumblr all provide live broadcasting and are rather popular. 90% of all internet traffic will be connected to video by 2023, and Facebook live streaming is expected to have a viewership three times that of regular videos.

Surprisingly, the boom in augmented reality has also led to an uptick in interactive video content. Although AR is still a relatively new and pricey marketing tactic, it offers a creative and exciting method to connect with your audience.

Using video content in your marketing plan to reach your audience will be crucial in the first year of your business's existence if you want to remain competitive and successful.

7)Be Flexible and Adaptable

A business plan is an evolving document that should be reviewed often; it is vital to be prepared to rewrite sections at any moment. Avoid being too dogmatic about your next move. You need the flexibility to respond quickly and effectively to market shifts and other challenges you may face. If you can see choppy waters ahead, you should not blindly sail into them. Avoid capsizing by changing direction.

In the beginning stages of any company, there are several potential courses of action. You can waste your time if the company's stated purpose changes whenever the wind blows or a new and appealing item comes into view. Agility permits you to keep going when things are not working, even if that means making adjustments along the way. 

Frequently reevaluate your purpose, and if there is compelling evidence to support a course correction, do so.

8)Make Your Finances a Priority

Do not mix up income and profit.

It's not the same thing to operate a business that just brings in money as it is to lead a company that really profits.

It is easy to think that bringing in cash is the same as making money. One thing is to make money. But your business could be losing money when you add up the cost of labor, services, office rent, and your salary.

To put your business in a good position for long-term, profitable growth, make a chart of your current costs and how much you charge. This will help you determine your net profit margins, which should be between 15% and 30%. With this information, you can change your pricing, volume strategy, and production costs to ensure you have a healthy profit margin and can keep growing.

Also Read: How to Calculate the Return on Investment for Your Startup

9)Take Risks

Making a decision and then acting on it is the most thrilling element of being an entrepreneur. Testing the waters to see whether anything sticks is always exhilarating, and the novelty of a successful experiment never wears off.

Do not let the fear of falling short hold you back. The decision to launch your company was fraught with danger, yet you went ahead and did it anyway. You should not let the extra risks slow you down. Find a workaround and keep going if something is not working.

10)Connect With People

In general, the more people you know, the better off you are. Anyone could be a partner, customer, inspiration, or sounding board. Talk to people who have started their businesses or are experts in your field. The more people you talk to, the more chances you will get and the more people you will have on your side when you need them. Here are what you can do to connect with people in your field:

• Join trade shows and conferences in your field to meet other entrepreneurs and experts.
• LinkedIn and Quora are websites that can help you develop your knowledge and learn from others.

Respect other people's time, but do not hesitate to ask for meetings. When you get together, ask questions and give people a chance to talk about themselves. Always pay for the meal and send a thank-you note afterward. 

The most important thing to remember about networking is the golden rule: The more you give, the more people want to give back.

11)Set Up a Company Culture Of Collaboration

The success of a startup depends a lot on how well the people on the team can work together. This is why new startups need to create a culture that does not allow the five problems that can happen on a team:

• Lack of trust
• Fear of conflict
• Lack of commitment
• Avoiding accountability
• Not paying attention to results

A great way to do this is to lead with emotional intelligence.

Bottom Line

Starting a new business is challenging. If starting a business was easy, everyone would do it and succeed. 

Being a business owner is hard work. Many entrepreneurs quit early on because they failed or were afraid of failing. You can be the owner of "the startup of the year" by applying the strategies above to your business and surviving your startup in the first year.

If you are just getting your business off the ground and are looking for investors, Eurokick can provide you with the funds you need and guide you in developing your business.

We can help you turn your idea into a business and turn potential into a success story!

Get in touch with us for the new stories!

References:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/a-quick-guide-to-surviving-year-1-as-an-entrepreneur/271335

https://www.tide.co/blog/business-tips/how-to-make-your-first-year-in-business-a-success/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/05/07/14-strategies-to-help-your-startup-survive-its-first-year/?sh=22d282a27d21

https://www.entrepreneur.com/starting-a-business/7-ways-to-survive-and-thrive-at-a-startup/228737