All startups face challenges, especially in the first year. The good news is that many of these challenges aren’t new and have solutions. While many business owners are adept at identifying and solving problems, they can also get caught up in the many challenges they’ll face. Here are common challenges that every startup faces and how to solve them.
1. Financial Management
Even though many growing startups raise funds and have a good business plan, they can still mess up their financial management. As revenue increases, so do expenses, which means that a spreadsheet tracking all financial matters can quickly become a problem.
For entrepreneurs, financial management goes beyond understanding the profits and losses of your business; it is key to the survival of your venture. So before you start growing your business, you should understand accounts payables, accounts receivables, and your net position so that you can plan ahead.
The solution to better financial management is getting ProSeries tax software that can help you file your taxes and see your financial health at any point.
2. Hiring
When your business is still fresh, you might be able to handle most tasks on your own. However, as you grow, you’ll get consumed with managing the business and won’t be able to deal with everyday tasks. For example, hiring people isn’t a quick and easy process, especially if you want to hire the right people. Not to mention, finding good employees doesn’t come cheap. One challenge that you’ll face is building your team so that they can take your business to the next level.
The solution to the hiring dilemma is taking the time to find suitable candidates. Instead of hiring someone simply to have an employee, ask them the right questions and verify their experience so that you can trust that they know what they’re doing. In addition, as your business grows, you won’t be able to manage them every second of the day, so make sure that you hire someone who can perform well in a particular position.
3. Competition
Unless you’ve created a business that’s entirely new, you’re going to have some competition. Competition for all industries gets more challenging every year, so you’ll need to have a plan for how you’ll compete.
One solution to the issue of competition is to enable Keap sales and marketing automation and position yourself in the market and stand out from the crowd. You should also not worry too much about the competition. Instead of stressing about what they’re doing for their holiday promotions, focus on what your business will be doing for its promotion.
4. Sales and Marketing
If you have a great product, you need to let your potential customers know about it through sales and marketing. Every successful business has a sales and/or marketing team to help them sell products. Many startups don’t invest time or money in sales and marketing, simply hoping that word of mouth will be enough.
Word of mouth only works if people know that your business exists and have had an experience with your business.
The solution to this issue is working on your marketing strategy during the business planning stage so that you already have a plan of action for when your business is ready to launch.
5. Customer Service
Often, startups launch their product without having any plan for customer service, which leaves business owners bombarded with calls and emails from customers who have questions, concerns, or complaints. Instead of setting yourself up to fail your customers, make sure you have a Zendesk customer service plan. This will include software with customer service associates ready to answer questions immediately.
Building a startup from the ground up isn’t always easy. However, there are many ways you can avoid problems and ensure your venture succeeds. Bookmark this article to refer back to as your business grows and ensure it’s a profitable journey.
