How to avoid failure as a start-up.The journey of a successful startup starts with taking the right decision from the first day of business. Not all customers or potential customers/clients are willing to give you the opportunity of a second chance, as such first impressions are key in sustaining a successful startup journey.
Build a brand on your character
The first failure any startup can face is neglecting the place of character building. I call it the trust mechanism. It is the fountain by which other possibilities can flow in a business. A lot of people want success but forget that there is no successful brand without a deliberate character brand.
Why you need to build a brand on your character?
Every successful brand you see today is judged based on their character i.e. Adidas could terminate the deal with Kanye West due to his antisemitic comment this example can only buttress to any start-up the essence of character branding in any startup business anywhere in the world.
Every potential customer or prospective partner will like to do business with only a consistent brand. In Nigeria, we say in our local parlance come today, come tomorrow na so hawkers take turns to company owners, this, in a nutshell, means that the level of consistency and perseverance you apply in business as a startup can only lead you to the top.
I remember when the concept for my business miniquecollection came to mind I wasn’t making many sales as expected but in fact, I already built a brand on my character which I call’’ my rock principle’’ This principle means that never time will I close down my business due to lack of sales. This principle was birthed from my early discovery in business that you don’t grow outside the business but in the business, when things don’t go as you predicted only one thing can keep you going the character brand you have built over time.
market research
No matter how far you have gone in the wrong direction it can never make it right the right direction . Research is a key ingredient in startup business and not funds, you can have billions of dollars without proper research. However, planning and research are crucial when it comes to ensuring your business ideas are attainable.
Financial acuteness
A startup business that cannot build a clear dichotomy between business money from personal money will never grow. There must be an apt understanding of the principle of financial discipline. When I started miniquecollection after a few months of struggling there came what I termed the ‘magic hour’ things started moving greatly fine. we started scaling massive sales before the inevitable happened. Here come the blessings and curses of covid.
I know questions must be going through your mind right now hearing me call covid 19 a blessing and a curse, might seem surprising to you but as entrepreneurs, we only see and make use of opportunities in every situation. That was why Amazon made massive sales during the covid.
You might be thinking right now. I wonder if this writer is not aware that so many people lost their lives to that global pandemic that left many economies including superpower nations financially stretched to date? I am aware of all your sentiments and they are all well understood. But, in the business world, covid 19 pandemic led to a major economic shift that only the prepared could harness the blessings it came with.
It takes only financially acute brands to feel the paradigm shift it brought especially around developing nations which led to the surge in internet business/E-commerce…
The covid 19 pandemic was not the challenge but my lack of acute financial skills. All of a sudden things started going down just for one wrong move.in business, your planks might be beautiful but timing is more important doing the right thing at the wrong time can leave your business in a critical financial mess that only a second chance can redeem you from. instead of reinvesting this money into the business that was when I remembered that we needed a house in the village as well I realized that I needed to be a city boy don’t mind me ‘’money in the hand of an unprepared mind is a burden that can lead to financial frustration’’ because my temporary financial status has changed, and that left my business with an unforgettable scar.
The once booming business started struggling to breathe if not for the character brand and guiding principles I have built over years miniquecollection would have died a natural death.
A clear understanding that your business money is different from your money is the quickest ladder to scale up in the business world, a world that is filled with so much uncertainty.
The repetition circle
The excitement of success can push us down the ladder of success. most startups suffer frustration in business because when success comes to them too fast they start feeling they have outgrown most of the approach that brought success to their businesses at the early stage. never forget the steps that brought you success in business and repeat it even more for multiple success.
In conclusion, the business world is a dark world we all need to be fully prepared with accurate information before going into it. Never engage in a business you lack 45% knowledge and 25% passion for, never allow your passion for a business to override your knowledge about the business.if you find this article on How to avoid failure as a start-up interesting leave us a comment.