When deciding to start a startup, you have to know that the journey you are about to take is going to be stressful, sometimes even frightening but fascinating nonetheless. One moment you might find yourself thinking that you are at the top of the world, the next that your business is on its last legs. Most of the people wonder why anybody would risk the comfort to chase a dream that might not work, and in many cases, the answer is – because of the excitement.
With a startup, there are many challenges that you have to conquer and many obstacles that you have to avoid from the start. It is no secret that this process requires a great amount of dedication, and it is a well known fact that only one in five startups manage to establish a profitable business through a scalable model. However, if everything falls into place – there is a good odd that your startup will be successful.
Everyone’s startup experiences are different, so there is no magical solution to all of your problems. However, below you can find a list of essential steps that every young entrepreneur should follow if he ever decides to try his hand at a startup.
Finding a scalable idea
The first thing you need to think about is that there is a balance to attain with your market. If your idea is too broad, you might have problems with already established, competitive companies grabbing the attention of the consumers. In the other case, if your idea is too niche, there is a big chance that you might end up in danger having an insufficient number of paying customers. Always start with “why?” and think about your idea thoroughly.
Exponential growth is the holy grail of scalable business ideas and a goal of every startup. Defining this model is more complex than you think so spare no time on constant monitoring and brainstorming with your coworkers.
Naming and sketching
Naming anything from pets to children can be hard – startups are particularly hard. Be sure to check if the domain name is taken when you come up with some possible names. Once you have the idea and the name, you have to put everything on paper. If you are constructing a site, sketch all the pages, if you are making an app, draw all the screens, etc. The main point is to get the idea out of your head and put it out there for your co-workers to analyze it and develop it.
Always remember that you are building a brand. You have to understand how crucial and sensitive this initial step is.
Talent acquisition
The people might be even more important to your startup than the idea. Hiring someone irresponsible or someone uninterested and detached from your goal is simply a bad investment. Sometimes, the right thing to do is to recruit your friends, because you are familiar with their abilities and you have faith in them. Doing things solo is always an option, but it is much harder. Even the investors, for various reasons, do not like to invest in just one person.
As an entrepreneur you have to be aware of the fact that most people will not share your dreams and goals. Getting people excited about your ideas and hearing out theirs is probably your main responsibility.
Run a productive office
Following examples of big company’s offices will get you nowhere. If your startup requires creative individuals you will probably have to be inventive with your design, make every adjustment required, and build a community eventually. However – this doesn’t mean that you are running a playground. Keep your shift tight through automated reports, make sure that all the workers are properly monitored and even consider installing CMI safes to ensure the security of sensitive documents.
Be prepared that you are going to work with a great number of Millennials. As a generation, they have different expectations and conditions for delivering productive work so keep a close contact with your coworkers.
Expanding and building slowly
If you are doing this for the first time, chances are that your launch will be a modest one. Success will not come overnight, and depending on your startup and the industry branch, you choose different marketing and sales techniques might and might not work for you. It is up to you to try every last one of them and then – try some more.
Sometimes you might feel that you are the only company in the world where everything is falling to pieces. This frame of mind is completely normal, every other founder feels the same way. Just don’t break under pressure.
