A guide on how to gain fast business traction with minimal funding (Part 1)

During the writing of this article, the veil of the pandemic has been covering the world for more than a year. While some business sustained their existence or even flourish under this stressor, others pivoted into new & uncharted sectors they know less about.?

The same can be said for employed individuals pursuing side hustles in the form of entrepreneurship to diversify income streams; reducing their fragility amidst growing unemployment statistics. In both cases, there is a high chance that startup enterprises were born.

Startups have always been considered as a platform where entrepreneurial mindset & hands-on training are learned.

It is the stage where entrepreneurs search for a repeatable and scalable business model that can solve real-life problems. Under normal circumstances, the underpinning challenges facing new companies during market entry are stiff competition, ineffective marketing & insufficient funding. In general, they originated from raw inexperience in defining their unique selling proposition (USP) and positioning, misled marketing thus barking up the wrong tree, and scarcity in monetary resources.?

Beyond that, the prolonged pandemic eclipse has cast a pessimistic shadow in the form of consumers' spending cutbacks due to uncertainties. This effect is also intensified by strict travel limitations; creating an additional challenge for these enterprises to get up and running.

However, with the right guidance, tools, and formulae, the above obstacles can be overcome. The ultimate goals are to ensure the startup:

1. Gain fast traction in terms of revenue generation and its scaling up rate
2. Thrive under minimal funding by leveraging available resources in hand

This above all calls for razor-sharp focus & attention on the three primary business fundamentals; market analysis, sales & cash-flow management. In Part 2, we shall look into the postmortem done by CB Insights on 101 failed startups, which revealed the direct correlation between premature failures with the lack of merit given in these three fundamentals.

I shall also uncover a few tactical tricks & tips on how to fast track momentum by leveraging on available resources on hand.

FG101 | Educating Entrepreneurs ??

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Lukman is the founder & principal coach of Financial Goals 101 Consultancy, an entity that focuses on delivering personalised coaching programs for SMEs & solopreneurs to help them reach their full business potential faster & with fewer errors. Over the past decade, he has generated over RM60 million in sales revenue for both local and international companies; adding value in anchoring marketing & sales strategies coaching.