KEY STRATEGIES FOR NEW BUSINESSES

It is proven that only less than 20% of start-up businesses normally make it past the first five years, there are a couple of reasons for this but the most pressing and popular reason is that there wasn’t proper knowledge acquired and research wasn’t done properly

Many entrepreneurs go into a startup pumped about a new idea, with grand visions of selling a million units in the first year, but without an accurate understanding of the market need for their item

Other entrepreneurs start their businesses because they need money to survive or thrive and while this isn’t bad in itself, what happens after you get the money, many entrepreneurs are blinded by the profit, not regarding the product or service rendered.

Below are ways that a start-up company would prevent their company from failing and crashing within the first few years.

1. Establishing a value proposition

Every company should have a unique value proposition, something that makes you different from other companies even if you are in the same niche, or industry.

?an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers.

The proposition is an easy-to-understand reason why a customer should buy a product or service from that particular business. A value proposition should clearly explain how a product fills a need, communicate the specifics of its added benefit, and state the reason why it's better than similar products on the market.?

A value proposition is meant to convince stakeholders, investors, or customers that a company or its products or services are worthwhile. If the value proposition is weak or unconvincing it may be challenging to attract investment and consumer demand

If a company cannot convince others that it has value or that its products or services or valuable, it will lose profitability and access to capital and may ultimately go out of business.

This may take time to find but you can get this by asking questions, looking out for the weakness of your competition and complaints around you.

2. Identify your ideal customer

In any business, it is critical that you know who your ideal client is. Failing to know who your ideal client is is often where entrepreneurs go wrong.

Business owners operate their companies for years without truly knowing who their ideal audience is, questioning why the sales process always remains so hard and why it never seems to flow, you need to know their fears, what they need, their buying and spending habits, where they can be found.

Knowing your ideal customer helps the business owner not to chase random people.

3. Verify your revenue strengths

Every company should have an idea of how they hope to get their revenue, Revenue growth is one of the most important metrics for any business. Although it’s pretty easy to calculate your company’s revenue growth in a certain period, you need to understand how it works and what aspects of the business are contributing positively or negatively to it.

Revenue is different from sales (money gotten from selling products and services) and earnings ( profit made after deduction of expenses),? revenue is the total amount of money a business makes from all its sources, including sales, royalties, investments, fees, etc

Revenue growth strategies are plans to grow a company’s revenue both in the short term and long term. Since each company is different, the revenue growth strategies will also vary.

That said, any good revenue growth strategy ensures your sales, marketing, and customer service departments are communicating and working together in synergy.

4. Focus on your strength

Every company has their strength and weaknesses, evaluating your company's strengths is likely easier than taking a hard look at its flaws. One helpful source of information is customer complaints. If you're not already monitoring the frequency and substance of these complaints, this is a good time to start.

A SWOT analysis is a common assessment and evaluation tool. It can be used in a variety of fields. Take down an assessment of the things that you can do better than others

5. Invest in talent

The path of any startup to stunning success begins with a winning team. The employees you work with can make or break your young project. The team will determine whether a startup will turn into a thriving and promising business or die in the early stages on the way to victory. And this is confirmed by the success stories of every notable startup around the world. However, finding the right people who share your desire and passion is not so easy.

You have to define roles and responsibilities, as well as the right skills and abilities that fit those roles. Then hire for talent and fit. Find people who are smarter than you, especially in their area of specialization. Scout. Go to tradeshows and universities. Network. Then turn on the charm. Sell them on your idea. The best and brightest are going to be attracted because it is a good idea, you are passionate about it, and you can clearly articulate how things are going to go.

Set and communicate clearly defined goals and milestones so that everyone in the company can feel like they're winning as the company is winning. A big problem in many companies is that people feel detached from what's happening.?

With these steps, your start-up is on its way to becoming a unicorn.