Ready, steady, startup

I’m a bit of a startup junkie. My own and other people’s. I love everything that they represent: hope, dreams, bright ideas, pioneering spirit, grit and determination. I love the hard work that goes into them, the total focus and absorption they demand, the rush of adrenalin as the start date draws closer. As a business coach, it’s immensely rewarding, seeing your client’s hard work coming together, as they launch themselves onto the market, like frenzied little ducklings taking their first paddle. If I’m doing their PR and content marketing too, even more fun - I love creating the buzz to help them on their way.

Some startups definitely take off better than others - many a time I’ve walked round Tunbridge Wells placing bets on how long a particular business would last - so what makes one business succeed where another doesn’t? The idea, the timing, the people involved? With one of my clients about to launch, and another idea of my own in the pipeline, here’s what I’ve learnt over the years from my own experiences and from observing how other successful business owners have made it work.   

Research 

Who is your target market, and what do you know about them? Are you even sure there is a market for what you want to sell? There may be a reason it’s not out there already - not because someone else hasn’t already thought of it, but because they have, and they’ve done their research, and concluded this isn’t the right place, time or product. Some people seem to be so caught up in their bright idea that they forget to check what’s going on around them. Just how many similar cafés or hairdressers can one street sustain?

If you’re planning something that is already out there, get to know your competitors and who buys from them inside out, and then you’re in a better position to work out how to make your offering more attractive, or different enough to make sure you get your share of the market too. Find out about the community and environment around you as well - are there any planned developments that will affect your business, for better or for worse? Without research, you have no basis for a business or marketing plan - how can you work out what to sell and how to sell it without knowing who is going to buy it? From my observations, the businesses that don’t take off are the ones that make too many assumptions without basing them on sufficient research or knowledge.

Business plan

Sure, you have to make some assumptions - a lot of the numbers on a business plan are just that, particularly if it is a brand new product or offering. But use your business plan to plan! Work out best case and worst case scenarios, and then aim for something roughly in the middle, depending on how much of an optimist you are. Use your research to help you.   

What some people seem to forget about a business plan, is it also serves as a budget to help you with your cashflow in the early days. Make sure you have thought about all the items you will need to spend money on in the first year and beyond. Add in everything, including legals, equipment and running costs, staff and marketing. Whatever you do, don’t forget to add a marketing budget - more on this below. Then add a bit more, just in case. And stick to it! Don’t be tempted to dip into the budget for one area if it will compromise another. If the numbers don’t add up, chances are the business won’t make profit! It’s important to be realistic, no matter how much of a dream dear to your heart this is.

Strong brand

Put as much of your budget as you can into brand design and then marketing. It will give your business the easiest and best head start it can get. Too many businesses make the mistake of thinking they can do their own branding, web design and marketing. It’s a professional skill, just as any other, so pay for professionals, just as you would for legal or accountancy advice. Budget and plan for it from the start and it won’t then come as an unexpected extra expense. It will pay dividends. I have the stats to prove it from the last few clients I've worked with. When potential customers identify with a strong brand, they create a lot of the start up buzz for you. Use that to your advantage to keep your customers coming back well beyond the initial excitement has worn off.

Marketing

The amount of times I’ve seen a shop or a café throw open its doors and then just sit and wait, wondering why people aren’t flocking through the door astounds me. Just because you’ve been living and breathing this creation 24-7 for the past few months doesn’t mean that everyone else has. They may have fleetingly registered something on social media or in the local press if you managed to get something in there, but people are busy, and forgetful, and there is a lot of noise out there!

Customers will not know who, where or what you are, unless you tell them. Constantly, and clearly. Put yourself in their shoes. Firing out the odd post on social media to a bunch of followers who may not even be local or relevant is not going to be enough. Better than nothing, admittedly - I’ve seen some businesses wonder why no one knows about them who don’t even have a social media presence, and just rely on passing trade. It’s not going to be enough. Trust me. That’s where the research and the business plan comes in - to help you work out how to grow your market share with new customers and how best to reach them, so that you can grow your business sustainably and profitably.

I’m speaking from experience. I have one side venture that I set up as a low risk punt with someone else, without any budget. And it’s going nowhere fast, because we need to spend money on marketing it. We know this, and are looking to raise funds at the moment (anyone out there wanting to invest in a software startup?)

Of course I know from my own experience too that your startup fund doesn’t always stretch as far as you’d like it to. That’s where hiring a professional can help as they can get you where you need to be faster and use their connections or creativity in ways that perhaps you could not. It’s about thinking laterally and creating opportunities. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

People

It’s people who make a business; whether that’s customers, you, or the people you work with. People buy from people they like (and often, are like). They are also more inclined to buy from people they trust. So be yourself, and make sure you pick a team who can help you deliver to your style and standards.

It’s also important to realise that you can’t do everything yourself, no matter how tight the budget is. You won’t be doing your business any favours if you are burnt out, and if you are stretched so thin that you can’t deliver on your business plan. So that goes back to doing your sums at the start - making sure you’ve budgeted for extra help, whether that’s hiring your own staff or outsourcing to others who are better qualified to take on certain jobs. It’s a trap many small business owners fall into - thinking that because they have come up with the idea, they have all the skills necessary to make it work. Not so. In my experience, the startups that have succeeded best are the ones where the founders have not tried to do everything themselves, who have the humility to realise that they don’t know it all, who have done their research and planned the business and budget properly from the outset.  

The two final ingredients that I think are a vital part of any startup, are to have fun along the way and to keep learning. Failure is not a negative, it’s a necessary part of any successful business. How you deal with that failure is what determines the outcome. Treat it as a learning opportunity, and you will create something even better from it. I can’t wait to see what that will be!