5 Tips to Overcome Common Startup Challenges

In this day and age, almost anyone can launch their own startup. However, not every startup sticks around long-term. In fact, studies have shown that 30% of startups fail within their first year, while 66% of them fail within the first ten. If you’ve started your own business, you probably don’t want this to happen to you. A good way to ensure you keep operating is to overcome some of the most common startup challenges. Here’s how to do it.

Hire the right people

Being confident is the key to succeeding in the corporate arena. Still, no matter how good you are at what you do, wearing all the hats actually hurts your startup’s chances of succeeding. Many budding entrepreneurs decide to do everything themselves, only to see their startup fail sooner rather than later. So, what you need to do is surround yourself with people you can trust. Finding the right employees isn’t easy, but if you come up with good interview questions and talk to every candidate, you should be able to do it. Having a good team means you’ll be able to focus more on improving your operations and growing your business.

Keep the cash flowing

Ask any experienced entrepreneur, and they’ll tell you cash is crucial for startup success. Unless there’s money on your company’s bank account at all times, how are you going to pay your supplier and promote your business? Many startups even make profit but fail to bring in cash which ultimately leads to them having to shut down their operations. To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, think of ways you can reduce your expenses while your business is still in its early days. Talk to your supplier and see if they can give you a better deal if you sign a long-term contract with them. Asking your clients to pay you on time is a must.

Hire an accountant

In case you lack experience in managing the books of a business, hiring an accountant is recommended. Many startup owners try to manage their own books and deal with taxes themselves, but they end up wasting time and energy. Not to mention that making a mistake even costs them money. By relying on professionals such as those at Pherrus Financial Services, you allow yourself to focus on more important tasks and grow your company. The experts you bring in have enough experience in every field, and they’ll know exactly everything you need to do with your books and taxes.

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Encourage customers to come back

Consumers are usually excited about new startups being launched. However, even if they buy your product or service once, it doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to come back. Most entrepreneurs assume they will and focus on obtaining new customers. According to some reports, 65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers. With that being said, encouraging your customers to buy from you again is just as important as attracting new ones. A foolproof way to do this is to start a customer loyalty program. All you need to do is keep track of customers who keep returning and reward them with discounts or freebies.

Build a powerful brand

We’ve already mentioned how easy it is to launch a startup these days. But with so many companies out there, developing a brand that actually stands out isn’t easy. This is exactly what many entrepreneurs struggle with and you’ll probably have to put a lot of effort into it. It’s all about being unique and giving people a reason to engage in your brand. To get started, hire a graphic design company that’ll provide you with a logo that stands out from all the other ones in your industry. You can have them design graphics for your social media pages as well. Another smart thing to do is develop a brand voice that represents what your business is about.

Launching a startup comes with its challenges and not every new business is bound to make it. Follow the five tips we covered in this post and you’ll overcome some challenges every startup owner faces at some point.