Top 10 Reasons Why Only A Few Startups Succeed

A survey by Designhill revealed that an estimated 530,000 new businesses breathe to life each and every month. But 9 out of 10 startups go out of business soon after they launch. But the ones that survive, often make a dent in the biz world with their zero-hierarchy culture, passionate approach to everything, and high level of energy.

Startups is like a journey into the unknown. Quite expectedly, first-time entrepreneurs must remain ready to take on ambiguity, uncertainty and challenges as an adventure. For a successful startup, constant change is in the air and exploration is often the name of the game. These are just some of the many qualities that are deeply ingrained in the culture of a successful startup making it rise above the rest.

Here are 10 unbelievable reasons a startup succeeds to help you point your new business in the right direction.

1) Vision

Co-founder of Intercom, Des Traynor says, ‘meaningful companies are built upon a strong timeless vision.’ Truly, a clear and well-defined vision remains the driving force for startups and young businesses. It lets set goals and objectives that define your path and progress. It help you remain focused towards utilizing your energy, time and heart in achieving what you had aimed for.

It is essential that you communicate your vision – What is your company? Who do you exist?  What do you do? – to all your team members so that they too understand how to work and in which direction to steer in. Remember, vision keeps a leader on course during rocky times or unexpected setbacks.

Moreover, having a vision will let you organize your expenses since the very beginning. Always remember, each dollar counts, especially when you are a startup.

2) Speed

Wondering when to launch your startup or start the marketing process. The answer should be NOW!!! The most successful startups are the ones who get things started (or done) quickly and reach their milestone. The time when you launch your startup is quite important in determining the pace at which you out stand your competitors. Don’t spend countless hours trying to perfect the business plan or tinkering with the product pre-launch. Take views from public instead and get going.

Remember, speed is perhaps the most important factor today. Speed and not size wins. Therefore, never delay any processes and work till the time that particular process is complete.

Though it can be difficult but try and take decisions fearlessly for your startup and make the most of time. A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan next week. So, try and get things faster, make mistakes and learn from them for a better future.

3) Budget Masters

Efficient management of finances is key to the success of a startup. According to an article in nutcache.com, 82% of businesses close their doors because of inadequate cash management. So, it’s crucial to always keep a check on the cash flow in your company either yourself or through an accountant.

There are numerous expenses when you start a company, from money spent on travel to expenses on seminars, and keeping a track of your business income will help you prepare a realistic budget.  An article published in Entrepreneur states that there are many advanced tools that can streamline your accounting procedures, handling everything from billing to tracking.

It is simply the talent and skill of doing more with less that startups need to master. However, mastering your budget does not mean that you have to buy the lowest-priced product available in market. It is essential to find products and services for your business that are affordable for you. Businessnewsdaily notes that as you each month to save money, you’ll be able to start investing in bigger, better things for your business. For instance, instead of hiring a professional graphic designer, you could crowdsource your logo design through various crowdsourcing marketplaces these days.

4) Social Skills

Social skills help you do your best at work. If you have contacts with influential people of your industry, it helps you stay on the right path and also find investors for your businesses growth.  A report published in Tcworld.info states that the demand for employees with social skills is high among companies.

It is essential that startups have leaders that employees can look up to and get inspiration from. There are instances when people join a certain organization despite of salary cuts or no additional services etc., just because of the CEO or the leader. According to Theatlantic.com, social skills have the most value when it comes to the ability to work on a team, trading off tasks based on skill sets or ability.

Therefore, even simple social skills such as being nice to others and listening to others can contribute to the growth of your startup.

5) Discipline

Now, this is the most important ingredient when it comes to being successful – whether in life or business. You may have the best workforce, located right in the center of the city and spent thousands of dollars on marketing, all will fail without discipline.  Being disciplined offers you the tools you need to prioritize your business and the rest of your life, as all aspects of your lifestyle take a hit, and the need for balance is crucial at this stage, explains an article published in startupbahrain.

Self-discipline helps in creating a positive work atmosphere that ultimately helps in getting work done efficiently. Moreover, self-discipline is directly related to the self-esteem of a person. every time you discipline yourself to do something that you know you should do your self-esteem rises.

6) Determination

For a startup to succeed, it is a must for the business owner to be determined and focused. A determined leader keeps following his goals even if he is faced with hurdles during the journey. The journey of a business is full of ups and downs and determination is the only factor that can help its leader overcome the challenges.

Have you read Jim Collins “Good to Great”? He writes that if right people are seated in the right seats of the bus, the startup will eventually find its direction towards success. Determination and persistence is a key component to making this fact happen.

7) Ability to Adapt to Changes

Technologies are changing at a much faster rate than ever. Great startups are the ones that adapt to these changes fast and quick. A habit of always being ready to adapt your business to changes can lead to big breakthroughs.

You should launch your product or service as quickly as you can in the market. Take feedback from the customers and make changes your services accordingly. You must have hear this many times but there is always a room for improvement.  According to Entrepreneurs-journey.com,  embracing change, trying new things and growing in some ways are mandatory choices every entrepreneur must make.

8) Fundraising Skills

Cash is important to any business as blood is to human. No business can survive without adequate capital. Having sufficient capital is yet another key factor to run your business smoothly   and for the success of your startups.

The business owner, CEO or the leader of the startup should have the skills to be able to raise sufficient funds for the company. With so much technological advances, one can easily find plenty of crowdsourcing sites for fundraising on the internet and that too in short period of time.

However, make sure the pitch you send is straight to the point. Whenever you are pitching to investors, keep it short and informative and allow your true passion to shine through. TruConversion.com suggests you to go for YouTube Fundraising Cards. Keep such cards interesting and engaging.

9) Master of Time Management

With limited resources and staff, the success of the startup depends upon how you get things done and in how much time. You should be able to lead your team in a way that it is productive and effective in giving you more with less.  One worthwhile task carried to a successful conclusion is worth half-a-hundred half-finished tasks.

Having things to do will never be an issue for any entrepreneur but what one needs to be careful about is what to keep in priority and focus on.

10) Execution

Last but not the least, having an idea is just the beginning. The way you execute that idea will actually determine the success of your startup. Therefore, it is essential for any startup to employee some experienced employees so that they help in making decisions.

Putting plan into action efficiently and quickly can help a startup achieve heights. Execution represents a disciplined process or a logical set of connected activities that enables an organization to take a strategy and make it work.

Wrapping it Up!

To conclude, successful startups are the ones who never stop trying and are determined in achieving their goals. They are always in search of new opportunities to show their potential. They don’t shy away from their mistakes, in fact, fix them quickly and give it another try.  So, if you too have launched your startup or are planning to do, keep in mind these 10 tips that will help you archive new heights.