The majority of startups don’t make it past their second year. We hope that hasn’t scared you off the idea, because we’re about to tell you how you make it out of that majority. Starting a business requires courage. But it also requires quick thinking and quick feet. You need to sort these different parts of your business out quick if you don’t want to fall behind. Here are the hurdles you have to clear.
Your viability
This should really be done before you even think about getting the ball rolling. The very first thing you need to find out about your business is whether it even has a chance of working. Is the market there for it? If you have potential customers, who could already be providing to them? What is the added value your company will have that sets it apart? If you can’t answer these questions, you don’t have a viable business idea.
Your expertise
It’s not likely that you’re going to have the best of luck handling this alone. You should also consider who else should be a part of your team. If you’re lacking an administrative partner, you might find yourself too bogged down in the details. If you don’t have a salesman, you could have a tough time convincing investors. Furthermore some legal help could be also helpful when starting your company or in other specific cases and an experienced corporate lawyer could prove to be a very wise choice. Think about who else to invite on your team, even if it means sharing your baby with them.
Your visibility
Your business has to be visible long before it launches. You might have the most unique idea in the world, but if it’s not visible, it won’t make an impact. So, how are modern businesses standing out? It’s by developing a brand that communicates exactly what is different about them. Make use of the trends like search engine optimization and outsourcing. This will help you be professional and visible from the starting line.
Your money
As the lifeblood of your business, you need to be dedicated to looking after your money from the get-go. Set up an accounting checklist and having an irs tax problems attorney to contact will make a big difference. Then make sure you’re paying what’s due as well. Consider tax attorneys at MCC4Tax and similar businesses. They can make sure you know what you owe.
You might also consider hiring small business tax preparation services to professionally manage your business accounting and tax preparation tasks. You might have already been working with a professional to assist you with income tax return preparation in the past, you’ll just have to be ready as things will be quite a bit different given the fact that you will be running a business.
Your barriers
The barriers to entry in your industry pose a danger in a couple ways. Getting over those barriers is a big part of making sure your idea is viable. But building those barriers also helps you make sure competition isn’t coming in after you. One way to consider doing that is by protecting as much of your idea under intellectual property as possible.
Your future
A hurdle that a lot of smaller startups don’t expect is the hurdle of success. Success can be dangerous. It can bring too much demand that people aren’t able to deal with. They fail customers, they lose money and their business goes. So, as soon as you start to make money, you need to consider what your future holds. Build a scaling strategy, know what resources you need and figure out how you get those resources. That’s the last hurdle you’ll face as a startup.