7 Survival Strategies for Start Up Businesses

7 Survival Strategies for Start Up Businesses

Whilst owning a business can be a very lucrative endeavour for many, there is no denying that making your way to stable profits is an uphill climb. There are so many perils along the way that could place a start-up business very easily at risk of closing down, and it’s up to you as a business owner to make sure that you come equipped with the right tactics and strategies to see your start-up to success.

The team at Improve Business Solutions have been brainstorming and have come up with their own list of business strategies to help you along the way on your journey to making your business succeed. Find out what you should do to keep your start up business afloat with these 7 survival strategies for start up businesses.

  1. Work at It – As a start up it can be tempting to imitate other businesses in the market that don’t seem to require too much effort from their owners to keep revenues coming in. Keep in mind that businesses like these have most likely been established in the industry for a while, which is why operations are pretty much automatic now.

Work at your business start up and be as hands on as possible, this is vital especially in the early days. Working hard by using the correct strategies and implementing the right processes can help to increase the business’s value.

This article outlines 6 key strategies that need to be carried out in order to increase the value of the business. Working hard and putting your effort into the right strategies can help you to survive and then potentially grow into a bigger and stronger business.

  1. Know Your Budget – Some business start up fail because they don’t budget their revenues, profits, and expenses, they end up spending way more than they should. Don’t overspend and work with as little as possible to keep your fund growing. By using a number of software packages out there will help you to keep track of your budget and spending plus help you make sure that the money you are using is being utilised correctly.

Here are a few tools that are available and will specifically help you boost your start-up PR even though you may be working on a budget.

Another good example here of why budgeting strategies are vital and need to be used in order for your business to succeed. And here is an interesting read on planning and the importance of having a set budget in place.

  1. Reach Out – Your time as a start-up business is the best phase in the lifespan of a venture to reach out to your audience. Develop meaningful ties with your target market and earn a strong base of support to carry you to success.

Here is an article which provides tips for better Customer Relationship Management which is vital in order to gain and also keep customers.

  1. Get Social – Social media is a powerful tool, so be sure to leverage it. This marketing strategy won’t only get the word out, but it’s almost always free. Be sure to have a stable and regular social media strategy to help boost your popularity from the get-go of your start up business.

William Morrow gives a few tips and his insight on how to best utilise social media marketing in order to boost your business’s social activity.  Heather Fletcher provides some very useful information on how to use social media marketing effectively.

Also there is a list of 10 tools that are very useful for social media marketing. Have a look at this article to see which from the list of tools could  potentially be beneficial for you and your business

  1. Earn Loyalty – Not only do you need loyalty for your start up from your prospects and consumers, but also from your workers. Treat all of the key players of your business both internally and externally with respect and fairness so they stick with you no matter what happens. The loyalty of consumers is gained through effective and good consistent customer service, also when things go wrong you need to put your hands up and effectively remedy the situation.

Here is a good example of how A&W gained customers through customer service. Also here is an article that outlines customer service mistakes and how to avoid them. 

  1. Set Goals – It’s a good idea to start your business with a clear set of goals in mind and if possible attach time scales to them. This way, you can better understand where you stand and how far you’ve come, as well as where you should go and what you should adjust to meet future objectives. We found an interesting article which outlines why having goals and being confident in them could help you to succeed, have a read as we found it to be extremely useful.
  1. Take a Break – Your business will only be as healthy as you, so be sure to take pre-planned breaks when you need to so you don’t overwork yourself. This article explains .. “To succeed, chill out and take one thing at a time”. As soon as you feel yourself becoming too immersed in your start up and you sense that you are drowning, make arrangement to take a break even if it is just as small one as it will help you in the long run.

A few other business start-up related articles that we liked and feel that you may find helpful  are detailed below

  • Sujan Patel shares what he learned from his first 100 customers.
  • Co-founder and CEO of IglooBooks John Styring reveals the formula that helped his business scale fast
  • Neil Petch the chairman of Virtugroup share with us the 5 signs that show that your business has what it takes to make it and how you can build on it

At Improve Business Solutions, we always try to help and assist people with their pre-launch business ideas and start ups with free business support and advise where possible. If you require some advice, guidance and mentoring with any specific issues you have,  feel free to contact us and we will try our utmost to help you or point you in the right direction.

Another article and guide that we wrote that you may find helpful for you and your staff is on increasing your productivity and getting things done, especially those slimy tasks that keep slipping through, have a look and let us know if it was of any help, 7 steps on increasing your productivity.

We hope that you have found our quick  business start up survival guide useful and we wish you all the best with your business. Feel free to share this articles with those that you feel will find it helpful.

7 Easy steps to Increase Your Productivity

7 Easy steps to Increase Your Productivity

Most people think that being productive is all about keeping busy and working harder, actually it’s about working smarter and making the most of each day, so how do you increase your productivity?

At times some people seem to have twice the time; they have an uncanny ability to get things done. So to help you get more done in less time we at Improve Business Solutions sat down to think and by looking at our own habits and of those people that we work with and help, we have some easy hacks to share with you and for you to implement:

Stop Multi-tasking
Studies have shown multi-tasking restricts your productivity and that you get less done. Identify your Most Important Task (MIT) and focus on it for a couple of hours. Then move onto the next most important task.

Have an Email Routine
Don’t fall into the habit of checking your email throughout the day. Train yourself to schedule fixed times to process your emails quickly and efficiently. Decide your own frequency and stick to this routine.

Eat your daily Frog
Complete your worst task first thing in the morning. You know that list of tasks that you need to do but keep delaying, chose one for completion today and then move on to the stuff that excites and inspires you.

Prioritise tasks
Productive people are good at identifying tasks that are important, which can wait and what can be delegated. Otherwise little things that you think are urgent will get in the way of what really matters.

Put your phone down
Studies have shown that even hearing your phone buzz hurts your productivity by distracting you. When you have an important task / project to complete or meeting to attend put your phone on silent or hide it.

Touch a task once
Successful people when completing tasks try to “touch it once”. Whatever time the task requires deal with it there and then. Set a time for the task and deal with it then and once completed don’t come back to it.

Plan for tomorrow
As little as five minutes a day planning for tomorrow can yield significant benefits, gains in productivity and reduced stress. Once you have your plan set out, it’s all about executing it, make sure it’s realistic and achievable.

To implement them is not going to happen overnight as over many years bad habits have been ingrained into our working practices. Take one habit a week and work on it all week to bring it into your routine, once you feel confident that you have adopted this working practice or that it is now becoming your routine then focus on the next one.

At Improve Business Solutions, we have printed this in leaflet format and we keep it close to our desks as a reminder whilst working and it is proving to be extremely helpful.

Start taking your first steps to improving your productivity!

Improve your productivity poster