To fund a start-up means to risk a high failure rate. 20% of businesses fail in their first year and around 60% will go bust within their first three years. So, what are a few steps that you can take to reduce the chance of failure for your new business venture?
1. Get Hold of Your Cash Flow
Most businesses fail as a result of cash flow issues. Cash is the lifeblood of a business, so it is vital that you have a strong understanding of all financial aspects of your business including in-goings, outgoings, overheads, and wages. When you have a strong knowledge of your finances, you can find ways to make savings and maximise your bottom line.
2. Optimise Processes
Successful businesses are ones that run efficiently each day, so you need to make sure that all of your processes are optimised. It can be hard to streamline and improve processes, which is why many businesses find it best to outsource or use software solutions. For instance, you can easily optimise your payroll systems by finding a provider that offers specialised software.
3. Set Achievable Goals
Many entrepreneurs set unrealistic goals that can end up damaging the company. Success does not happen overnight, so it is important to set achievable yet challenging goals that will keep you and your team motivated and help you to feel success instead of failure. Goal-setting is one of the best ways to keep individuals and teams motivated and moving forward and these should be set for the short, medium and long-term and celebrated when they are achieved.
4. Make a Plan for the Future
It is impossible to predict what the future holds, and COVID-19 has proven this. Business owners should create well-thought-out plans for the future and have backup plans in place that would help them to quickly adapt in a difficult situation. Planning and being agile enough to make changes are critical for continued success in the business world and will also help to give you peace of mind knowing that you have a plan in place if things do not unfold as you had hoped for.
Hopefully, this post will give you a few ideas for ways to avoid failure with your new business venture. Launching a new business is exciting, but it is also daunting when you see just how common it is for a business to fail within 3 years. You need more than just a good business idea to succeed, and the above strategies should help you to survive the challenging early times with your business.
Steps to Reduce the Risk of Your Business Failing