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Start Ups ………………. What You Need to Know

Given our current environment of COVID19 and it’s mostly negative effects on businesses large and small across the globe, there has been a multitude of start ups that were born due to the pandemic as business owners saw the writing on the wall and began thinking outside the box how they could save their businesses.

Or, how they could start a new business so as to have multiple streams of income going forward into 2021.

What’s the best way to approach the whole start up operation anyway?

I’ve seen everything from people thinking if you start the business people will come running, to just jumping into a great idea without any, and I mean zero, planning, to careful and deliberate planning in the form of vetting potential partners for suitability and the crafting of business plans.

I’ve also seen careful and deliberate courting of sponsors and investors with productive results, and I’ve seen haphazard last minute attempts at the same thing with horrendous results for the start up.

Most start ups don’t really have a clue how to proceed simply because there are too many moving parts and too many incidentals that can get in the way, so it becomes such a jumbled mess everyone ends up swinging by the seat of their pants and making it up as they go along.

Not exactly an orderly progression to building a solid business that way is it?

As start up business specialists for the past 20 years, despite changes in technology and tools throughout the years, here’s a few things we feel that you need to know.

  1. Pick your partners (if any) very carefully. Make sure everyone is on the same page about goals, focus, division of duties, timeframes, and more.
  2. Implement a system for communication – a CMS, CRS, simple calendar, whatever will help everyone stay focused, on track and on schedule.
  3. This is a business, not a new romance. A business must be dealt with unemotionally and neutrally. Save the emotions for the romance.
  4. Set realistic goals. Set a realistic operating budget. Be prepared to be flexible, yet stay realistic.
  5. There will always be unexpected or higher than expected expenses. Make sure your budget can accommodate these fluctuations.
  6. Do not try to do everything yourself in order to save money. Vet and hire professionals to handle what is outside of your realm of knowledge and expertise.
  7. Remember that you (and your partners) are there to RUN YOUR BUSINESS, NOT be jacks of all trades and masters of nothing.
  8. Make a business plan. In several phases. Present, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 5 years out.
  9. If looking for / needing investors and sponsors, give your start up adequate time for proposals; courting your sponsors / investors, and being able to answer to them.
  10. Re-evaluate what works and what’s now working in phases. Be prepared to evolve. Just like all living things……… no evolution, you become extinct.

If you think, in your wildest dreams, that by sheer force of nature you are going to “make” everything happen when you want it to, you’re in for a sorry surprise. Everything takes time. What matters is that you use the time you have to plan properly, brainstorm, write things down, play Devil’s Advocate just to make sure you are on the right path, and remember, it’s not enough to survive. In order for your start up to be a success, you have to thrive, not just survive.

Visit our Services page to see all of the soup to nuts services we offer your small business or startup!

Contact us today to learn one on one how we can help you and your small business or start up to launch or re-launch successfully and to not only survive but also thrive!

Call or text us today at 201.753.1677 or 201.523.4332 to take your business to the next level of success!