5 challenges your start-up will face
Starting your own business is a bumpy and challenging road. Before you begin your start-up journey, it’s important to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead so you can face them head on.
Customers
For any start-up the first step to success if knowing everything there is to know about your target market, from the problem you’re trying to help them overcome and their shopping habits to their use of technology and even their marital status. This ensures your marketing is targeted to reach the right people with a message that’s crafted to fulfil their needs exactly.
Competition & market environment
In the business world knowledge is your best friend. It’s incredibly important to do your research about the market you are trying to penetrate, especially your competition. Ask what are they doing? Who are they targeting? Where do they advertise? A thorough knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements for your industry and the current and projected economic environment is also important. An investor will only listen to well informed and knowledgeable entrepreneurs.
Brand identity
When you think about your favourite brands, what do you picture? No doubt it’s their logo if nothing else. The most successful businesses have an instantly recognisable brand with consistent colouring, logo, fonts and messaging. Such consistency is vital to ensure you stand out from the crowd and that your customers can instantly recognise you in the plethora of voices that saturate the market. Many start-ups collapse because they fail to recognise the importance of establishing a unique identity and USP.
Money matters
Cashflow is, of course, one of the biggest obstacles start-ups face. Rigorous budgeting, solid funding and contingency plans for inevitable problems are vital to helping make sure you have enough cash to keep your business running smoothly.
Hiring staff
Bringing other people into your business is daunting. Know your weaknesses and hire someone who fills the gaps in your skill set. Take your time with the decision, a person with all the right qualifications and experience may seem great on paper but if their values don’t align with the direction of your vision and company culture, it will cause potentially costly problems down the line. At Wessex Dragons we facilitate the growth of great ideas with our video-based pitching platform, a simple way for those hoping to raise capital for their ventures to meet investors looking for their next big investment. To learn more, contact us today.
