The greatest problem with most startups these days is that people somehow get the wrong impression that starting out is the most difficult thing to do. Sure, gathering funds, developing a business plan, leasing an office and hiring people is tough, but it is just the beginning. While far from simple, most businesses still manage to get through this part only to fail later on. That may sound a bit confusing, seeing how a statistic shows that 9 out of 10 startups result in failure, it’s still far from being far-fetched. With this in mind, here are a few tips on how to avoid this grim fate and ensure the growth of your startup.
1. Establishing A Steady Cash Flow
The absolutely first thing you need to do in order to get a fighting chance is establish a steady cash flow. It usually takes somewhere between 6 months and 2 years for a business to become self-sustainable, and in the meanwhile, you will have to find a way to survive this critical period. One of the ways to do so is to sell your account receivables to an invoice company. Also, you can try to find another source of income, like getting a new roommate or even keeping your day-job. Finally, when the going gets tough, you might want to consider getting a bank or a private lender loan to get you through this rough patch.
2. Outsource To Survive
While there are clearly some parts of your job you will absolutely have to do in-house, making your business completely self-reliant usually isn’t an option for a startup. Training people for a high-skill proficiency position takes time, and even after they finish the training, they won’t have the experience to deal with some of the trickier situations. Then, there is the financial question of specialized software, adequate hardware and additional equipment you will need to provide for your department. In order to deal with those kinds of situations, you might want to outsource some non-production- vital departments like HR or even outsource your company’s IT support to experts.
3. Data-Driven Business Model
One of the greatest misconceptions of the business world is that all you need in order to make good business decisions is to develop a ‘gut feeling’ of a true businessman. Of course, with experience, you will learn how to better assess different professional situations, but now you also have analytical tools to do this instead of you. With them, you will be able to do thorough market research and make a more accurate data-driven business model instead of being forced to gamble with your company’s future.
4. Make Repeat Customers
As a substitute for spending your entire marketing budget on acquiring new customers, you might want to focus on retaining the old ones. According to the latest study, only 8 percent of all your customers are responsible for over 40 percent of your profit. Also, each time a person buys from you, there is an increased chance that they will come back. Furthermore, while first time buyers are usually timid with the amounts they are willing to spend on your website, return customers don’t hesitate to spend much more.
Conclusion
By establishing a steady cash flow, relying on experts to ease the beginning for you, doing proper market research, and making an effort to keep your loyal customers, you will ensure that your company is on the right path to success. Even though these tricks represent no more than the tip of the iceberg, they can help you get off to a good start.
I hope you enjoyed this article about tips to boost your lean startup growth with sales and growth-hacking tricks and tactics.
Interested in more articles about starting a business and growth hacking?
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