Having a start-up of your own is no more an uncommon thing. But sustaining it is a challenge at which many fail. To find that right balance between product, market, capital and employees is not a cakewalk. But do not feel dejected as failures are the stepping stones to success. Edison failed 1000 times before inventing the electric bulb. When asked about it, he said that he discovered 1000 ways by which a bulb cannot be made! Achievers need to have that kind of an attitude.
If your startup is on the verge of extinction and you are thinking of giving up on it then take a deep breath and rewind a little bit. The solution is hidden in the problem itself.
Two simple and best strategies to pump life back into your dying startup is are
- Re-evaluation
- Redefinition
- Re-evaluation
Before taking any other hurried step re-evaluate the whole business first. This is crucial for the healthy growth of the company?. Re-evaluation helps in finding the root cause of the problem. It is basically self-assessment. The problem should be known first to find its correct solution. While re-evaluating keep in mind the following points.
- Vision
Is the company going in the right direction? Deviation from the determined path leads to chaos and ultimately failure. Focus is necessary. Check whether it has stayed up to its purpose, whether the right services and products are being delivered to the customers.
- Employees
The people who work for you are of prime importance. Your prosperity lies in their happiness. Workplace environment should be friendly and relaxed. Everybody is already enough stressed these days, work shouldn’t add to it. Are they able to deliver their 100%? For that right people must be hired for the appropriate job profile. Check for any moles who are leaking your trade secrets. Ditch the rotten apples!
- Market
Business will prosper if the right audience is targeted. Once you have found the perfect audience for your product then work on customer satisfaction. Happy customers will lead to increase in repeat purchases and the company’s reputation too will grow. The trust factor is very important. Customers are difficult to please. Competition cannot be eliminated completely. Give time. Be patient. Customers will soon flock towards you.
- Product
Product is the face that represents a company in the market. Is it unique? Is there no one else providing the same service at a better price? If these questions have positive answers then this is not your problem area.
- Process
Process should be cost effective and efficient. The business structure should be aimed at producing high-performance products and services. Policies shouldn’t be hindering the growth of the company.
- Money!
Finances, capital, inputs, costs all mean the one and the same thing, money! This is the most important factor to be considered?. Businesses fall down because of improper utilization of money. Shortage of money results in ugly cost cutting strategies which bring only loss to the company. Check whether cash is flowing in or not. Is the company in a loss making condition? Are you too indebted?
Once re-evaluation is done, the problem area will be known. The work is difficult till this point only. After that, all the failing startup needs is a bit of redefinition! Then be it financial crunch or dissatisfied customers or employees, every problem has a solution.
- Redefinition
After the problem is sorted out, start working on it. This is when the whole face of the company is changed, new plans out to action.
Life is full of small and big bumps. These little bumps make us who we are at the moment. Look around. Every face has a story to tell, a story of their hardships and how they have managed to sort their lives despite all the upsets of life. Every failure is a story of your commitment and determination to do your task and not give up instead.
If everything in life comes easy to you, you will never learn anything. So, the more ‘waves’ the sea has, the better you get at sailing. Everything takes experience and patience.
Never treat challenges as obstacles in your life, use them instead to build character. Every experience polishes our personality and makes you better.
Just because the sea is calm and you are able to control the boat, you cannot call yourself a professional. It takes a stormy experience to realize that the practice you had in the calm seas cannot make your sail in the rough waters smooth. A skillful sailor is one who pushes through the storm and refuses to give up, someone who is able to manage to move forward.
Sometimes a bad incident hits to open our eyes to the good things and makes us realize their worth. We need to appreciate what we have, and let go of things which hold us back.
Also, have ambitions. Wish for the impossible. If you wake without a goal, go back to sleep. The passion for something is what keeps you going. Cut down the excuses and make sure you get up and do it. NOW. Because there would always be the ‘later’ time.
Keep on checking yourself. Keep on motivating yourself. Mistakes are opportunities. Look at them, own them, grow from them and move on. Do better, be better.
If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.
Never limit your playtime, even if your brain is telling you otherwise. All of your best stuff comes from it if you allow yourself to remain open to the unknown.
Expand your horizons.
‘There’s nothing we really need to do that isn’t dangerous.’ Do the things that scare you on a regular basis. ‘Cause on the other side of fear lies freedom.
Success does not come easy. It takes an effort to reach the top. If everything was served to us on a silver platter, we would never bother to learn anything new at all. We learn when we make a mistake when we break a pattern when we experiment and fail. We learn not when we do everything right or the way the society wants it to be done.Without failure, success has no meaning. Behind every successful
Without failure, success has no meaning. Behind every successful attempt, there are many unsuccessful attempts.
Hope this article helps and guides you through all your problems.