In physics class, the teacher spoke about how getting a ball rolling drains more energy than just keeping it going once it’s on the move. I think that most business owners will agree that they were onto something.
Running a business is never going to be easy. But a lot of people will agree that the most challenging aspect is that initial push that gets a venture up and running in the first place.
This year in the US, a new business will be launched every single minute. For every one of those start-ups someone will have found the determination and pulled together the necessary resources to attempt to overcome the obstacles that a start-up can throw at you. Those challenges come in myriad forms; here we look at how to fight your way through those issues to fully establish your venture.
Vital advice
The trouble is that for all their energetic enthusiasm new start-ups are vulnerable to any number of pitfalls. Some of them are relatively predictable and can be headed off early – a good accountant will help you steer clear of bad financial decisions and keep you out of trouble with the authorities, a savvy marketing specialist will keep you focused on where the customers are at – and, of course, there is plenty of useful (vital!) advice to be had from the Small Business Administration. Although it may not always feel like it, there a plenty of people willing you to succeed.
Devil is in the detail
It’s often the little things that can suddenly turn critical. Who’d have thought small businesses would have become the top target for cyber criminals? According to the latest stats, almost half of all small businesses were targeted by hackers last year. These threats can put you out of business before you know what hit you. All it takes is one rogue email. We are all in the hackers’ sights.
So if you’re planning to do business online, along with the good advice of accountants, marketers, HR specialists, and lawyers, you’ll need to ensure you’ve set up a high grade web application firewall (WAF) to safeguard your website and applications from any attack. In the modern business landscape, web security is just another one of those uncompromising necessities.
Feeling the love – and counting it
Across the business world there is no shortage of advice for newbies. Much of it is highly specific, and plenty of it comes for free, but there is one fundamental that should always be at the forefront of a new entrepreneur’s mind.
As passionate as you may be about your ‘baby’ you have always to remember what it is. However, much love is involved in what you’re doing, it’s the numbers that matter most. Of course it makes sense to listen to as much advice as you can, but even as you remind yourself to be a critical listener, it is also vital to make sure you are not just taking in the things you want to hear.
Starting a business may mean following your heart – but running one successfully is a lot more cold-blooded. The passion may be what gets things going, but it’s a clear mind and a more cautious set of energies that will keep it moving forwards.
