10 Startup Truths You Wish You Knew Earlier
So you have a start-up? What are those things you wish you knew earlier before starting? If businesses come with undo buttons, what will you undo?
Here are some of the things you wish you knew earlier! These points below will help you avoid some mistakes in running your startup!
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Sorting out your Legal right from the start: It is essential to have a clear legal structure right from the beginning and sort out critical issues like equity among founders, roles and responsibilities, trademarks and business registration, operating plan, etc. Doing this early on helps you avoid legal problems.
Picking the right co-founders: if your co-founder doesn’t have the similar values, ethics, and commitment as you have for your business, then there is the possibility of the company being affected. Co-founders are very important, and you should take your time to find someone with complementary skills and someone or people who can bring something to the table.
Hire the right people: Hiring shouldn’t be sentimental; you should hire people who are fit for the positions available. Your team must be dedicated and willing to bring value to your start-up. Also, consider the future jobs that would exist and not just the ones today in your start-up.
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Getting feedbacks: Feedbacks from the right people are one of the ways to find out how your business or product is fairing. Feedbacks help you know where you need to improve and what people’s needs are as well as how you can better serve them.
It takes a while: Success doesn’t happen overnight, and you have to be willing to work at it. Don’t look for fast and ineffective ways to do things when you can go the right route. You have to BUILD your business.
Access to capital is not always the problem: Most times what is standing between you and your next funding opportunity is the right information. With the right information, you can get access to different funding opportunities in your industry or region. And so, research more and network to find funding opportunities for your start-up.
Networking is key: If you are shying away from networking, then you aren’t ready to run a successful business. As the saying goes, Your Network is your Networth! Look at your contacts and find ways to leverage them. Research and find important networking events in your industry that can connect you with key people who can help you and your target audience.
Learn from your mistakes: If you fail at something; learn from it. What are those things you can learn from your failures and how can you use them to better your start-up in the future?
Keep Learning, Keep Evolving: You don’t just launch a product and stay there; you can have to find ways you can do better and grow constantly. In addition, you need to keep learning and improve yourself. Don’t just improve your start-up that you forget to enhance yourself or invest in yourself.
Pay to Play: If you want to grow your business you have to invest in your business. If you do not believe your business is going to be great enough that you invest in it; why did you start in the first place?
We would love to hear from you about your own experiences! Do drop your comments below!
