4 Key Challenges For StartUps And How To Overcome Them

According to Investopedia, ‘21.5% of startups fail in the first year, 30% in the second year, 50% in the fifth year, and 70% in their 10th year.’ Startups face plenty of challenges, and so the key is to prepare for these. To support your strategy, let’s consider a few key challenges, and how to overcome them.

1 . Financing Challenges

When you’re starting out as company money can be tight, if you run into financial problems early these can be difficult to solve. Thankfully there are several ways to overcome financial issues:

• Limit Expenses: Simple but crucial, startups should limit expenses as much as they can. Only take on a small number of staff; work remotely to save on rent and utilities; and use DIY strategies to run your own marketing campaigns. Download free software to support your operations, from accounting software to project management tools.

• Apply For Grants: There are several grants available for startups and small businesses. Check out options like the Ideas Cafe Grant, the FedEx Small Business Grant, The Visa Everywhere Initiative, or the Amber Grant.

2. Tackling The Competition

Some of your competitors will have been around for a long time, and so it’s easy to feel intimidated. Customers are often loyal to their long-time favorites and find it hard to trust new brands. To tackle your competition you’ll need to do a lot of research. Find out everything there is to know about your competitors, from their products and unique selling points to their content and brand story. You need to determine their strengths and weaknesses and create a plan to help you stand out. Customers need to see how you are different from your competitors. Establish what you can offer that they can’t, and communicate this to your audience.

3. Managing Your Time

Running a startup isn’t easy, you’ll have plenty to do, and you may not have a large team or a generous budget. Without proper time management, you’ll suffer productivity losses, and struggle to meet deadlines. To help you manage your time, it’s worth trying a few tools for project management and timekeeping:

• Liquid Planner: This software tool offers great features for project management, timekeeping, and collaboration. Using this app you can access time management tools, analytics for projects, baseline view and comms features.

• Teamwork Projects: With this great organizational tool, companies can stay on top of their projects, ensuring that time and resources are used efficiently. Using this tool you can access Gantt Charts, manage documents, collaborate, and create budgets.

4. Maintaining High Quality

Startups may lack the experience of more established businesses, so it’s important to keep a close eye on quality. To ensure that you are offering a quality product, gain plenty of customer feedback and use it to improve. It’s also important to work with the right suppliers, to source quality materials. When you are choosing your suppliers, prioritize those with plenty of experience in your industry. For instance, businesses looking to source chiropractic supplies can take a look at companies like ScripHessco. 

To maintain quality branding, ensure that you reflect the values of your audience. As well as this, improve your CST strategies to gain a wider appeal within the community. When you’re in the early stages of your business it’s helpful to get all the startup tips you can.

This is a contributed post.