5 Mistakes That Can Kill Your Startup

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Photo Credit: iStock.com/Artist's ojogabonitoo.

A great startup needs some elements which should be there to let it grow. These days startups are competing aggressively with one another to mark their presence in the business arena. Following are a few mistakes which should by all means be avoided by startups and entrepreneurs if they want their brand to be successful. If you don’t want your startup to turn into a waste, then you should definitely continue and learn which mistakes should be avoided while establishing and running a startup.

1 – Hanging On To A Vague Idea

Most startups are based on very ambiguous and unclear ideas. This happens because of lack of understanding of the business dynamics. There are many startups which could not survive even for a year because they lacked the clarity of idea of the business. Without concentrating on the niche and overlooking the fundamental values and practices of business world, a startup is destined to fail. To run a startup you should always have a definite idea which is essential and significant for the market, so that it can mint money in the later stage.

Initially, you need to invest your time, effort and capital to get the cycle running to a point from where the startup can earn you money back. Successful businesses are founded on great ideas. A business without a genuine and significant idea is nothing but waste of valuable resources. Don’t just hang on a thought or equivocal idea, this might eat your start-up like termite.

2 – Relying On Yourself Only And Not Research

Research is the key to all successful businesses. Most common mistakes that entrepreneurs make is that they don’t rely on research and always go with their gut feeling. There is no problem in going with your gut feeling but if an action is backed by authentic research, it increases the chances of success. So, always try to create surveys which have the potential to convert into something beneficial for your business. A good and well-designed survey can increase the ability of a startup to not only become successful in the market but it also gives a chance to understand the market need.

Once the market need is tapped by any entrepreneur, it becomes close to impossible to fail. So, what are you waiting for, create surveys and increase your response rate, this way your startup will never fail.

Related: 6 Sure Shot Ways To Boost The Survey Form Response Rate

3 – Overlooking Social Media

Social media platforms are studded with users. These users are actually your target audience. In case you want your startup to become famous, all you need to do is establish a connection and dialogue with your target audience over social media. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn etc. all you need to do is start engaging your audience. There are numerous startups which overlook and neglect the power of social media and the result is that they fail terribly in the business arena.

Today, customers are getting vocal and participative. It is in a startup’s best interest to engage users online, through social media. This is a practice that is followed by almost every successful startup. The outcome is very positive. Don’t kill your startup’s success by hiding behind, come out and raise your voice over social media.

4 – Trying To Please Everyone

One of the basic reasons why most startups awfully fail is that they take every piece of suggestion and advice way too seriously. Haven’t you heard “too many cooks spoil the broth”? This is exactly what happens when an entrepreneur listens to everyone. One shouldn’t be easily deviated from the main object and goal. Plus, once you make a plan, execute it, don’t alter or change it. This might cause unwanted results which aren’t fruitful for the startup. For a startup, what matters is the team and its mutual decision in the direction of brand’s success. It’s good to listen to all but do what you and your team think is correct for the brand.

5 – Missing Passion And Focus

Your startup is sure to go down if you are not passionate about it. It’s always the passion which supersedes and lifts your brand to another level. If a startup is missing focus and passion from its team and owner then there are high chances that the business will not be able to make it. This is alarming as well, who would want to support any startup where the elements of passion and focus are missing. It is in best interest of the startup to have a team that is significantly focused and highly passionate for the growth of the business.

About The Author

Kelvin Stiles is a tech enthusiast and works as a marketing consultant at SurveyCrest – FREE online survey software and publishing tools for academic and business use. He is also an avid blogger and a comic book fanatic.