Every year, approximately 660,000 start-up businesses are launched in the UK. Of these, around 60% will go bust within the first three years and 20% will close within the first three months. Entrepreneurs up and down the country are ploughing all their time, energy and money into ventures which statistically, aren’t likely to survive in the long term. But that’s not to say it’s all doom and gloom.
In this article, we will explore the things you need to know if you’re going to make it as a successful business.
The idea
What are you going to do? Do you have an idea that will set the world alight or are you simply looking to do something which has been offered countless times before, but better? Many people hold back on pursuing their business dreams due to waiting on an elusive ‘lightbulb moment’, which in many cases, may never arrive. If you’re not looking to reinvent the lightbulb, look for a gap in the market and try to fill it.
The competition
Whether you’re looking to provide a service in an already saturated market or your aim is to deliver something totally different, you need to evaluate who the competition are, what they’re doing and how your service differs from theirs.
The delivery
Once you know what you want to offer, you then need to consider how you are going to deliver it. For example, do you have the capabilities to fulfil big orders or a plan in place should they occur? There may be parts of your service which you can’t personally deliver and need to outsource to another agency. Many budding entrepreneurs want to take on as much as possible to limit expenses, but this approach can quickly lead to burnout. To retain a high standard of quality, you need the facilities and support to make it happen.
The customer
Who is your customer and why do they need what you’re offering? You need to be able to confidently answer this question if your business is going to succeed. Ensure that you fully understand your target markets, including their pain points. Is it something they want, or something that they truly need? Try to limit down your target audience to a particular group. If your target audience is ‘everyone’, it will be difficult to create targeted branding and marketing without becoming generic and soulless.
The marketing
This brings us to the next point, marketing. Consider how you will reach the audience that will be interested in your product. It’s unlikely that at a start up level you will have a dedicated marketing team, so in many cases you will need to reach out to professional marketers to help you define and execute your marketing strategy. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing, every start up business has different needs and resources. That’s why as Skein, we work closely with both new and established businesses to help get the most out of their marketing. To find out more about how we work, get in touch today.
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