Listen to the report
These days, the rush to start a startup appears to be far more wild than lust for thought. Glamor of entrepreneurship everywhere, everyone became he seeks to carry the title of "founder" ( Founder 's ) something, teenagers and young people with millions of entrepreneurs standing up theaters to deliver lectures. A huge entrepreneurial luster blinds the eyes, and pushes everyone to go to self-employment and founding companies without studying, and most importantly: without any knowledge of the dark side, you are black from the moon.
It does not mean that you have a good idea and some of the money that you see fit to finance it that you have enough to establish a successful startup; According to statistics, more than 50% of startups fail in the first four years since their establishment, despite the enthusiasm of their owners in the beginning. (1)
According to many reports, there are a set of basic elements that, if absent, it is certain that your company will fail in its early years. Now we'll assume you have an idea that you think good, and you have a minimum of funding. Well, whatever your level of enthusiasm and funding, it is best to delay the startup of your startup company for a while when you find yourself lacking these elements. (2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8)
Many start-up entrepreneurs are rushing to create their own companies based on a broad ambition to start and operate without the help of a clearly defined written plan. Mostly, the justification used by these is that the idea is completely clear and that there is no need to waste time writing a comprehensive " Business Plan ", dividing the project into clear implementation stages, and defining the tasks of the founders, workers and employees, and other details that the plans carry. the work.
In recent years, an unjustified claim has emerged that preoccupation with writing a comprehensive business plan is neither modern nor necessary, but rather it consumes a lot of time. If this suit appears before you, do not believe it. A comprehensive written plan of action is the best way to ensure that your first project that you aspire to establish will avoid failure, and is the best possible way to turn your ambitious ideas still in the air into real, realistic action with minimal errors and slippages.
In other words, a carefully written work plan is the first cornerstone that must be focused on putting it very carefully, otherwise it will be very unlikely that you will go to a dead end, given that if you do not specify your destination from the beginning, it is obvious that you find yourself finished to a different place Exactly when you thought you were going.
A project - that is, a project - whether it is a technical start-up or a traditional project, whether it is a for-profit or non-profit organization, must generate enough profits to cover the costs of operating it first, then profits accrue to its founder second. Even non-profit organizations must make a Revenue , either from the outlets that provide this profit, through donations, or otherwise.
It is necessary to fully have an idea about the profit model of the project, which is known as "going into business model" ( the Business Model ). What are the ways in which the project will win the money that is recycled again to cover the costs of its operation, without continuing to drain the money from your own pocket to finance it, and of course without continuing to drain the funds of the financiers or investors - in case you were able to obtain financing from one side -.
If the profitable model of your project is not crystal clear, or if the product or service you provide leads to a cumulative loss of money, either because of the weak profit channels themselves or the inability of consumers to buy the product or service, then what is certain is that this project will only survive Easy time, several weeks, months or even years, and the end result is that you will have to close it after it drains a lot of money from your pocket.
The idea of a "million dollar" that most entrepreneurs claim to possess and that they are in the greatest enthusiasm for is actually an idea that has a value of no more than zero. As long as this idea is trapped in the mind, and there are no clear implementation mechanisms that transform it from a mere idea in the mind of its owner to a realistic project on the ground, it cannot be priced at any number, regardless of whether the idea is genius and new.
A distinct idea alone is not worth anything, the most important of the idea is the ability to apply it correctly. Therefore, one of the most important necessities before making the decision to establish a startup in any field of any kind is to define the entrepreneur for his capabilities in the ability to convert this idea into clear implementation steps, and take difficult decisions and high risks to implement these procedures. In other words, if you are not "technically" ready to take the executive measures that transform the idea into reality, and if you are not "psychologically" ready to go through difficult times to follow up on the implementation of these mechanisms, it is better to postpone the project a little.
The word " Niche " is a word of French origin that is frequently used in the working language, meaning: the target segment of the market. Or in other words: the specialized market in which your product or service is offered, and the level of presence of customers and consumers in this segment that is expected to be bought. Of course, the importance of identifying the Niche becomes more important for small startups because it is they who guarantee a greater number of clients.
Often times, the entrepreneur decides to launch his startup company in Nitesh very limited, just because the idea in his head is very liking him and feels enthusiastic towards it, without sufficiently testing its capabilities and its compatibility with market opportunities. Does this product have a large target audience? Does it provide a new service, quality, or a different level of efficiency that makes the segment that it targets from customers sufficient to receive it, and thus buy the product or service, and then the wheel of profits revolves enough to cover the expenses in the short and long term? In short: It is necessary that you conduct research market ( market Research ) extensively to make sure that the idea is owned by a viable first, and that it is already the market needs a second, and that the market segment that can target you will ensure a coherent level of profit making company will continue to survive.
One of the biggest risks to startups is that the market in which it is decided to play is overly crowded with competitors, or vice versa, completely empty of competitors. If you decide to start a startup in a specific area, and you find that this market is completely free of competitors, then this is not a good sign as some think, but in fact it may be a warning sign for you that this lake is originally free of fish, which is why it made it free of Hunters.
During the research phase of the market ( Market Research ) If you find that the scene is too crowded, or -aly Anakad- that completely empty arena, these signals are quite clear that it is dangerous to degrade Rahalk in this particular market and start fishing. The best place to start fishing is that market that has a limited number of competitors - even if they are strong competitors - because it guarantees you two things: that there are fish already in this lake, and that the limited competitors allow you to compete for a portion of these fish - even if it is Limited installment - then expand later.
Fierce competition in the market is an indication of the high levels of risk of your project continuing - unless you are highly prepared for it highly - and the absence of competition completely in the market is a warning sign that the fishermen have passed through here and did not find fish, unless you have different methods of attracting fish And catching it in this stagnant pond.
When you start your startup, it is out of the question to hire a team of experienced international experts in this field, unless your financing is significant and allows you to use a highly qualified team. However, in most cases, startups start with a group of employees with at least average competence and experience, in a way that helps implement the steps to transform the company from an idea on paper to a profitable reality.
In fact, investors, financiers and risk financing companies usually finance "people", not ideas. The investor always searches for the team that carries a degree of real experience that guarantees him turning the idea into a strong startup when he gets the required investment, because only experienced people can turn ideas into reality.
If you are launching your first project and do not carry the expertise necessary to manage it significantly, it is necessary to include one of two things: Either your founding partner has sufficient experience in this field in a way that tells you what needs to be accomplished, what can be postponed, or you resort to Hiring a team that includes the minimum level of expertise required to implement the project with the least amount of errors and obstacles. But if you miss the three elements, you do not carry the necessary experience, and you do not have a partner with the necessary experience, and you cannot employ people with the necessary experience, so do not start this project until after you achieve these elements.
Writing a solid business plan and enthusiasm for a particular idea is one thing, and putting together a comprehensive marketing plan is another thing, whatever the product or service you offer is excellent or traditional, the secret is all of your ability to market it through the right marketing arms through which you reach your target segments in the markets.
At the present time, marketing is no longer limited to the usual means of marketing, but rather includes various platforms through which products can be marketed and the brand promoted further through new media currently available that was not available in previous decades. Thus, viral marketing methodologies are now more widely available to reach customer and consumer segments more easily than in the past. What is important is that the marketing plans be very clear from the first moment of launching the project, including budgets, market research, advertising, and others.
In general, if you do not have a clear, independent and comprehensive marketing plan, starting with the use of digital marketing, traditional marketing, advertising and selling mechanisms, and other various marketing methods that ensure the product is spread as widely as possible, then delay the project a little.
Entry into the world of entrepreneurship takes a long time, and getting out takes only moments. When a novice entrepreneur encounters the usual difficulties in this world, his reaction is to either stay, persist, persist, learn from his mistakes and desperately try to reach the beach of salvation, or his reaction is to surrender and take the decision to close the company and liquidate it and return again to the safe and trouble-free world of employment.
If you do not have the ability to work throughout the day, not just work for eight hours, and if you do not have the ability or patience to accept failures and problems and make difficult decisions and experience bleeding from losses, as well as movement, movement and travel and perhaps give up on things that you considered essential in Your entertainment lifestyle, it might be better for you to postpone the launch of the project until another time when you are more patient, enduring and following.
In the end, there is a big difference between ordinary mistakes that startups fall in the beginning of their journey that allows them to develop, amend, and gain experiences to achieve great success later, and the major mistakes that may lead to hindering the company's entire activity, and to include it within the frightening 50% of the entire project’s collapse. The first type of faults are often errors in driving a ship, while the second type is errors in building the ship itself.