The road from plan to realization is a bumpy one. Having a great idea is only the first step on the journey to making it happen. However, there are so many other steps you will need to take. You will face a few obstacles, you will have to change your plan, and you’ll have to work very hard.
There are around 150 million startups in the world today, with 50 million new startups launching every year. On average, there 137,000 startups emerging every day. These are huge numbers by any standards. But how many startups tend to survive the violent waves of change that have completely transformed the very nature of today’s startup?
Challenges Faced by Startups
Here are some of the biggest challenges being faced by small business startups -
1. Limited Resources
A few decades ago, to launch a startup, you either had a big check or could raise an investment. Most self-funded entrepreneurs could not start. Today, approximately 137,000 businesses are found every day in the world. The cost of launching a startup is 1000% lower than it used to be 20-years ago. With open source technology and low-cost cloud-based tools, the barriers to launching a startup are at their lowest.
All in all, you must note that companies big or small can face capital constraints. It’s not only for self-funded companies or early-stage ventures. You have what it takes to acquire the funds you need to move forward. Beyond the reasons above, focus on how you can be customer-funded. The customer is the best investor any entrepreneur can have.
2. Fierce Competition
Competition is quite fierce today. There is always a competition going on between the giants. Competition poses one of the biggest challenges for the survival of startup businesses. And if you have an online business startup, the competition gets more challenging. To survive in this competitive business environment that covers both traditional and online businesses, the startups need to play aggressively and punch above their weight to gain the much-needed recognition amongst the clusters of ever-challenging and expanding businesses.
3. Inefficient Marketing
Perhaps the single biggest reason why so many startups fail is that they don’t know how to handle their marketing startup challenges. To avoid this problem, you might want to outsource your marketing to a more professional team. Also, you can’t afford to focus exclusively on online marketing, which is something that a lot of entrepreneurs do nowadays. Go for promotional products and old-school advertising (newspapers, radio, television), as well.
4. Inadequate Team
When making the team, you need to understand that performance and resume are not everything. On paper, a person could perform admirably; however, if the person in question is a backstabber, a rival or a self-proclaimed star, the chances are that they’re more trouble than they’re worth. You see, there are some types of people who can ruin your business quite effortlessly, and you, as an entrepreneur, need to learn how to avoid them like the plague.
5. Winning Trust of Customers
Customer is the king. And that’s right. Winning a customer’s trust is one of the most critical challenges that businesses in general – and startups in particular – face today. With a delighted and loyal customer base, startups can scale and make progress towards excellence. To win customers’ trust and loyalty, startups need to work aggressively to implement a customer-centric working philosophy, to enable them to succeed in their pursuit of attaining the height sustainable growth and progress they desire to achieve in this tech-savvy and challenging business world.
This brings us to the end of this blog. It is a fact that there is no single stop solution to the surmounting challenges facing the startups in this age. You don’t have a magic wand either that can help you solve the so-called difficulties overnight.
To face and tackle the so-called challenges of a violent business world, startups need to be resilient and focus on keeping their integrity intact against all odds. I have only covered seven of the biggest challenges facing the startups in this age. Now, it’s your turn to contribute to this blog with your suggestions and ideas in the comments’ section below.
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