Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you have either taken the plunge in to entrepreneurship or are seriously considering it. So, now you need to ask yourself: how ready are you? It’s no secret there are numerous risks involved in venturing out to start your own business. Especially if you haven’t done the necessary steps to ensure you’re hitting the mark. Some steps you will feel are a total waste of time. I mean… you KNOW that this product or service is “Fail-proof” right? How do you know that?  According to Forbes, 90% of startups FAIL and I’m going out on a limb and guess that each one of those, thought they had “THE NEXT BEST THING” too.  So, how can you fail-proof your startup so you don’t end up like another Forbes statistic? I work with clients all over the world and the first meeting is usually “How can I grow my business?” or “We’re not generating enough revenue, why?” As we dive deeper in to their business plan (if they even have one) there is a consistent pattern, they have missed the mark and forgotten to focus on the longevity and failure risks that could potentially stop them in their tracks to global domination. So, how can you shift your mindset to ensure you’ve focused on the longevity and failure risks before launching your business?  In this article, I want to address five ways you can help to fail-proof your startup:

1. Conduct an SWOT Analysis

To prevent failure, you must find out where you may fail. What better way to evaluate your business, than by conducting a SWOT analysis. Thinking about your business is one thing, but writing it down makes a huge difference. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. By conducting a SWOT analysis, you will understand the strengths and weaknesses, as well as identify upcoming opportunities and threats for your business. It’s a great way to look at your business from an internal and external perspective, allowing you to be better prepared for anything. I always talk to my clients about using business modelling canvases. If you are unfamiliar with the various ones available, this is a fantastic website to check out:  https://canvanizer.com/choose-canvas

2. Interview Your Customers

Another great way to evaluate your business is getting customer feedback. In the startup world we call this “Market Validation” and it is one of the MOSTimportant pieces to your business, and sadly, the one that is skipped or assumed  during the startup phase.  You need to know your potential customers and target market as well as you know yourself. So, this exercise will go a long way in helping you improve your business. There are a number of ways to reach out to your customers. You can either send out emails, conduct a survey, or (I recommend) getting out and asking people face to face.  With ample customer feedback available, you will be able to identify their reservations about your products, if they would pay for it (and at what price), and if you listen, this exercise can improve your product or services greatly.  Additionally, this is great practice to alter your marketing pitch, which can make it more effective and you could be picking up new potential clients and customers along the way. That in itself, is worth it!

3. Keep Track of Your Finances and Have Metrics

This one is a given. You want your business to survive and thrive, but you cannot do it without keeping track of your finances and knowing how to measure if you’re being successful.  If you haven’t yet, you should start right away! You should know exactly how much it costs to run your operations, how much revenue you need to generate, as well as how to measure success within your business. For your efforts, this exercise will allow you to better manage your finances, figure out if you can hire and keep staff, as well as project what you need to aim for in the coming months and beyond.  With financial statements  available and metrics understood, you can make calculated and well-informed decisions, ensuring success and preventing failure! Unfortunately, many startups do not keep track of their finances nor do they put metrics in place in the early stages of a business, which is another reason they get in to sticky situations.  Goals and metrics need to be set, you need to know what you’re trying to achieve, if you have achieved them, or what you can sustain until you achieve those goals.  Financing, budget planning, and metrics is KEY to success  and is also another place that most startups fail.  If you haven’t done this step – start it today!

4. Have a Disaster Plan or Worst Case Scenario

Although this topic is something you probably haven’t given much thought to, you should understand an emergency can occur at anytime. Perhaps you or a family member could get ill or an unexpected financial situation may arise that you didn’t plan for. In this scenario, you have to ensure your business runs smoothly and stays afloat, even if you’re not able to be there. So, think up an emergency plan for your peace of mind. Don’t avoid it because you think nothing bad will happen. Also, you should consider getting insurance for your business if it is available, as it will allow you to better manage your risk.

5.  Get Testing!

To see what works and what doesn’t, you should consider testing different areas of your business. For example, you can increase the rates of your product and see how customers are responding.  However, if you want to raise your price, you need to test the market and ensure that the “value” of your product is worth that price increase. Pricing and Value seem to follow each other quite closely, you don’t always have to be the lowest pricing product or service, but you want to ensure your product is seen as more valuable than a couple dollar increase.  This also falls under Market Validation – but I list it twice as I feel this is the most important piece to any startup. VALIDATE VALIDATE VALIDATE then TEST TEST TEST!

Hope this helps you! Any feedback and advice you’d like to give to others or questions you have – feel free to list them in the comments.