Wherever you look around, you will find hundreds of people with ideas and wanting to make a mark of their own in the world with the next “big idea”. But it is truly very few, who can make their impact with their dedication and hardwork. Hearing Steve Jobs’ story or Mark Zuckerberg’s few crazy seconds of courage may excite you and make you want to start your own business, but hold your horses. It’s not so easy. There are various factors that go in while laying the foundation for a startup. Barring the enthusiasm and excitement, a lot of work goes in to make an idea truly successful. Here are some-
1. Define your vision
At first, everything may excite you. You would want to do 10 things at one go, but slow down your process. Stop, think and chalk down what exactly do you want to change or improve? Be passionate about your idea, define it well and write down how you’d go about achieving it, whilst dividing short term and long term goals.
2. Learn to track data
The one thing that’s growing faster than people ideating, is the explosion of social media and Google Analytics. Track key metrics and data from the launch of your website to gain valuable insights into how people are reacting and interacting with your product online. What’s better than Google analytics? Direct feedback from your customers to give you a true understanding of where your product stands in the real world.
3. Be scalable
Various startups at the beginning make the mistake of taking on too many employees. One must remember that the higher the staff, higher the expense and higher the burn rate. “Too many cooks spoil the broth” is a famous saying for a reason. The more people get involved, the harder it is for everybody to be on the same page. Don’t always have the habit of scaling up, scaling down is vital as well.
4. Know your customer well
One of the vitals in laying the foundation of a startup is knowing your customer well. Include specific and unique characteristics of your customers, things that would really connect them with your product and work on those advantages.
5. Hire a trustworthy accountant
With you running around getting operations in order, meeting potential investors and completing deadlines, your account books may bite the dust, which is why you need to hire an account that you can trust. Not to forget, that a good account will help you with tax planning, will know the state laws, sales tax issues, etc. Your accountant must be familiar with startup venture laws.
6. Strong but simple name
It may seem like the easiest thing to do but coming up with a name that is impactful and still feels home to customers may keep you up at night. A right name will go a long way and will show what exactly your company is about. It’s always good to sit down and chalk down a list of potential names. Remember it must be easy to spell, easy to pronounce and definitely easy to remember.
7. Getting licenses and permits in place
Along with a business license, it is important to get your other licenses and laws in place. Make sure your licenses are applicable in your statue and research on every law before you start a business. Don’t assume a law doesn’t apply to you.
There are various other steps in order to give your dream idea that boost, like finding a tech expert or the necessary actions for launching a website. But once you have these steps noted, be patient and extremely focused in order for your big idea to become the next big thing!
Lay a strong foundation of your start-up by choosing business centre in Andheri West, Mumbai or shared office space in Hosur Road, Bengaluru.
