As a start-up, the early days are nothing but a struggle. A start-up is like a toddler, unable to communicate but always making mistakes. The euphoria and excitement of starting a new business often overshadow the first year. By the second year, there are concerns when the expected profits are not coming as projected. Of course, the entirety of an entrepreneurial journey is full of storms but looking through your cloud accounting software for an inkling of profit is always saddening.  Just like many have done, you can swim through the storm by answering the following posers;

Tips to Scale Through the Early Days as a Start-up

  • How Healthy Is Your Work Environment?

You may overlook this as trivial, but it matters. Where you work affects your morale as a new start-up. It will determine whether you will be part of the one-third of businesses that don’t make it past the first year. If you already have employees, they will always be comparing the work environment to their comfort zone. The work environment is part of what makes start-ups become fast-growing.

  • Who Are You Hiring?

As a start-up, you are characterized by limited resources. You don’t have any option but to hire the right people. There’s no need to hire for some positions to save cost. For example, it’s cost-effective to rely on free accounting software for your finances. However, bad hiring decisions go beyond the financial aspect of it. It is also psychological; it can affect the morale of the other good hires.

  • What Are You Doing To Protect Your Company?

There’s a lot to be protected as a new business. As a startup, you don’t really have much in fixed assets, but your information is worth more than assets. You need to ensure your business data; client information and account is safe. In case you don’t know, 40% of businesses that experience data loss often fold up. We are talking about an established company, not to speak of a startup. Employ the best tools to protect your information and avoid hard copies of information. For example, you can use cloud accounting software for your finances; it is usually encrypted and firewalled.

  • What Are You Offering in Products and Services?

In 1985, Steve Jobs was relieved of his job at Apple, and the company went into oblivion until 1997 when Steve returned to Apple. The value you are creating as a product or a service is a determinant of the level of growth your start-up will experience. If your product is what the people want, you will survive the early days even without selling a single product.

  • What’s Your Cash Flow Like?

You won’t be able to answer this question unless you are making use of online bookkeeping software. Being a start-up, you don’t have the luxury of hiring an accountant to keep you abreast of your cash outflow and inflow. However, with online accounting software, you will know where you stand as a start-up. This will help you know whether you are at a profit or running a loss.

 

Final Words

Your survival as a start-up relies on being able to provide affirmative answers to these posers. Never be in haste to make a profit, focus more on the product and value you are offering.

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