Running your own business is many people’s dream, with nobody telling you what to do, when to get up for work, or how much to earn. Everything depends on you and your willingness to invest your time, energy, and resources into your business. That is why business is not only about freedom, but also a great responsibility!
There is a reason why 92% of start-ups, according to Genome Report, fail in their first year after launching. Do you want to see if you're ready to start your own business? Then try to guess which of the statements below are false and which are true!
The most crucial thing in any business is to understand who your target audience is.
Before you launch a business, you need to study your target audience inside and out. What are your potential customer’s “pains”? What do they need? What motivates them? Why would they be interested in you? Why would they be interested in you? It is worth creating some customer “avatars” – portraits, and the more extensive and detailed, the better because it is only by knowing who you are making the start-up for will you be able to launch it successfully.
ROI is the rate of return, profitability, or loss of a business
It is much easier to make management decisions with a calculated ROI and decide where to lead and develop your project. ROI does not measure the effectiveness of marketing strategies, but demonstrates the practical result, which is the difference between revenues and costs. Business also uses ROMI and ROAS, along with ROI, and a novice business person must learn about them!
The only task of the leader is to lead
First and foremost, being a leader means overseeing a team. The team-leader allocates tasks and roles within the team, but they are also ultimately responsible for the result. If a start-up suddenly fails, it will be the leader’s fault, not the team’s. The manager is the heart of the project and its formal and informal leader. In Lectera’s course “I Am a Dream Team Leader. Over 100 Ingredients for Success in One Course”, you will learn how to maintain team productivity at the highest level, resolve conflicts, develop a corporate culture, and many other things that businesses cannot do without.
It is better to launch a start-up in a broad and well-promoted niche
Every plant needs space to bloom. It’s the same with business: A “green” start-up should choose narrow niches and segments with a maximum of two to three significant competitors because, after all, it is much easier to launch a single core product for a specific range of people, and then expand your range and thereby expand your audience, than to immediately dive into the deep end of the pool before you’ve learnt to swim! Therefore, always start small to minimise your risks.
TAM, SAM and SWOT analysis are vital for a product launch
Use TAM and SAM for market-research before launching a product onto the market (unless you want to be caught off guard by a trend or competitor). On the other hand, the SWOT analysis allows you to analyse your own business using four indicators to make sure it’s ready for launch. You can learn more about how TAM, SAM and SWOT are applied in practice in Lectera’s course "How to create a high-margin product: strategy and market research".
It is easier to start a business with your savings than to look for investors
Attracting investors is much easier than it sounds. It is one of the inevitable stages of setting up your business, and you need to prepare for it. Developing a clear business plan, presenting your idea correctly, and networking skills are all key to finding a source of funding. Take Lectera’s course “From Idea to Working Business: Creating a Profitable Company from Zero” and learn how to attract investors rather than invest a part of your life savings.
70% of business success depends on promotion methods and channels
There are many promotion and marketing strategies. You can’t keep a detailed track of all the trends, but you need to keep your eye on the ball and stay up to speed on the main ones. For example, have you heard that in 2020, 81% of purchases were made through mobile apps? Moreover, TikTok is about to overtake Instagram in popularity. Telegram тоже превратился в незаменимый маркетинговый инструмент. Telegram has also become an indispensable marketing tool. Business promotion is very versatile, and you must take the choice of its channels super seriously.
