Growing Your Business

Five Things You Must Do to Grow Your Startup

by
Tera Kovanes
on
6/22/2016
Five Things You Must Do to Grow Your Startup

According to Forbes, a stunning 90 percent of startups fail. The reasons for failure range from failing to define a need to losing track of costs, to internal conflicts that can bring a company down.

To be one of that one in 10 that survive and to assure your new business thrives, incorporate all of these steps into your planning:

 1. Establish and track your key performance metrics.

From the moment your company is established, you need to determine your goals.

Do you want to win 20 new contracts a month?

Do you measure success by the number of subscriptions?

Decide what success means to you and how you will track it. Create periodic reports so that you know whether you are doing better or worse than last month or last year. Only by defining your company’s metrics can you know how well you are performing. 

Some of the most important financial KPIs include Gross Profit Margin, Net Profit, Net Profit Margin, Aging Accounts Receivable, Working Capital and Operating Cash Flow.

 2. Learn from your mistakes.

You will make mistakes. This is an inevitable part of the learning and experimentation process. What sets the winners apart is the ability to recognize a mistake and learn from it. Figure out when it is beneficial to pivot and when you should stay the course.

 3. Create hiring processes that include solid employment agreements.

The casual nature of a startup may tempt you into making informal handshake deals. However, this is not of benefit to your company or to the people who work for you. Your hiring process should include detailed background checks to avoid hires that could cause problems later on. You should also have a lawyer draft applicable non-compete and non-disclosure agreements. Be sure that your agreements both protect your company and will hold up if a legal conflict arises later on.

 4. Become an influencer in your industry.

The best advertising for your brand is the kind you can’t buy. Focus on becoming known and valuable in your industry.

  • Share great content on your social media accounts.
  • Create helpful and insightful blog posts, infographics, presentations and videos.
  • Take the time to share your knowledge on platforms such as Quora and Reddit.
  • Attend local networking events.
  • Be a presenter at conferences that are relevant to your and your clients’ industries.
  • By contributing in these ways, you develop a reputation for knowledge and authority in your industry.

This sort of word-of-mouth promotion typically costs little and pays back in new prospects and clients for months and years to come.

5. Understand your obligations when it comes to employee benefits.

Rules for benefits periodically change. It pays to keep up with the latest requirements. For instance, any company with 50 or more full-time employees must offer health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Rules for overtime recently changed, requiring you to give overtime pay to any salaried employee making under $47,476 per year. By knowing your obligations, you can keep your company’s growth from being harmed by the consequences of your not knowing the rules. 

Startups are, by definition, risky. But, by being one of the smarter businesses out there, you can stack the odds in your favor. 

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Tera Kovanes

Tera Kovanes

Tera D. Kovanes, CPA is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) practice based in Henrico, Virginia. She can assist you with your tax preparation, planning, accounting, payroll and bookkeeping needs. She specializes in outsourced or part-time CFO work. In addition to being a CPA, she also is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Tera D. Kovanes, CPA
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Virginia

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