4 Actionable Steps to Get Your Startup off the Ground

According to Forbes, 70% of startups fail because of premature scaling. Understandably, statistics like these can deter many would-be business owners from pursuing their dreams in the first place. However, this information can also be useful to help you avoid common mistakes and make sure that your startup doesn’t end up as just another statistic. It also proves why it’s essential to have a plan with actionable steps to get your business off the ground and growing toward your goals. 

To help you navigate the rocky waters of the startup sea, we’ve put together a guide with 4 actionable steps that will help you get your startup off the ground and sailing toward success:

1. Do You Research

So, you have a startup idea and you think it has a good shot at becoming a lucrative business platform. One of the most important things you can do before you start investing money in your startup idea is to do your research. Learn more about the industry you would be operating in, potential competitors, and the audience you would be targeting. The better understanding you have of what you’re heading into, the more prepared you’ll be to tackle challenges that arise.

2. Create a Business Plan

Next, you’re going to take that research and translate it into a business plan. While it might seem like a formal, outdated measure, business plans are an essential component of creating a startup and will be valuable when you are trying to secure funding and investors. Some of the essential components of any business plan are:

• Executive summary: This is a general summary of the entire business plan and will typically be the first thing someone interested in your business (in a professional or collaborative manner) reviews. You want to include the purpose of your business, marketing strategy, how much you’ll need in initial funding, and other critical details. 
• Marketing Plan: Your marketing plan should detail how you plan to market your startup, as well as a market analysis and competitive analysis. 
• Financial Plan: The financial plan should outline the forecasted cost of running your startup, how much capital you need, and how you plan to fund your business. 

3. Hire a Team

In most cases, you can’t bring your startup to life without a good team behind you. While in some cases, this might be a few close friends or family members in the beginning stages. It may soon become the reality that you’ll need to bring in other people to help you. 

When you do start building your team, you need to take precautions in order to protect your business. Some things you should do when hiring employees for the first time include:

1. Complete a background and MVR check: Learn more about the individuals you are considering hiring such as their driving history (especially important if courier services are part of your business), criminal history, and credit history.
2. Plan scaling: Don’t hire all at once. Plan to hire in tiers as you need to grow your team. Otherwise, you could make an investment you can’t actually afford to support.
3. Thoroughly vet candidates: Not only do you want to make sure prospective employees have the education and work background, but you want to make sure they are a good fit for the position (by testing their skills) and a good fit culturally (by asking the right questions).

4. Focus on Training & Development

As a business owner, you are responsible for pushing your progress forward, inspiring your team, leading innovation, and so much more that drives the success of your company. Depending on your background, you may or may not have the tools you need to do this. If you haven’t run a business before, you should take time to educate yourself about your role and responsibilities, and seek out training and mentorship to help you become the leader your company needs to succeed. 

At each stage of growth, you will encounter new challenges and aspects of your business. So, pursuing continuing education and utilizing the professional development tools at your disposal is essential. 

By taking these steps, you will have some of the core elements in place that will help you take your startup from a dream to reality.  But don’t stop here, there are some many aspects that go into creating a startup that makes it past the beginning stages and into the ranks of successful small businesses and global corporations. Keep focusing on learning, strategically growing your business, and evolving as needed.