Get Your Business Right The First Time

We all know the odds are against StartUp Success – Statistics show that 1 in 5 startups will fail within their first 2 years. But how do we set ourselves apart? How do we become the over achieving outlier that beats the odds?

With the fast paced and ever changing world, its hard to keep afloat and up to date with new technology and resources. Not to mention the other external factors that are difficult to control or predict. However we can share the secrets to ours and many other startups successes

1. Know your costs, keep it tight

Run a lean, tight ship while testing your hypothesis. This will keep loses at a minimum in the event that all else fails. When we started Apaart, we kept our costs as close to ZERO as possible. This gave us the motivation to sell and plough back into the business. We were able to try different styles at low costs till we were able to perfect our design.

2. Use your network as a marketing tool

Instead of paying for ads, fliers and marketing material. We turned to our Friends, Families and “fools” to make sales. After all if you can get buy- in from those closest to you (Usually your worst critics, Just ask Jesus) you can sell to anyone. We leveraged on our network to raise awareness and build our first customer base and used Squarespace to build our website!

3 – Suss your competition

Figure out what they are doing well and do it better. Figure out what they are doing badly and do it excellently. Figure out what they’re not doing but should be and do it like nobody else can. KYC(Know Your Competition)

4 – Hire versatile/ Multi talented hands

Its important to look out for SMART people who can learn anything in a moments notice, People who have a broad spectrum of skills that will be useful to any employer. For example, when hiring an MD for a retail store, you might want to consider a candidate who is a retail expert with experience in Photography, styling, graphic design and plain and simple BADASSNESS.

5 – Surround yourself with good influences

If you hang around 5 successful people, you’ll be the 6th. Its as simple as that! So challenge yourself – Go out, meet people, network, go to places you wont ordinarily find yourself. Have conversations with diverse people with different backgrounds from you. Be open and willing to learn from their successes and their failures.

6 – Be Passionate

Your Startup is serious business, you need to live breathe and LOVE it so that it loves you back! An entrepreneur knows that in order to be successful you have to be committed and ready to put in the work. Which could mean making some necessary sacrifices. Your friends might hate you for some time, but they’ll wear a t-shirt with your name on it with pride when you make it!!

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