The majority of fledgling companies will fail within their first year, and there are way too many reasons for this to list all of them here. However, every modern start-up, regardless of the niche or the idea behind it, faces a few common challenges. In this post, I’ll look at some of the biggest threats facing every modern start-up…
Slow Demand
A huge proportion of new start-up owners identifies sluggish demand in their niche as one of the primary threats facing their business. Regardless of the positive signs, economists think that they see, if a business doesn’t have enough customers, then it won’t be able to grow. If you’re worried about the lack of demand for the kind of business you’re running, the best way to work around it is improving your digital marketing strategy. Blogging, outreach through social media, and search engine optimization, are all pretty much standard these days, and with the massive role of the internet in our lives, effective marketing has never been more accessible to business owners. If you fail to put enough resources into your marketing, you’ll quickly be swallowed up by your competition.
The Government
We’re well past the recession of the late noughties, and the world economy’s much easier to start a business in than it has been in the past. However, the US government is still widely identified as one of the most significant threats to new businesses looking to grow their big ideas. New entrepreneurs need to be aware of tax regulations, marketing restrictions, the increasingly limited number of government-sponsored loans and grants for new businesses, and so on. While the Trump administration is ostensibly going to do a lot to stimulate American business, any government is going to represent at least some threat to a new business. If we’re looking at other countries, the Philippines has a system that’s called the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS). PhilGEPS is the online government portal that provides B2G opportunities to local SMEs. Hundreds of bidding notices are posted daily; you only need one awarded to become an official government supplier. What a great opportunities for businesses! Learn how to bid in philgeps to win your bids!
Oversaturated Outsourcing Options
These days, it’s easier than ever for a business to outsource one or more functions to an outside party. Whether it’s an independent freelancer who’s still working their way through college or a more established company like CyBerJaz, there are countless options for you to free up more time and resources for growing your company. This is a good thing in some ways, but it’s also meant that poor outsourcing options are much more commonplace. In a world where anyone can set themselves up as an independent professional, you have to exercise extreme caution when outsourcing, and avoid getting burned by the poor services out there.
Funding
It may be easier to start a business today than it has been in the past, but securing the capital needed to get your idea up and running is still extremely difficult. Unless you happen to be a millionaire, there’s no easy way around this issue. However, it’s important to consider all the extra options that past entrepreneurs didn’t have access to. Crowdfunding platforms, online angel investors, and so on, are all waiting there for you to use. Alternatives to the bank all have their pros and cons, so make sure you know what you’re getting into before you sign anything!