MISTAKES THAT CAN KILL STARTUPS
I, Ishant Thaker, Co-founder of Pick & Build Constructions Pvt. Ltd. Would like to share one of the biggest lessons I have learnt and the challenges I have faced in the course of this startup.
Pick & Build Constructions is my 5th startup idea on which I am currently working before this I worked on 4 other startup ideas which were good but didn’t grow much and died eventually. Hence, here I am to share my experiences and 9 major mistakes which red handedly murders a startup/business.
1. Bad Location
Location, This aspect plays a very important role in the business. When you start a business of distributor or general shop or restaurants or production everywhere location matters. Now you might be thinking how to search for an ideal location? A good location is where you have less competition, more requirement, more consumers and proper connectivity of your basic supplies and transportation. If anyone of these aspects are not present it can be the reason for the degradation of your business.
2. A Single founder
Almost all the top companies in the world have multiple founders. For example, Microsoft has (Bill Gates, Paul Allen) Apple has (Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, Steve Wozniak ), Google has ( Larry Page, Sergey Brin ) have you ever thought why Bill Gates or Steve Jobs didn't start the company alone?
When you start a business it includes multiple aspects like ideas, execution, investment, decisions, problem-solving and many more. One mistake of yours and you have to pay a huge price for it, which can lead to the end of your vision too. To come up with a better output, co-founder or a mentor is must, who is resourceful or has already been through this. That person can guide you to the right path which subsequently reduces the risk of collapse , lessen the possibility of misstep, increase the productivity, you can acummulate your ideas by communicating with them. It simply means more brains, more creativity will lead you to far better output.
3. Raising too little money
I can say Money is the synonym for business, specifically in case of profit or when you invest while you are starting a business. When you plan for a business without a sufficient amount of greenbank is equal to going in front of the bull with red clothes on, you'll create complications for yourself. Fund raising is important to buy every primitive resources needed for your business. For example, If you open a photocopy shop you'll need printing machine, different size of papers, electricity, printing inks etc. This are the essentials you need to start this business, but if even one of these is missing you will end up facing a forfeiture. Make sure before you start working, you have sufficient amount of money flow.
4. Hiring Bad Employees
In the startup, every single employee you hire is an investment. As a founder of the company you have an idea, your employees escort that idea to existence.A good employee is an asset for your startup but bad hiring can equally harm the progress of you startup. Therefore, it is important to CO-opt the right person for the work because assets come up with outputs, ideas, progress and profits whereas bad employees are more of like liabilities which may create issues, delays, complains and losses. At least a startup can not bear a bad hiring.
5. Not putting in enough efforts
Are you a person who gets fed up of things or one who gives up soon? If you want a good business abandon this habit today itself. This is an obstacle and even I was the victim of this. When we have a good idea and that energize us to work on it but after sometime that excitement turns in to boredom because you are not acknowledging it or not putting enough efforts because of which there won’t be any satisfying output or you start listening to some toxic people believing that this won’t work questioning your potential and simultaneously demotivating you resulting in relinquishment. Business is like hurdle racing, you have to constantly run and cross all the hurdles without turning back. People who have billions of dollars in their account still work 16 hours a day. This is business you can not give up on it, you have to constantly give your time, efforts and keep updating yourself with new ideas. It's not a one-time thing. If you really want to achieve it once you start you have to keep going.
6. Bad Planning and structure
This is the main reason behind the Failure of a company with a valuation of more than 4000 crores like the Kingfisher airlines. When they started as an airline their planes were the best and the facilities they were providing were up to the mark. It was the first Indian Airlines to provide IFE ( In-Flight Entertainment ) systems on every seat. Then why did the Kingfisher airlines failed to sustain? The reason is miss management and the frequent changing of strategies without thinking its long term effects on the company. They flew their fights on all the non-profitable roots and we know what happened next so planning and structure is the brain of your startup. Before you start with anything you should be clear about every step you'll take to achieve your goal. If things won't work as per your plans then how will you tackle it. You have to plan your every move before you make it. A small wrong step or a small incorrect calculation can cost you everything that you have ever imagined. You might forgive yourself but the business won't.
7. Choosing the wrong platform
How to decide which Platform is right for your business?
Platforms differ as per the products and the consumers.
For example:
(1) what if instead of creating a website mark Zuckerberg opened a shop for opening Facebook accounts probably we would never have Facebook.
(2) Amazon is here just because of its platform
Choose the platform as per the product and the customer. Where you’ll find more customers and connectivity there are high chances and possibilities of hitting bullseye.
8. Poor Internal Management
Nothing can destroy the iron but its own rust. Good business depends on good leadership and management. Every good leader is an extremely successful manager, who not only takes the decisions but makes sure that everyone follows it and things are woking as planned. Internal disputes, misunderstanding, lack of communication can harm your business. Bad leadership brings bad management and bad management destroys the company.
9. Targeting wrong audience
Customer is the king and always keep the King happy and satisfied. There is no business possible without customer. If you are managing everything but can’t find the right customers it will be a catastrophe.
An ideal customer can be :
(1) A person who needs the product.
(2) A person who can afford the product.
(3) A person who has the power to take decisions.
Above are the 9 mistakes which I personally believe you should avoid before starting a business and if you successfully overcome these challenges you are inevitable.