Starting a business requires dedication, hard work and strategic planning to succeed. Studies have concluded that 30% of small businesses don’t survive two years, and only half make it to five years.
Six tips to avoid being a casualty:
- Declare how big you want to be in 24 months and use this revenue goal to develop your plan.
- Choose who you intend to serve. Where will you generate your revenue?
- Determine how you intend to compete by answering the question: “Why should I buy from you and not your competitor?”
- Focus on the critical few, not the possible many.
- Cut the crap. You can’t afford activities that are not directly related to executing your plan.
- Plan, execute, learn, adjust is the planning model that works in a volatile world.
Final word: Focus on the next 24 months; earn the right to stay in business longer.