Getting a Startup off the ground can be exciting, especially if it’s your first time running your own business. But while independent entrepreneurship presents opportunities, it also comes with risks.

In this article, we’ll give you some top tips to make sure your first startup succeeds, from the importance of workforce management (WFM) to how to build the right team of employees.

Ensuring Your First Startup Succeeds

1. Stay organised

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when starting a business is the importance of being organized. While a little disorganization might seem like no big problem, it can quickly spiral out of control and impact your ability to fulfill your clients’ needs. To avoid this, stay on top of key things such as:

• Costs and budget
• Projects and progress
• Worker attendance and performance

Crucially, new businesses should focus on putting solid, robust processes in place. Rather than dealing with staff absences on an ad hoc basis, for instance, you should have a clear policy that covers how workers should report absences and how you will adjust to ensure their work gets done on time.

Workforce management software is a great tool for helping you manage things like this and companies like Indeed Flex offer systems with a wide range of features that can help you stay on time and under budget.

2. Listen to others

One of the common traps new startups fall into is overcommitting to overly ambitious plans. You can avoid this and keep your ego in check by listening to others.

While you need a lot of self-belief to get a business up and running, you should be careful not to let this shade into arrogance. Even the most impressive business geniuses benefit from having advisors and colleagues to bounce ideas off and the best business owners know that inspiration can come from anywhere. Whether it be experts in the field or your family and friends, take care to truly listen to what others have to say. Absorb their opinions and knowledge, and always keep an eye on what changes you can make to let your business flourish.

Of course, this advice comes with a caveat. While you should listen to what others have to say, you should never take it as gospel truth. Ultimately, the only person who can make decisions for your business is you.

3. Give your employees room to grow

Building the right team is crucial to business success. To go the distance, you need a set of employees who understand your business and are committed to its success. While a lot of this has to do with hiring, that’s not all there is to it. You can think of it as a process with several steps:

• Hire the right people
• Train them properly
• Give them the space to grow

The first and second of these might seem obvious. Both hiring and training practices are key things to put in place as soon as you start your business and implementing the right processes in this area is a big part of following our first tip (‘stay organized’).

The third point, though, can be less intuitive. Many who start their own business have a natural instinct to keep control of everything, down to the smallest detail. After all, as we said above, it’s the business owner who is ultimately responsible for the business’s failure or success. However, startup managers should avoid this trap. Failure to delegate can not only lead to burnout and overwork on your part but can prevent your employees from growing into their roles. Avoid micromanagement to help your team succeed.

4. Earn while you build

Infamously, many startups fail. While the precise failure rate can be hard to define and a lot hinges on the definition of ‘failure’, it is clear that well over half of new businesses do not survive. Perhaps the most prevalent reason for this is that the money runs out. Costs increase, projects shoot over budget and investors pull out. This can set off a nightmare spiral and should be avoided at all costs.

The easiest way to keep the cash flowing is to continue to earn even as you start your business. Remember that launching a startup is a process, so don’t feel like you need to quit your day job immediately. Stay financially stable and, if necessary, you’ll have the option of helping your business through early problems with your own money.

We hope you’ve found this article helpful. Running a startup can be risky, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. With the right team, organization, a willingness to listen, and the right amount of cash, you can be well on your way to success.