5 Tips to Keep your Start-up Business Afloat and Successful

keeping your business running is not always a simple task. Especially during tough economic times such as during this Covid-19 Pandemic. However, there is always a few things you could do to keep your business running while waiting for this cloud to pass. Here are 5 tips you could use;

Know your Business performance

This is the most obvious solution to keep your business running during tough times but hardly done by most small businesses and it comes top in out 5 tips to keep your start-up business afloat and successful. It is best if you knew the performance of your business so that you can be in a position to make informed decision. One simple performance measure is profit margin. To do this, check on your past performance when business was good and calculate the percentage return of your business. For instance, if I sell 100 items each @$200 every month, the total revenue is $20,000, if my business spent $8000 to purchase the items and $7,000 as business costs (Rent, Electricity and other expenses), my business is making $5,000 in profits that sums up to 25% Profit margins. With this performance measure done on a monthly basis it will be very easy to know whether your business is still afloat or not.

Adjust accordingly

Keep in mind that, a failing business does not always mean revenue reduction, but rather a business that cannot keep up with its own costs. For instance if your business makes $10,000 a month and spends $12,000 a month, then that is a failing business, however, in my business scenario where I made a revenue of $20,000 during normal months with a 25% profit margin, and then the revenue falls by 40%, I can adjust my expenses down by 30-40% to compensate for the decline. In simple terms, you will adjust your expenses and other costs to keep your costs below revenue however, small it is. In the long run, this tip will keep your start-up business afloat and successful. Use our business intelligence service to understand your business performance.

Avoid making drastic decisions

We are facing uncertain times with some very unpredictable outcomes. Making huge business changing decisions at such times will not always do you good. You might think of changing products, venturing into a new market or expanding your reach because the current situation seems favorable, good but these are untested waters. During tough economic times and through a pandemic, situations change very fast, a situation that seem favorable now might not be so in a few weeks’ times. VERDICT: do not make business altering decisions out of an arising opportunity just because it seems good now, think over it, ponder and determine whether it will serve you now and in the future and whether it will help you keep your start-up business afloat and successful.

Keep up with the trends

Because the times are very uncertain, try and keep up with the current trends. Your business could benefit from making some changes that are currently trending. For instance; have your employees work from home whenever necessary. This will help you cut down on some office costs.

Protect your customers

Your customers are the biggest pillar of your business. They should come first, No EXCEPTION. Let your customers know that you are concerned about their well-being, Insist on directive measures and take part in all publicly required preventive measures. Your customers will not only be pleased with these, but they will still remember you when all this is over. Thank you for reading, our tips to keep your start-up business afloat and successful. Hope you learned something.

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