Issues in Business

Start-up
Common startup problems
1. Planning-Related Problems
2. The Impact of Poor Leadership
3. Indistinguishable Products
4. Failure to Listen to Customers
5. Learning From Failures
6. Insufficient Capital
7. The Importance of Location
8. Grow With Caution
 Planning-Related Problems
Businesses need to prepare
short-term and long-term plans.
The plans need to show where
you expect the business to be in
both months and years.
Measurable goals and results are
important details to include. To
guide a business toward success,
include to-do lists that contain
the dates and deadlines you're
aiming for. Failure to create a
solid, actionable plan can have a
negative effect on your business.
The Impact of Poor Leadership
Ineffective leadership can be a cause of business failure.
Leadership needs the ability to make good decisions on
behalf of the business most of the time. Bad leadership in any
respect, from finances to employee relations , permeates the
entire business.
Indistinguishable Products
Having a good product or service isn't
enough to make a business successful.
There has to be something special about it
that sets it, and thus your company, apart
from the rest of your competitors. When
writing your plan, do the following:
• Ask yourself what makes your product or
service different from those of the
competition.
• Acknowledge what the competition does
better than your company.
• Know that failing to differentiate your
product or service from the others is the
same as failing to create a brand.
Failure to Listen to Customers
• A lot of businesses don't treat customers
as if they're important. Ignoring the needs
of customers can cause a startup to fail.
Losing the connection with your customers
is a sure path to failure.
• Be aware of the trends and shifting values
that customers place on things. Ask
customers if they're happy with your
company's offerings. Ask them if they
think new features are needed, and pay
close attention to the responses you get
from customers.
Learning From Failures
Failure is obviously an unpleasant thing, though it does provide an opportunity
to learn. However, businesses rarely learn from their failures. Usually, they do
not take advantage of the chance to make corrections. When a business fails,
there are often multiple reasons for it. If business owners fail to notice their
mistakes, there is no chance for them to learn from their errors.
Insufficient Capital
A business that doesn't have
much capital available may have
a hard time getting the attention
of investors. Being short on
capital can indicate that the
business won't be able to pay
bills, make loan payments, or
manage any other important
financial obligations. Having
enough capital is vital to an
organization's growth, and a lack
of capital can put day-to-day
business operations at risk.
The Importance of Location
Choosing a location that doesn't serve your customers well can create a
problem that is simply too difficult to overcome. If foot traffic is key to
your company's success, choosing a location that works for your target
market is an important part of the strategy. If you select an inconvenient
location for your business, you are probably creating an insurmountable
problem.
Grow With Caution
• Growing, or scaling, your business is a positive step, but only if
the timing is right. Trying to grow a business too soon can
destroy it. One example of premature scaling is bringing on too
many new employees before you have enough work for them
to do. Spending too much money on advertising and marketing
is another example of premature scaling. It's important to wait
until the time is right to push for growth in your business.

• The main reason that most startups go under, however, is that

there simply isn't enough need in the market for what they
offer. Companies often go under because their offerings have
been developed to fix a problem or fill a need for which the
market is very small or for which there are already plenty of
good solutions out there. It all comes back to the need for a
product or service that differs from the others that are already
available to consumers.

• If you need help with common startup problems, you can post
your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel
accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers
on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and
Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including
work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo
Ventures, and Airbnb.
Thank you