Three ways you may be burying your small business and not even know

If you’re an outsider looking in, it’s easy to think
running a startup is a good retirement plan.
Pursue your passion, be featured on tech
websites and magazines every other month, get
millions of dollars in VC money, throw crazy
parties, have weird looking offices – the list goes
on. But you’d be wrong.
As much as startups are all the rage nowadays,
running one will probably run your blood
pressure up (and keep it there). It is a grueling
endeavour especially as you’re trying to beat the
odds and keep the doors open. Little wonder, a
lot of founders have two to three failed startups
under their belt. Startup mortality rate is not
what you want to look at first thing in the
morning.
Which begs the question, why do startups fail?
Well, sometimes, it’s the little things, the subtle
things. Things you may already be doing and not
even know.
Here are three of them:

1. Running out of money
Contrary to popular belief, the number one
reason startups fail is not lack of money. It’s
mismanagement of available funds. Lacking the
foresight to see and obtain the capital
requirements for your business, will sink your
startup faster than you can say, Iceberg!
Foresight involves a lot of calculation. You’ll
need to consider not just the funds available to
start but also, the funds required to run your
daily operations as well as your frugality skills
(if you’re bootstrapping). Projecting accurate
burn rates positions you to be a better manager
of your business.

2. Under-utilising Social Media
A lot of big enterprises treat social media as an
afterthought. They can afford to, because they
probably have a solid customer base and an ad
budget to rival some country’s GDP. Small
businesses on the other hand, don’t have that
luxury. Social media is your one way ticket to
affordable and sustainable customer acquisition.
Social media growth hacking is all the rage these
days. Rapidly acquiring real users (not “buying”
followers or fans), will Jump Start your revenue
base like an adrenaline shot.
Learn how to use social media like a whiz. The
web is overloaded with valuable info, most of
them free. If you don’t have the time, hire an
expert. Whatever you do, don’t drop the ball on
social media.

3. Letting your USP get lost in the noise
Today, more than ever, it is difficult to get
yourself noticed (unless you have that
juggernaut-like ad budget talked about earlier).
That’s why small businesses have to differentiate
themselves in the marketplace. Your product
can’t afford to be just another run of the mill
clone. Something about your business has to
stand out. It could be your customer service, it
could be your delivery time, it could be your
product. Something about your business has to
be compelling enough to generate not only
repeat customers but also viral word of mouth.
It’s the lifeline to growing your customer base
without running your account into the red.
You want to turn up the volume on your USP. As
loud as you can. Because, if you are doing
something right, your competition will notice
you and will try to outbid you for customers. So,
it’s good to let customers know what your
product is offering them, which is exclusive to
you.