Technology is growing by leaps and bounds every year. It’s also become much more accessible for the average person, making it an ideal field for those who want to start their own businesses. On the surface and to the uninformed, creating a tech startup looks really easy. As long as you have the expertise and the ability to give customers what they want, you should be okay, right?
Well, it’s not that easy. If creating a successful tech startup really were that easy, everyone would do it and be very successful. The truth is that about half of all businesses fail within their first five years, even a small technology business. Part of this is because the business world is harsh and full of competition, but these failures can also be attributed to business owners not knowing what to expect when they get started.
You can still find a lot of success with a good tech startup, but unless you want to be one of the many businesses that barely make it out of the gate, you need to know what to expect as a new business owner.
- Be Prepared to Work Long Hours
When you’re just starting out in a new business, you don’t have a lot of resources available to you. You will have to do a lot of the work yourself, which means putting in 70 to 80 hours a week at the very least. This time will be spent setting up your business, networking, advertising and basically doing a lot of the work that you will hopefully be able to delegate to employees later on. In any case, expect to make your business your life for a while.
- Expect Some Stiff Competition
Competition is healthy for business. Ideally, it brings out the best in different companies and pushes them to be better than the rest. Unfortunately, competition can also sink a new business before it gains any kind of traction. Your startup is brand new, and it simply doesn’t have the client base that a more established company does. You will be starting small, so don’t try to go up against any established companies yet. As long as you provide a great service to your clients, your client base will grow and you might be able to compete with larger companies.
- Pay Attention to Your Startup’s Culture
A business can be made or broken based on its culture, or the pattern of learned behaviors and beliefs that shape an organization. An organization’s culture can be the reason why employees stick around even when things aren’t looking good for a company, or it can be what causes a large employee turnover in a successful business. Simply put, you want to make sure that your startup has clear goals and that you and your staff share those goals. You will want your employees to believe in you and your company, but you will also want to make your startup a good place to work. Tech startups are known for having a more laid-back, youthful culture, and while that can be a good thing, it can also work against you if you’re worried about looking professional. A good business will find a balance between professionalism and being a fun place to work, and that’s something that just seems to happen. Keep a close eye on your business’s culture, and make sure that it still resembles a respectable business even if employees are relaxed and laid-back.
This article was contributed by Sheldon Armstrong, a techie who hopes to help you understand technology better. He writes this on behalf of http://christianlouboutintop.com/ , your number one choice when looking for help to create a custom exhibit. Check out their website today and see how!
