What Start-Ups Can Learn From Corporate Leaders

Every year many new businesses, the so called start-ups are founded by enthusiastic people counting with a great idea for a product or service. However, after the first year only about 8 % are still there. What happened to the others?

Many start-up businesses behave like meteorites shining bright for a split second and then die down in the next moment. Looking into that youll find that these new entrepreneurs just dont know what they dont know. Interesting enough many of these elements corporate leaders are very well aware of.

Assuming you have this killer idea of a product / service, here is what you have to observe and to know:

Knowing your market in depth and knowing your customer base (demographics and psychographics) is the foundation of your business.

Competitive intelligence or in other words knowing who your competitors are and what they do and how they do it is essential for any business.

Performing a SWOT analysis for your business and for your competitors will tell you your advantages and your potential shortfalls.

Having a vision for your business thus knowing where you see yourself in about 3 years from now is priceless. Condensing it to the very essence and writing it down in 20 words or less will get youre the necessary clarity. Do not use any limiting expressions!

Based on your vision you will be able to clearly articulate your mission or the how to get there. And again write the essence down in one sentence with 20 words or less.

Defining your Strategy is next. Here you have to take into consideration the expected development of the market, what your competitors might do and how that will affect you. Based on that you define your strategic moves.

You also need a Marketing Plan containing the research results, the competitive environment, the source of business, etc. as well as all the necessary Marketing actions to take.

In order to get the job done you must now define all the actions / task required, putting a timeline next to it, a budget, and most important the name of the person accountable for carrying the action / task.

You need as well a business plan in place with all the standard data required to be in there and financials are of the utmost importance. This is the key to get funding and bridging loans approved.

You, the entrepreneur, wont be able to perform all these tasks and you shouldnt. Your job is being the visionary leader and bringing the right people on board to do what you can not and are not supposed to do.

Always keep in mind that nothing is for free and you will have to pay for the best people you can get. Volunteers will always be hobby-warriors; they first and foremost focus on that job that earns them the money. Helping you out is not and never can be their first priority. So remember: Youll get what you pay for!

This specific know-how and the thoroughness of doing all that is something one can learn in large and successful corporations. You might be surprised how many brilliant people you will find theirspecialists in what they do. My recommendation for you is to tap into that knowledge and use that part you need. It will save you a whole lot of money in the long run.

Walter H. Groth

Walter H. Groth is the founder of Concise Coaching: Effective business coaching facilitating the improvements for the business owners through raising their awareness and igniting positive change, which not only translates into business related benefits but also into their personal lives. You provide the fuel...we provide the spark!

http://www.concisecoaching.blogspot.com

contact: walter.groth@gmail.com

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