How Downfall of a Business Takes Place Hard work, vigilance on the market trends, and right decision-making skills help the startup to outshine its competitors

Setting up a business has become a common goal for young minds. After earning a degree or diploma in a certain field, the first thought that strikes millennials is initiating a business. The idea of becoming an entrepreneur is a dire thought which should be well-considered.

In the business ecosystem, startups are conceived as a grappling student who tries hard to outdo others. Nevertheless, hard work, vigilance on the market trends, and right decision-making skills help the startup to outshine its competitors.

The Beginning Years- The Most Crucial Time For Startups

Primarily, a notion goes in every veteran industrialist's mind when an entrepreneur, who runs a startup, comes across them. Inspecting the outlook of the entrepreneur, grasping the knowledge of his business and conceiving a judgmental opinion in the mind are usual behaviours of the magnates in the meet.

In essence, the initial five years are a crucial examiner of a startup's potential. In the period of five years, the newly established company faces all types of challenges. Alongside, it recognizes its adversaries in the market. So, it becomes vitally important for the startups to attain buoyancy in the five-year period.

Staggering Journey Ahead

For operating a business, the first-hand experience in the market is pre-requisite. New entrepreneurs lack this aspect and thus, fail to estimate the entrepreneurial journey ahead. After setting the business, the entrepreneurs develop multiple aspirations from the venture and concentrate on spreading their reach in the market. Excessive indulgence in the business and turning oblivion to other things going in the market sometimes bear bad results.

After being devoid of market knowledge for long, the enterprise fails to recognize newer technology developments and grasp them. Meanwhile, the adversaries take a leap over the startup and thus, startups grapple to keep the business afloat. Food Panda is one such example in this context. The food-ordering platform was initially doing well in India's domestic market but gradually, it started losing its hold as it was not prepared for competition. Further, it was investing lesser in upgrading the operations. Thus, Food Panda in India turned out as a failure and later, got acquired by Ola.

Mistakes Which Lead To A Shutdown

The downfall of the startup or even, an old business arm is unpredictable. Foreseeing aftermath of the decisions is imperative or else, the company would be shattered. In the pursuit to save the company, there are some mistakes that should be avoided.

1. Not Collecting Feedback Of Customers

In a customer-centric business, customers should be valued the most. Since the onset of the business, recognizing the preferences of the customers from time-to-time is imperative as it helps to know when changes in the business operations need to be made.

These crucial business decisions can be taken when the company garner the feedback of customers and precisely know the demands of the customers. Failing to gauge this parameter, the company may not render first-rate products to the customers and thus, face problems in the long run.

2. Not Creating An Updated, Useable Product

Products of the business create a first impression on the customers, thus, the product should be free of error or dysfunction. In common practice, the company tests its products multiple times either through a pilot project or approach a small set of customers. In the early days, knowing customer feedback is imperative for every component of the product, from packing to its usage.

The companies who don't focus on this key strand fail to gauge the response of customers after the launch of the product. Further, not focusing on developing the product is another oddity on the part of startups.

3. Not Creating A Simplified Product

In the digital era, customers seek to get enhanced user experience. Keeping this mind, creating an easier and simplified product is important. If the product is massively complex then it lessens the possibilities of customers preferring it.

These mistakes should be avoided by startup owners. In essence, these mistakes are irrevocable if they are identified in the initial stage of the business.

This article was originally published by Jaspreet Kaur.