{"id":8975,"date":"2021-11-16T07:30:58","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T07:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1372648"},"modified":"2021-11-16T07:30:58","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T07:30:58","slug":"7-startup-growth-lessons-i-shouldve-learned-from-other-peoples-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=8975","title":{"rendered":"7 startup growth lessons I should\u2019ve learned from other people\u2019s mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As the CEO of a relatively new marketing agency, I\u2019m happy to admit there were a few things I got wrong in the early days of my startup journey\u2026 although maybe I should\u2019ve avoided them seeing how common they are.<\/p>\n

Growing a newly-launched company can be challenging but also highly rewarding. You are continually learning, and no day is ever the same.<\/p>\n

If you are in the growth stage of your startup, take heart from the mistakes I (and many others) have made along the way \u2014 and try to be more prepared than I was.<\/p>\n

Below is a round-up of seven things I learned while developing my agency:<\/p>\n

1. Recruit experienced staff<\/h2>\n

One error we made early on was hiring people with little experience in the marketing industry.<\/p>\n

Save money on employees and hopefully they will grow into the role. That was my thought process at the time.<\/p>\n

While this worked initially, it created problems as we took on higher caliber clients. I found we spent too long training employees who ultimately failed to deliver the required quality.<\/p>\n

Investing in more experienced personnel sooner rather than later is something I would recommend for all startups. In my opinion, having employees who can hit the ground running is vital.<\/p>\n

Be prepared to pay a little more to secure the right candidate. The rewards will be evident as you develop your team and take your business to the next level.<\/p>\n

2. Grow in a sustainable way<\/h2>\n

Once we began attracting a sizeable number of clients, there was a temptation to continue growing more and more rapidly. Revenue was up and confidence was high.<\/p>\n

But in hindsight, I feel we overstretched too soon. We took on too many clients and tried to grow too quickly without having a solid foundation in place.<\/p>\n

We simply didn\u2019t have the team to serve our clients the way we wanted to. There was too much work, too little experience, and a lack of organization.<\/p>\n

In my book, it is best to grow more slowly. Start with a core group of customers and then invest in experienced staff as you build your revenue over time.<\/p>\n

3. Leveridge internal communications<\/h2>\n

I quickly found that a lack of clear communication was the root cause of many problems \u2014 at least in the beginning.<\/p>\n

Communicating well externally and positioning your brand is important. But what is often neglected is internal communications between stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Fine-tuning internal communications is key to everything a startup does. Improve internally and your external communications will naturally follow suit.<\/p>\n

As a company, we experimented with various methods to enhance the way our internal communications functioned.<\/p>\n

The best results came as we hired more experienced employees and reduced our staff turnover.<\/p>\n

To me, it\u2019s obvious that experience and stability are key to building a positive organizational culture.<\/p>\n

A settled team is a productive and effective team. So work on your internal comms.<\/p>\n

4. Outsource work sparingly<\/h2>\n

Outsourcing was something I was reluctant to engage with at first. Keeping all work in-house just felt right for what we wanted to achieve.<\/p>\n

The major concern was maintaining quality and control. But there came a point where outsourcing just made sense for certain types of projects.<\/p>\n

Farming out smaller pieces of work freed up time for employees and enabled us to undertake more work while keeping costs sustainable.<\/p>\n

I always recommend doing detailed research first before you farm out anything. Building a trusted pool of freelancers takes time but can be well worth it.<\/p>\n

And remember: you still want to deliver the same standard your clients expect.<\/p>\n

5. Invest in quality business support<\/h2>\n

Like many startup owners, I quickly learned that good accountants and solicitors are worth their weight in gold. Don\u2019t fall into the trap of cheaping out.<\/p>\n

The reason? In my experience, most entry-level services do the bare minimum and provide impersonal customer support.<\/p>\n

If you want to grow, you need people that will work closely with you. By investing in a good accountant and law firm, I had advice on tap whenever I needed it.<\/p>\n

A quality accountant in particular will save you time, reduce errors, limit tax liability, and ensure sound financial planning for growth.<\/p>\n

Having a trusted legal firm on standby is also beneficial. Look to build a close relationship with all your support services to maximize the advantages.<\/p>\n

6. Showcase your work and USPs<\/h2>\n

Early on in our journey, I feel we failed to trumpet our successes and skills effectively enough, especially across our website and media platforms.<\/p>\n

Potential clients don\u2019t know what you can do for them if you fail to demonstrate the advantages of your product or service. It sounds simple, but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

When we began demonstrating exactly what we could achieve for our clients, we won new business from better quality companies and enhanced our prestige.<\/p>\n

For startups working in service-based industries, be sure to highlight your USPs so prospects know precisely what benefits you bring to the table.<\/p>\n

7. Target growth \u2014 but prepare for change<\/h2>\n

In my experience, the way to grow is to have challenging but achievable targets (e.g. for review every quarter). This can form the backbone of your growth strategy.<\/p>\n

But it is worth remembering that business throws up all kinds of unforeseeable circumstances: you may lose a major client, or a key member of staff might leave.<\/p>\n

Be prepared for setbacks, at least in the short term. And use setbacks for learning, not for despondency. Remain flexible and agile in your strategic planning.<\/p>\n

Revisit your strategy regularly to ensure you remain on the right track.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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