You’ve launched your startup. Your vision resulted in a fantastic new product or groundbreaking service that’s the next big thing. You’ve made it through the initial hurdles and survived.
Following a thorough evaluation, you decided that you’ve arrived at Level 2.
Now what?
For the most part, you’ve made it this far on great vision and execution; but that won’t last indefinitely. In fact, you’ve run into new obstacles which you’ve struggled to overcome.
Some of these scenarios may sound familiar:
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You were short staffed, so you hired new help to spread the workload.
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Competition’s knocking on your door. In order to maintain that competitive edge, you became aggressive and revamped your product line or service, complete with new bells and whistles.
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You were mindful of keeping costs down, so you looked to cut back, and save where you could.
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You recognized that you’re in unfamiliar territory, so you did some research to see what others did to successfully make the leap.
At first glance, the actions taken sound logical and prudent. You spent the extra money to hire the new hands, didn’t shy away from competition, cut costs, and even looked at others to see how they thrived in similar situations. Good, right? Not exactly.
For starters . . .
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Don’t just hire. Hire up. Sure, you could call up the local temp agency, or look around for a pool of qualified candidates who can fill up a resume with accolades and pedigrees. Or, you could look beyond the resumes and hire staff who will perform better at their positions than you would or could. That’s right: hire up!
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Focus more on you and less on the competition. Sure, it’s always good to know what the other guy is doing, but don’t get caught up in the race. Making your business thrive is less about winning the competitive race, and more about finishing strong and executing with excellence and precision. Customers and clients can see through a gimmick or a promotion, but they’ll appreciate excellent service or product. Devote time and resources to refining and perfecting your product or service.
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It’s all about the cash infusion. Most second stage businesses don’t have enough capital to finance the next big step. If that’s you, find a way: bank loan, equity, venture capitalists. You’ll need that extra stash to finance the next whether it’s expansion or product refinement. Whatever the case, remember this: you have to be able to eat in order to grow.
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Consult the experts. Seek out and learn from those who have gone before you. Learn from their success as well as from their mistakes. Ask practical questions and heed the advice of experts. ‘Do your homework’ and seek out your state’s organizations which are there to help you grow. Hire a consultant or a board of directors. Tap into your personal panel of experts in their respective fields.
And when it’s time for an accounting system for your company, consider Gravity Software® (Gravity). Gravity helps companies grow by unlocking information and reducing friction. Written on the Microsoft Power Platform (aka Dynamics 365), fully integrated and in the cloud.
Gravity's goal is to fill the gap between small business applications like QuickBooks and expensive enterprise applications like Dynamics 365 BC. Learn more and schedule your online demo today. Just say GO!
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