StrategyDriven Expert Contributors' Blog

5 Challenges of Starting a New Business From a First Time Business Owner

July 13, 2019/in Starting Your Business/by Ifrah Khan

You might have heard the stereotype that millennials don’t know how to work hard, how to pound the pavement, how to put in the blood, sweat and tears it takes to build a business from the ground up but, I am here to smash that stereotype into smithereens.

I’m 23 years old and started my business when I was just 21. Usit (www.usit.care) was an idea that I had that babysitting could be done better. It could be done wiser. It could be done with more benefit to the worker bee and the worker bee hirer. Still in college with a full load of classes, I certainly made my share of embarrassing mistakes, but I lived to tell about them and I think the mistakes made me stronger and even more determined. I am going to use the word “Challenge” instead of “Mistake” as a necessary euphemism because mistakes conjure up negative emotions while “challenges” are something to overcome and persevere through- which I did and I still do as I work to expand my business into a small empire!

Here are 5 challenges I faced and some essential ways to mitigate those challenges so you don’t become discouraged while on your path to building your own business.

1. Find the Right Team

You’ve heard it said you are the company you keep – and it’s true. Aim high here. Finding the right Co-Founder or partner(s) in your startup journey is a difficult one, especially in the beginning, but even if it delays your launch, don’t settle here. Don’t go straight to your friend, family member, or roommate. Go to someone who has a complementary skill set (it doesn’t help if you are both good at the exact same things,) someone who is as passionate as you about the business, and someone who loses as much sleep about the business as you do. Find someone reliable, someone with a similar work ethic, someone with the same ‘failure is not an option’ mantra. For example, if you need to develop a website or an application it’s better to hire software development team that will do it professionally.

2. Finding Advisors and Mentors

Again, you are the company you keep. Seek out smart, successful people with proven track record. I wouldn’t be where I am now without a supportive startup community, mentors and advisors, and other founders. Get advisors who understand the startup world because they’ve lived it already. You don’t have take everything they say as a blueprint for what you must do – each business is different, but let their ideas be springboard for your own.

No one knows your business better than you do. I go to my advisors when I’m conflicted with business decisions, fundraising questions, pitch help, or general advice. They are important nutrition to the over health health of your business so find the right ones who have different skill sets and experience. You’ve heard it said “Diversify” in your financial investments. The same is true when assembling your team. “Diversify.” Find people with different superpowers. Find a person who excels at sales, find a whiz marketer, find a tough-as-nails lawyer to advise you on all things legal. You get the idea.

3. Keeping Your Team Motivated During Tough Times

To hit the peaks, you’ll be in your fair share of valleys. What goes up, must come down. You can’t defy the laws of gravity so know there will be tough times. Staff can smell fear a mile away. Never give off that sense of concern even if you feel it on the inside. It’s up to the Founder to rally the troops and keep the team motivated and positive. If you’re freaked out, the team will be freaked out and success never flourishes in fear.

4. Working With Limited Resources

It pretty much goes without saying that when starting a new business, you are working with limited resources. “Money does not grow on trees.” But there are big decisions to make about when to fundraise, how to fundraise, the how and when of green lighting big expenditures that require an investment. Talking to mentors and advisors to decide when the right time is to tackle those big questions is essential in maintaining a healthy bottom line.

5. Rejection

Take a “No” or a closed door in your face as a personal challenge. No great companies were built without rejection. No actor gets every part he/she auditions for. No singer got a record deal without hearing some naysasyer along the way. You’ll face a lot of “No thanks, Not Nows, Not Evers,” but rest in the knowledge that it’s just part of the process. That said, don’t discount every bit of criticism you receive. Constructive criticism may well be your best asset. Follow your gut, and dust yourself off every time you’re thrown onto the ground from the bucking horse that is the startup world.

Good luck! I am rooting for you!

About the Author

Ifrah Khan is the Founder and CEO of Usit, the last minute babysitting app that connects busy parents to vetted college student babysitters in their community. Ifrah was named one of Atlanta Inno’s 25 under 25 entrepreneurs in 2018 and has a passion for how technology can help create new communities and opportunities in dual sided marketplaces. She just completed Atlanta Tech Village’s Pre-Accelerator and is focusing on disrupting the babysitting industry by turning what used to be a huge pain in the butt for both parents and sitters into an easy and exciting process. Ifrah supports and brings together other young entrepreneurs with her position as a Kairos Society Executive with a mission of focusing the next generation on problems worth solving. She graduated from Emory University’s undergraduate business school in 2017 and previously worked in Finance at Accenture. Although she’s not a mom, she is passionate about helping mothers and children in need which is why she serves on the board of Helping Mamas, a fast growing local Atlanta non-profit aimed to help moms and children in need. https://www.usit.care/

Finding The Right Job Role To Fit Your Characteristics And Skills

July 12, 2019/in Professional Development/by StrategyDriven

Many people are unhappy with their careers. The problem is that we all tend to focus on the salary that comes with a particular job role. Obviously, that’s important, but it doesn’t mean you have to settle for a job you hate. It’s possible to have the best of both worlds. Okay, not everybody can become the President, but there are other important political careers out there. The point is that you shouldn’t sell yourself short. You should pursue a career that caters to who you are as a person. If you’re trying to find the right job role to fit your characteristics and skills, then here are some financially rewarding industries that might have career options which suit your personality and interests.

Accounting

For people with logical minds, the world of accounting might sound quite enticing. There’s no denying that many of the job roles in this line of work are financially rewarding, but what do the jobs themselves entail? Well, it all depends on the employer. Pretty much every type of business in the world will employ accountants because all businesses need professionals to help them manage their money. If you’ve always been financially minded and numerically gifted, then this is probably the career for you.

Of course, if you want to do something that has an impact on the world, then accounting could still be the right profession for you. Obviously, it benefits the business in question, but certain kinds of accountants can have a wider impact on the world too. You could look into forensic accounting, for instance. This would involve crunching data to help with legal cases, so you’d have a positive impact on the world in that sense. And you should do some research if you’re wondering what to expect from an accounting career salary. They’re all very financially stable.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry is one that appeals to those who want to help other people. There are so many different job roles available to you in this line of work. You just need to choose your profession based on your goals. Obviously, you’ll need to accept that most job roles in this industry require a few years of training before you can become qualified to work in a particular field. That’s why you should give it some thought. Maybe you care about mental health; you could look into therapy-based roles. Or maybe you really care about animals; you could become a qualified veterinarian. This industry might be perfect for you.

Education

A career in teaching could be another good route for you if you want to change people’s lives. For those with caring personalities, this is the perfect industry. You’ll be helping to shape the minds of young people. You’ll be guiding them so that they can find their own dream jobs. The great thing about teaching is that there are so many different routes you could take. It suits people of all academic backgrounds because you have a variety of subjects from which you can pick your particular topic of expertise. Obviously, it’ll take a few years of training to get the necessary qualifications, but it’ll be worth it for the joy of doing something you love.

Time to Level Up

July 12, 2019/in Managing Your Business/by StrategyDriven

Running your own business has been something you’d always dreamed of and when you’ve built your business from scratch, from the bottom up letting go of any part of it can feel like a real wrench. But if you want your business to succeed and grow up to the next level then it’s time to make some hard decisions on how you’re going to achieve just that.

In this blog, we take a look at three tips to start levelling up your business, whether you manufacture car parts or work for Yeremian Law employment attorneys, you’ve got some hard decisions to take.

Hand Over

If you’re a one-man-show then chances are you’ve become used to handling everything yourself. While you many not enjoy spending hours going through the books, you know where everything is and you’re on top of the finances.

The same for your marketing strategies, you’ve got the basics and while it might not be the most impactful strategy, you’re making some headway.

But is that really good enough? Are there other parts of your business that would benefit from having your full attention? The answer is quite probably yes and that’s why you’re going to start handing some of your daily tasks over to staff.

If you’ve never recruited before, it might feel daunting but expanding your workforce and entrusting them to do well those jobs you’re only just scraping by on, is going to be a game changer.

Get a great team behind you and see how quickly your business begins to flourish with everyone working together to achieve your goals.

Re-Focus

If you’re going to look at growing your business anywhere take a fresh look at your marketing strategies. If you have gone ahead and recruited someone to take this on for you then sit down with them and brainstorm a fresh, innovative ways of reaching out to your customer base.

You’re looking to grow and build upon that existing loyal base to create a new influx of customers who you’ve reached through new channels.

Take a look at how you leverage your social media and have your new hire explore some fresh ideas such as YouTube, podcasts and so on to provide a little bit more interest in your business.

Prepare

Finally, you need to prepare for growth. You can’t just sit back and let the cashflow come rolling in, you need to make sure your tech is adequately supported to handle more customers to your website. You need to make sure that any checkout facilities you use online can handle lots more use. You need to be ready.

If you’re going to invest in your business, then you need to believe that those investments are going to pay off so get ready for success.

With a great team behind you, a fresh vision of how you’re going to talk to your customers and a new strategy of how you’re going to deal with a sudden upturn you’re all ready to take your business to the next level, so hang on and enjoy the ride.

The Benefits Of Radio Advertising

July 12, 2019/in Marketing & Sales/by StrategyDriven

If you’re considering using radio advertising for your business but you don’t know whether it’s for you then don’t worry, you have come to the right place. Whether you’ve just started your business or you’ve been doing it for years, the decision to use radio advertising shouldn’t be taken lightly. With so many different things to consider, you need to ensure it is the best possible choice for you. To help you decide, here are some of the benefits of radio advertising:

You Can Concentrate On A Local Audience

One of the best things about radio advertising is that you can target your advertisements to a local audience. Whether it’s a national or a regional station, you can be sure you are reaching people that are going to be able to purchase your products or invest in your services. For more information about national and regional radio stations, you can visit this site here.

You Can Advertise On A Station Your Target Audience Will Listen To

As well as targeting the location of your advertisements, you can also reach your target audience based on the station they would listen to.

When you’re creating your customer avatar, you will have thought about the stations your target audience would like, giving you the perfect opportunity to advertise in a place you know they’ll be listening. With no option to skip adverts, you can be sure they’ll know your advertisement after just a couple of hours in the car. If you need assistance when it comes to creating your customer profile, you can visit this site here.

It Can Be Inexpensive And Effective

If you’re feeling a little sceptical, you may be wondering why is radio advertising important?

Well, if you’re looking for an inexpensive and effective way to reach new customers then this may be one of the best possible options. Whilst you will still incur a cost, in comparison to some marketing strategies it is incredibly affordable.

You Can Do It As Often As You Need

The trick with radio marketing is to create an advertisement that people will remember after hearing over and over again. Because of this, you will need to purchase a regular advertising spot. If you’re struggling when it comes to creating an advert people will remember, why not take a look at other radio ads that have been successful? Using their key traits, you can create one of your own.

It’s Easy To Get Your Message Across

Finally, when it comes to radio advertising, it is really easy to get your message across. In advertising, it is not very often you get to directly talk to your customer, so take this opportunity to say everything you have ever wanted about your product or service. Consider this to be your business’ 30-second elevator pitch.

Five Productivity Mistakes for Entrepreneurs to Avoid

July 10, 2019/in Entrepreneurship/by Christopher Grey

Most entrepreneurs are led to believe that successful business models prosper quickly and easily. However, in a study by Statistic Brain, “Startup Business Rate by Industry Business, the failure rate of all U.S. companies after five years was over 50 percent, and over 70 percent after 10 years

Too many entrepreneurs may be focusing too much on their hopes and dreams of success rather than maintaining daily best practices to stay productive and healthy. Here are five mistakes entrepreneurs should correct in order to help them achieve a more productive day and a healthier lifestyle.

1) Don’t Ignore Your Own Well-Being:

Exercise, relaxation, and spending time with friends and family is key to having a healthy mind and body. According to the Gallup Wellbeing Index, 45% of entrepreneurs report being stressed compared to 42% of “other workers.” Entrepreneurs also report being more likely to have “worried a lot” — 34% vs. 30%.. Physical and mental healthcare the most important components for long term success at anything, especially the highly stressful project of building a successful business. Disregarding your personal welfare in favor of pushing yourself to the limit and beyond can result in a negative domino effect and usually compounds every other mistake you’re making. Most often these topics are unspoken and not confronted because there is a need to be perceived as confident and able to handle anything, but this is a real problem that takes down many entrepreneurs and causes them to fail. Neglecting your health and working yourself until you drop isn’t good for your business, even though that may be the kind of culture that is being promoted in the social media narrative. It’s not worth the damage you’re doing to your life, and it doesn’t produce good results for most people anyway.

2) Don’t Overthink Strategy:

It seems as if many of us spend way too much time thinking about what we should be doing instead of actually doing it. People assume that entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffett mostly think about their long-term vision because that is what you hear about in the media a lot of the time. What you don’t hear as much about is what they do every day to move towards those long term goals. They didn’t build huge businesses spending most of their time strategizing and dreaming about the future. Most of the time you spend working should be producing some kind of tangible results for your business. You can spend some time thinking about where you want to be in 5 or 10 years, but that should be a small part of your schedule. If you don’t produce results now, you will never get to your long term goals.

3) Avoid Distracting Communication:

Some entrepreneurs will spend a lot of time micromanaging and refereeing personality conflicts in the workplace or engaging in their own workplace drama with partners, colleagues, and investors. This usually leads to a destructive cycle that harms the business. If there are people on your team causing you too much stress or drama, you need to remove them from your team as soon as possible. Or if you can’t remove them, you need to think about removing yourself and moving on to something else with your life. Like a bad relationship, if you can’t fix it, you have to move on. Hanging around for the drama or trying to “win” a bad relationship is not productive, and it’s the same thing in your business. Nobody wins in these drama filled scenarios.

4) Lack of Prioritization:

Many entrepreneurs will find that they lack the ability to prioritize their time. They spend way too much time on things that may be interesting or happen to catch their attention even thought those things aren’t important for the business. You should not be spending much time on low value items that can be done later, delegated to someone else, or often completely ignored with minimal consequences. This seems obvious, but many entrepreneurs fall into this trap, obsessing over things like the corporate logo, mission statement, team happy hours, office space, employee complaints, or many other things that don’t usually produce tangible results for the business. One of the worst examples is working very hard on acquiring and keeping small, unprofitable customers. Another example is spending a lot of time trying to build a corporate culture long before the business has achieved any success or traction. Success and traction builds your corporate culture, not the other way around. Focus on producing good results and many of these other things will not matter or can be handled later when you have more resources.

5) Time-Management:

You should have an awareness of time, value, and desired results when planning meetings, events, or activities. Your time management is crucial to productivity and successful decision making. As you better manage your time, you will be more aware of your own productivity and results you are generating. The more aware you are of your own time management and results, this will also help you better manage your colleagues and help them to make the most out of their days. This will also allow you to have more time for yourself to relax, exercise, and lead a more balanced life. There are many good productivity tools for helping you accomplish this, but any simple calendar, timer, and alarm apps will do the job. The software won’t fix your time management problem or make you more productive. This is about taking responsibility for budgeting your time, staying aware of how you are spending time, and then holding yourself accountable to your schedule unless there is a compelling reason to alter it.

Avoiding these five common productivity mistakes won’t make you a billionaire. But avoiding them will give you a much better chance of success than the 70% of entrepreneurs whose businesses fail.

About the Author

Christopher Grey is the co-founder and COO of CapLinked, an enterprise software company offering an information control and risk mitigation platform for the sharing of confidential or sensitive documents and communications outside of the enterprise. Previously, he was a senior executive and managing partner in private equity and corporate finance for 15 years and directly involved in the deployment and management of billions of dollars of debt and equity investments in various industries. Christopher founded two companies, Crestridge Investments, a private equity firm that made debt and equity investments in micro cap and middle market companies, and Third Wave Partners, which made debt and equity investments in distressed situations, and was managing director of a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank, the largest privately owned bank in the country. Most recently, he is a co-founder of TransitNet, a platform for security token issuers offering title verification, chain of ownership tracking, and other post issuance tools for improving the security and reliability of security token ownership.