If I told you that your startup could survive any recession, would you believe me?
You may identify with the emotional roller coaster that is being an entrepreneur. You may view a dip in success as a bad omen that your business is doomed to fail. Don’t allow yourself to quit before your venture is truly over! The biggest startup mistake that you can make is to give up prematurely.
Your business plan could be relevant today and outdated the next. How do you stay in the game if you can’t anticipate every crisis?
The answer is in your entrepreneurial athleticism. The best athletes have the ability to change direction at a moment’s notice. Of course, professional athletes are not born this way. They become the best through rigorous training and expert coaching–and so can you!
Odeo: Inventing Opportunity
I’m going to let you in on a trick used by nearly every Fortune 500 company. It’s called the ” pivot “, and it is one of the most critical strategies that you can add to your startup tool box.
Consider this: Odeo, a small startup company that converted voicemails into mp3s, was knocked off its feet in 2005. Unforeseeable changes in their market forced them to rethink their strategy. Apple, a major competitor, announced that all new iPhones would be sold with free podcasting capabilities, which rendered Odeo obsolete. Instead of retreating, Jack Dorsey, one of Odeo’s brightest stars, came up with a brilliant solution. He developed a platform that allowed users to broadcast an SMS message to a customizable network. Consequentially, Odeo was rebranded into what is arguably the most powerful social media platform: Twitter.
The lesson to be learned is that it is NEVER too late to seize an opportunity. You can successfully position yourself among your competitors through reinvention, but a wrong move could be costly.
A startup mentor is what Sacagawea was to Lewis and Clark. An expert guide lays common pitfalls on your path before you, and what was once overwhelming is now conquered. A few simple meetings with a startup mentor can save you thousands of dollars’ worth of preventable mistakes that you would normally have to endure through trial and error.
Nokia: Uncovering Opportunity
Positive change doesn’t necessarily involve a complete 180. Sometimes, you can get the edge by simply sharpening your focus.
Consider this: Nokia hasn’t always been a telecommunications company. Nokia was founded in 1865, decades before the popularity of the cell phone. The company dabbled in a variety of products over the 21st century. These included rubber boots, plastics, and personal computers before they tightened their game and narrowed in on mobile communications. In the 1990s, demand for cell phones spiked, and Nokia streamlined their resources to provide a product that was far superior to the competition.
SAGE Business Consulting: Your Personal Launching Pad
Changing course can be terrifying, but the element of risk is reduced with proper guidance. Ponder what you could gain from transformation and think about what you could lose from stagnation. Imagine how proud you will be when you think back and remember the specific changes that transfigured your business to a whole new level. A small tweak in your strategy could reap enormous benefits–but only with the right angle.
Let me help you take your spark of inspiration and spread it like wildfire across your entire campaign. I have all the tools you need right here in a custom startup plan that I create just for you.
Take a look and see what we can do together to make your dream a reality.