Siya Carla — November 2, 2016 Follow @siyacarla“Build it, and they will come” – for reasons unknown, overnight startup success has become the most believable in the utopia of the modern age. Certainly, the idea of putting our thoughts into actions and releasing them straight into the market where they will be instantly accepted, liked and paid for sounds like food for all of our capitalistic hopes. If to that we add the irresistible jellies allure of independent freelancing, digital nomadism and virtual co-working spaces, the startup story suddenly becomes a bit too good to be true.
As ambition often goes hand in hand with a short-sighted perception of goals, means and methods, more gullible visionaries continue to jump the ride each new day, only to discover that, without hard work and a lot of time, effort and devotion, it leads to a dead end.
Luckily for those, plenty of startup myths have already been busted; this is our advice on the 5 most common ones.
Start Fresh, Ingenious & Quirky
Whenever in doubt, think of China – “copy and improve” has been their golden ticket to the global marketplace for decades, and it’s still as shiny and cashable as ever. Experts might claim that entrepreneuring is all about fresh, ingenious and quirky startup ideas, but in practise, it rarely is. Two of the biggest brands of today, Facebook and Google, were nothing innovative when they first launched, which is a good enough argument for our thesis.
Instead of brainstorming a cultural revolution, find something the audience won’t be able to refuse, do some polishing until it becomes a better, sleeker and more popular version of the original, present it in a practical and gripping brand package, and stick to it to the end.
Pitch Perfect
Opposing those impatient enough to think and analyse before they jump are those too indecisive to jump at all; both are, however, pretty unlikely to succeed in the startup world. The “It’s not the right time”, “I’m waiting for inspiration” and “I’m still working on the plan” people are the main culprits of the second startup myth you should definitely avoid – the insecurity of a marketplace that demands utmost perfectionism in all kinds of business undertakings.
A fool proof business plan, if there’s such thing at all, will certainly launch you to the top. The only problem is, such a business plan would demand way too much money, time and intellectual exertion. Instead of fixating on the tiniest of details, focus on strategies developed especially for this kind of businesses. In less words, work with your good judgment and lean on your creativity and your audience’s feedback. Like always, work and improve is the greatest approach to potentially risky feats.
Through Hardships to the Stars, All by Yourself
We all have that one entrepreneur friend who captions his business vacation photos with a tacky “Like a Boss” inscription. As the modern day obsession with our work-life balance continues to grow, being your own boss seems like a career move worth exploring. We might not need high-end experts to rebrand our ideas or polish our landing pages, but we certainly need them to do our math.
If not with expensive analysts, don’t be naïve enough to presume that consultation with a mentor figure is not necessary. The business world asks for a lot of experience and the same amount of connections – not to mention that marketing, product development and sales are not skills obtainable overnight – which is why having an advisor on your startup team is definitely a must.
Tweet It and the Magic Will Happen
Whatever the niche, newcomers will always be in great need of marketing optimization. Nobody pays attention to business cards anymore, and the spoken word travels less far than the digital one. And, if anything is certain about modern customer behaviour, it’s a fact that all the searching and browsing, as well as a significant part of shopping, is done in the online environment. It may not demand any particular kind of expertise, but social media campaigning is not to be taken lightly.
The first thing you need to understand is that you will not have the capacity nor the time to create engaging content and post, tweet, share and snap it all by yourself. “The more channels, the merrier the marketer” is one of the principles of digital branding and advertising, but such an undertaking is a job on its own. Instead of wasting hours on potentially pointless clicks, do your research carefully and build a strategy that will serve your specific niche needs most efficiently.
Naturally, startup success is not entirely a children’s tale – if launched in a way that honours the thin line between expectations and reality, your new business has a great chance of living happily ever after.
Business & Finance Articles on Business 2 Community(30)
