10 Tips for Making Your Startup A Success

By Shawn Hessinger

The entrepreneur community has been buzzing with the story of Yahoo acquiringTumblr.

The Internet giant purchased the site founder David Karp launched from his mother’s Manhattan apartment for $1.1 billion. At only 26-years-old, Karp is expected to receive up to $220 million from the deal.  Though he eventually took venture funding, Karp launched his hugely successful social blogging platform from a simple idea.

His story is an inspiration to others seeking to start the next big thing. Here are 10 tips from the business blogging community for creating the next big startupsuccess story, from a simple idea:

Start with a great product. - Erica.Biz

Twitter and similar Silicon Valley startups gained momentum with support from the so-called “digerati.” However, you don’t need the support of top tech bloggersor trend setters to launch a great startup. All you need is a really great product or service and a customer base that loves it. Blogger Erica Douglass gives us a look at the “Macklemore Effect” and how it can rocket your startup to success.

Pick the right startup name. - Entrepreneur

Picking the right name for your startup is also important. Gary Backaus and JustinDobbs of Memphis-based ad agency Archer>Malmo gave a presentation earlier this year at the South By Southwest Interactive Conference. The presentation looked at how to pick the best name for your startup. Here are their five best suggestions for picking a business name that will take you from startup to success.

Pay attention to your business plan. - SBA.gov

Entrepreneurs may differ on the importance of a business plan or on what form it should take. But a good business plan is key to startup success. Here are five fundamental principals of good business planning from business planning expert and startup founder Tim Berry. Look at Berry’s suggestions as a best practices list to aspire to when creating the business plan for your startup.

Make sure the price is right. - Startup Professionals Musings

Investor and blogger Martin Zwilling gives us an overview of the kinds of pricing decisions startups must make. These are not simply decisions about how to price a product or service competitively. They are also decisions about the kind of pricing model, for example, free product or service monetized by ads, freemium service et cetera.

Change your approach to recruiting. - The Verge

Startups have been evolving their approach to recruiting for quite some time. Plain old want-ads were replaced by  online job boards and replaced by recruitment via LinkedIn. Now there’s yet another way to hire workers. TaskRabbit, a site dedicated to contractors, is moving toward offering more long-term work.

Make your startup an attractive acquisition target. - Business Insider

Tumblr wasn’t the only Yahoo acquisition last week. The company also bought online gaming company PlayerScale for a price not yet disclosed. Sometimes the key to success is to build a company, product or service other businesses can use. Create something other companies could build into their model then sell it to the highest bidder.

Generate some buzz. - Small Biz Viewpoints

This is basically the art of getting people talking about your brand, and it’s not confined to the Internet. Consultant Harry Vaishnav offers 15 creative suggestions including everything from placing ads on billboards to giving away some of your products. Don’t stop with these suggestions. Come up with some creative ideas yourself.

Learn two simple tips for viral marketing. - Small Business Trends

Viral marketing has become the holy grail for those seeking to get their message out and have it spread. But once you create an infographic or other piece of content that goes viral, what’s your next step? Tech and social media blogger Drew Hendricks teaches us how to capitalize on that initial success. Create infographics and videos that pick up where your initial viral marketing message left off.

Understand social media marketing — for real. - Social Steve’s Blog

Social media and social media marketing are not the same things, says social marketing director Steve Goldner. Just because you have a Facebook or Twitter account you update regularly, does not make you a social media marketer. Goldneroutlines a list of considerations that go into real social media marketing. Have you developed a serious social media marketing campaign for your startup?

Think about your mobile customers - About Us

No matter what kind of startup you are launching, getting your message to mobile customers is more important than ever. In this post, Simon Phillips discusses some of the questions you should ask when thinking about your mobile presence. A website is no longer enough unless it can be viewed easily on mobile devices, for example. How might the mobile revolution affect your startup?

Save Time and Money; Research Your Potential Markets

By Tracy Fieber

When it comes to ensuring your company’s future success, customers are key. Without them, you don’t have a business – at least not for very long.

The biggest problem facing many start-ups is that they simply don’t know what they customers want. They may have their own ideas of what they think the customers want, but those assumptions aren’t always the most accurate. In order to truly be successful and develop your small company into a steadily growing organization, you need to be thorough and diligent with your market research.

Researching your potential markets entails a number of different aspects and processes, from understanding exactly who your target customers and what they’re looking for from your product or service, to knowing how your existing competitors are already fulfilling those needs. Extensive and complete market research can be a hefty goal to aim for, but one that will ultimately save you from wasting precious time and valuable resources pushing your company and marketing efforts in the wrong direction.

The five most important areas of market research to focus on include:

1. Who is your ideal customer?

Effectively marketing your product or service requires knowing exactly who your customers are – what is your target customer’s age, sex, income, and level of education? If your target is other businesses, what’s their average revenue and how many employees do they have?

2. What is your customer looking for from a product or service like yours?

Which one of your customers’ specifics needs are you addressing, and how can you satisfy it? For example, the minivan was created to fill the needs of suburban families that wanted more storage space than a sedan could offer, but with more passenger capacity than a pickup truck - all without the bulkiness and inconvenience of a full-sized van.

3. When are your customers most likely to buy?

Knowing when your customers are most prone to purchasing what you have to offer can help immensely with allocating your human resources and marketing efforts. A florist will see the most business around holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, whereas a restaurant can expect to fill more seats on Friday night than on Tuesday afternoon.

4. How are customers likely to make a purchase or decision on services?

Are your customers likely to make an impulse decision to purchase your product or service, or is it something that will require significant consideration? Are they looking to make purchases online, or would they rather do so in-person?

5. Why would they patronize you instead of your competition?

What other companies are already in your market, and what unique advantages do they offer to customers? How can you grow your market share and provide a better solution than your competitors?

Taking the time to conduct comprehensive market research early on in your company’s development help prevent you from wasting precious resources following a faulty strategy that is likely to fail. If you don’t know who your customers are, how to meet their needs, and how to get their business, how can you expect to succeed? With meticulous research of your potential markets, you’re setting your company up for success rather than just blindly hoping for it.

Save Time and Money Research Your Potential Markets

Author's Biography: 

Tracey Fieber helps business owners simplify, automate, and grow their businesses and their lives. She believes in the power of hiring the right people, and helps her clients cultivate highly effective teams that allow them to focus on the work about which they're passionate. By nurturing business owners' strengths and holding them accountable for their own success, Tracey's leadership, communication, and coaching techniques help her clients take massive leaps forward

13 Powerful Traits that Successful Business Owners Exhibit Every Day!

Michael Johnston

Consultant, Strategist, Trainer, Speaker, Peak Performance, 

and Life Coach.

What separates successful business owners from the rest of the pack is the practices they engage in on a persistent, consistent and ongoing basis. They find out what works for them, and they live accordingly. They don’t stray. And if they do happen to get off path, they sure don’t do so for long. There are people who move in circles, there are people who cross back and forth, and there are people who move in straight lines. Successful business owners do the latter. This in not to say that they get it write and stay on track, but the get the reason why they are trying to achieve what they want to achieve.

1. They create their own sense of urgency as they navigate through life. They don’t have to be pushed, pulled or motivated. This is not the kind of urgency that is experienced when undesired outside circumstances come knocking, or when someone runs short on funds. That’s called panic, which is a far less useful motivator. It is, rather, the urgency that is self-generated, which will quickly create change in a powerful and productive way. It’s the type of urgency that a professional football team will use to run a no-huddle offense when it is still early in the game.

2. Successful business owners bring everything they've got to situations, projects, and relationships in which they choose to engage. They do not test the waters, warm up to or hold back. They understand to get the most you have to give everything.

3. They use social media, e-mail, and the rest of the Internet as a tool, not a distraction. They are deliberate in the choices they make with their time. They understand that time is the one thing that is equal to all people they can't have more and they don't get less, so the spend that currency very wisely.

4. Successful business owners know that being highly educated does not always equate to being intelligent. They do not let their education be a limiting belief they instead use experience as the ultimate faculty, learning what they need to along the way and learning from every situation good and bad.

5.They apply enormous amounts of rigor (attention and intention) to the projects and concerns in their personal and professional lives. They understand that there is a huge distinction between being rigorous and being compulsive. Being rigorous entails looking at the situation from multiple perspectives, to achieve a higher degree of work-ability. Being compulsive usually revolves around the fear that something will not be good enough, and that this will reflect poorly on the person who created the result.

6. Business owners who thrive don’t try to get happiness, satisfaction, and love from relationships. By putting these things in the control of other people they can cause high amounts of drama and energy to be sucked out of their days. Instead, successful business owners no how to give themselves happiness, satisfaction and love and then bring that to relationships. Which gives them more energy and passion and support.

7. Successful business owners have a secret weapon against their own unworkable behavior. They notice what is working and what is not. They do not make excuses for it, and do not just stick with it, they change until they are headed in the direction they want.

8. They don’t allow “wanting to be liked” or “wanting approval” to stand in the way of being honest and direct with others.Therefore, they come across with much more credibility when interacting with others. Most people appreciate their straightforward sincerity.

9. They do not use “not knowing” as a justification for a lack of results. If they do not know something that is important for the accomplishment of an intended outcome, they take responsibility for learning what they need to learn or bringing in that knowledge.

10. They realize that “what you speak” and the “actions you take” either lead to an expanded life or a contracted life.Successful business owners choose expansion and growth, even though it may not be easy in the beginning. It has been observed that there are two pains in life: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. And while the pain of discipline weighs ounces, the pain of regret weighs tons.

11. The “convictions of your heart” and the “contents of your thoughts” are considerably less important than simply the practice of “saying what you will do and following through on your word.” When someone is in trouble and requires help, they would much rather work with a person who is committed, competent, and effective than someone sitting on the fence sending them positive vibes and well-wishes.

12. They commit to achieving a greater purpose. They do not get stuck on the activities. They do not re look at the result they want they just change the process of getting there. Vince Lombardi once said after a 14-2 season that his team never lost, it just ran out of time twice. This is the thought process of the successful business owner.

13. Successful business owners acknowledge that there is a price to be paid in life for what they want to create, or what they want to resolve, and they are completely willing to pay that price. While others may waiver, the commitment of successful business owners is absolute. Whether the required commitment is time, energy, money, or increased discipline, they are willing to do what’s required. This is how they achieve, and they are willing to consistently step up and not hold back. I call this the X-factor. Lebron James is arguably the best basketball player in the NBA right now. Sidney Crosby is arguably the best player in the NHL right now, Gary Ablett is arguably the best player in the AFL right now. These guys still put in more hours, more commitment, and more work then most other players and will work to improve the smallest thing in their game.

13 Powerful Traits that Successful Business Owners Exhibit Every Day!