If you are reading this, you probably need congratulating. You have survived the toughest stage of any start-up, the first couple of months.
During this time, you have probably started your new company, and it has lasted through the initial danger period. Well done!
You have probably realized, however, that now is not the time to get complacent or relax. You now have to face the next obstacle in a start-up companies life span, the progression from a start-up to a company that has long term viability. This article is to help you survive that transition. After speaking to lots of start-up CEOs over the year, we have compiled this list of tips and tricks for you. From using contract to hire work, to effective time management, after reading this article, we hope that you are better equipped to take your start-up to the next level.
Expansion
The first thing you are going to want to do is to expand your company to fill in any weak spots. After all, there is only so much a single person can do. Some great first steps can be to automate some of your work by outsourcing it to capable freelancers. This can be a more attractive move then deciding to employ someone full time. It also gives you the ability to pick and choose experts for each task. If you need a great graphic designer for one job and a good social media marketer for another, find freelancers in both fields is way easier than employing someone who can do both.
Marketing
With your expansion, you are going to need to start working on ramping up marketing. If you want more sales, you are going to need more people to be aware of your brand/services. First things first, work on all of the free sources of marketing, like social media. Make sure your brand is active on every single social media platform; they are free and surprisingly effective.
Next, you should be investing in some kind of paid advertisement. The best way to do this, in our opinion, is to find a marketing freelancer who can show you proven results of their campaigns.
Invest in your own education
Make sure that you are constantly working on improving your own skillset and knowledge. That means attending seminars, taking online courses, speaking to mentors. This is incredibly important.
Persistence
Finally, you need to stay persistent. Often people start to relax and take their eye off the ball after some relative success. After they enter this relaxed state, it is harder to act reactively to problems that arise. Use your success to prepare and be proactive. If you do this, you will protect yourself in the event that things start to go wrong.
Hopefully, after reading this, you have a better idea of what you need to do to propel your business through the next stages of its growth. Successful start-ups can gain some great momentum in their infancy, and often the ability to keep that momentum going is what makes or breaks a business.
Good luck!
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