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Starting a business requires a combination of courage, careful planning and a skilled entourage. You can’t do it all by yourself! Here are ten tips to help you start off on the right foot and five pitfalls to avoid!
These 10 tips outline the key steps that will set your startup on the path to success:
Whether you’re still finetuning your business concept or about to make your first sales, one thing is certain: the foundations that you build now will directly impact your project’s success. Adopting these best practices and avoiding common pitfalls will maximize your chances of success.
Don’t go it alone. Speak to potential clients, test your idea on the ground and make adjustments based on feedback. Even a simple prototype can help you determine whether your solution has potential.
You can’t do everything by yourself. Choose business partners and team members whose skills complement yours. Delegating demonstrates leadership and strength.
Before you begin to consider financing, figure out how you’ll make money. Who will pay, how much will they pay and why? What are the risks? What are the solutions? Who are your competitors?
Define your business identity (name, mission, tone, image) even in a few sentences. A strong brand will attract clients, partners and employees.
Involve your users in the development process and you’ll save so much time. Take a client-centric approach by carrying out surveys and building a user-friendly website, for example.
Entrepreneurship is similar to running a marathon. Protect your mental health. Sleep, exercise and spend time with upbeat people.
You must be able to adapt while maintaining a certain level of structure (clear objectives, timelines, defined roles).
You can’t do everything at once. Work in sprints, define your key steps and celebrate the small victories.
Each failure is a learning opportunity. Launch, assess and adjust. Perfection is not the key to success, but the ability to pivot quickly is.
A host of organizations and programs in Quebec offer development support for start-ups. Reach out to business incubators and accelerators such as Québec Tech. Get help from a mentor through Réseau Mentorat, for example, and be on the lookout for available grants and subsidies.
During a business start-up process, you should also avoid certain traps.
Striving for perfection can prevent you from taking action. It’s better to launch an imperfect product and then tweak it based on feedback from initial users.
Developing a solution without truly understanding its users often leads to failure. Talk to your clients, observe them and involve them in the creative process.
Start out by building an uncomplicated and solid foundation. Your accounting, contracts and data protection process must be impeccable.
Venture capital is not a magic wand. You must first demonstrate that your project has traction.
Adaptability is important, but you must also stay on track even when you hit a roadblock. Letting doubt creep in or constantly changing direction can kill a promising idea.
In summary, it’s better to move forward slowly, but surely. Successful entrepreneurs are often those who proceed methodically while keeping an open mind. However, if your company is experiencing financial difficulties and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, contact us. We’ll support you and find the best solution.
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