Steve Blank and Bob Dorf in their book “The Startup owner’s manual” defined a Startup as “a temporary organization in search of a scalable, repeatable, profitable business model”. From this definition; we know that startups are not simply smaller versions of larger companies because Companies’ executes business models where customers, their problems and necessary product/service features are “knowns”.
Apart from delivering value to their customers, startups create employment opportunities. This is why The Gambia displays a great enthusiasm towards entrepreneurship, as reflected in its investment in youth, competitions and awards for entrepreneurs. For example; The Gambia Investment Export and Promotion Agency (GIEPA) conducts an annual Business Plan Competition for MSMEs. The ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment has also launched an innovation grant as part of the Social Development Fund, to commercialize local projects.
But how do you make ensure that the growth of your startup doesn’t stagnate and ultimately decline. Startups require rules, roadmaps, skill sets and tools in order to minimize risk and optimize chances of success.
One of the most important questions a founder should asked is “Where are the customers and what do they want” meaning startups should be “customer-centric”. Many startups try to market their products to everyone, however startups simply does not succeed like that. You need to figure out the specific demographics that apply to your target audience. By defining your specific target audience, you make marketing easier because you have a more informed idea of the techniques and tactics you need to reach out to these key audience groups. Never assume you know your customers and all the features they need. Unless, you are a domain expert; your startup is a faith-based initiative built on guesses. So, to succeed, you need to turn hypothesis into facts by asking your customers if the hypothesis were correct and quickly changing those that were wrong. In a nutshell you make sure your core product line reaches “market fit”. You can make gradual improvements through product/services iterations based on user feedback and data.
Once your startup expands, recruit staff that share your vision and start dividing the various responsibilities up among them. The important thing to consider is delegation and assigning the right roles to the right individuals within the startup. Avoid the path of ‘least resistance” – that is, placing close friends and relatives in key positions simply because of who they are. Constantly communicate with your team. It is wise to ask them for feedback on the startup and the products/services that you make/provide from time to time. Doing so means that you might get a fresh look or perspective at the improvements you could make for even greater levels of success.
Watch Your Budget– One of the biggest problems that young startups encounter is money. Hire a financial adviser (if necessary) to be in charge of the monetary happenings of the business and to keep you on budget.
Using different types of Advertisements can also help. You want to be sure you are appealing to all people who fall into your target audience. Both offline and online advertising are important and depends on the nature of your business which one you assign more budgets to. For example, you can harness the power of social media. Develop a Facebook page for your startup and frequently update it with information. By diversifying the mediums that you use to speak to your audience, you are giving yourself a better chance of success.
Market Research is also important. As a startup founder, you need to be aware of what is going on in the market. Are the competitors currently making products/services that are better or more accessible than yours are? Is the market for this particular good coming to an end, meaning that you need to revamp your current product? You cannot just have a business and be unaware of what is going on in the larger domain; staying on top of this type of information helps you to stay afloat.
Succeeding in startup can be difficult. So, you need to have the right systems and processes, people, and plans.