Launching a new business is one of the most stressful and challenging things that anyone can do. There is never going to be a shortage of people out there who have a great idea for a new company, but there are far fewer who have the vision and the commitment to follow through. Launching a new business that is going to be successful requires so many different qualities as well as having a truly great concept, but there are always going to be ways for things to go wrong.
If you are in the pre-launch stage for your new tech company, you will be doing your best to focus on the best-case scenario, or at least a scenario that allows for a successful first few months. But you will also know that there is potential for mistakes and missteps at every step of the journey. Not all these mistakes will be the kind of thing that can make or break a new business, but they can end up costing you time and money at a point where you can’t afford to lose either. Here are some of the most common that you need to be aware of, and how you can best avoid them.
Rushing The Launch
In the tech industry, rushing your launch can be one of the most damaging things that you can do. People will be drawn to your business on the promise of what you have to offer, and if you launch before you or your product are ready, you may never recover from that reputation hit. One of the clearest examples of this may be the videogame industry, where new launches take an incredible amount of heat for incomplete or buggy products. You may not be asking people to pay $60 for something that is not ready, but the principle is the same. If you are not there yet, wait until you are.
Spending Time On The Wrong Social Media Platform
Everyone knows that social media is crucial when it comes to getting the word out about your business and attracting new customers. But it can be easy to spend a lot of time and effort (not to mention resources) creating a marketing plan for a social media platform only to discover that your target audience is not going to be there. Social media for B2B brands can be particularly tricky. It can feel like you are obligated to have a presence on the new buzzy platform, but is that activity actually going to drive any business? Ayrshare’s guide to which social media platforms are best for attracting B2B clients breaks down the pros and cons of the ones that you need to know about. Their API allows you to programmatically publish to your social networks using your choice of language.
Not Asking For Advice
There are a lot of great qualities that are inherent in entrepreneurs, but one of the worst and most common is the perceived need to try and do everything by themselves. It is not all bad, and it is how a lot of people have that drive to set up their own company. But it is especially important around the launch period to think about where you could use a little advice and a little help. There are going to be people in both your professional and social networks who have been on this journey before, and it is not a sign of weakness to ask them if they have any tips or if there is anything that they wish they had done differently. Utilizing the experience and expertise of others at this delicate stage will only give your company a stronger foundation.
Being Too Rigid
This point covers a wide range of different issues, but the central message is this: there is a good chance that at some point during your launch, the exact plan you had will no longer work. It may be a result of something massive, like funding that you were relying on not coming through, or a power outage due to weather events. It may be something minor like one of your tech developers needing to take a sick day and no one being around to pick up the slack. Generally, it is going to be down to something out of your control. A great example would be something like a major news event occurring on the day that you were scheduled to launch. Suddenly, all those excited promotional tweets that you had scheduled to send would look very out of place. If you do not have the flexibility built in to roll with those kinds of punches, then you are going to struggle.
Not Doing Their Market Research
Market research should be one of the cornerstones of every business plan. If you want to attract investment, you need to demonstrate that you have looked at what is out there and that you know that you can carve out a niche for yourself. But this is not a process that can be crossed off your list as soon as your business plan is written up and sent to investors. Things move quickly, new issues arise in seconds, and new tech can completely change the landscape. You need to always have an eye on market research. If you lose sight of what’s going on out there, you might just find that your niche has been occupied by the time you launch.
Pushing Too Hard
Finally, a note that every entrepreneur needs to remember. It makes sense that you will be working every hour that you can, and that you will feel like nothing is more important than your business’ launch. But if you push yourself too hard, you will run the risk of burning out. There has been so much written about this issue, and you need to ensure that you are taking proper breaks. Try to keep weekends and evenings free from work if you can. Keep getting outside and make sure that you are getting regular exercise. Watch your diet and avoid leaning too hard on caffeine and sugar. You also need to encourage your team to do the same.
