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7 Early Signs That Your Startup Is About To Fail

This article is more than 7 years old.

When you first open your new company, you are filled with hope. You are delighted with what you have created and you are ready to take on the world. The problem is at this early stage you are already bound to fail. After getting so caught up in the initial fervor, you are unable to see the forest for the trees.

These are the seven most common signs that your startup is doomed to fail from the start.

Who Are Your Customers?

You want your customers to fall in love with your business. At the same time, you will never manage to do this unless you know who they are. You need to know your target audience and you need to know everything about them, otherwise, you are going to have a hard time selling to them.

Entrepreneurs need to bear in mind that customers always come first.

The Mental Trap

Everyone has certain mental patterns they fall into. This could come from your background or even how your parents raised you. The point is that you are stuck in a specific category. What separates great entrepreneurs from bad ones is not the ability to leave these patterns alone but to be flexible enough to switch these patterns when necessary.

Try to break out of your mental trap by forcing yourself to try new things. Take some additional calculated risks and learn to embrace that feeling of nervousness that comes with it.

Understanding The Market

The market has always been the driving force of entrepreneurship. Back in 2008, a crashed market caused large-scale unemployment, and that forced people into becoming entrepreneurs. Market forces affect everyone, regardless of the industry you happen to be operating in.

The market is impersonal and it will change at will. This is not something you can control. You can only react to it.

Moving Your Focus

The chances are you won’t hit upon your master idea at the first attempt. Startups must be flexible enough to move focus based on the changing needs of the market. You need to know when to try something else. Many startups will pivot over 10 times before they find their sweet spot.

You may even find that you have to start fresh more times than you would like. It may be the case that you get into an industry just when it’s about to go into decline. There’s nothing brave or heroic about trying to make the best of a bad situation. Why not ignore the bad situation and find the good one? It will save you a lot of time and effort.

You Don’t Take Action Fast

Remember what you just read about market forces?

They change fast and you have to react to them. The problem is so many entrepreneurs don’t actually take any action fast enough. You will notice that the most successful entrepreneurs don’t dream and they don’t have a vision. They are the people who take action.

Failing To Concentrate On The Right Things

Work smarter not harder. If most of your day is being wasted on pointless tasks, you are not going to get much out of your business. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed any success. Entrepreneurs are always busy, but those who are making money are being busy with the right stuff.

Prioritize the tasks that advance your business. Spring cleaning like mopping up your email inbox and dusting your office desk can wait.

Losing Sight Of What Really Matters

Revenue is the most important thing in the world. Your revenue should be your priority because nothing else matters in the world of business. You can have lots of idealistic visions and you can want to change the world, but without a strong bottom line, you are going nowhere.

The only metric that matters is how much money you are bringing into your company. Nothing else will pay the rent. Your bank manager doesn’t care how much traffic you’ve managed to attract to your website.

Conclusion – Startup Failure Is Real

Entrepreneurs don’t like to think about startup failure, and that’s why so many of them fail. 25% of them fail in year one. You don’t have to be pessimistic or cynical about surviving your first year, but you should be aware of the real threat always looming over you.

What do you think is the biggest sign of startup failure?