Dear Startup Founder, Are You Ready For 2019?
2018 has been a year of hard work, learning, failures, successes, and lots more. A lot of startup founders have learned different lessons in 2018 that they can’t wait to put to use in 2019.
In fact, some of us are still planning for 2019, while some of us already worked on our 2019 plans in 2018. Where do you belong?
You do not have to wait till January end to set your New Year goals or resolutions. If you haven’t started now, it is getting too late. Start now.
Source: Giphy
So what are some of the ways you can better prepare for a beautiful 2019 as a startup founder? Here are some things to consider below:
Evaluate your 2018: Find out what has worked well, what didn’t go quite right and things you can work on in the coming year. What are some of the lessons to be learned and how can you improve in 2019? Is there a product that sold well? What are some of the things that your customers loved and what are some of them they found hard to accept?
Set SMART goals: Set SMART long-term and short-term goals and then, break them down into monthly goals. This would help you review and evaluate what is working and what isn’t. In addition, you need to create a roadmap for your goals. You need to have a clear idea of how you want to achieve your goals.
Come up with strategies to help you increase your market share: You need to have more people buying your products or paying for your services. This would help you in improving your cash flow in the coming year.
Provide excellent customer service: Here is the thing, you can have a great product, but if you don’t serve your customers well, they are likely to find someone else who would. Your customers want to be treated with respect. You should respect them and make them feel valuable. Like Ken Blanchard said “Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore. If you want a booming business, you have to create raving fans.” You need to get to a point where your customers become your fans.
Have a big theme for the year: This helps you to be more focused. For instance, if your argument for 2019 is ‘impact’, then you need to do a lot of things around impacting others. Projects, products, services, ideas, and so on can be about the word ‘impact’.
Innovate: As much as you can, study the market, study trends, understand the direction of your target audience and innovate. Innovation will set you apart from your competitors.
Get your finances in order: Do you need to sort your accounting and bookkeeping? Do this and sort it out before the new year arrives. Outsource your accounting or hire an accountant if you need to; make sure your books are in order.
Your wellbeing is important: Your physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing are essential; do not neglect them. Even if you are trying to run a successful business, you need to be sure you are fit and okay, so you don’t run down your health.
Feature image courtesy: Shutterstock
