The mortality rate for new businesses is extremely high—chances are you won’t make it—and you absolutely must avoid these 5 mistakes if your new brave idea is to survive and thrive.
1. DON’T EVER move forward with an idea that is not different from your competition. — Ultimate success will be determined by staking a unique claim in the market that clearly distances you from everyone out there.
If your idea is the same as, or similar to something already out there, it will be invisible. It won’t attract attention and no one will buy it.
If you can’t come up with an idea that is different from someone else’s, STOP!
2. DON’T EVER move forward if you don’t clearly identify who the potential customers are for your new idea. — Winning is all about targeting your idea to very specific groups of people and giving them a reason to buy from you.
It’s not about flogging your idea to the masses and hoping it will stick to some of them.
If you can’t define your potential customers, STOP!
3. DON’T EVER move forward unless you have people around you with strong marketing and customer service backgrounds. — Ultimately, the success of your idea will depend on go-to-market effectiveness. Better have people on board who have experience in serving customers and providing value-based solutions to people.
Technology and finance expertise are needed as well, but in a supportive role. People responsible for customers must be your anchor.
If you can’t put together a team of people with customer experience, STOP! until you find them.
4. DON’T EVER rely on cool technology to sell itself. — It’s not about a product or service. It’s about how your idea makes a difference to people’s lives or business.
People don’t buy technology, they buy what the technology creates for them. Happiness. Joy. Pleasure. Solution to a problem. Make it easy.
If you’re not looking for a way to deliver happiness, STOP!
5. DON’T EVER start chasing new applications for your technology. — Stay focussed on the one you feel will capture the imagination of your potential customers. After you’ve proven your idea works there, then consider other applications.
Chasing numerous applications at once will distract you and stop you from making progress.
You burn energy cycles and money dealing with potential opportunities proposed by associates and colleagues in businesses who would like a piece of your action.
These 5 mistakes can kill your startup; avoid them at all cost.
Related: How the Competitive Herd Runs and Why It Will Destroy You