VISION & STRATEGY www.ceotodaymagazine.com 62 Understand what your business needs It is important to look at your startup purely as a business and assess it for needs for survival rather than simply the things you want. You might assume that what is being advocated here is getting rid of anything that is an expense for the company – but that isn’t necessarily the case. For example, when many startups plan for an economic downturn, they cut budgets for services such as marketing and advertising. This seems to make sense on the surface; the business continues to operate normally and if those doing the marketing have done a reasonable job, leads will continue to arrive in the short term. However, it is the medium-term consequences that can be disastrous here. When you cut essential services like marketing that are fulfilling a key role for the company (driving new leads and sales) the end result is cutting off your supply of customers. Have a business plan in place (and stick to it) “It is surprising just how many business owners try to get started without a proper business plan,” says Oliver Spevack, Partner at Hamlyns Chartered Accountants. “It is like trying to plan a journey without a map. The fact is that business advice for startups is easily accessible and available at prices even small businesses can afford.” It is certainly the case that many entrepreneurs have a big idea for what they want their business to become, but don’t always have the plan thought through. A good business plan should understand key information like how many clients or customers are needed to make a profit and look at deeper specifics of how success will be achieved. Also, remember that a business plan is designed to be in place over a period of time, after which it can be reviewed. Place value on your existing customers When an economic downturn hits, businesses can make the mistake of “When an economic downturn hits, businesses can make the mistake of focusing much of their attention on getting new customers. Of course, customer acquisition is always an important part of running a small business – but if you have just seen numbers of clients dwindle, due to more difficult economic circumstances, it can feel especially important to build those numbers back up.”
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