You’ve got success in your sights, profits in your crosshairs and you’re itching to pull the trigger – do you reckon your startup can hit the mark?
Before you blow your wad on a luxury yacht to impress business associates or try out an ad campaign featuring Paris Hilton, take a few steps back from your marker. One expensive misfire could make or break your business.
Indeed, many seemingly up and coming businesses struggle to come up with ideas that are practical, novel and easy to monetise.
Just look at recent outright failure Peeple, an app intended to help you rate your friends and acquaintances with a score between one to five. Ignoring the questionable ethics of the app (it’s hardly likely to be a self-esteem booster), the company was hobbled from the get go by its constant backtracking.
After initial dismay at the app’s premise, the company’s owners removed its killer hook to bring it closer to positive feedback sites like LinkedIn and Klout. But in the process of altering it, the app lost its initial flavour.
Personality is key to a great business – and Peeple lost all of theirs.
Interior spectacular
Media agencies and digital startups require a particular personality to attract clients. They’ve got to be filled with a youthful vigour, bursting with new ideas and able to facilitate and understand the needs of customers who might not be tech-literate.
A startup with a good head on its shoulders knows that it doesn’t only have to look impressive in the digital world. Without a super-stylish office, you’ll attract nothing more than minnows when you should be fishing for prime cod.
Designing an office is a fine art. Depending on the workplaces’ size and your budget, you could have a number of rooms all with a different feel. This might sound like a small priority, but just imagine the different sparks of creativity that’ll burst from your employees in a variety of surroundings.
Smaller offices could invest in a mezzanine floor construction to add an extra level to your premises – and it could even provide your fusty office with a cool rustic look.
Promotion with a bang!
But before anyone can see the effects of your interior design, you’ve got to promote your startup effectively. Some companies will earnestly take out ads in corporate magazines, others will schmooze at snazzy opening parties (invites for high rollers only), and even more will flounder because they’ve failed to market themselves.
Naturally, you’re aiming to avoid the latter. A zesty new startup wants to begin with a bang, so take aim at an opening that will put you firmly on the map.
Most businesses will fall at the first hurdle. Such is capitalism. But if you can establish these three factors, you’ll be far more likely to hit the road running.
About Carson Derrow
