Being involved in startups is always exciting and accompanied by a lot of uncertainties. While each startup is unique, regardless of the type of business they are about to deal with, there are still many things that all entrepreneurs who are about to embark on this journey simply have to face. Knowing how to overcome those most typical challenges can actually be the difference between a success and a failure. To help you avoid failing at the very beginning, we’ve prepared the following list of the most common challenges faced by startups.

Insufficient research

Before establishing a company, each aspiring entrepreneur should do their homework and do a lot of extensive research. Is there a demand for the planned offer? Will the business depend on local customers, or can the offer be presented to remote parts of the world, as well? Can the market(s) you target pay the price you will put on your offer? How to reach your target audience in the most effective, yet affordable way? The list goes on…

Competition

This issue is one that will never disappear, but startups find it much more difficult to cope with this challenge than well-established companies.

There is fierce competition in every single field of business, which means startups have to embrace this challenge and hit the ground running. You need products and services that are difficult to find, yet in demand. The other approach is to offer the same products and services as your competitors, but either at lower prices or in a way that ensures you add more quality or value to your offer than your competitors. Only then can you succeed.

Legality

Many startups are preoccupied with creating the best possible offer and reaching clients that they sometimes forget that they first need to ensure legality of all the actions they are involved in. Also, choosing a wrong corporate structure can actually put you into so much trouble, that your business is bound to be affected. That is why you should hire a reputable local lawyer even before registering your company to help you choose the company structure and provide assistance in matters such as securing new premises, helping you understand your legal rights and obligations.

Recruiting

Another problem that never disappears is recruiting. Finding a perfect team is one of the crucial tasks, made especially difficult due to the fact that startups can’t afford to make big mistakes.

If you want your startup to run successfully, you need people with certain skills, who need to be persuaded to join a startup, i.e. a company that is yet to establish itself. What you most certainly want to avoid is the situation where all the workload in on you. Your task is to help the company grow and that can never happen without help from other people, i.e. employees.

Financial resources

Raising funds is always complex and one of the most frustrating challenges faced by startups, but the success of your company depends on it, especially if you need a bigger amount. Unless you have your own money, you’ll need to resort to borrowing money from banks, family members, or friends. Just make sure all the transactions are transparent and it would be great if a lawyer drew up an agreement between you and the lender(s).

Customer loyalty

Well-established brands put a lot of effort in retaining their clients and there is a very good reason for that. Namely, it’s much cheaper to keep your client satisfied with your offer than to attract new ones, who first need to be dissatisfied with the service provided by your competitors and who also need to hear about you.

To ensure sustainable growth, you have to work hard on keeping the clients who trusted you from the beginning.

Unrealistic expectations

Many entrepreneurs dream big and there is nothing wrong with that, provided they are sensible about what they can expect. Dreams can be crushed even if you’ve done nothing wrong, but only if your planning was not realistic. That is why you should set realistic and attainable goals and focus on them. In a competitive market, expectations need to be controlled, keeping all the factors in mind.

These are just some of the most common challenges faced by startups. As you can see, they are universal and do not depend on the type of business you’re planning to establish, and they have to be dealt with simultaneously with all specific features typical of your business. How you deal with these challenges will set to tone for what’s to follow and we hope it’s a story of great success!