How to Startup Strong For Entrepreneurs
Updated: October 16, 2024
Original Published Date: January 29, 2020
Live Twitter #StartupChats how to start up strong
Q&A with Startup Canada Guest Advisor Christine Whone
We discussed the best strategies for your business to be effective, efficient, and excellent from the start of your new business year. Learn how to set yourself up for success to build your business with intention—one of my favourite topics.
The event had 39 contributors, and 29.7 million impressions, and the Wakelet can be found here.
Q1 First question! When starting your new business year, why is it important to evaluate your prior year’s results?
A1: Reviewing the prior year’s results is important to pivot towards products or services that offer the strongest growth in the new business year. Consider eliminating offerings that are not selling to focus on the thriving services and products.
Q2 How much time should you spend evaluating your prior year’s results versus moving ahead with your new annual plan?
A2: Review before the new year can be a simultaneous integration undertaking for a new year in business. It’s key to define and validate new offerings.
Q3 What are the top three things business owners need to focus on at the beginning of a year?
A3: Get a financial, advertising and marketing plan together which outlines long-term goals and implement it daily. Batch the processes, and with consistency, accomplishing daily tasks is what has you achieving the long-term plan.
Q4 When looking back on the year, what indicators signal a need for change in business practices?
A4: Negative feedback from the marketplace. Your consumers, clients, and customers will tell you everything that signals a need for change in business practices.
Q5 What part of your annual business plan is most likely to change from what you expected it to be?
A5: The lineup of products and services may change as you learn more about the marketplace. Consider that you may have setbacks or there may not be interest in a specific service or product for a variety of reasons (e.g., not selling, low sales, negative feedback, no interest).
Q6 What approaches can entrepreneurs take to implement change while motivating high performance from their employees?
A6: Build a strengths-based culture at work. Check out the Gallup Strengths Finder test. Anyone will benefit from Gallup test results, for themselves, colleagues, and teams to build a motivating strength-based workplace.
Q7 If change initiatives are identified in your annual business plan, what are some change management best practices?
A7: Implementing change means developing a healthy relationship with feedback, errors, and setbacks during the change and new growing pains.
Q8 Strong businesses mitigate risks. What advice do you have for entrepreneurs to identify and mitigate risks from the start of the year?
Q8: Never go on pure assumptions everything is okey-dokey. Make decisions, within reason, and cover your butt performing due diligence. Implement operational redundancies. If you don’t understand something, always ask questions. Get it in writing.
Q9 Why is it important to review your insurance coverage when you create your annual business plan?
A9: To be sure your contracts align with insurance coverage.
Q10 How can entrepreneurs stay the course of their long-term strategy while identifying specific focus areas in their annual plans?
A10: Adopt excellent money management skills, overcome the urge to spend money as a temp fix, and persist in efforts with an unshakeable faith in your abilities.
Q11 What is your final top piece of advice to set entrepreneurs up for success with their annual planning process?
A11: Set yourself up for success by always having a plan outlining what your version of success looks like, so when in doubt you turn to the plan. Competition is good, but a comparison will have you losing focus. And have fun! Cultivate a habit of loving the process.
