What is that one thing that guarantees business survival which every startup must know and do?

 

There's no one magic wand. Business survival and success depend on managing a combination of factors successfully. 

Pause! This combination must be driven by a clearly thought out selling point matched by a singularity of focus.

This selling point, a summary of  the primary reason customers should choose you to do business with instead of competition, is the driver of business survival and success 

After you have clearly defined your selling point, shift your focus to situate it with needs and expectations of your target market, investors, suppliers and the public.  While at it, don't forget to be flexible and adaptable to changes.

Don't also forget that the customer is king. Therefore, customer satisfaction should be regarded as a very important consideration for the sake of business survival and success. 

Another point to keep in mind is that business success takes time. At the early stages of the business, expect expenses to exceed revenue. But with time, a great team and excellent financial managment, your business should break even and go on to make steady profits.

Excellent financial management can be summarized as;

1. Effective budgeting,

2. Efffective source and application of funds management,

3. Effective accounts receivable, cash flow and inventory management strategies.

Now know that no matter how good you're at managing your business, you would still face challenges. But none would be insurmountable.

Little Survival Details A Startup Must Not Overlook.

 "Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. These statistics haven't changed much over time, and have been fairly consistent since the 1990s.Though the odds are better than the commonly held belief, there are still many businesses that are closing down every year in the United States."

For a startup to grow a going concern that outlives the founder, attention must be paid to little details, after all God is in the details.

What are these details? They are!

1. Ideas,

2. Cash flow,

3.Salesmanship..

What have successful entrepreneurs said about ideas?

1. Capital isn’t that important in business. Experience isn’t that important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas. – Harvey S. Firestone.

2. Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it’s done right.– Walt Disney.

3. The air is full of ideas. They are knocking you in the head all the time. You only have to know what you want, then forget it, and go about your business. Suddenly, the idea will come through. It was there all the time.– Henry Ford.

What have entrepreneurs said about cash flow?

1. If I had to run a company on three measures, those measures would be customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and cash flow.- Jack Welch.

2. Never take your eyes off the cash flow because it's the life blood of business.- Richard Branson.

3. If you look at academic studies, you can see that stock prices are most closely correlated with cash flow. It's such a straightforward number. Cash flow is what will drive shareholder returns.- Jeff Bezos.

What have entrepreneurs said about salesmanship?

1. "You Don’t Need A Big Close As Many Sales Reps Believe. You Risk Losing Your Customer When You Save All The Good Stuff For The End. Keep The Customer Actively Involved Throughout Your Presentation, And Watch Your Results Improve.” – Harvey Mackay.

2. "Sales Are Contingent Upon The Attitude Of The Salesman – Not The Attitude Of The Prospect.” – W. Clement Stone.

3. "Keep Yourself Positive, Cheerful And Goal-Oriented. Sales Success Is 80% Attitude And Only 20% Aptitude.” – Brian Tracy.