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92% of startups fail within three years while 96% fails within ten. According to studies, 96 out of 100 companies are simply not innovative or outstanding enough to survive the brutal competition. They may also build businesses without a proven profit model as a foundation. And for some, it’s simply the lack of leadership skills that kills the business from within.

As a startup, you cannot leave any stone unturned. You must explore all the opportunities to stand out and make a name for yourself. Below are simple, yet impactful ways to take your business to the next level.

1. Get a Reliable Internet Connection

It’s astounding how plenty of startups forget one of the most valuable assets of the trade: a fast internet connection. In the cloud age, enterprises are relying more on tools that help manage essential business processes (such as project management, email automation, analytics, etc.). You probably rely on such tools if you’re running a blog, online store, or web service site.

But as your team grows, an essential residential-grade connection may bottleneck your business activities and therefore slow your growth down. Data capping or throttling may also get in the way of your company’s growing demands. In which case, your only option is to upgrade to broadband solutions without limitations.

2. Make Work Fun

A business won’t grow if your staff cannot function as a team. The key here is to get them more involved. Increase their focus and offer incentives to bring out their “A” game. One trending strategy to help you do this is gamification.

In gamification, the business organization integrates reward elements straight out of video games. This includes achievements, levels, competitions, and a visual interface to put it all together. Some of the platforms that can help you with this include GamEffective and Habitica.

3. Go Virtual

Letting your team work unsupervised may sound counterintuitive, but it’s beneficial to give your employees the option to work from home. The first benefit is that your staff can save a substantial amount of time by not having to commute to work. Additionally, their work will hinge on progress made rather than time spent.

Of course, it’s ideal to require your permanent staff to come to the office now and then. But during their offsite days, you need a cloud-based project management tool such as Wrike. If you still insist on paying them by the hour, then you need a time tracking tool like Toggl.

4. Make it all about the Customer

What do all successful businesses have in common? They are all respected, known, and loved by their consumer base. As a business, you must always have a consumer-centric approach in all things. Thankfully, it is more than possible to connect with your audience on a personal level. For example, you can provide a genuine, person-to-person interaction through social media. You can chat with them live, respond to comments, and just communicate them as a person rather than a business.

It’s also important to build trust, which fuels every decision to make a purchase. You can do this by responding positively to feedback, becoming transparent especially to your paying customers, and taking on the responsibility to ensure satisfaction with your brand.

5. Make Employees Feel a Part of Something Bigger

Lastly, the biggest changes in business come from every single member. After all, you can say that your business is only as strong as the weakest member. As their leader, it is your job to guide and take them with you to the next level — not let them drag the entire company down.

Although gamifying the business is a good way to motivate them each day, you still need to show them the big picture. Let them feel like a part of something bigger -a  vision that includes career growth, learning, and well-being. If you can get your people to love working for you, then your business will continue to operate at its peak.

Conclusion

Remember that there is always a reason why most businesses fail. But ultimately, it boils down to the company’s ability to adapt and improve itself over time. After all, no business fails spontaneously. If you can react fast and implement the necessary changes to keep going, then there is nothing that can bring your company down.

Originally posted on June 29, 2016 @ 6:03 am