How to ensure your startup will succeed in 2021
In these challenging times, getting a startup off the ground can be daunting. The unpredictability within the majority of industries means planning ahead is more difficult than ever before.
So, what measures can you take to give your business the best possible chance of success?
Here we’ll discuss some of the measures you can take to ensure you have the best chance of succeeding and maintaining a steady business growth in 2021.
Innovation holds the key
We recently surveyed over 100 businesses across the Yorkshire region and found that 75% believe innovation is key to remaining competitive and 49% were preparing to focus on developing new products/services to keep up with these changing times.
In an ideal world, every startup would have ample amount of time to invest in innovation. But with the current challenging climate, many businesses have had to focus their efforts on survival.
For the Yorkshire businesses we surveyed, the pandemic was unsurprisingly a major hurdle to maintaining growth. However, our findings also showed that 71% of businesses were confident of growth over the next 12 months and of those confident startups, 96% believe innovation is crucial. Making innovation a priority looks to be the difference between surviving and thriving.
With many businesses solely focussed on survival, finding the time and headspace to be innovative is challenging at present. But you don’t have to go through it alone, you can tap into the business growth support on offer across the region. In Leeds, new initiatives have recently been developed that help businesses aspiring to jump into entrepreneurship, such as the ide@ community, or perhaps taking part in BUILD, a 12-week pre-accelerator programme for ideation stage startups with innovation-driven ideas.
Collaborate with your community
Banding together with other businesses and enterprises, no matter which sector you’re in, is also critical during these uncertain times. Once you are connected with the wider Yorkshire business community, it’s more likely that opportunities will arise that may help your startup develop a competitive advantage.
This could be anything from sharing resources for mutual benefit, upskilling your team or collaborating with Universities on research, skills gaps or funding applications.
There’s also the opportunity to seek out expert advice from seasoned entrepreneurs within the Leeds business community on the best way to acquire and retain customers, or working with partner organisations to access the huge talent pool on offer. Communities like Nexus can help connect you to the wider business ecosystem and work collaboratively to resolve the challenges your business is facing. There are so many possibilities, it’s worth reaching out to the wider business network to see what it could offer you and your startup.
Seek expert advice
In any business, there’s no substitute for experience. A startup is far more likely to thrive when it can draw from expert advice and guidance. Again, this comes with being connected to the wider business network and taking advantage of all it has to offer.
Seeking the right advice can benefit your businesses in so many ways. At Nexus, we provide the help you need across a variety of areas; whether it’s incorporating R&D into your business, support with funding applications, or help with recruiting staff that will take your business forward in.
Listening to seasoned entrepreneurs will future-proof your business and ensure you learn from their mistakes and overcome the difficult early stages of getting your startup off the ground.
Ensuring your startup thrives in 2021 is not going to be an easy or straightforward task, but there are plenty of resources in the form of expert guidance, funding schemes and partnerships that can help you get there.
Find out more about all the support that is on offer by downloading the Nexus Business Barometer report.
