Loading...
Answers
MenuWhat is the one thing I should focus the majority of my time in my startup?
We will be selling a food product online and hopefully in stores. It is a new concept. We have the packaging and design in the works. We have provided samples and received good feedback. What one thing should I focus the majority of my time on in my startup.
Answers
Revenue solves all problems.
If you want me to be more technical, cash-flow.
I would say definitely focus on customer satisfaction which includes building better products, giving better customer service and providing better user experience.
You can find customers or sell products until you have a great story...
To echo Dan and Chris' sentiments, customers and cash-flow are your most important goals. That said, I would strongly suggest you spend more time focusing on customer development than cash-flow, as a business without cash-flow can survive with investment, but a business without customers is unlikely to survive at all.
As an excellent resource, I'd suggest you take a look at The Entrepreneur's Guide to Customer Development, available at http://www.custdev.com/ (I'm not affiliated in any way, just a fan).
Of course, if you'd like to chat more about startup focus, I'm happy to setup a call to discuss tactics I've used to build our customer base AND revenues by more than 300% year over year.
If you should focus on only one thing, it is not your startup (you need partners/co-founders).
You can allow yourself to focus on one thing only if you properly delegate other aspects... and if you do this, you should already know what to focus on.
(Before I start, I am in retail, so my answer comes from that perspective).
Success comes from all the usual - good business model, great product, strong business foundation, working capital, etc. But, the one thing that is hard to control is "buzz". You of course must do all the obvious things as listed above, things you probably know, but getting a product noticed in a crowded marketplace is virtually impossible.
Of course, everything depends on your goals and what you want to make of this business - do you want a 500K business, or a 500M business. But, if you can separate your product from the rest by having a real edge, something very different and marketable (not just that you think it is, or people around you who like you tell you it is), or you can connect with another company or individual or celebrity who can give you a leg up.
Other than that, hard work, integrity and building a team of great people, and then applying liberal amounts of patience, will give you the best chance of long term success.
I often get called by companies when their first version of a product isn't exploding and they think marketing will fix it. But nothing spreads the word about a bad product better than good marketing. I will actively refuse/postpone clients who aren't ready for us yet, because marketing cannot fix a product/market fit problem. ( We can still sometimes help--you might need your google analytics installs retooled to get the right data, or to get the most out of the reports, some insights about what is and what is not working, or to create a plan for testing.)
So, my advice to you is to build a product that doesn't require you to spend money on marketing. Understand and love your customers so that you can anticipate their needs. Stay focused on it -iterating, evolving, measuring, growing-until you have very low churn rates. Low churn/recurring revenue will be what allows you to spend money on marketing and possibly raise investment. If you spend money finding customers who don't stay, you're only renting them, not acquiring them.
Growth: Distribution growth, customer growth.
And how you get it? From my POV something very important: REPUTATION. I would say concentrate on making a good reputation of your company. The growth will come from that.
hope it helps.
Related Questions
-
How do you make money to survive while you are building a business? What are some quick ways to make money with less time commitment?
I love this question. If you have to work on the side while building your business, I recommend doing something you absolutely hate. That keeps you hungry to succeed on your own. You'll also typically save your energy for the evenings and weekends where you'll want it for your business. Don't expect to make much money at your "other job" but you can work it to pay the bills while you build your business. This approach also forces you to build incrementally, and it keeps you frugal. This is not necessarily ideal. Having a bunch of money set aside sounds nice and luxurious, but not having the resources puts you in a position where you have to figure it out to survive. I love that. I started my business eight years ago on $150 and today we do a million a year. Don't wait until you have the resources to start safely. Dive in however you can. And avoid shortcuts. Don't waste your time scheming to make bigger money on the side. Do something honest to live on and create a business that drives value.CM
-
What are average profit margins in Ice Cream store business?
Hi! I am owner of an ice crean chain with 45 stores in Chile. We have stores in shopping centers, streets and also karts that you can put in events and parks. The average cost margin of ice cream (depends on the amount of materials you use in producing the ice cream) is around 40%. This is italian gelatto where you serve the ice cream without a specific measurement so your costs can vary due to the size of each portion you serve. About the brand you should focus on your unique value proposition and what kind of ice cream you are selling. We import the pastry from Italy and the fruits and milk from our country. Your ROI depends on your sales price and costs. If you focus on high market ice cream you can charge high and keep costs down.MF
-
How has Uber grown so fast?
Obviously, they do the fundamentals well. Good brand. Good experience. Good word of mouth. Good PR. Etc. Etc. But after my interview with Ryan Graves, the head of Global Operations at Uber (https://www.growthhacker.tv/ryan-graves), it became clear that they are operationally advanced and this is a huge part of their success. I'll explain. Uber isn't just a single startup, it's essentially dozens of startups rolled into one because every time they enter a new city they have to establish themselves from essentially nothing (except whatever brand equity has reached the city ahead of them). This means finding/training drivers, marketing to consumers, and building out local staff to manage operations for that city. This is where Ryan Graves comes in. He has a protocol of everything that must be done, and in what order, and by who, to ensure the best chance of success in a new city. So how has Uber grown so fast? Essentially, they figured out how to grow in one locale and were relentless about refining their launch process to recreate that initial success over and over in new cities. No plan works for every city, and they've had to adapt in many situations, but it is still a driving factor for their success.BT
-
I just opened a small, upscale, boutique style hair salon. Any ideas on how to market?
I have no experience with salons, but marketing is my thing. So I'll give you some suggestions of what to think about, followed by what to do. Do you have clients already (let's say from your working days at another salon)? If so, you can start profiling them. You can ask them to fill out a form in exchange for a free gift (maybe one of those creams you use in the salon), or an entry to a raffle (where the prize is valuable). In the profiling, you want to look out for which neighborhoods they live in, what kinds of activities they like to do, what kinds of social events they love to do, and their occupations. Then, using each of those profile data, you can market to more prospects who share the same characteristics. For example, - You can set aside a budget to send flyers to specific neighborhoods. In order to get people into the door, maybe you can offer a certain procedure for free in exchange for opportunities to win new regular customers. (You could theoretically do this with Groupon too, but you have less control of who comes into your door) - You could set up joint venture relationships with organizations like ball room dancing schools, professional associations, etc. You could offer an exclusive discount with those groups to entice potential customers to try out your service. More opportunities for you to win regular customers. - With certain demographic data, you can probably make the same offer by advertising on Facebook. If you target specific enough, you can get the price of acquiring the lead to be pretty cheap. You would have to figure out your typical lifetime value of your customers before deciding whether advertising on Facebook would be worthwhile. One last thing, you can offer gifts for your existing customers if they refer you people. If you have any more questions, I'm happy to chat with you. Hit me up on this platform.SL
-
Whats the best way to find commission sales reps?
This is not my specialty, however, I have been in your position many many times -- maybe this will help. If the product is in-tangible, then look for JV partners on the Internet. Try to find an expert that deals with these JV opportunities (like me). If the product is physical, then look for sales organizations that have networks of sales people across the country. You do the deal with the organization and the independent network of sales people sells your product. It's a sweet setup if you can negotiate a margin that works for everyone. Hope that helps - Cheers - NickNP
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.