Startup

Over millions of startups start every year, but only 30% of the startups succeed. There are various reasons for it, and it can be different for different startups.

However, as per research, most of the startups fail because of their inability to operate with the minimum requirements at the beginning.

If you help yourself, and your team with these must-have gadgets, then there are higher chances that your start-up would make a profit over time.

Eight Essential Gadgets for A Start-Up:

Starting a new venture calls for the two most important things:

• Investment, and

• Planning.

Most of the time, the failure is not because of funds, but due to lack of planning. So, make a plan for your business to ensure its growth. The first thing to count in your planning is, must-haves for your startup business.

Here is the relevant list for the same.

Smartphones

We all are having smartphones, and we all are aware of its use. However, there should be a separate phone for your personal and professional use. It makes it easy to make your operations smooth.

Your personal engagements over calls will never make your mails, business chats, and other business notifications on the phone left unnoticed.

It is more important for the sales team of your company, for smoother operations. You can provide the sales team smartphones from your end and restrict the personal use of that smartphone.

Notebooks and Tablets

It is essential for a startup to make notes of every small and big thing. If you do not keep a note of things, you can miss out on things that can be important.

Also, you might be having different age groups in your company. Some might be comfortable in making the offline notes while others are comfortable to note down the things online. So, make the availabilities accordingly.

Moreover, both the tablets are notebooks are portable. You cannot carry your laptops and desktop everywhere.

Notebooks and Tablets keep you up to date and always ready with the follow-ups and updates. However, there are a few pros of using tablets over notebooks, as you get the alerts and things are more organized. Still, you shall allow your employees to work as per their comfort.

Portable Charger

With automation, we are using a lot of gadgets around us in our office. So, if we want all our devices to work without interruption, we should be ready with the backup.

You might be frequently out for meetings when we talk about startups. So, you shall not suffer due to the fault in your gadgets. Carry the portable battery charger for emergency support. In case if you have to rush from one place to another without reaching to the electric socket in your office, you have an alternative to it.

Hard Drives

With the facility of cloud storage, we do not like to have an add on for carrying the storage devices. With Google drive, and other cloud sharing services available over the web, we do not carry the hard drives.

However, there is a huge security issue for your files when you upload it over the cloud storage. One can access the data anytime, and can perp into your company insights. It is better that you shall be in a habit of carrying a portable storage device and pass on a similar trend to your employees. It will also be handy in a situation wherever the internet is not working, and the cloud services fail.

USB Hubs

The transfer of data is often required for smooth functioning in the offices. You may require to transfer the data from one device to another, and due to lack of facilities, we waste a lot of time.

So, never let yourself or your employees get stuck in this condition. It considerably hampers the performance and efficiency of the work. In USB hubs there are multiple ports for connecting multiple slots.

All the offices using the USB hubs save a lot of time, and employees have considerable convenience.

Power Backup Device

Electricity supply is a big issue. Even if the power cut is not a frequent concern in your area, it is anytime possible due to bad weather conditions. Most of the time, you may lose your data on your devices, due to the immediate shutdown of your desktops.

So, your office area should always be supported by a power backup. You cannot hamper your work due to the inconsistency in the supply of the system. You must be alert and well-prepared at your end.

Router For High-Speed Internet

With the globalization of businesses, you have to connect most of the time with your national and international clients over the web.

All the big and small software used for the working of the startup often requires internet to perform ideally. Moreover, in the increasing trend of online business. Your startup might suffer considerably even if you have a problem with the internet for an hour.

Wireless Headphones

Gone are the days when meetings were held in the offices. Nowadays most of the interactions are done through web conferences.

In such a scenario noise cancellation headphones are a must-have for you as well as your employees. So, you can go to minimalisation, and keep only a few headphones, as some might carry their own headphones while not all require to attend the meeting simultaneously.

However, it is not something that can be avoided. It is an important gadget and highly useful for startups as well as developed companies.

Final Words

If you want to leave no stone unturned to make your startup a success, you shall work on the availability of the resources too.

Make sure your performance does not suffer due to lack of availability of a few important gadgets, that requires a minimum funding compared to huge capital investments.

Starting a Business Checklist: 10 Things Your Startup Needs to Succeed

According to Forbes, there are 3 essential factors that make or break a startup. They are mastering your market, having the right founders, and hiring the right team. 

But how do you go about perfecting these three main aspects of a successful startup? Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone, or blindly.

Here’s a simple starting a business checklist with 10 things that will help you nail those essential elements and start turning your efforts into cash flow. You got this, now get ready to grow!

Starting a Business Checklist

You can find an endless plethora of online tips for helping your business grow, but sometimes simplicity really is key.

As you review these 10 easy tips, remember that market refers not only to the size of your potential customer base but the timing with which you present your new business. 

The founder’s idea is essentially that your business has the ability (and monetary resources) to recruit the right leaders from the start. The team aspect is quite self-explanatory. How well is your business staffed, from logistics to sales, to make every aspect of things run smoothly?

Now on to the simple tips:

1. Make a Plan

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” -Benjamin Franklin

Before you even think about launching a business or even a website, you better have every tiny detailed nailed down. This includes everything from employee responsibilities, product prices, hours of operation, your company “vision statement,” how to handle customer service emergencies and more.

If you’re unaware of how to make a proper business plan, then you may be jumping the gun a bit with this article.

First things first, get your business model established and down in writing. Once you have a plan, you can adapt and modify when necessary. 

2. Create a Budget

The majority of new startups don’t start making millions overnight. In fact, we can’t think of a single one that did. This is why creating your business budget is an essential first step to a successful startup.

You need to keep careful records of where every penny is invested. 

You also need to be aware of where your own personal living expenses will come from for the first year (or several), until your business starts earning. The old saying is true, “you have to spend money to make money.”

But that means you need to know how you’re going to pay your mortgage and buy groceries until you have a steady income. 

3. Branding

The topic of branding could be an entire list in itself. Branding is so vital to the success of your business that you really need to get it right the first time.

This is why we recommend giving it thought and research before you throw a logo or cover-photo out there.

Consider color schemes, fonts, and the “life ideals” of your target audience. You are creating a brand that your niche can identify with. The question is, how well do you know your audience? Will your brand appeal to them? Do you have the analytics to back it up?

Don’t brand blindly. Base your logos, images, everything on the research of your target market.

4. Choose a Name

Funny that this important checklist item is often overlooked. Before you can create a website or start selling anything, you need to choose a good business name.

Preferably one that is unique, memorable, and has the potential for ranking high on Google searches.

5. Register Your Domain Name

What’s the good of a clever, perfect business name if the domain isn’t available? You want to register your domain name as soon as you can. 

Choosing something like “[email protected]” makes you seem small-beans and unreliable. Show your audience you’ll be around for a while and get a legit web name and email address.

6. Get Your Legal Ducks in a Row

Even if you’re a brand new startup, it’s wise to have an attorney and/or account help you with incorporating your business so you’re protected and not left subject to losing your assets.

Decide whether you’ll go the route of sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation.

Don’t forget to apply for an EIN, employer identification number. Make sure you obtain the proper business licenses for the state or country you are in. Be sure to do your research on what permits or licenses you need if you are running a business out of your home or apartment.

You can get into a lot of trouble, heavy fines being the least of your worries, if you don’t take care of the legal aspects of starting a business before you start selling something.

7. Plan Your Social Media Strategy

If you plan to run a successful startup, social media is a must. However, it’s no longer enough to simply create a Facebook profile up and call it a day.

You need to develop a thought-out social media strategy before you create any accounts. Things like:

• Publishing calendars
• Voice/tone
• Image styles
• Font styles
• Content 
• Budget
• Editing rules
• Advertising

And much more should all be decided upon before getting started.

8. Market Yourself

Awareness is a buzzword among entrepreneurs nowadays. Marketing your new business is one of the main major keys to success. 

This will include everything from Google Adwords, search engine optimization, publishing of quality, keywords appropriate content, social media advertising, beautiful graphics like these signs, radio spots, t.v. commercials, whatever type of marketing you’ve found will be most effective at reaching your audience.

Again, doing your research beforehand will save you time and money, while raising awareness about your new business at the same time.

9. Start a Revenue Stream

As soon as you can, start generating revenue. New businesses take a lot of cash to get up. Most of the items on this list can be accomplished with little or no money to start. 

This is perfect for helping you get things flowing and raking in as much revenue as you can before moving on to more advanced business-growing steps like renting office space.

10. Design a Website

Even if your product or service isn’t ready to be sold, having a website with company information and details helps build your credibility.

It also allows you to start building that ever-important search engine reputation so future customers can find you.

Ready to Roll

This “starting a business checklist” will help you get the ball rolling right. If you create a solid foundation from which to launch your new business or product line, you are far more likely to succeed.

Don’t get discouraged if it takes weeks, months, or even years to get your business off the ground. With perseverance and the right business plan, your business can make it!

Need more startup tips? Keep reading our blog!