You could be full of excitement as you launch your own business – but, sadly, that excitement could soon dissipate as the challenges of trying to make ends meet take hold. Small Business Trends observes that, according to many statistics, over half of new businesses fail to make their fifth year.

That’s a sobering figure, but you can tip the odds more in your favour if you prepare diligently and know what you’re doing. The following steps could help you to weather the storm of the early years.

Start out with a co-founder

You might be strongly motivated by the chance to be your own boss, but would still be well-advised not to do things entirely alone. That’s because, according to research, a business starting out with two founders instead of just one is much likelier to taste success.

Such two-pronged companies raise 30% more money and see nearly thrice the user growth compared to lonelier firms. A little extra money for ironing out financial creases is always welcome.  

Make sure you’re tackling the right problem

It’s not unusual for businesses to introduce solutions that end up having to look for problems; indeed, research has revealed the leading cause of small business failure to be the absence of market need for the company’s product. Therefore, you need to test the waters carefully.

Once you’ve cottoned on to what your target customers want, you could generate free-to-access content that addresses their concerns, easing your bid to sell items later, a Forbes article reveals.

Play on customers’ “fear of missing out”

The acronym “FOMO” (fear of missing out) might look like something a Love Island contestant would come out with, but it refers to a genuine phenomenon where people are more eager for something they can’t have. Hence, don’t be afraid to release the occasional “exclusive”, limited-run product. 

Doing so could give even your readily available products an air of prestige. Promoting out-of-stock items can also build pent-up demand that explodes into a sales frenzy when stock returns again.

Don’t take your foot off the pedal when it comes to innovating

One problem with being a pioneer is that you’re under pressure to keep up your success in innovating. If you fall short, your competitors could soon catch up with you, eroding your market advantage. To preserve a lead won early on, you need to continue polishing your products.

You could learn from the example of Amazon, which has continued to bring out new Kindle and Echo devices with enhanced features and functions. Innovation doesn’t stand still, so neither should you.

Set up a physical presence in the right place

This advice comes from Entrepreneur associate editor Matthew McCreary, who points out that, if you run a retail store, it’s especially crucial that your physical outlet is near where your customers are based. Still, you need to account for how expensive this outlet will be to maintain.

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