Running a tech business can be confusing. The path is often unclear and you need to make decisions. Should you keep your business open hoping a future success or stop everything? Discover here 9 indicators your tech company will survive and that you have got something going beyond success.
1. You’re focused on your “why”
“Why ?” This question is today, commonly asked by everyone from VCs to customers. The “what” and the “how” are easier to define but explaining your “why” requires you way more endeavour. The companies that are capable of articulating clearly their “why” and show it through every level of their firm are the ones able to captivate and engage their customers.
Establishing your “why” will also help you to keep your team motivated and passionate. Then, a great strategy will certainly follow, and so your profits.
2. You have a great team
Having the right people in the right positions will help you to lead your tech company avoiding high turnovers. Passionate and engaged employees fight for their companies and result in great retention in your company.
Being transparent with your employees and watching your communication within your company allows you to link the trust with passion and the work. People are more efficient when they can enjoy what they are doing and where they are doing it.
3. You maintain a positive cash flow
Most tech startups fail because they have adopted a misleading strategy. This one consists of acquiring new customers and worrying about profitability later.
However, if you succeed in maintaining cash in superior to your cash out, it means that you are growing responsibly from a position of strength instead of irresponsibly from a position of desperation.
4. You know how to bounce back
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” -Henry Ford
Failure is a part of life and part of your success process. If you know it and you know how to bounce back after a failure, your company is doing good.
5. Your clients find you first
Word-of-mouth is what bring customers to you. In fact, we often hear about new companies and new products/services from our family, friends and colleagues. Most of the time, those recommendations come with a personal guided tour. Having that early traction is a great indication that your tech business is working well as it is a sign of marketplace validation.
When the clients come to you by themselves, you know that you are going in the right way and that your tech company will survive.
6. You are able to pivot
You probably only know Uber as the app that allows you to book a ride in 2 clicks. However, their first idea was to be like any other taxi service in San Francisco. At this moment, the company was called UberCab.
Let’s illustrate more on this point with Airbnb. The original idea of Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia was to allow people to put an air mattress in their living room offering people a night at their home going on with a breakfast in the morning. The idea is still preserved in the brand’s name but the service changed almost entirely.
Keep in mind that a “genius idea” was probably not one in the first place. If you are open to pivot and adapt your company to the market, your tech business will be part of the percentage that survives and succeeds.
7. Your website appears on the 1st page of search results
Don’t neglect the search engines. Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ecosia… can determine your position in the market. In fact, according to Marketers and Search Engine Optimisation experts, most users don’t click past the first page. In 2006, the study noticed more than 90% of traffic on the 1st page of Google against 4.8% on the 2nd one.
If the numbers are, today, higher in the following pages, you have to make your company appear on, at least, the 5 first research pages.
8. Your customers refer you
Getting a client thanks to a referral is probably the best compliment you could have. It means that your customers and users are very satisfied with your product/service.
It that happened to you and if it happens to you, don’t doubt. Your tech company will survive.
9. You fire customers
Obviously, you have some values and so have your company. You will probably have to work with people that don’t match with your values. However, if you are close to the point of firing those clients, of letting go of customers that are unprofitable for you and for your business, your company is doing great and will probably be successful.
If you are lacking in any of these signs, you have to make attaining superiority a high priority.
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This article is also available on Medium.
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