November 2021 -

4 Common Challenges You Will Face As A Startup Company

The primary objective for running a business is to provide a need while making profits. For many new entrepreneurs, the latter can be quite a challenge, especially because they are yet to learn more about the rugged business terrain. Overcoming these challenges can be a mark of your business tenacity. But what happens if you fail to pull through and end up adding to the 10% of new businesses that don’t make it past the first year? You can learn more about some of these common challenges below.

1. Poor financial management

According to data collated in 2019 and 2020, 60% of startups in the US were culprits of various forms of questionable financial management. As a startup, your success in the short to long term depends on how well you manage your cash inflows and outflows. Unfortunately, several new entrepreneurs who face this tend to have an insufficient financial management background. Sadly, the trend continues and contributes to why the startup failure rate in the US increased from 75% (2016 stats) to a whopping 90% in 2020.

Indeed, when your startup company succeeds, it means you’re probably doing more than breaking even. Profit and revenue mean a great deal for businesses. The more money you make, the more responsibility you have to put it to good use. Unfortunately, many startup owners fail to put the money back into the business. In the long run, coupled with unaudited accounts, the company runs to the ground.

Another pertinent issue under poor financial management is the failure to separate personal and business accounts. According to statistics, about 45% of new entrepreneurs do this. So, if you’re reading this, it is worth noting that poor financial management can destroy all the hard work you put in from scratch.

2. Fierce competition

If put to good use, competition can be a motivating tool to propel business growth. However, it seems not many startups can steer smoothly through the stormy competitive waters. Unfortunately, this fierce opposition in the business world usually favors companies that withstood years of haggling. As a startup, the odds may seem against you, but it will be in your interest to turn it around.

The 21st-century business world thrives on digitization and a robust online presence, and you can use that to your advantage. It is in your interest to use all the tools the digital age presents to propel your startup to the front row. Whether you like it or not, competition in the business world is rife and can be pretty ugly. Admittedly, the latter can happen when competitors employ underhand moves to kick startups to the curb. If the events are too much to handle, it may be the right time to sell the startup to a more experienced entity.

3. Poor planning

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This famous saying holds so much truth, probably even more than many will admit. For a business startup, planning is everything. Remember that the business world is crowded, and you cannot afford to ignore proper preparation. More so, it is vital to ensure that all your bases are covered. When you plan, it becomes a guideline for you to follow. Sometimes, as you run the business, specific opportunities may arise that enable you to add on to the old plan.

While at it, it is crucial to subject your plans to periodic reviews. The truth is, many internal and external factors can negatively impact your business. The coronavirus pandemic is a typical example of an external influence that impacted businesses worldwide. As countries tried to fight the ripple effects of the pandemic, businesses with backup plans sailed through. Unfortunately, those with weak or no backup plans went under. Remember that events can take an unexpected turn, and that explains the need to plan.

4. Cybercrime

Last year alone, identity theft and data loss accounted for 1.4 million cybercrime complaints in the US. Cybersecurity is a critical issue that America and the world continue to grapple with. This can be even more challenging as a startup, mainly because it can destroy your small business. Moreover, if you lose crucial client data, you could face costly lawsuits that make it impossible to rebuild the business.

As a safeguarding measure, it would help if you invested in high-grade online security systems. The truth is, becoming a cybercrime victim can cost more than what it takes to protect your online systems.

To conclude, startups have more pressure to make it to the top. It explains why they face a myriad of challenges in the first five years.

Spending Your Money On The Right Web Host

Choosing the best web host for your small business is no mean feat. Whether you’re starting your first small business or already have an established business, it can be tricky finding the right company for your hosting needs.

There are many factors to consider, including uptime to ensure your business website is online and available to your customers, and security which is imperative for protecting your customer’s personal data.

While there are plenty of web hosting companies around the world ready to take money from your already limited budget, there are some which can really help get your small business off to a great start.

Security

Security should be one of your main priorities when choosing a web host for your small business. If you are selling products or services on your website, you need to make sure the process is secure in order to protect your customers.

This is imperative for all companies, but especially those holding sensitive information. The leading medical malpractice attorneys, for example, will have the best security in place, and a web host is just one part of this.

Many web hosts offer a free SSL certificate that puts HTTPS in front of your URL. This indicates that your website is secure so any payments taken via your site will be protected. Even if you’re not selling anything, a secure website is imperative in order for your customers to trust you and your brand.

Aside from SSL certificates, you should consider whether your web host offers additional security measures, like DDoS protection, malware checks, vulnerability protection, etc. If you are using WordPress, there are web hosts that will manage your WordPress hosting in full which will include checking for updates, including plugins and core WordPress files.

Speed and performance

When it comes to the speed of your website, every second count. If your website doesn’t load quickly due to server issues and poor server performance, then you’re in trouble! Website users don’t have much patience, so if they can’t access your website content in a matter of seconds, they will abandon your website and go elsewhere.

Speed and performance are largely determined by the server infrastructure the web host is using. You can request this information from your web host, or in many cases, this is already detailed on the server information or pricing pages.

Resources

You will need to consider the resources you need for your website. This includes storage, bandwidth, email accounts, MySQL accounts, etc. For small businesses, email accounts are likely going to be a priority as you’ll want to provide multiple services for your clients such as contact, sales, marketing, and so on.

In general, most small business websites won’t exceed 5GB storage, however, it’s recommended to find a web host that either offers double this, to be safe, or unlimited storage so you won’t have any concerns. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be passed between your website and server; if you expect to receive a lot of traffic to your website, unlimited bandwidth is a must-have so you don’t exceed your resources.

Tips to Help you Protect Your Finances

Money is one of the most, if not the most important factor in havering a safe a secure life. If you don’t have enough of it, you are sure to suffer as a consequence. Debts and other financial worries can cause a huge amount of stress. They can affect your relationships, your health, your prospects, and your outlook on life. When times of economic uncertainty hit a country as a whole, such as in the financial crisis, anyone who is already struggling may well be hit very hard. The truth is, if you are not sensible with money, you could be earning $150,000 a year and come out of a financial crisis a lot worse than someone earning $20,000 who was sensible with their money. So, everyone can make the money they have, work a lot better for them, and create measures that protect their finances for themselves and their families’ future. Here are a few tips:

Get Out of Debt

The first thing you should do if you are looking to protect your finances is to stop getting deeper into debt and find a way to minimize, reduce and eliminate it. If anything does happen to you, financial debt will drag you under. Perhaps you need to seek professional advice, such as making an appointment with a financial planner. They will take a thorough look at your entire financial picture and work with you to develop a plan of action going forward. This will be manageable and affordable for you. You need to consider that your life may need to change. If you are still acting the same way as you did to get into debt in the first place, you are not going to get out of ut without a change in attitude. So, it is time to face reality. Living within your means and being aware of your spending is the only way to begin reducing that debt and getting rid of all the stress that has built up with it too. Having a financial plan is great as it offers you a realistic roadmap of where you are headed.

Savings

Savings are essential if you want to have something in the future. As soon as you have a manageable plan for your debt, if you need one, you should try and create an emergency fund. This is an account that you out as much as you can every month that will not be touched. Over time if you can save a lot of money, you may well be able to put some of this money to better use, such as investing or putting down a deposit on a home. But without savings, you cannot do any other these things.

Investments

Being in such a financial position that you can make investments is great. When you start investigating, you will see that there is such as wide range of investments available to you. This is one of the best ways to make your money work for you. Simply leaving money in a savings account cannot have the potential increase in value investments do. However, you need to be vigilant. With investments there comes risk and the best way forward is to diversify, so spread your money over several different investments so that if one tanks you have not lost everything. That means you may want to try a high-risk short-term investment on the stock exchange, as long as you have some low-risk, long-term additional investments as backups. When it comes to the stock exchange too, remember there are dividends which are payouts made to shareholders. So, it may be worth investigating this avenue. Other investments can be made in property. The buy to let market is a great choice. There are also bonds, collectibles, cryptocurrencies, side hustles, etc. It may be a good idea to talk to a financial advisor who can offer some sound advice.

Insurance

You really never know when you will need insurance, so getting the right insurance is a must if you want to ensure that your finances are protected. Unexpected events happen all the time. If you are the main breadwinner of your family, you should probably get some income protection and even life insurance, which you know will help your family should the worse happen. Also, think about all your assets, what needs extra protection above and beyond normal home contents insurance. If anything does happen, then speaking to insurance claim attorneys will help you if you are not receiving the payout you should or you are having difficulties making a claim in the first place. The simple fact of the matter is, insurance can help you out no end should something untoward happen to you. So, investigate all the types of insurances there are and start looking at the most reasonable policies.

Divorce

Unfortunately, divorce can be a costly affair, especially if you and your e partner are not on good terms and a lot was invested in the realti0popnship, including children. If you are currently looking to get married, perhaps you need to be aware of the reality that, despite how you feel now, it is highly possible that your marriage will end in divorce. So, seriously consider a prenuptial agreement. This can solace a lot of nasty issues and arguments down the line. If that ship has already sailed and you are looking at filing for divorce, there are ways you can mitigate the financial damage. Firstly avoid debt, or get out of it quickly. If you have a joint bank account, then get a report printed of all transitions and look to closet his down. If your partner has a bit of a spending problem, you will need evidence of this. So start creating your own financial history. It may be worth getting a credit card too. Once everything has been split, take a look at your credit file. If your ex-partner has signed you up for any financial things without your knowledge, it should be made known on there. Divorce can be very messy, so the earlier you start cutting things off, the better.

Investment For Your Future No Matter Your Current Stage of Life

When you hear the term investing you can think of images of a busy New York office with people on phones yelling “sell, sell, sell.”

While this can be something that is part of investing, it is definitely quite far from the truth for a regular and everyday investor.

When you invest your money responsibly, then investing is one of the best ways to increase how much money you have.

No matter your age, being prepared and investing can improve your prospects for the future. It could be to make sure that you are financially independent or to make sure that you have things in place for your children.

So with all of that in mind, here are some of the things that are good to invest in for your future. Of course, as with anything, there are risks to some investments, but some are less risky than others.

High-yield savings accounts

If you are looking to let your money do more for you, then looking out for a high-yield savings account can be the best way to go. It can offer you much more back than a traditional savings account or checking account. When you have some money to save, then it may as well make more money for you. Then you can accumulate your savings ready for the future or for an emergency fund.

Government bonds

If you don’t know what a government bond is, then it is a loan from you to the government, that pays you as an investor when there is interest over a set period of time. This can usually be over a long period of time such as thirty years, so it is a good thing to start doing especially when you are in your thirties. You can get a fixed income with this, which is why it can be a good investment that is practically risk-free.

Trust loans

If you are looking for a way to reduce costs when it comes to inheritance tax, then you might want to consider looking into trust loans. This is where you establish trust with a provider. You get loaned money to the trust, which is usually created around a property. The trustee will then invest the money in the trust. The trustees then invest the money back, which is usually an investment, which will be of benefit to the beneficiaries of the trust. If you have older children and you are perhaps older yourself, then this would usually be a good thing for someone in your situation to consider.

Dividend stocks

A dividend stock is where you have a fixed income for bonds, as well as for the growth of things like stocks and funds. A dividend is a regular cash payment that a company pays to shareholders and will be usually from the most profitable and stable companies. It can be something that is good for a first-timer to a retiree, as you can choose how much and what kind of dividend you choose.

Credit Card Tips You Need to Know

Credit cards are often the most convenient way to pay for your purchase for several reasons, which is perhaps why more than 2000 million people in the U.S alone have at least one flexible friend.

Of course, it’s really easy to misuse your credit card and end up in unmanageable debt or paying off more interest than you really need to which is why we’ve put together some top credit card tips that you need to know.

1. Balance alerts can help you avoid overspending

When you’re spending on a credit card it is really easy to go overboard and maybe make more purchases than you can really afford. One thing that can help you to rein this impulse in is to set up balance alerts that will notify you when you are approaching a certain level of spending that you can set yourself.

2. Save money with 0% offers

These days you can compare credit card interest rates at the click of a button, which means that is it easier than ever to find those 0% deals By doing so, and by transferrin your valances to them if you can, you can stop paying interest, start paying off more of the actual debt, and get yourself into a much better financial situation, in no time at all.

3. Boost your credit score with mid-cycle payments

Something a lot of people do not realize about credit card companies is that they will report the status of your credit card account to the credit score companies every month. The credit score companies will then take into account the amount of available credit you are using to determine your score with a lower percentage of debt to available credit making for a better score. So, if you can make an extra payment in the middle of the month, or even just change your payment date to mid-month instead of the first or last of the month, you can use this to your advantage and potentially boost your score by lowering your debt burden.

4. Credit card bonuses often expire

It’s worth remembering that many credit card companies that offer finanical rewards also stipulate that those rewards must be used within 12 months. If you have been collecting rewards and you don’t want to lose them, it’s important that you redeem them before the expiration date. Setting up a reminder on your phone or calendar will help you to avoid losing what is effectively free money.

5. Pay off high-interest cards first

Although you need to make the minimum payment on each card each month, it is also important that you remember that paying off the highest interest card first will result in a smaller interest burden overall. So, once you have made the minimum payments, if you have anything left over, pay it towards the highest APR and see your debts slowly but surely come down.

Credit cards can be a useful tool but only if you use them right, so be careful.