From securing funding to handling growth, launching a new business comes with several hurdles that must be cleared. Failure to understand these challenges can cause a business to falter before it ever truly gets off the ground. However, with the right preparation, entrepreneurs can overcome (and sometimes, even mitigate) obstacles and continue on the path to success.
To help new and aspiring business owners looking to launch, Young Entrepreneur Council members share 10 common hurdles startups face—and how to most effectively overcome them.
1. Standing Apart From The Competition
One challenge that many startups face is carving out a unique position in the marketplace and standing apart from the competition. Most markets, especially in the tech sector, are highly competitive. No matter how good or creative your product or service may be, there’s the initial hurdle of convincing customers to choose you over more established competitors. In many cases, your competitors will be better funded and have a head start simply because they are more familiar. You need a marketing strategy that really drives home your unique value proposition. Advertising on its own isn’t usually enough to get people to try something new. That’s why it’s important to have social proof, such as reviews from people who have tested a sample or beta version of your product. – Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting
2. Creating A Cash Flow Funnel
Creating a funnel that keeps cash flowing is one of the biggest challenges any startup will face. Often, new businesses focus on generating a single sale at a time or winning over one client at a time. However, it is far more effective and time-saving to build a funnel that automatically generates leads and sales over time. This involves creating free downloadables, high-quality content or a value offering. Then, guide customers to take an action, like joining your email list, buying your product and investing in higher-tiered products and services. I recommend starting one step at a time and focusing on producing value. It may take time and effort to build a funnel, but once you do, the results are powerful, as you’ll generate income automatically for years. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
3. Maintaining The Customer Experience At Scale
One hurdle I repeatedly see is a slip in the customer experience as the business scales. Oftentimes, this is because the founder is no longer handling customer relationships directly or is simultaneously overseeing many areas, both customer-facing and non-customer-facing. Customer experience is the most valuable differentiator a startup has at its disposal, so it is imperative founders don’t fall victim to this common trap. To overcome this challenge, startup execs must do three things: 1. Design a customer’s journey with intentionality and purpose. 2. Clearly document and systematize the journey’s key moments. 3. Share the systems and the intention behind them with every employee to ensure consistency and alignment across the organization. – Brittany Hodak, Creating Superfans
4. Keeping Up With The Books
A hurdle that a surprisingly large amount of startups struggle with is day-to-day bookkeeping. In fact, throughout my career, I’ve discovered many companies that have gone years without implementing basic recordkeeping practices. While this won’t cause issues for companies in the earliest stages, the impact of poor accounting or bookkeeping is cumulative. It can result in various challenges, including failing to secure outside funding, mismanagement of cash flow and inaccurate tax filings. I recommend that all companies, even startups, prioritize bookkeeping from day one so that a solid financial infrastructure is in place and positioned to scale. – Jack Perkins, CFO Hub
5. Finding The Proper Marketing Mix
One big hurdle that most startups experience is finding the proper marketing mix that fits their marketing budget. Modest budgets and limited resources are the usual reality for most startups, so digital marketing is often the most appropriate approach. But what works better among the various modes, like social media, paid search advertising, email marketing, content marketing and display advertising? There is no magic one-size-fits-all formula for this; however, you can overcome this by understanding who your target customer is, their online browsing habits and the type of platforms they hang around on and leveraging content around thoughtful solutions that solve their pain points. Calculate the cost per lead and put an SEO strategy in place that is focused on improving online visibility. – Brian David Crane, Spread Great Ideas
6. Securing Adequate Funding
One common hurdle that startups struggle with is securing adequate funds and managing their funds effectively. However, it is extremely crucial for covering initial costs, scaling the business and surviving the often-challenging early stages. But there are ways to resolve this. One way is to start with a well-researched business plan that outlines your goals, target market, revenue model and expenses. Investors and lenders often require a detailed plan to consider funding requests, so having a detailed plan ready can help you secure the funds you need. – Andrew Munro, AffiliateWP
7. Balancing Staffing And Workload
Startups, by nature, operate in a high-pressure environment. There’s the pressure to deliver a product or service quickly, to satisfy investors, to stand out in a competitive market and to constantly innovate. Balancing between hiring new personnel and ensuring the existing team isn’t overwhelmed is crucial. Both over-hiring and overworking have their pitfalls, and it’s essential for startups to find a sweet spot between the two. Startups can overcome this hurdle by actively tracking employees’ time to make sure they don’t burn out. They can also hire part-time employees, freelancers or contract workers for specific tasks or during peak periods. This offers flexibility without a long-term commitment. If possible, use data to forecast growth and hire proactively. – Chase Williams, Market My Market
8. Adapting To Changing Market Dynamics
A big challenge many startups face is adapting to the rapidly changing market dynamics. Modern entrepreneurs cannot afford to fully count on and pursue one idea as things change overnight in the digital age. With trends like AI, blockchain and remote work reshaping industries rapidly, startups must be on their toes to survive and thrive. I recall when we were poised to launch a visual marketing service, only to find a new automation technology was taking over the field. It was a tough pill to swallow, but I learned that the key is cultivating a culture of continuous learning, research and agility. I found that regular team brainstorming sessions, attending industry conferences and fostering a culture of feedback can be invaluable for growing companies—especially startups. – Vikas Agrawal, Infobrandz
9. Hiring The Right People
I find that hiring the right people is one of the biggest hurdles new entrepreneurs face. You need to find employees who are enthused about working in a high-performance area but are also qualified and experienced. This tends to rule out older, more experienced people. Hence, it’s important to make your company a very attractive place to work with a flexible work culture and where your work makes a larger impact than making profits. By focusing on building a great culture and empowering employees, you’ll attract talent that suits a startup environment. They’ll help you grow your business in innovative ways and take your business where it needs to go. – Blair Williams, MemberPress
10. Accounting For Regulatory Issues
For service-disrupting startups, a huge hurdle is accurately budgeting to deal with regulatory issues. There are a lot of great ideas out there that can make life as we know it infinitely easier. However, where we have disruptive ideas in service, we also likely have regulatory hurdles to overcome. Great ideas, great marketing and incredible business development teams can carry an idea and brand forward—but without a substantial budget for dealing with regulatory issues, ideas can quickly lose momentum and fall flat. Be sure that if you are a startup that potentially challenges unions or regulations, you have the budget to find a way to make the case for your operation and innovation. – Matthew Capala, Alphametic
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