Four tips for nurturing and growing a successful startup

Trial and error is an essential element of building a successful business empire.

In order to thrive as an entrepreneur, you need to be prepared to dive headfirst into business and to treat each setback as a valuable lesson to pocket away for future reference.

Whilst throughout my entrepreneurial journey I have managed to generate a number of profitable businesses, I have also made my fair share of mistakes along the way.

But the beauty of hindsight is invaluable – it’s what has allowed me to prosper moving forward and discover what it takes to cultivate, nurture and grow a successful business.

1. Invest in the right people for your company

Every company is driven by its people.

In my years of entrepreneurialism, this is definitely the biggest lesson I have learnt along the way and the most important piece of advice I can offer budding business-people.

It is absolutely fundamental to the growth of your business that you surround yourself with talented, intelligent people who share your work philosophy – don’t reduce yourself to paying peanuts for monkeys.

When I first established WME, I hired people for key positions who simply weren’t the right fit for the role. They lacked experience and drive and they did not match the dynamic personality and the sharp vision behind my business. I learnt that you need to know when to cut your losses, and to do so without hesitation.

In all my time as a businessman, I have never regretted letting anyone go.

2. Set clear objectives towards galvanising your vision

Ultimately, an idea is just an idea; it is how your idea is implemented that determines its success.

I have personally found that my business ideas are brought to life through a couple of methods. Firstly, I set KPIs across all my businesses. Along my entrepreneurial journey, it has become not only prudent, but extremely vital to set every one of my team members medium targets to accomplish on a weekly basis in order to keep the cogs turning.

Secondly, I allow my employees to pitch for their pay. Why? It motivates staff to identify their strengths and stay sharp to ensure they seize career opportunities.

3. Carve a company culture right from the outset

You need to plant a heavy focus on company culture from day one.

Simply put, it’s how you retain talented people. For me, I have found that establishing a tight startup mentality for each of my businesses encourages my employees to perform better, while it highlights the weaknesses of those who aren’t right for the company.

It’s the most effective way to collate a group of highly skilled professionals and lay out a fertile business foundation.

4. Diversify your income streams, but always nail your niche

Business environments are constantly metamorphosing these days – especially in the digital sphere that I work within – which means you need to find innovative ways to keep your audience interested.

Take a look at Yahoo for example. The global giant that was once considered ‘king of the internet’ is now being bought out for a measly $4.83 billion cheque simply because it remained stagnant and failed to embrace new waves of technology.

Finding new business avenues doesn’t mean traipsing unknowingly into unfamiliar territory, but rather doing your groundwork and making sure you are capable of nailing any new niche you decide to embrace.

As a business-owner, I have found that adding new services and products is key to staying on top of the market – even if it means learning valuable lessons from your trials and errors in the process.

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