The Keys to a Successful Startup

At Reilly Painting and Contracting, we like to say, “We’re an established business with a startup mentality.” We have taken those words quite literally, launching E-Reilly Consulting in the early part of 2015. Over the past few months, we have learned a lot about what it means to successfully run a startup and taken the advice of others that have done so. In this post, we want to share some of what we have discovered.

Here are three tips that we find to be a few of the biggest keys to launching a successful startup:

Be prepared. It’s vital to do your homework on the industry you’re tapping into. What are other people charging? Who is your target audience? How are you going to meet demand? You must have answers to all of these questions if you want to get your business off the ground. Often a startup is an around-the-clock job, and you must be willing to give that kind of time and effort from day one.

Have a plan to make money. Ultimately, the underlying current of a successful business is always money. It’s the root that allows businesses to grow through hiring, expansion of services and so on. A great idea and a motivated team will get you started, but money will keep you moving forward.

Be flexible. Everything isn’t going to go according to plan. You’ll learn that pretty quickly. Being able to adjust and continuing to evolve will be critical. You can’t get too discouraged by lackluster results or an unhappy client. You must learn from mistakes and address issues immediately.

Running a startup can be the most rewarding experience of your life, yet at the same time be the most exhausting. Learn as you go, learn from others and don’t stop grinding!

Head to Inc.com for more tips on running a startup.