1. Get answers to the key questions
It isn’t enough to come up with a product and define the target audience in order to make your startup successful. There is a long way to go before this idea can be transformed into reality. Unfortunately, a vast majority of startups never reaches the goal as they usually skip some crucial preliminary steps. According to Bloomberg, 8 out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months of existence. To become the lucky one and make your startup happen, experts advise to answer the key questions first.
What problem are you going to solve?
It’s crucial to understand what benefits a product or a service will bring and what needs it will cover for the target audience. If you can’t answer this question, you should stop just here.
Who are your competitors?
Analyze similar products and services, which are meant to be the main players on the market. By knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors, you will be able to offer a more attractive solution to your users. Don’t give up if your product or service isn’t unique. Remember that Google wasn’t the first search engine, and Facebook was launched only after another big name, such as MySpace. But they managed to deliver what users really needed.
What resources do you need to succeed?
Starting a new business requires a number of resources, such as employees, funding, knowledge, materials, etc. However, a particular attention should be paid to the human resources. To make your idea happen successfully, necessary budget in hand or deep knowledge in your field are not enough. Only your team members are those who make your company move forward. Well, now you have to decide the structure of your organization and specify specialists you need at the beginning.
Have the answers to all these questions? Then it’s time to move on to the next stage.
2. Search for candidates
There are two opposite points of view among employers. On the one hand, gathering a team of similar people is easier, faster, and traditional. It is held that like-minded employees build better relationships with colleagues and reach agreements more quickly. On the other hand, when choosing co-workers with different types and ways of thinking, you are immune to missing fresh ideas and overlooking not-trivial approaches.
Choose the type you prefer and start building your Dream Team. By understanding the way how to motivate them, you can improve business performance even further. According to the statistics, the best motivation for employees is having common values. 37% of interviewees will be happy to work on one goal. Then goes mutual trust – 32% said this works better. And only 4% shared that bonuses is what will motivate them most. Keep this in mind when helping your team to overcome difficulties.
3. Establish transparent communication with your team
The Gallup Institute Research showed that regular (and informal) communication with colleagues develops a new culture, increasing their involvement and productivity at work. When your employees have a common understanding of what and how they need to perform, the tasks are done much faster.
At this point, we assume you were lucky enough and managed to create your own Dream Team. It’s a high time to explain them your strategic vision. Here we are not talking about 5-hour meetings and long spreadsheets in Google docs. We have a better solution for you. Our top-notch planning utility, Roadmap Planner, will greatly save your time. It lets you instantly develop your strategic plan and share it with unlimited number of people. Moreover, the app offers just the right list of productivity features that will help you to accurately meet your goals.
For instance, the Collaboration function is a win-win option that allows to involve key stakeholders in the planning process in order to contribute new ideas and track the progress. Such synergy will assure you are all on the same page, moving in the same direction towards the same strategic goal.
To sum up
A Dream Team won’t appear out of nowhere. This is a really complex process that requires a lot of your skills and resources. You might have to go through many obstacles and difficulties: hiring and firing, ups and downs, financial difficulties, and unpredictable circumstances. With Roadmap Planner, this process will become much less complicated. It is your helping hand that systematizes all your goals and ideas, increases your productivity, determines the priorities, and visualizes to your team.
It’s absolutely free to try for 21 days. Don’t waste your time! Download Roadmap Planner today and experience all its strengths for yourself.