What are the key factors when starting a new business? How can it be consolidated in an ecosystem already crowded with startups and SMEs vying for market share? What mistakes can we make?
In anticipation of the MiEmpresa Fair, which will be held on February 21st and 22nd at the Barclaycard Center (formerly the Palacio de los Deportes in Madrid), we contacted Sébastien Chartier, the event’s co-founder, to offer some basic advice on executing a business idea and focusing on client needs. For your convenience, here are the following tips:
1- Identify the niche sectors. For a company to succeed, it’s essential to identify an unmet need and demonstrate that there’s a solution to address it. Good niches include IoT, Insurtech, Virtual Reality, and Biotechnology, among others.
2- Propose innovative projects with an international focus. Entering the foreign market is one of the pending tasks for Spanish entrepreneurs and a way to diversify their business, avoiding exclusive dependence on domestic demand. Furthermore, internationalization is crucial today to compete globally.
3- Expand your network through networking events. This practice not only expands your sales opportunities but also allows you to establish alliances with new suppliers and partners.
4.- Experience is a key factor and essential for entrepreneurship in sectors like Fintech and Insurtech . Both sectors, along with apps and the collaborative economy, are booming, but they are also complex areas that require the support of specialized investment funds and extensive experience from the development team to succeed on a large scale.
5.-The customer is king . Focus on what they need and anticipate their needs. Their demands will set the pace for you, and the comments they make about the service your company provides will help you improve and grow.
6.- Find talent to form a team capable of executing your business idea. The team is one of the most important components because it will be responsible for executing your business idea. Therefore, it is essential to hire professionals with specific training, provide them with growth opportunities within the company, recognize work well done, and facilitate work-life balance, without forgetting flexibility.
7.- Consolidating a business requires reinventing itself. The ability to adapt to new trends is almost a basic quality for anyone planning to start a company that will successfully survive long-term, because trends change, as do consumer habits, and we must know how to readjust our offering, product, or service to stay ahead of the curve and not lose market share.
8.- Maximize your ability to adapt to new digital challenges. Still doubting the power of the online environment? Social media and technology have revolutionized the way we sell, using influencers and creating viral campaigns. For example, the data recorded on Black Friday each year demonstrates the revolution we’ve experienced in the wake of the 2.0 phenomenon.
9. The quality of the service you offer is your best selling point. Don’t neglect it. What’s the point of offering an innovative solution if, when a customer has a problem, they can’t count on a customer service team that can quickly and efficiently resolve their issue? These are the details that will earn you points when it comes to building customer loyalty. The quality of your service is what makes the difference these days, as anyone can compete on price.
10. Success can only be achieved by working on your project every day. None of the above keys work on their own; they can only be achieved through 100% commitment, consistent effort, and daily work. Rome wasn’t built in two days, and we should move away from the culture of the big-money scheme and re-implement long-term effort criteria.
