Five Tips for Startup Survival

With the dot-com boom between 1995 and 2000, there were many businesses that resorted to the internet to make fast money and get their businesses noticed.  But can you find those businesses on the internet now?  Of course you can’t.  Because that dot-com bubble burst, burying them in the jumble of failed businesses that did not get the right information and didn’t take the steps needed in doing their marketing research.  But there are some companies that survived that bubble burst, and you can learn some lessons from them.

  1.  Good technology and a strong business model – Core fundamentals, good technology, and a strong business model are the three elements that must be in place in any business startup, whether physical or on internet.  Your core fundamentals much match your niche and fill a need.  Just throwing your business out there is not enough to sustain you.
  2. Product innovation – There is no such thing as a “finished product.”  If you never offer new or updated products your customers will go elsewhere to find what they want.  People always want the newest and the best, so give it them.
  3. Get an early start – Some people thought that Verizon’s release of the Motorola Droid was a last-ditch effort to keep up with the sales of the iPhone.  But that early release has made the Droid one of the top sellers on the market today.  Don’t hesitate in putting your new products on the market.
  4. Put customers first – If you fill the needs of your customers, they will keep coming back.  You must always know what your customers are looking for and make it available to them.  Only if your solution works for them will they continue to look for more.
  5. Increase your user base – Some startup companies grew there user base before even hired and employee or spent a dollar on advertising.  There are methods that use can use to generate interest in your internet business before it really is an internet business.  Use them.

Companies like Yahoo, Facebook, and Amazon used these tips to get through the dot-com bubble burst.  In learning from them, you can survive the internet jungle.  Why not share what you have learned from these companies here.