Startup Tips

How Can Start-ups Flourish During Brexit

By Fernando Raymond | March 1, 2019

The impacts of Brexit were feared by all firms, big and small. These fears were not helped by every politician screaming about the potential economic volcano that was about to erupt if we left the European Union. Luckily, this was not the case. While, yes there is not a storm that needs to be avoided, there are still some economic consequences that need to be faced.

Despite these shaky economic grounds, there is still a growing number of people who are trying to build the foundations of their own business start-ups each and every day. Still, however, many of these start-ups constantly ask the question “what steps do I take to ensure my start-up is stable and growing during Brexit?”

The answer is exactly the same steps you were taking previously. Nothing about the fundamentals of running a business has changed due to Brexit, and it is important to follow four keys steps during the beginning and growth phase of your start-up.

The idea:

Each and every business will start on an idea by its founders. Without this idea, there is no business to run. The fundamental mistake people make, however, when they first come up with their idea is getting over excited and jumping head first in trying to get the business up and running only to hit bumps later on.

It is essential that your business idea is clear and defined. You need to ensure that your goals for the business as well as your vision for your business are well set out and defined. People also focus too much on the business and not on how it will fit into and impact their whole lives.

In this early stage, it is important to ensure that these both are cohesive because if your business is causing angst in your day to day life you will not put as much care and effort into it.

The planning stage:

One of the biggest hurdles any new company has to get past is funding. Without money, a business cannot be set up and function and this money can be very hard to come by when your company is not yet up and running. As they say, you need to spend money to make money.

Often, the biggest limitation in the start of growth of a start-up is capital and when you do not have enough you need to look at other options to source it from. While yes, most things are fundamentally the same when it comes to start-up Brexit or not funding might be a slight issue during this period.

Banks are still willing to lend, and they are there to do this in order to make money, but their criterion may tighten a little during this process. Ensuring your business plan is air-tight and robust is key in enticing the banks into investing in your business. You need to show them that your idea is good enough to make enough profits to pay them back their investment. Remember to include a background of the current market in which your business will operate and how your business can offer something that is in demand but not currently offered in your pitch to the lenders.

Before you start spending your own capital, ensure that you have sketched out your own business plan that has outlined exactly how much funding you will need. Then go out and secure this funding before taking steps into the deep end of the pool only to drown.

Gaining customers:

This is something that should go without saying but often is something that many start-ups lack in. Many things can and should be outsourced to help make your business grow faster by letting you focus on your business. Things like payroll and marketing are sectors that you can easily take off your plate with great results if you have the funding.

Gaining clients in the first phase of your start-up, however, should not be farmed out to another company. When you have no name or standing in the market companies like to get to know you one on one, and this way you can also show the passion you have for your product or service.

It is very important for any start-up owner to have a one-to-one relationship with their customers and make them feel important in order for them to gain and retain business. Letting other people do sales comes later on in the process when your company has a good standing and reputation within the market.

Company Review:

When creating a start-up constant review of what you are doing will help you straighten out any kinks in the process. It helps you provide a better smoother service as well as knowing what you are doing right.

Another great aspect of reviewing your business regularly is that it allows you to see if you are on track to meeting your goals, and if not it allows you to find solutions to get there.