With uncountable businesses that boosts every economy, thousands of new businesses are emerging and dying in their first year. Why?

According to the Small Business Administration, two-third of new businesses survives for at least two years, and only 44% survive at least four years.

It further stated that the number one reason for failure of new businesses is poor management in the areas such as finance, to be precise lack of proper record keeping practices.

Is that all? There are more! These 12 reasons gives you more insight. More so, I decided to put together these

7 Tips to Succeed in Your First Year of Business

These tips are gives you a clear sense of direction, helping you understand what you should be prioritizing or not and have something you’re working toward.

1It Starts With Planning

For the success of every startup, it is necessary to have a goal in mind. What are your business goals? Are you more focused on growing your customer base, boosting customer relationship, expanding your coast or making more sales?

Your goals have to be listed and planned out. Why? Plans are a bridge between where you are in your business and where you want to be. Having a business plan as been said to be a tool to help you succeed in your first year of business.

Note: Having plans isn’t the most important part. Knowing what you have to do in order to achieve that goal is actually what really matters. So you need to do what’s next..

2Come up with a Business strategy

Business strategy is your working plan for achieving your business vision, prioritizing objectives, competing successfully, and optimizing financial performance with your business model

Typically a business strategy will cover a period of about 3-5 years (sometimes even longer). Now you see… Many startups fail because they don’t  have a exact strategy that spans through a period of time.

Some business strategies could be competitive strategies. You can decide to your sell goods at lower prices than rivals. You can also be differentiating your product from those of rivals – which enables you to charge a higher price if desired.

3Know Your Customers

The fundamental business of business is to get paying customers. It is the single, necessary and sufficient condition for any business. If you don’t have a paying customer, you don’t have a business.

Another article (with a case study) has been dedicated to help you determine who your customers really are. It goes with the title: One question for every entrepreneur – Who is your customer?

First time entrepreneurs fail in their first year because they never decided on who their target audience really is.

4Come up With a Business Model

Business model is simply the money making strategy of any business venture. The fact is, there many business models out there but which will be the best for your business?

Read more about 8 practical business models to choose for your business in this article.

5Advertise

No sales, no profit. No profit no business.

No one will be interested in purchasing your product if you don’t tell them what it actually is/does. The key ingredient for success of a startup is visibility; putting your business in the minds of your target audience at all times.

There’s no better platform in this modern age to promote your business than social media. Everyone is online, smartphones are now the TV’s of the century, and the internet has turned to a business must.

Related: How to exploit the explosion of the digital world for your business

6Focus on building customer relationship

Happy customers equal a successful business. Therefore, one of the first priorities of your business, whether it’s a startup in its infancy or a technological iceberg like Apple, should be customer satisfaction.

Among the simple but effective personal qualities to help you win more customers, respecting your buyers goes a long way.

Your focus is to get and keep your customers. Building a solid customer base helps you weather the storms in your first year of business, as it gives you the motivation you deserve.

7Try New Things

The business world is changing. The internet itself is revolutionizing the way things are done. Playing it too safe and not being flexible leaves you behind.

You’ll definitely need to take risks. Take it, but the calculated ones. What if I told you the job an entrepreneur is to make mistakes?

Weigh your options and make the smart decision, and if it fails then be it. Make  peace with it and move on. Always look to the future and never become stagnant.