Start up issues are problems that new companies can potentially face. The way you, as the business owner, choose to handle these challenges can ultimately make or break the potential success of your company and you.

Common Startup Issues

Recent reports that have been released by the United States Census Bureau indicate that there are currently more startup companies going out of business than there are those opening. At the time the report was released, a total of 470,000 startup companies went out of business. Compared to only approximately 400,000 new startups opening their doors during that same period of time, this number is a bit troubling for many economic strategists.

The early days of a startup are crucial to its success. Unfortunately, most new companies face countless obstacles, such as:

  • Strong competition for consumer attention
  • Raising market and venture capital
  • Keeping up with unexpectedly large demands for products or services

The ones who succeed have done so by making themselves painstakingly aware of the potential challenges they might face and taking preemptive steps to problems that can have detrimental effects on the development and growth of the company. This is because creating a new business from scratch is pretty complicated. You'll likely face challenges you have never before imagined.

Starting up a new company can be exciting, fulfilling, and terrifying all at the same time. Educating yourself ahead of time on the potential issues and challenges you might encounter during the early days of your new company can help prepare you for the unexpected and empower you to avoid the most common pitfalls that have proved to be the demise of so many.

You may choose to view these challenges as a sort of rite of passage that many startups must overcome to claim their place in their chosen market. Some of the obstacles you will face will be associated with the actual act of starting your new company while others may come into play when you're actually in the act of running things and trying to make a profit.

Another recent study shows many startup companies start out with ambitious goals. However, a startling 90 percent of these companies never last longer than three years. This is largely because of the fact that they lack the tenacity and knowledge required to overcome the challenges they will inevitably face and find themselves struggling when they should be moving ever closer toward success.

Starting a new company requires much:

  • Time
  • Effort
  • Money
  • Energy

Once you've started your new company, however, the work only gets more intense for a time.

Even with adequate funding, new business owners need to have the kind of persistence and determination it takes to lead a company through difficult times. It is important to have a solid idea of what to expect to help you prepare for the difficulties that lie ahead and have prepared solutions for when those difficult times come.

One of the most common reasons that startups fail is because there is almost no market demand for the product or service they have created. Some common symptoms of this issue can include:

  • The company's value proposition is not compelling to the buyer.
  • There is no event that compels the buyer to purchase the company's product or service.

A quality sales representative might tell you that you have to find a buyer with his or her "hair on fire" or somebody who is "in extreme pain" to generate a sale. In simple terms, there needs to be some sort of serious problem (or perceived problem) that your buyers are facing, which compels them to buy your product or service as a resolution. You might also hear somebody ask if a product is a vitamin, which is something that might simply be nice to have, or Aspirin, which is something that people simply can't live without.

Sometimes, the timing is wrong for the market. It is entirely possible that your product or service is so innovative that it's simply ahead of its time and the general public just isn't ready for it yet.

Even with adequate funding, new business owners need to have the kind of persistence and determination it takes to lead a company through difficult times. It is important to have a solid idea of what to expect to help you prepare for the difficulties that lie ahead and have prepared solutions for the arrival of those difficult times.

If you need help with start up issues, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies such as Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.