When you launch a new business, you will face a dozen challenges every minute of every day. There will be so many different problems that you need to handle and so many quick decisions that you will have to make, and it can often feel like the fate of your company depends on each one. The whole build-up to the launch can be so draining that the period after the launch can often feel like a bit of a letdown.
But it is important to remember that the big challenges do not stop once you hit launch. Your journey is just beginning, and your business is just as fragile after day one as it was when you were pitching investors why they should gamble on you and your big idea. Many big mistakes can make or break your company in these early stages, and you need to take every possible step to ensure that you avoid them. Here are the most important errors and some simple ways to avoid them.
Launching Too Early
Let’s start with a big one that has been a cautionary tale for many businesses in and out of the tech sector. Once you set a launch date for your company, it can be tempting to feel like that is set in stone. It can seem like there is no way you can move it, and you will be letting people down if you do.
However, if we just take video games as an example, how many news stories have you seen about audiences pouring scorn on new releases that have clearly been issued before they were ready to be? If you know your product is as good as it can be on the launch date, that is fantastic. But if you know, there are still issues you need to address that will be obvious to users; then you must postpone. It is better, to be honest about why you need more time instead of trying to win back alienated users because you sold them something not up to scratch.
Not Testing Properly
Following on from the point above, testing is one of the most important elements of any piece of hardware or software development cycle. But it is also one of the most time-consuming and rarely as foolproof as you would hope. If you put out a new piece of software that has not been tested properly, the impact can be as damaging as described above.
Security testing, for example, is particularly important right now with so many news stories about the rise in cybercrime, not to mention complaints about buggy software. You can bet that clients or customers will be looking for reassurance that you have thoroughly tested for security weaknesses. If you want to learn more about folding security into your software development life cycle and how to get started with DevSecOps, visit ForAllSecure. Their software gives you the trustworthy results you need to allow your team to focus on their other duties.
Not Doing Enough Market Research
Entrepreneurs will do market research when they first put their business plans together. You will want to be certain that no one out there has had the same idea as you, or at least will not be able to deliver it as well as you would be. But we do not need to tell you how quickly things can change, and you must continue doing your market research throughout your software development.
If you take your eye off the ball, you could miss something drastically impacting the value of anything you are trying to do. There is a big difference between pivoting to adjust for similarities while you are in development and creating a whole new strategy after launch because you did not realize someone was working on something similar.
Not Recruiting Enough Help
Every small business must deal with the fact that there is never enough budget to have enough people working on your project. However, it can be tempting to think that you can save money by reducing the number of employees and encouraging yourself, and the ones you do have to work harder and faster.
If you do this, then you run several unnecessary risks. The first is that you and your team will burn out. There have been so many stories about this that we should all know better now. The second is that you will alienate your team, and they will look for work elsewhere. To build a lasting team, you must ensure it is big enough to handle the workload.
