Many startups are dealing with a massive amount of chaos, change, and turbulence. In the wake of COVID-19, many start-ups are filing for bankruptcy.

Since you want your startup to go up, it helps to be alert to the true reasons why start-ups fail. Avoid these pitfalls, and you’re on your way to success.

Failure To Adapt To Change

Have you been working remotely? Is it time to return to work – full or part time? If you’re like many small businesses, you’re exploring hybrid work arrangements.

According to the Harvard Business Review, more organizations are migrating to hybrid working. That means – some days at home, and some days in a physical office.

Because you want your startup to succeed, explore the ins-and-outs of successful hybrid work. Some of the big hurdles to handle are coordination, inclusion, and balance of power. Pay attention to coordinating who is working from where. Include everyone in meetings, launches, and important events. Watch out for imbalances of power – such as better resources at headquarters.

With a little skillful navigation, you can adapt to new team working arrangements – and move ahead.

Failure to Plan

You may be familiar with the famous quote, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” This is especially true with small businesses.

Now, admittedly, it is difficult to plan for unexpected circumstances like a global pandemic. Yet, even if your ‘5-year plan’ needs to change, you are still ahead. You and your team are skilled at the art of planning.

On the other hand, if you take a nihilistic approach and fail to plan, you may find yourself in that unhappy group of founders who are filing for bankruptcy.

Failure to Learn

Many startup CEOs and founders are pretty much on top of the moon when they get funding. With the fuel of money to make their dreams come true, they may fail to keep learning.

For instance, if you feel you have a knack for the construction field, you may want to continue your training and go to construction school. If you have a love of business, you could continue learning and go to business school.

What is it that you are passionate about? If you turn your back on what you’re passionate about, it’s possible that you’ll burn out. Having a sense of meaning and purpose is key for not only starting a great business – but continuing to thrive.

As a smart business CEO, you can make your startup a success – by actively pursuing learning.

Failure To Get Help

There’s no question that not every single small business CEO is great at everything. That’s why we have consultants, coaches, advisors, mentors, and teams.

If you head out to navigate the sea of business without getting help, you can easily fail. It’s not because you lack energy, enthusiasm, or work ethic. It’s not because you don’t have a brilliant idea that can transform the market. It’s much more basic than that.

You can fail because you didn’t ask for help.

People are eager to help. You can get help from seasoned business pros, entrepreneurs, and like-minded technology experts. You can get help from non-business experts such as coaches, psychologists, and fitness trainers.

Why don’t CEOs get help? They don’t ask for it. Don’t allow this to be the reason your awesome company goes under.

Failure To Listen

Well, this is a lot like other things. You can ask…but you still need to listen.

It’s often said that change is hard. It is hard. But it is truly impossible if you don’t listen, don’t want to change, and dig in against any input.

That’s called being stubborn. You can do a lot better if you become a better listener.

What can you do to be a better listener? Here is a short list. Ask a lot of questions. Ask good questions, such as ones that focus on action. Don’t finish other peoples’ sentences. Don’t make witty remarks in your mind while they’re speaking. Don’t check out and think you already know the answer.

In other words, ask intelligent questions and listen closely to the answers. Also, you may want to get in the habit of taking notes. When you’re getting smart answers to real-life issues, take notes. You’ll be able to review and digest what you learn.

Wrap Up

With these tips in mind, you know exactly what pitfalls to avoid. Use your skills to prepare, plan, build a team, and achieve unstoppable success in your business.