Sadly, just 1 in 5 of all start-up businesses survive long enough to celebrate their 5th birthday.
As shocking as this statistic is, if you have the urge to run your own business, you’ll know that nothing will deter you from your goal.
So rather than hoping for the best and hurling yourself off a cliff with all the other lemmings, what can you do to beat the odds and give your start-up the very best chance of success?
Well, since we set Inca up more than a decade ago, we’ve been conducting our own research, monitoring how our start-up clients fare compared to the national average.
The result?
Our most recent measurement showed 63.9% of new start-ups we work with have celebrated their fifth birthday. That means our success rate is more than 300% higher than the national average!
How do we achieve this phenomenal increase in success rates?
We buck the national trend by doing much more than most other accountants. We don’t just provide a service that involves totting up the numbers, making sure clients comply with the law and stay on the right side of HMRC. We do these things of course, but in addition, we surround business owners with all the tools, support and advice they need to succeed.
We’re passionate about seeing start-ups make it. Because we have the experience of doing it ourselves, and because we’re closely involved with the coaching community, our clients benefit. Through our ongoing workshop programme, they have access to invaluable advice from experts, and through our networking events, they can make connections with prospects to help them grow.
We focus on the three core areas that are vital for a small business to survive and thrive:
Marketing:
The skill of identifying opportunities to work with the right type of client. Get good at this and you’ll constantly be filling up your sales funnel with hot leads.
Selling:
Not the kind of selling that makes us feel uncomfortable or puts pressure on the customer, but agreeing deals that are genuinely in the interests of both parties.
A recurring theme we find working with owners of micro to small service-based businesses is that many reach a point early on where they’re busier than ever, but revenue stagnates. Most often, this is symptomatic of a business underselling itself – or more specifically, under-pricing and over-delivering.
Attracting price-sensitive customers who demand the highest levels of service but don’t want to pay for it is a vicious circle that can be fatal, and getting good at selling helps businesses break out of this dangerous cycle.
Understanding basic finance:
You might have an awesome business, but if the money you’re making is not finding its way into your pocket, you’re better off in a regular job. By ensuring businesses we work with are tax-efficient, and educating owners, so they understand the basics of finance, we help them hold on to more of their hard-earned profits.
We sit down with each of our clients at their year-end and talk them through their accounts in simple terms, making it easy for them to get their heads around the key numbers and what they mean. Often at this point, new clients – even those who are financially savvy, tell us that no one has ever before explained their figures in a way they can clearly understand!
Work with Inca & Start Planning Your 5th Birthday Celebrations Now!
We’ve proved it. Start-ups choosing Inca as their accounting partner improve the odds of making it to their fifth year by more than 300%. If you’ve recently started a service business – or you’re about to, find out more about how we can help you, and how you can attend one of our many workshops as a VIP guest.
Call us now on 01235 868888 or email us at [email protected].
We’ll expect an invitation to the party!
