Is there any role more challenging than an entrepreneur who has a promising startup? The future may look bright, but the odds are stacked against you: Half of startups fail in their fifth year, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. But it’s not enough to succeed past the first, second, or fifth year mark—you also need to constantly be thinking about how you can grow your company. Here are some tips that can help put you in the right direction.
Take a hard look at your financial situation.
If your company is extremely young and you’re wondering “When will my startup need an accountant?” you probably need to focus on building out your finance function before you can think about building out the entire company even further. Many emerging growth companies find that outsourcing accounting is more cost-efficient and effective at this point than taking on full-time hires as they can gain access to top-level expertise in addition to a range of specialties when they are needed. This is often more desirable than taking the risk of overhiring when you are not yet ready for more than a bookkeeper and perhaps one accountant for startups.
What are the benefits of outsourced accounting for startups? Among the many benefits are a full spectrum of accounting skills from one of the accounting firms for startups. By choosing a finance and accounting consulting firm, you can have access to many of the best accountants for startups and their expertise. They can help you build out a finance function that eventually will have full-time roles but that right now would benefit from specialists and expertise. These pros can lay down a more solid foundation and help you prepare to build a more sustainable business.
Believe in your vision yet be prepared to adapt.
Your vision is what you got here, to a place where you can take the next step and inquire about your company’s growth capabilities. The support and guidance of finance and accounting experts can help ground you and discover what is possible at this time. They can help you assess the status of your finance and operations and explore whether the financial foundation you have built thus far needs solidifying—can it handle the growth you are envisioning or is it time to adopt more robust accounting systems?
If you do not have the visibility into your business to understand how it is truly performing today, then any plans you have been making for tomorrow are questionable. Finance and accounting experts can help you refine your vision based on more reliable information and help you with forecasts you can trust.
Know where to turn to ask for help.
When you’ve been focused on creating your product, developing your app, or perfecting a device, it’s easy to get tunnel vision. But to go beyond the offering you are making to the marketplace and to turn your company into a sustainable, growing business, you need to ask questions. Seek out the advice for the areas of the business that do not fall under your expertise, such as the finance side of the business.
A startup business accountant could, perhaps on a part-time basis, cover your day-to-day accounting, depending on the size and complexity of the company. If you’re running a tech company, you may find that accountants for tech startups, those who have steep experience in your industry, would be most beneficial.
And you may find that even if your business is not big enough yet to fill the traditional executive-level roles, you can access CFO-level expertise on a part-time basis, to acquire insights about the growth potential of your company and access advice on what investors will be looking for so that you can fund your growth plans.
Be open to taking risks—it’s part of the journey.
Some level of risk is par for the course when you’re an entrepreneur. But how much, and what are the risks facing your business? Experts can guide you on these answers, to help you understand emerging risks that you may not be aware of when you are focused on other matters.
Surround yourself with a great team including accountants for startups.
When looking for support and guidance, you want a company that has helped businesses like yours. Accountants who specialize in startups will understand your perspective and your challenges, and they have been in the world of emerging growth companies for so long that they can adapt their advice to your exact situation.
These finance pros will not only provide you with great advice, they can help you get the work done—from creating a workable tech stack and providing you with timelier information about your business to guiding you on a growth strategy that is doable for your startup.
