How to Grow Your Business – Part 8: Surviving the First Year

Your New Business – Surviving the First Year

Working as a journalist and media officer for the past 25 years has taught me a few things about writing and also how to promote yourself.

However, there is no rulebook that I know of that can tell you how to be successful when starting and running your own business.

Hard work, productivity and very often a generous slice of good luck are all important factors, of course.

Also, driving more visitors to your website through social media as well as physically getting out and meeting prospective clients to promote your business, are other ways to succeed.

But the real kicker is a strong self-belief coupled with the innate knowledge that however tough the situation may be, you will always come through in the end.

Herein lies a lesson for all new businesses – the first couple of years are always the hardest and because statistically, only roughly 50 per cent or less of all new businesses survive the first two years, you need to make sure you are one of the survivors.

As Frances Kweller, the CEO of Kweller Prep US, says in her article: ‘Six Essential Tips for Surviving the First Five years in Business’, success revolves around six major areas:

1. Making a commitment – when you set out to set up a new business commit to five years to stay alive.

2. Having a long term plan – Statistically the majority of people who succeed in business have long-term goals in mind when they start a new venture. Be prepared to lose money in your first and second year.

3.  Establishing good credit – The longer you are in business the better it is for you to establish credit. It is ok to show a history of loss as long as you have been working hard to keep the business going for at least two or three years.

4. Planning for success, not failure – When you set your new business goals, set your mind for absolute success and that is where you will end up.

5. Don’t be afraid to succeed – Believe it or not, many people experience a fear of success – the absolute opposite problem of setting out to fail. What will I do if I actually achieve this goal and so much is expected of me? Be honest with yourself and keep your fears in check to succeed.

6. Go with the flow – Understanding when you need to make a change is very important in any business. Cater to your audience’s needs … and be open to new technology and trying new things like social media.

All of these combined together will help any new business succeed, although as always in business (as in life) there are no guarantees.

A good example of a successful business is Media Support Services – Australia’s Number One newsletter specialist at

Mike Peeters is CEO of Mike Peeters Media