The Importance of Adaptability: What Allows Startups to Succeed

It is widely renowned that a successful business is typically established on 5 pillars: the business model, the concept, the people in the organization, profitability, and timing. With these well-established, any business can successfully take off and change the world right? This is a common misconception that many businesses run on and sometimes are brutally awoken by reality. The missing ingredient here is adaptability to consumer interests. 

Start-ups have to realize that trends change and sticking to the same model can narrow their window of opportunities. It is common for companies to focus on the purpose they’ve served to earn their success. However, as history has shown us, companies unable to remain purposeful in years of change become irrelevant. Some examples of this can be seen by Blockbuster, Myspace, Toys R Us, Nokia, and the list goes on.

Researchers found that 65% of companies fail within their first 10 years in business. Why do they fail? It is often because they lack a plan for the future of the industry they’re in or simply cannot keep up.

A company can be incredibly profitable yet in a matter of months, its profitability can quickly fade if unable to adapt to the ever-changing markets. For this reason, companies must spend time analyzing consumer trends and preparing to adapt to the new trends. Now the question is what are trends companies should look for to be prepared?

Let’s look at what to consider:

Who Is Your Audience?

In recent years, millennials (born from 1980 to 2000) have dictated consumer trends immensely. The average yearly spending of a millennial is nearly $60,000 and 91% of them prefer to shop online. What does this mean for retail workers? If only 9% of the largest consumer base prefers to shop in a store, could stores become obsolete in the future? Generations come and go, and so does their influence on the economy.

Millennials are the largest consumer age demographic in the United States (the country with the largest consumer market). Companies should frequently review the trends of the audience they’re targeting, chances are millennials will be involved in this audience. Marketing teams must meet to discuss strategies in appealing to the audience, also to decipher where they can best reach them. 

Sales Process Involvement

As an entrepreneur, you delegate tasks to individuals throughout the organization which is the right thing to do. However, the one area a business leader must not detach themselves from is the sales relationship with consumers. Actively engaging with your customers provides the highest level of insight into changing consumer trends and values. This is especially useful for smaller companies. As the leader of the organization, maintaining a direct and positive relationship can lead to repeat business. 

You Never Know Enough

It doesn’t matter how successful you or your company are, you never know everything and should never have an attitude that demonstrates that you think you do. “Much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on” - Steve Jobs. Always being open to new ideas, trends, discussions, and changes is a tool that will carry businesses through even the toughest of storms. Leaders should make it a priority to never become complacent and always look for new ways to inspire.

Conclusion

Success can have its downsides if handled improperly, specifically if the success is viewed as the end goal. No matter what anyone has achieved, it is impossible to achieve the highest level of perfection. Organizations and leaders should aim to set the bar higher, look for new ways to provide value, and never fall into the trap of comfort.  

Written By Ben Brown

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ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.

Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.

How COVID-19 Has Impacted Small Businesses And Entrepreneurs

Epidemics and pandemics have been hitting humans for years. In the 1830s, France was affected by a cholera epidemic that killed at least 3% of Parisians, affecting the economy and destabilizing the political situation. Years later, many countries in Europe and the United States suffered a similar fate with the Spanish flu that killed almost 50 million people and caused the closure of several businesses.

While both scenarios are related to unfortunate events, when you look deeper into the consequences of the epidemics to the economy of the countries affected, the first one mentioned, influenced the Industrial Revolution in France, and the second example provided new opportunities for the creation of new businesses. 

Although COVID-19 has provoked an unprecedented downturn in the global economy, it is currently showing patterns that suggest that although many countries have been affected by the effects of the pandemic and several businesses have been shot down and thousands of people have lost their job, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Who has been more affected by COVID-19?

The impact of COVID-19 has widened inequalities. For example, it is a fact that women work disproportionately more in industries that have been severely affected by the pandemic. Therefore, female small business owners face a greater probability of losing income than male small business owners.

The recreation industry has also been hit hard. Businesses such as gyms, theaters, cinemas, restaurants, and nightclubs have experienced more than 50% loss in sales compared to years before COVID-19. In addition, the accommodation sector, such as hotels and small guest houses, has faced high levels of vulnerability, increasing the challenges to stay in the market.

Small businesses have not been the only ones affected by COVID-19, in fact, many large companies rely on small businesses as suppliers or even subcontractors for specific services. So if small businesses experience job losses and decreased opportunities, large businesses are affected too. This relationship causes a chain effect that can negatively impact the economy in general.

What makes small businesses vulnerable?

A study done on past recessions in the US showed that small business owners are more vulnerable. They estimate that without effective government intervention, 25-40% of small businesses with fewer than 20 employees were more likely to shut down permanently during the first four months of COVID-19.

Similarly, your geographic location influences your level of vulnerability. Government and public health responses around the world have marked differences from country to country.

Most of them have taken a variety of measures to support small businesses, countries like the UK, Sweden, Thailand, China, Qatar, Russia, and Portugal have implemented various measures, from financial assistance, tax relief, lower interest rates, and loan guarantee.

While countries such as Liberia, Montenegro, Pakistan, and some countries in the African region have only implemented financial assistance aid.

Furthermore, vulnerability increases for those with a lower educational level. Business owners with less than a high school degree faced more risks as their businesses tend to be in less resilient sectors such as maintenance, repair, and construction services.

What kind of businesses has thrived during COVID-19?

The pandemic has forced several companies to close around the world, creating the highest levels of unemployment in history. However, there are some types of businesses in specific sectors that have been able not only to survive the crisis but also to prosper.

Online shopping, food delivery, cleaning services, fitness equipment companies, and the tech and telecommunications industries are some of the businesses that are enjoying a boost in sales thanks to the coronavirus.

Is there still hope for small businesses and entrepreneurs?

According to the Chief Economist at IHS Markit, COVID-19 has caused an economic shock three times worse than the 2008 financial crisis. However, crises are seen as opportunities. Over the years, many of today's most recognized companies have taken advantage of their capacity for innovation and creativity to transform themselves after periods of crisis.

Companies such as Airbnb, Netflix, Microsoft, and Apple seized the opportunities they found and turned their companies not only into thriving businesses but recognized leaders in their industries.

As Albert Einstein said:

“The crisis is the greatest blessing for people and nations because the crisis brings progress.

Creativity comes from anxiety as the day comes from the dark night. 

In the crisis that is inventiveness, discoveries, and great strategies.

Those who overcome the crisis, overcome themselves, without being overcome.’’

After almost 2 years of dealing with this global health crisis, the innovation that has emerged from it is undeniable.

New businesses have emerged mainly in the digital environment, and existing ones have seen greater demand. Mastercard's Recovery Insights: Small Business Reset report shows that small businesses experienced a boom. According to the report, 32% more SMEs were formed worldwide in 2020.

Countries around the world have seen unprecedented growth in new business formation, in some cases as high as 30% or more.

It is a fact that the global economic market rarely reacts in the same way to changes, and is less likely even after the impact of a crisis. 

However, this scenario may be the beginning of a great transformation of the global landscape for business e-commerce.

Overall, the coronavirus pandemic has been a significant economic challenge for millions of small businesses around the world. It has not been the same situation for all businesses, though. Since those that required people gathering, such as hotels, restaurants, travel, and sports centers, have been more affected by closures and social distancing restrictions.

However, as the facts have shown, crises are times when innovation and creativity flourish, and while many companies have faced their darkest times, others have remained resilient and adapted to the new reality, and other daring have been born.

Is there still hope for small businesses and entrepreneurs? The answer seems to be a big YES.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

What Makes The IT Architect Role Important To The Development Team?

An architect is a person in charge of organizing the system, which includes all components and their interactions, as well as the environment in which they operate. It is also common to see included the evolution of the software in the future. 

The IT architect is a professional who presents high-level solutions for business systems and applications, where the level of quality of his work is correlated to the quality of the software. Simply put, the professional in this role is responsible for the detailed planning of the entire system structure.

Let’s take a look at a more detailed description of the IT architect's responsibilities.

What are some of the IT Architect’s Responsibilities?

1.An IT Architect must be a planner, he needs to create a technical project design based on how things must progress to reach the expected results. In addition to defining the tools and the environment in which the system will be developed.

2. They are responsible for providing technical support and quality control through the different stages of the project.

3. They are considered the bridge between business and technology. Professionals in this role know how to communicate efficiently with all experts and managers, in addition, they must be able to explain their work to people without IT knowledge.

4. IT Architects are in the right position to build strong working relationships with clients. By acting as an advisor or consultant, the IT Architect will provide excellent customer services and positively impact working relationships between everyone involved by building trust.

5. Last but not least, this role requires a high level of leadership skills, the IT Architect must act as a leader and keep all team members on the right track.

What is Needed to Become an IT Architect?

Software architecture is not an easy path, it actually requires advanced IT knowledge. Usually programmers, after years of experience, move to the architecture role, because they already have a deep understanding of the technologies and principles of software engineering and are skilled in developing infrastructure and software solutions. Consequently, they have the ability to perform software architecture tasks more efficiently.

In conclusion, the IT Architect is the professional in charge of defining the system infrastructure from scratch, including data storage, working network, security protocols, and more.

Although the roles and responsibilities of software architects depend on the size and needs of the company they work for. Many of the professionals in this role end up performing the tasks mentioned above.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!