Over the years, there has been a lot of shifts in the business world. We have seen businesses start, have a short stint at success and then close up shop. Interestingly, a host of global brands that have managed to withstand the test of time and are still very relevant today. This has led many entrepreneurs asking the pertinent question: How do I future-proof my startup?

Future-proof #jobs are those inventing the #future and those which humans decide humans must do them #startup #innovation #softskills #BTRTG pic.twitter.com/Rzjx2yIiIj

— Neos Chronos (@neoschronos) January 30, 2017

The things is, the world we live in is dynamic; the way things are now is not the way they were 10-15 years ago, and may not be in the next 10 years also. So often times, lots of businesses have had to shut down or change the way they work due to these fast changing environments. Although we cant predict the future, but we can prepare for the inevitable changes and can always give our startup a fighting chance.

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Here are 7 tips to help you prepare your startup for the future.

Be Ready to Diversify

Do not depend on one part of your business for continued success. Most companies achieve great success with just one product, but at some point you must think about other ways to diversify your products portfolio. Although the general advise is to focus on only one area when starting, but overtime you must reduce your to dependence on only that part.

New products could be extensions for the the existing business. For example, an e-commerce company could have plans to have a payment gateway, or a website could have plans for a television or radio programme. So, to increase your chances of survival, be ready to diversify.

Set your Standards Right

It is not enough to simply teach standards. We are in the business of firing up passion, discovering new thinking, and solving the problems of our future. #TeachBetter

— Tiffany Ott (@TechieTeachOtt) April 26, 2018

Set a quality standard for your service or product. Truth be the told, you are not the first person to ever market a business or build a brand, neither are you the first in that area or field, so it is very important to focus on the highest quality of products or services and personalize it for your audience.

Copying trends mindlessly won’t take you anywhere; create your own brand and make it stand out amongst every other. That way, you would be sure of  continued patronage from customers, which will in turn, keep you longer in the business space.

Be Customer-Minded

https://twitter.com/Nissafitt/status/953440250822561792

Many Businesses are too immersed in product development that they tend to forget the main player – The Customer. With several other startups doing what you do, it makes it harder to stand apart. This makes it even more important to prioritize your customer service departments.

Think about how you can add value to your  customers and help them achieve their desired outcome through the services your proffer.

Be Flexible in your Approach

Set your goals in stone, but write your map to them in chalk

Be flexible in your approach, but immovable from the target#wednesdaywisdom

— Ethan Michael Carter (@Carter_inc) November 23, 2016

Even if your services meet your customers’ need today, it may not be entirely suitable for tomorrow’s needs. It’s very important to build products or services that are flexible and do not constrain your customers into a tight zone.

Make sure your product can integrate other existing solutions, as well as those that might emerge in the future. Customers won’t always tell you what they want, so business-owners should be able to anticipate their customers’ needs and build products or services around their needs.

Embrace Technology

The world is changing at an unprecedented pace. Technology is disrupting old certainties and opening new vistas. Nigeria has to embrace the challenge of preparing our children for this new world.

— Governor Kaduna (@GovKaduna) April 30, 2018

Everyone is becoming more technology-savvy and well-acquainted with market trends. Technology has made any kind of service easily accessible. Companies need to understand that tech can also open up new types of work opportunities that can feed into attracting more diverse candidates.

About 20 years ago, only a few would have imagined that e-commerce and news websites would become part of our daily life, but they are now. You may not go as far as creating a mobile app for your business, but you would need to have a mobile responsive website that can serve your customers.

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Be Innovative

Amongst ourselves Blacks we should stop doing same business concept…

Dream big
Be innovative
Think out of the box 🗃
Go extreme.

We can't all sell Kotas
We can't all sell T shirts, why can't you manufacture T shirts

We can't all sell Tomatoes on street, rather farm them

— Dr Daniel Marven (PhD) (@danielmarven) April 24, 2018

You have to innovate at one point or the other to keep yourself in the game. It might not be easy, though; you might fail countless times before succeeding but trust me, it will be worth, it once you do it right.

Make sure you have an innovative environment, give employees freedom to experiment, let them develop new ideas and when it works, reward them for it. And in no time, your startup would leap ahead of your competition.

Invest in your Own Learning

"Learning is an active process. We learn by doing… Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind."
Dale Carnegie#DALECARNEGIE #Wisdom #learning #KNOWLEDGE #mindset #grow #SuccessTrain #business #finance #invest #save #union

— Life Capitalized™️ (@APlanGroup) April 23, 2018

Invest in learning at an early stage. This means continuous education and practice, some of which you can get via online resource. Read books, go for training, seek advice from experienced experts, send your team to events and conferences. Whatever you do, just make sure you keep at educating yourself.

Things are fast changing in today’s business scene and predicting the future is nearly impossible, but we can get close to it. Therefore, whatever industry your startup is in, your customers are the ultimate solution when it comes to future-proofing your company.