{"id":1528,"date":"2020-08-19T08:48:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T00:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/?p=1528"},"modified":"2024-02-08T17:30:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T09:30:50","slug":"think-like-a-startup-business-agile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/think-like-a-startup-business-agile\/","title":{"rendered":"10 ways to think like a startup and keep your business agile"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTrends & insights<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t10 ways to think like a startup and keep your business agile\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Ashley\t\t\t\tAshley Thompson<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In uncertain times, such as during the coronavirus<\/a> (COVID-19) outbreak, even the largest businesses can learn and thrive by returning to a startup mentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might be a long time since your business was a small, focused team, bent on survival as much as ongoing success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these are exactly the startup characteristics that will help companies weather the current storm of unpredictability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 10 ways to think like a startup and rediscover your entrepreneurial agility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Remember that cash is king<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Westermans International Ltd is a welding equipment business with a global footprint but strong family roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire Spillane, the company\u2019s financial director, says: \u201cPeter Westerman, the founder of our business, and my dad, drilled a message into me from the first day I joined the firm 30 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said: \u2018It\u2019s those with money in the bank that will survive.\u2019 I\u2019ve seen first-hand how true his words are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Westermans has only furloughed staff who did not want to work on health grounds and has pivoted to move with market conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now, it\u2019s contributing to welding new hospital beds and housings for medical gases. The cash cushion has been crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexandra Poole, a business transformation consultant, coach and board trustee, says: \u201cThinking like a startup means thinking like it\u2019s your own money: the positives coming in must be less than the negatives going out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not rocket science, but in larger companies, those simple rules can be obscured. To look after your cash, don\u2019t make what you can\u2019t sell, and don\u2019t order what you don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat requires a rigorous examination of your supply chain, because when demand changes, you must change the profile of your orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see companies with dead inventory in the millions, because they haven\u2019t connected sales and operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may need to think about data to fully gain visibility of your supply chain, but it will be essential in regaining that startup focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Prioritise agility \u2013 and that means customers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Poole says: \u201cAgility has been a buzzword for many years and we think that it means the ability to change direction rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy work in business transformation comes from a background in lean manufacturing, which is the philosophy of doing the right thing at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is the right time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe underlying principle of lean is \u2018only the customer defines value\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou must understand the value that your customer seeks and reduce waste in delivering it and reacting to it as it changes \u2013 sometimes very quickly. Startups do this very effectively, whereas large businesses get bogged down in their own strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be agile, find ways to reconnect with your customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Focus on the basics \u2013 anything else is immaterial<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Startups focus on doing one thing exceptionally well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larger businesses have multiple lines, refine their customers into different segments, and seek incremental revenues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have short, mid and long-term strategies, and the longer-term plans may feature spin-off teams pursuing side projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this must be put to one side (for now).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on delivery of the absolute basics to the largest possible customer community, in order to bring in stable revenues until predictability returns to the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Discover your entrepreneurs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

James Pinchbeck, Partner at Streets Chartered Accountants, says: \u201cIn the words of Winston Churchill, \u2018A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEntrepreneurs don\u2019t see barriers, they see opportunities. Their startups identify a problem and can then exploit it, with the resources they have, in a timely and efficient manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way we do business has changed significantly and we\u2019ve been forced to do things differently \u2013 our supply chains, operations and even attitudes have all been disrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo for me, success for larger businesses will come from entrepreneurialism: finding the people in the organisation who have that entrepreneurial mindset but still want to work in a larger, more structured entity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFind those people and give them the freedom to behave like entrepreneurs in startups: necessity is the mother of invention, and these people will be the source of new ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Think in days, not months<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the world is changing around you, there\u2019s no point relying on 12-month strategies. They will be out of the window before they are printed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spillane, from Westermans, says: \u201cDue to the size of our factory, we have been able to work to the social distancing guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of our incredible engineers have even worked through the night to ensure their safety. Everyone has pulled together and we have settled into a new rhythm and norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis situation, however, is constantly under review. Not because enquiries have dried up, but because the supply chain we use is closing due to social pressure and staff absences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAir freight prices have tripled in a week and ports are restricting ships or closing altogether, making our exports harder to achieve. We make it our business to adjust to circumstances every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Startups have two key qualities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The ability to look outwards to spot trends and market changes rapidly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The faith to react to those trends without all the data that larger companies traditionally rely on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    In times of change, \u2018constant review\u2019 must be the default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6. Revisit what you qualify in\/out for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Growing businesses learn to drop out of lower-value sales opportunities. The value of a sale or bid\/tender opportunity may not usually justify participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In times of change, those rules should be revisited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It won\u2019t suddenly be appropriate to wade into every low-budget sale, and there\u2019s no need to fall into a \u2018beggars can\u2019t be choosers attitude\u2019, but reviewing your thresholds by a modest percentage will make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you have reviewed your salaries, operations and processes to cut costs, it\u2019s likely that the financial profile of viable work opportunities has also changed, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7. Rebuild your team around a vision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Large businesses invariably fragment into departments and projects, because in normal times, it\u2019s impossible for everyone to function without autonomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But the cost of that autonomy is complexity, and in exceptional times, leaders must gather the troops around a common vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Claire Ellis, managing director of strategic marketing agency JPC, says: \u201cComplexity grows naturally in large companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBut at times like this, leadership means establishing a strong, credible, challenger vision \u2013 a clear, simple and exciting message that employees, especially those working remotely, can understand and buy into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It will be easier to succeed when everyone is pulling in the same direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pinchbeck of Streets Chartered Accountants agrees. He says: \u201cIn a startup, the passion is the same as for a football team<\/mark>. It doesn\u2019t matter if your team isn\u2019t doing well \u2013 you\u2019ll stick by it and see it through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThat loyalty is a huge asset \u2013 and one that gets lost in larger businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBuild a vision that rekindles that sense of passion; empower your people so they feel they have real skin in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8. Lead by shortening the communications cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Business transformation consultant Poole says: \u201cA key feature of startup behaviour is urgency. When you have few resources, everything is urgent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cStartup leaders must therefore co-ordinate effort in the resources that they do have: getting the right people to do the right things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cTo drive action, employees need clear communication<\/mark>, and this is often lost in the multichannel environment of a larger business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you want action, cut through with rapid, straight-talking communications that set a clear and unambiguous direction, outlining immediate priorities and how you expect your teams to contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9. Put data to work \u2013 fast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Many corporate projects require the collation and assimilation of multiple datasets, and this is something in which growing businesses invest heavily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But corporate agility in uncertain times calls for the headline figures only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Startups have a few key performance indicators (KPIs) and stick to them. Larger businesses may have access to far more nuanced data but should follow the startup path and focus on key metrics alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Invest in simplified reporting that extracts essential data and puts it in front of all decision-makers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Less is more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    10. Use your connections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Entrepreneurs thrive on the connections they make and the advice those connections can offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    From providing the lessons of hard experience to being a shoulder to cry on, a startup entrepreneur\u2019s network of advisers are a powerful resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But when did you last speak to your accountancy professionals, insurance brokers, property advisers and the like, beyond business as usual situations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Those conversations will help you benchmark other businesses\u2019 approaches to the challenges they face and often generate solutions to the seemingly insoluble.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    In uncertain times, such as during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, even the largest businesses can learn and thrive by returning to a startup mentality. It might be a long time since your business was a small, focused team, bent on survival as much as ongoing success. But these are exactly the startup characteristics that will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":1221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[29,181],"business_type":[11],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[14,15,16],"imagine_tag":[93,108,122,123],"coauthors":[227],"class_list":["post-1528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trends-insights","tag-business-management","tag-growing-a-business","business_type-medium-sized-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-sg","author_name":"Ashley Thompson","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-78.jpg","imagine_tags":{"93":"Business management","108":"Grow your business","122":"Growing business","123":"Midsized business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Singapore","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1528"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-sg\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}