So you have finally taken the plunge of entrepreneurship and now you are thinking what to do next? Starting a new business is not easy and it gets even more difficult as the business grows. The initial period is the toughest where you have to set the foundation of your business in order to achieve your vision. If you do things right here, there are good chances that you will be able to succeed in your venture.

Here are a few important tips that can help you in the early stages of your startup life to keep things moving and staying on the right track.

1. Have a Good Business Plan

Startups needs funding, which is usually very difficult to get. No matter how good the idea sounds in your mind, until it doesn’t look good on paper there are high chances you won’t be able to bring in capital. Liana Flabiano suggests “a solid business plan is needed for lenders to evaluate and understand your financial projections. Your plan should address key items potential investors look for. Clearly state your market opportunity and address ways your business will manage its competitors.” Your business plan should also have projections and cash flow statements for at least 3 years so that the investors can easily asses the risks and returns that you are offering.

http://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/five-survival-tips-for-early-stage-companies

2. Monitor Your Performance (Success/Failure)

“Track, evaluate, act – this must be your mantra in business.”, says Chris Browne, Founder and Managing Director of Rising Tide Financial Services. This will help you to figure out what’s working for your business and what’s not. You can then stop doing what is not working for you and try other solutions. Make the use of tracking apps such as SurveyMonkey, HootSuite, Expensify etc., to save time and increase productivity.

3. Maintain Cash Flow

Understand that profitability and cash flow are two separate things. “Your startup is profitable but if you don’t have adequate cash flow for ongoing expenses, you are on your way to disaster” says snapmunk 

4. Be Your Company’s Best Sales Person

In his article Eric Woollard-White wrote “John Lewis advises early-stage entrepreneurs: Delegate what you can’t do and be your company’s best sales person.” Every entrepreneur needs to become the best sales person of his company. You need to sell your product/service rather than wasting time on tasks that someone else skilled to do the job can do better than you. Your one goal is to make your business survive and for that you need get your name out to your target market. If you don’t do it soon there are chances you won’t survive.