The UK start-up space is booming. According to GOV.uk, between 500,000 – 700,000 new businesses launch yearly. However, Office for National Statistics data shows that fewer than half of new startups ring in their fifth birthday.

What can new startups do to increase their chance of success? Learn how to negotiate, for one. Startups skilled at negotiating can grow an incredible 30% faster according to research by Columbia Business School. They are also twice as likely to achieve profitability. Keep reading to learn four tips from Negotiation Experts that could help you steer your startup toward explosive growth.

Create an investor profile

Many founders make the mistake of chasing any investor flashing their chequebook. Be warned that hooking your wagon to the wrong partner can leave you spiralling rapidly to an early grave.

An investor profile helps you zero in on who is best to approach. That way you’re not wasting time schmoozing people whose interests you’re unlikely to spark. Here are some questions to consider when creating an investor profile:

• Funding details. How much money do you need? It’s important to be specific as it demonstrates that you have done your research and have a plan.
• Industry experience. An investor who knows your industry can provide valuable insights and help you avoid potential pitfalls.
• Track record. Do they tend to invest in companies that go on to achieve great results? Or do they have a history of getting involved in questionable deals?
• Alignment of interests. Are they looking for a quick flip or are they in it for the long haul?

Build relationships before you need them

Negotiating can be daunting and doing it with strangers is even more so. There’s always the risk that they might perceive you as untrustworthy since they have no frame of reference for your character. That’s why it’s a good idea to build relationships before you need them.

Building relationships takes time and effort but it’s well worth the wait in the long run. Think about it this way: if you show up with 20 solid references, people are more likely to trust you and take your word on a deal you propose. Just remember, great relationships are a two-way street. Be sure to add value and make it worth their while as well.

Figure out how to leverage your product, service, or skills

When cold hard cash is in short supply, you’re not out of options. You can still leverage your products, services, or skills. Here’s how Unbounce used this tip to score big. The company wanted to offer beer at its first open house. However, cash was tight. So, they struck a deal with Granville Island Brewing.

Granville, a local startup microbrewery, was struggling to get their product into local bars and restaurants. Unbounce offered to showcase Granville’s beer at its open house. They also designed (a skill they’d mastered) a new label for Granville Island’s seasonal beer. In exchange, they asked for enough beer to serve at their event.

The deal was a match made in heaven. Unbounce got free beer and Granville Island got valuable exposure. Everyone walked away deliciously happy. The cost was also minimal in comparison to the gains. So, think about what you have to offer and get creative. You might be surprised at what you can get in return.

Strengthen your emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to be aware of and understand your own emotions and the emotions of others. Negotiations will often test your patience and resolve. If you keep flying off the handle when things don’t go your way, it could sour any future business dealings.

When you have a strong handle on your emotions, it’s easier to stay levelheaded. This allows you to make sound decisions, even when discussions get heated. Strengthening EQ can also help you build rapport and trust, which is vital when you’re trying to grow your business.

To strengthen your EQ:

• Be well prepared as it will help you feel more confident and in control.
• Pay close attention to what the other person is saying and try to understand their perspective.
• Don’t try to bulldoze your way through the meeting.
• Don’t take things personally. Remember that it’s not about you as a person. It’s about getting the best possible outcome for your business.

In closing

Whether you’re trying to slash overhead expenses or looking to tap into new markets, knowing how to negotiate can help accelerate your startup’s growth. These expert tips can help you confidently pitch your business and close impressive deals.

Providing a 401(k) to your employees shows you are truly invested in their future with your business. The retirement benefits can help employees to save for their future retirement, provide your business with tax savings and act as a valuable employee recruiting and retention tool. Big, medium, and small businesses can offer their employees a retirement plan. If you want to set up your small business retirement plan, with the help of the 401k providers at Ubiquity you will first need to choose the best retirement package for your small business.

Retirement Plan Options

Traditional vs Roth

In traditional accounts, the contributions are deducted from the salary before the taxes are subtracted. On the other hand, With Roth accounts, the tax is deducted from the salary before the contributions are deducted. When the employee withdraws the contributions from a traditional account during retirement, they will be taxed. However, when withdrawals are made from Roth accounts, they will not be subjected to taxing.

Individual or solo 401(k)

It was designed for small enterprises who do not have any employees apart from a spouse. Furthermore, the contributions are made through elective salary deferrals and profit sharing. This plan enables the participants to contribute a higher percentage of their income than they would have if they were using other retirement plans.

Safe Harbor

This plan satisfies non-discrimination testing because the employers either choose to make non-elective contributions or match contributions from the plan participants.

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) Plan

These plans are usually offered by self-employed individuals. They are actually similar to SIMPLE IRA except for one main difference; only the employers can make contributions. Thus, employers have a lot of flexibility in when they contribute and the amount of each contribution.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

ESOPs allow businesses to offer stock to their employees and keep the shares in a trust. After the employee exits the company, the business buys the vested shares back from the employee, and the money goes to them either fully or in periodic payments, depending on the plan. One main advantage of ESOPs over other forms of retirement programs is they encourage and incentivize employees to care about the overall performance of the company because they want the value of their own shares to grow.

Cash-Balance Plans

If you are working with older employees, then cash-balance plans may be a good option for you. This account is similar to a traditional retirement plan, but there are two main differences; the investments grow on a fixed percentage annually and the contributions are age-dependent, which means, the older the employee, the higher the contributions they can make since they have fewer years to save before retiring. Therefore, if your company is in an industry dominated by older employees, then you can attract many employees and retain top talent when you offer a cash-balance plan.

Profit-Sharing Plan

In this plan, the employees are given a share of the profits that the business makes. The employees receive a percentage of the business’s profits based on its quarterly and annual earnings. Moreover, it is the company that decides how much of the profits it will share with the employees. Thus, it adjusts as needed depending on whether profits are made or not. Sometimes it can make zero contributions and, in the years that it contributes, it will have to come up with a formula for allocating the profit.

In addition, the company is the only one that contributes to the profit-sharing plan. Therefore, employees cannot make the contributions too. The profit-sharing plan is a genius way of incentivizing the employees to work harder to increase the revenue of the business. The more profits the enterprise makes, the more money the employees stand to get from the profits.

Benefits of a retirement plan

Retirement plans are beneficial to the employer and employee as well. For instance, they help to not only attract but retain employees, they enable participants to choose how much they want to contribute to the plan, and they benefit employers and employees in different levels and ranks. Furthermore, they allow the employees’ contributions to grow through investments in bonds, stocks, money market funds, mutual funds, and savings accounts among others. In addition, they offer big tax benefits to both the employers and workers. When employers want to exit the company, they can take their benefits with them and ease the administrative responsibilities.

Conclusion

If you believe that your business and your employees can greatly benefit from a retirement plan, you should contact reputable 401k providers who can help you establish and run the plan smoothly.

As a seasoned entrepreneur, Michael Zetser has unique insights into what it takes to launch and grow a business. This article will explore a selection of common startup mistakes, sharing strategies to avoid them.

According to a report published by Statista, the main reasons why startups fail are:

• Running out of funds (38%)
• Lack of market need (35%)

Other common startup mistakes include:

• Lack of focus
• Poor hiring choices
• Failure to execute marketing and sales
• A flawed pricing model
• Focusing on investors rather than customers
• Lack of the right co-founders or team
• Spending too much, too soon
• Failure to ask for help
• Failing to invest in social media marketing

Many fledgling founders fail to conduct adequate research into products or services they plan to build. Rather than spending time conducting careful research, many entrepreneurs skip straight from idea to implementation without conducting due diligence into the industry and the competitive landscape they are venturing into.

In terms of mitigating the risk of failure and boosting their chances of business success, there are some very effective steps available to entrepreneurs. First, it is important for entrepreneurs to adjust their mindset. Nobody likes the idea of failure, but it is impossible to create a successful business without taking calculated risks.

Financial expert and founder Deacon Hayes highlights the importance of entrepreneurs making a business plan, pointing out that too many enterprises start out without even a basic plan. Hayes advocates founders mapping out a basic plan (even if it is just one page) that identifies how much the business will cost to operate, how much they anticipate selling, and who would buy their products and why.

It is crucial for business owners to have strong organizational skills too. With dozens of things happening simultaneously, it is important to maintain daily task lists to eliminate the risk of important duties being overlooked.

Entrepreneurs need to know their market inside out, recognizing the target customer they are building for. For entrepreneurs with a technical background, writing code may come a great deal easier than dealing with members of the public. However, without human feedback, it is impossible for the founder to gauge whether or not they are on the right track. It is important to appreciate that a great product does not necessarily translate to a successful business, with many companies falling into the trap of focusing on markets that are simply too small to sustain a big business.

Another common mistake made by entrepreneurs is trying to do everything themselves. It can be challenging for business leaders to relinquish responsibilities and control over a business built with their blood, sweat, and tears. However, the key to scaling any enterprise, and ultimately achieving business success, is building strong teams of talented, incentivized individuals who can be trusted with tasks. Founders need to cover a variety of different skillsets and backgrounds as their business expands, recognizing where open roles require candidates with specialist skills.

In conclusion, by avoiding these common mistakes, start-ups can get off to the best start possible and will have the greatest chance of success.