When Your Start-Up Isn't Going as Planned: How to Pivot by David Woroboff

 

Starting a business is no easy feat. It requires hard work, dedication, and relentless focus on making your idea a reality.

 

Unfortunately, not all startups go as planned. You may find yourself in a situation where you realize that what you thought was going to be the key to success isn’t panning out for your business.

 

Don’t panic, advises DavidWoroboff, who was the VP & General Manager for the innovative software company Attivio, and VP of Pitney Bowes Software! It’s time to pivot and make the necessary changes so your start-up can be successful.

Identify What Isn’t Working

The first step in pivoting is figuring out what isn’t working in your current approach. This can be done by assessing the results of your current strategy, such as customer feedback and sales data.

 

Then, it's important to identify patterns that point to areas that need improvement; this will help you hone in on what needs to change and give you an overall understanding of what isn't working with your current approach.

Research Alternative Strategies

Once you know what isn't working, it's time to research alternative strategies that could be more effective for achieving your goals. This could include looking at the resources available (e.g., tools, technology), studying up on industry trends, or even surveying customer feedback about potential solutions they would like to see implemented for their problems or concerns.

 

The goal here is to discover new strategies and approaches that could help move your business forward in a more positive direction than before.

Test Out Different Solutions

After researching potential solutions, it's time to test them out! This allows you to see which solution works best for achieving the desired outcome without having to commit too many resources to one specific option right away.

 

Testing different solutions also help reduce risk by allowing you to get an idea of how each solution will perform before investing too much into any single one of them.

Create an Adaptive Plan & Monitor Progress

Once you've settled on a solution that seems most promising, it's time to create an efficient plan around it and monitor progress throughout its implementation process (e.g., track customer feedback or sales figures). Doing so will give you insight into whether or not the strategy is actually working and if further adjustments are needed before launching full-scale operations with it. 

Be Prepared for Change

The last step is being prepared for change - both good and bad - as there will always be unexpected events or circumstances that could affect the course of action taken with your business strategy (e.g., market shifts or new competitors).

 

Being prepared means staying proactive when it comes to staying ahead of these changes, so they don't take you by surprise - something every entrepreneur should strive for! 

Conclusion: 

Pivoting when things aren’t going well with your startup can be difficult but necessary if you want your start-up to succeed in the long run.

 

This requires identifying what isn't working in your current approach and creating an adaptive plan around it throughout the implementation process.

 

Knowing how to pivot when things aren't going well with your start-up will help ensure success down the line – even if there are bumps along the way!