Starting a new business is hard work.  It can feel you’re always making mistakes or waiting for them to catch up with you.  If you want to be more future-focused, consider implementing these five classic principles of successful startups.

Clarity Comes From Action

While you do need a basic plan to get started, you don’t want to plan yourself out of a business.  If you’re unsure, do something. Start with the smallest step. You will find that action has more value in providing clarity than any SWOT analysis could provide.

All startups must adapt.  Change occurs rapidly and thinking about your next pivot isn’t as good as trying out your next pivot.

Spend Only on the Customer

Tales of luxury offices and fully stocked champagne fridges may tempt you to into spending more on your office than your product.  This is a quick way to fail.  When purchasing anything for your startup, ask yourself first “Does this touch the customer?”

Success depends on profits.  Focus on your customer first.  Once you have plenty of customers on board, then you can spend on your amenities.

Earn Your Profit

Being an entrepreneur is hard.  You can work all day, put in your heart and soul, and yet, no one has to buy what you’re selling.  You can’t get stuck in the trap of “fair.”  There is only success or failure in a startup.  Keep pushing.  Adapt to demands.  Figure out ways to pivot. Only then will you earn your profit.

Avoid Productivity Traps

The key to making it past the start-up phase is being able to generate a profit.  Most of your time needs to be focused on this goal.  It can be tempting to spend your time on other tasks that feel productive but don’t help you generate revenue.  Don’t fall into the trap.  If what you’re doing will not result in you getting paid, don’t do it.

More Money Isn’t Always the Answer

There is value in bootstrapping your startup.  Highly funded ventures can spend money to solve problems rather than learning from them.  If you don’t need the capital to put out your first product, don’t accept it. It will force you to learn to be budget savvy which can lead to the long-term success of your business.

All startups can benefit from implementing these five principles.  They are key principles to establish within your company.  They will help you regret less and enjoy more future success.