Showpo founder Jane Lu shares her 6 tips for business success as part of Jules Sebastian’s Youtube series Tea With Jules.
1. Make sure your business model works
I failed with my first business because the business model didn’t make sense, so it wouldn’t have mattered how much money, PR and passion we would have pumped into the venture – it still would have failed.
2. Good marketing will help you scale a business
Social media has been the most important marketing tool for us, and it’s even made Showpo a global brand. If you want to grow the business, take time to learn the different platforms. I was a Facebook fanatic which helped us in the start, but two years ago, we plateaued on Instagram, so I opened my own private account, which helped me figure out how the algorithm had changed and how we could use it to grow.
3. Hire great people to make the business scale even further
A good leader knows how to hire great people and let them do their thing. It’s difficult when as a CEO in a start-up, you’re used to knowing everything. But as your business grows, you need to delegate so you can focus on the bigger picture, so make sure to hire good people.
4. Don’t compare yourself
We used to look at what other businesses in our industry were doing, but then I decided to focus on what we wanted to do and our vision. That’s when we really grew.
5. Never invest more than you’re willing to lose
When many people start a business, they think they know what their customers want and spend so much money on inventory. But when they realise what they customers actually want, that inventory is sitting there dead, and they don’t have more money to invest in what their customers want.
6. Learn from your mistakes
Finally, if it fails, take away the learnings and don’t blame it on external factors. Failing my first business helped me grow. I used to have a massive fear of failure, but now that I’ve failed, I realised it wasn’t that bad. It’s helped me more fearless, although I’m still risk-averse.