90% of startups fail. It’s a new world of business, and only the strongest new companies will survive. So how do you avoid startup doom?

Sometimes failure comes down to sheer bad luck or influences beyond an entrepreneur’s control, but in many cases, it can come down to the same simple mistakes that companies make time and time again.

Here are 10 common errors to avoid if you want your business to last the distance.

1. Inadequate Market Research

It doesn’t matter how remarkable you think your product is if the market doesn’t agree with you. Very few startups offer an innovation that can truly revolutionize a space, so before you spend significant money on development and marketing, be sure your market research is up to scratch. Don’t waste time and resources on a white elephant with no demand.

2. Insufficient Startup Funding

All startups need to have a realistic plan for how they’ll operate until revenue starts to flow reliably. Almost always, this means having sufficient initial funding in place to see you through the first lean months or years, whether that’s through your own investment or via a third party funding partner.

3. Unsuitable Partner Choice

As vital as funding is, it’s a mistake to go into business with a partner just because of the capital they can inject. For long-term success, you also need to have a matching vision, common aims, and complementary skill sets.

4. Poor Customer Care

If gaining and retaining customers isn’t your number one aim, your company will struggle to develop any momentum. Providing great customer care and an excellent experience is a non-negotiable requirement for success.

5. Ignoring Revenue Needs

Especially in tech sectors, it seems fashionable for startups to focus on building a product range and a user base while leaving revenue worries until later. This rarely works out well. If you don’t have a strong, actionable idea about how you’ll generate revenue as you grow, gaining more customers could actually be a fast route to failure as your costs quickly outstrip your income.

6. Poor Budget Control

Never let costs get out of control in your quest for growth. Losing sight of the importance of healthy cash flow is a big mistake — no matter how many other metrics you use to measure success. Unless you have investors with extremely deep pockets (who aren’t focused on ROI), you need to keep a steady eye on the bottom line.

7. Getting Overly Enthusiastic

Hopefully, your startup will be a rapid success, but it’s all too common for entrepreneurs to become too enthusiastic at the first signs of substantial profit. It’s important to keep a level head, press on with your strategy, and continue making sensible business decisions rather than letting that enthusiasm get the better of you.

8. Poor Hiring or Collaboration

There is a common image of a lone wolf or maverick entrepreneur, but the truth is that any successful business relies on hiring high-quality staff and working with skilled third parties when necessary. Trying to do everything yourself isn’t the best use of your entrepreneurial talents.

On the flip side, if it’s not working out with a staff member or third party relationship, you should have no qualms about rectifying the situation before too much damage is done.

9. Fear of Delegation

Once you have high-caliber staff in place, you need to trust them to do their jobs. Many driven entrepreneurs struggle with delegation, but it’s essential for serious growth. If you constantly micromanage your staff, expansion is limited by the number of hours you can put in personally.

10. Lack of IP Protection

Lastly, in the rush for growth, many businesses fail to properly protect their intellectual property. Patents, trademarks and copyrights are all essential. If others can replicate the core aspects of your business without any legal barriers, you can be sure that someone with deeper pockets or a larger existing customer base will eventually move into your space.

If you have the entrepreneurial frame of mind and a winning business idea, it can be tempting to go full throttle towards growth and success. However, it’s vital to learn from the mistakes of others and take a little care along the way. Avoid these common errors and you’ll stand a much better chance of being in business for the long haul.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have been on a wild ride in the past couple years, famously reaching sky-high growth and then plummeting without much warning. No doubt, there are skeptics of this novel currency — but there are also countless stories of rich crypto lovers and modern businesses that have taken a chance on the digital trend. Is this just a fad, or should all companies start adopting a crypto strategy?

A confusing currency for business

It’s a non-stop rollercoaster in the digital currency world, and the only sure thing seems to be how confused it’s made the would-be investors and businesses that are considering getting on board.

It’s understandable. Many people don’t understand how any commodity can vary so dramatically in price, especially something with no intrinsic value.

Yet experts predict that cryptocurrency is here to stay for the long haul. If that is the case, most business professionals will need to learn the basics of digital currency and this emerging technology.

The sooner, the better — and potentially, the more profitable.

What is blockchain?

Any discussion about crypto has to start with its underlying technology: blockchain.

Simply put, a blockchain is a public ledger that automatically records every transaction that happens on the network.

For instance, if you collect 10 Bitcoin from a customer, then a “block” on the Bitcoin blockchain will record that transaction.

If you’re thinking that it sounds easy to tamper with, think again.

Is blockchain safe?

The blockchain has checks and balances for added protection. To start, every transaction on the blockchain is verified by “miners” who are individuals using powerful computers to crunch the numbers. These miners make sure that every single block is compatible with all the others that came before it. Any effort to tamper with the blockchain would need to edit multiple blocks simultaneously to ensure constant agreement — a task that’s almost impossible to do.

In addition, whoever owns the computers that successfully verify a transaction will be rewarded with brand new cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, in the example above). This provides an impressive incentive structure to keep the miners ahead of the hackers.

Blockchains also have an added security. Every single token is traceable through every account it has ever been in.

How are various crypto tokens different?

Each individual crypto token has its own blockchain, some of which operate differently.

For example, Ethereum’s blockchain is programmable, allowing for the development of “smart contracts” that automatically fulfill themselves once set conditions are met. Bitcoin’s blockchain lacks this functionality.

Likewise, various blockchains have different processing speeds, with Ethereum generally moving more quickly than Bitcoin. Of course, actual processing speeds are always variable depending on the number and quality of miners verifying the transactions at any given moment.

Supply and demand

There are many different types of cryptocurrency coins, and each has a differently planned circulation — or how much of it is available to the marketplace. Coins with lower planned circulations, such as Bitcoin’s 21,000,000 BTC, tend to be favored by investors since the limited supply translates into a higher price if demand is also high.

By contrast, Ripple’s planned circulation of 100,000,000,000 XRP means that any single XRP can’t be worth that much — no matter how high demand climbs.

However, a very large supply is a prerequisite for any coin hoping to compete with traditional currencies for everyday transactions, such as the U.S. Dollar. The most ardent blockchain supporters tend to favor large circulating supplies as a result.

So should you accept Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in your business? And if so, how do you get started. Read Part 2 to learn the answers.

A great company culture can make a world of difference when it comes to hiring and retaining quality team members. If you’re wondering how to improve your company culture, try the following simple, easy-to-implement tips.

Focus on team building

Employees who work well together do wonders for a company. Employees who haven’t had the chance to bond? Not so much.

Consider hosting regular events during which employees can socialize and get to know each other. This doesn’t have to mean long nights out — try bowling or paintball instead, or other activities that align with your company’s values. Your employees will appreciate having something fun to do, and they’ll be able to spend quality time with their co-workers in a less restrictive environment than the office. Once they feel they can trust each other, employees will be much more likely to share creative ideas — ultimately benefiting the company.

Reward employees

If an employee does a good job, they should be rewarded for it. It’s easy to single employees out when they’ve made a mistake, but this will cause resentment and low morale. Rewarding employees for their hard work or initiative will encourage them to keep working hard. That can also encourage their co-workers, who will see these rewards and strive for excellence.

As a bonus, your turnover rates will likely decrease, as employees who feel like they’re appreciated tend to stay with the company for longer.

Offer activities during lunch breaks

Don’t encourage your employees to just eat sandwiches at their desks during their lunch hour. Instead, you can offer a little extra to help boost morale, energy and afternoon productivity.

For example, by hosting a fitness class during lunch hour, employees can get their daily exercise during office hours instead of having to squeeze in an hour at the gym after work? You could also encourage a company book club to arrange a weekly get together. Or schedule regular lunch and learn sessions that can feature guest speakers and fun sessions that your employees will find particularly interesting.

Use quality furniture to create unique office zones and meeting spaces

If you’re serious about improving your company’s culture, you might like to – at least partly – move away from the traditional cubicles that are ever-present in offices. Instead, create interesting and comfortable meeting spaces by using furniture that might already be at hand. Perhaps your employees would appreciate collaboration spaces with comfy chairs. Or maybe they’d prefer having a chill-out zone to rest during a break. You know your employees, so work with their personalities and give them access to an environment they’ll enjoy.

Allow employees to work remotely

Even if it’s not possible every day of the week, giving employees the occasional opportunity to work remotely will likely feel like a serious perk to many. Having time away from the office, even if it’s just one day a week or month, will help to refresh and motivate them. Employees may also be able to focus on a special project without distractions from the workplace. If you can manage it, give remote working a test run.

Encourage taking breaks

Employees will be much more productive if they’re allowed to take regular breaks, and they’ll feel much more positive about their place of employment, too. To this end, be generous about breaks. You don’t have to let your employees run wild – but encourage them not to feel uncomfortable about stepping away from their desks for a short while. This will help both your employees and the company in the long run.

Improving the culture of your company is one of the most important things to consider when thinking about employee productivity and retention. Boost your company culture and not only will you have happier and more productive employees, but you’ll also keep them around longer.