In order to see your next business venture, make it past its first year, you can’t forget to do a number of all-important things. From taking out insurances to establishing a team that you can trust, you need to take specific courses of action to ensure that your startup avoids all the pitfalls that could lead to its downfall.

To find three of the things that you can’t forget to do as the owner of a brand-new business, make sure to read on.

Take out insurance

When your business venture is in the earliest stages of its inception, you will have a lot to deal with. As a result, you will, more than likely, focus your attention on all of your matters of urgency. This will include readying your product, hiring employees, marketing yourself, paying any money that you owe, for example, and you probably won’t consider anything that isn’t pressing or critical at that time. This could include taking out insurances. You can’t afford to forget to cover yourself, though, as doing that will put your business in danger of collapsing even before it learns to stand.

One type of insurance that probably won’t cross your mind during the early days and should be considered is key man insurance. As detailed by Local Life Agents, this is a type of life insurance policy that businesses take out in order to cover themselves should an irreplaceable executive, partner, or worker pass away. True, you don’t want to be thinking about the worst happening but, if you want your business to remain stable after you’ve gone, then you need to ensure that is covered against your passing.

Focus on your market

By relying too much on your product to make you money, you will put yourself in grave danger of not making any money whatsoever — products don’t sell themselves, no matter how good they are. Instead, you must focus on your market. You should tailor your product and the delivery of it around your audience, and you should take their wants and needs into account above else. Also, you should study your market to ensure that you don’t miss out on the chance to ride on the coattails of particular trends.

Establish a support group

If you treat your business like it is a one-man band, your venture will be over before it even gets going. You won’t be able to complete every task that needs completing day in, day out, no matter how proactive or hardworking you are, so establish a support group to help you out. The people that you hire to help you don’t necessarily have to be business partners or even employees. You could ask your family or friends to help you from time to time, for instance — if you do, just make sure that you repay them for their support in some manner.

If you don’t want your next business venture to fail within a year, then you need to protect it against everything that could lead to its downfall. To safeguard your startup in this way, make sure to remember the three important points listed above.