5 Important Tips for Startups Looking to Enter the Oil and Gas Industry

 

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

Starting your own company is something most driven people dream about doing at some point in their lives. On September 2014, Bootstrap Bootcamp published an article titled, 7 reasons to hire business startups,” and some of the reasons included “cost savings” and “ability to customize.” When you’re a startup, businesses notice you particularly for the reasons mentioned in the 2014 article.

Offer your services with a twist

Being a startup means offering risk to clients because your company is new and unproven. And while experience solves that problem, there are ways for your company to stand out and get noticed. First, you should always keep this in mind when starting out that you should, provide the same service as bigger companies but with a twist.

What startups could offer is to provide more services like oil and gas office management provisions. Offshore operational offices are important for oil and gas operations, but companies in this field usually hire a third party to manage office work. If a company was to put in all the solutions in one package, companies could potentially notice them because they offer something different from other industry competitors.

Consider becoming a consultant

If directly becoming involved in oil and gas operations is not feasible because of financial restraints, you can always become a consultant first. It’s a nice and fast way to gain back the money you spent in opening a business but the rewards in the long run aren’t as big as becoming directly involved with the business. In addition, you’ll be up against several other experts who have been in the business for a long time, and may have your target companies as their clients already. It’s nice to start out as a consultant first but remember to step up your game once you have enough capital to be directly involved.

Review your competitors

There’s a saying that goes something like, “knowing is half the battle.” Without knowing whom you’re competing against, you’ll never stand out from the pack. There are a lot of oil and gas companies out there, and some of them have been in operation for decades. Shell, for one, is one of the most popular gas retailers that is in partnership with ARAMCO in a joint venture in terms of refining and marketing. Both companies own and operate three oil refineries on the Gulf Coast of the United States; so perhaps competing against these giants in their chosen field isn’t the most practical. The best way for startups is to work with them, and find solutions to ongoing crises that they haven’t discovered yet.

Watch out for sudden oil price declines

Declining oil prices isn’t something new. Oil and economies have a direct and two way relationship. When the precious black liquid is not in demand, prices shrink and companies that are associated with it are affected as well. Workforces are limited if regular oil production is halted. What you can do about this is to have emergency funds for weathering slumps. Every company does it, and so should a startup. The oil and gas industry may yield good profits but it doesn’t always produce great profits. Have an emergency fund at the ready and watch out for oil price declines.

Patience is key

This may be cliché but “don’t give up.” Most people get disheartened if they don’t see immediate results but this shouldn’t be the case. There’s no easy way to success, and you’ll be disappointed if you don’t expect downfalls at your startup. The key is patience and finding your rhythm. Keep studying about the trends of oil and gas, and you’ll be able to adjust your operations based on this. Success can come after a month, or even years, but the most important thing is to survive. Don’t give up easily, be patient, and you’ll eventually get there.

Becoming an entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding paths that one can take. Being the boss of your own time means you have the freedom to achieve personal goals. At Bootstrap Camp, we help people become fully fledged entrepreneurs so they can live life freely. Contact us and we will put you on the right path!

About Keno Mullings

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