Launching a startup company is exciting at first, but whether it stays that way depends on how much homework you’ve done ahead of time. Without proper planning, it can turn horrifying pretty quickly.

You don’t want to be one of many businesses that start each year with a dream only to crash and burn six months later. That’s why we’ve put together the following five essentials that every startup company needs for success. These are non-negotiable. Let’s get started!

1. A Clear Vision

Vision is so much more than a mission statement. While those can be helpful in giving your business some direction, you’ll never go from good to great if you fail to move beyond it.

Vision is sitting down and not just planning overall objectives. It’s also about “seeing” where your company is in a year, three years, five years. It’s about visualizing how many employees you have, how much profit you’re creating, what kind of car you drive, house you build, etc.

Your startup company needs to become a part of you. After all, if everything goes well, it will be creating quite the posh lifestyle for you, your family, and your employees. Therefore, it is not out of line to think outside the business to the ancillary benefits of your success.

Sit down with a sheet of paper and map out your world from professional to personal and all points in between.

2. The Tools and Resources to Make It Happen

Every business will need software, hardware, and, yes, human resources in order to succeed. It cannot just go from idea to reality with a simple dream.

That’s why it is always puzzling when new business owners are stingy with vital programs that they actually need to move forward.

There’s a fine line between cost efficient investment and miserly procrastination, and it’s usually etched by the confidence (or lack of confidence) that you have in your startup company.

Bottom line: if you cannot spend capital giving your business the tools and resources that it requires, you cannot stay in business.

3. The Ability to Pivot

A startup company has one big advantage over larger companies: the ability to pivot quickly.

A strong startup company has the perk of not being ruled by a large decision-making body. When changes need to occur to keep prospects vital, decisions can be made instantly instead of through a bloated committee comprised of people with competing self interests.

4. Superior Hiring Practices

There is an old saying you should memorize if launching a startup company.

Be slow to hire and quick to fire.

That sounds harsher than it is. The expression is telling you to take every precaution to be sure that a candidate understands and can do the job for which he is hired before you actually bring him on board.

That doesn’t mean you should refuse to allow an adjustment period, but it does mean you should be very quick to take action if there is a sense that you were misled or hired too quickly.

5. An Urge to Be the Best

No one ever wanted to have the No. 2 product in a niche. While there is room for profiting from No. 2, you only reach that level if No. 1 is in your sights. Aim to be the best, and even if you fall short, you will have a competitive, viable, and, above all, profitable startup company.

What do you think is essential to the success of a startup company? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.