Opening up a small business is both an exciting and challenging experience. And while the rewards of running a successful business can be life-changing – to get there, small business owners first need to overcome a series of problems that come with running a company.
In this article, we will introduce you to the 5 biggest small business problems owners face nearly every day alongside some potential solutions you can implement to avoid getting your business into trouble.
Read on to learn more.
Sourcing Funds
One of the biggest challenges any small and newly established business is likely to face is sourcing enough funding to build a solid foundation in the marketplace. There is nothing that can hold back or even put a business in danger than the lack of funds – be it enough capital to sustain the business until it becomes profitable or cash flow to cover rent, payroll, and other expenses.
This is something that a lot of small and new establishments need to deal with in their daily operations, and finding a reliable source of funds is no easy task. Remember, aside from paying for your location, utilities, and staff, you also need to pay for products, invest in new equipment, and make repairs that are unavoidable when running a small business.
Sourcing capital is a major issue that has caused over 29% of small businesses to shut down permanently. This is why it’s essential to have backup plans in case your initial capital runs out.
Striking a Balance Between Growth & Quality
Whether you’re running a digital or a physical business, striking a fine balance between quality and growth is essential. If you fail to find the right balance, that can cause a domino effect and bring even more problems to the table.
When you start to get your first few customers – that alone can be a cause for celebration. However, you’ll soon find out that meeting and exceeding these clients’ needs is no simple task and is something you need to figure out early on.
As a business, you should always strive for improvement and growth. At the end of the day, that’s how you bring in more money. However, this should never come at the expense of the quality of your product or service.
So, before accepting more projects when your basket is already full, make sure to plan it out properly to make sure that the quality of your product or service isn’t diminished even with the significantly larger workloads that will come with working with more customers.
Establishing a Solid Online Presence
Nowadays, establishing an online presence is crucial for any small business. This is a great way to tap into your local community and keep them coming back for more. But it doesn’t end there. By having a solid online presence, your business can also trade on a national and international level, which are opportunities that can truly transform your business
However, establishing a solid online presence is no easy job. You need a good understanding of the different social media platforms, where your target market spends most of their time, how to create content that your target market finds engaging, and much more.
While younger entrepreneurs that are more tech-savvy can handle the social media aspect alone – if you are someone that doesn’t really understand social media and the benefits it can bring to your business, you should definitely find a good media agency and have them help your business set foot in the digital landscape.
Finding the Right Staff
Finding a good team of employees that are passionate about your company, are reliable, and consistent in their efforts is pretty tough in today’s marketplace. Not only that but as a small business owner, you need to compete with large businesses that can pay their staff. One of the ways to reduce costs when hiring executives is to work with Interim CIO who has experience but would agree to a significantly lower paycheck than employing someone full-time on that position.
On top of that, larger companies have the privilege of hiring many people to accomplish a range of very specific tasks. However, if you’re a small business owner, the chances are that you will have to end up hiring one person who can do multiple tasks as that’s what your budget allows.
So, not only do you need to find dedicated employees, you need to find talented ones as well. Currently, there are lots of people looking for a job, but that doesn’t mean everyone can be the employee you need. This is why a proper screening process that allows you to find the right fit for the company is absolutely crucial.
Payment Issues
Though this issue might sound pretty simple – you’ll be surprised how many small business owners lose business because of payment issues that can easily be resolved. So, one of the best ways to reach a broader market and create a loyal customer base is to accept various payment methods to improve the customer experience your business offers.
And while it’s easy to accept cash and digital wallet payments for a business, accepting cards (one of the most commonly used payment options) is a bit more complicated. Businesses can run into a lot of card payment problems along the way, which could drive customers away.
That’s why POS card readers or till systems are also essential. In addition, tap on phone apps like tapeeno allow you to accept contactless card payments through your phone reliably, safely, and securely. This makes payment processes much easier for both the consumer and the business, which is a huge plus.
With tap on phone apps, you don’t need a host of complex equipment to accept card payments. All you need is your phone! This means you won’t have to go through the complex process of approaching banks just to solve your card payment problems, making payment management a much simpler task.
Conclusion
As a small business owner, you’re going to run into a fair amount of problems that you need to find the solution to. In this article, we highlighted 5 of the biggest challenges small businesses face on a daily basis. That way, you’re not only aware of what you can expect but come up with a solution before the issue arises.
