Every small business is different, but there are also some common problems that many small businesses face that can be solved with just a few simple adjustments.
In this article we will explore ten common problems that affect every small business owner, as well as some tips for how to fix them.
- Lack of knowledge and skills: A lot of people start a business without having the necessary skills or knowledge in that industry. A solution for this problem would be to find a mentor or find some training to help you fill the gaps in your knowledge. The internet is an amazing tool to help fill any gaps in knowledge you might have. While Youtube is great, more curated courses can often be the better option. As far as free sites goes Khan Academy is hard to beat. For paid sites LinkedIn Learning (Formally Lynda.com) or Wondrium (Formally Great Courses Plus) both also have lots of high quality courses.
- Conflicting work-life balance: Many small businesses owners work long hours, which will ultimately lead to burn-out. One solution is to find a way to automate some processes, so you can focus on more important tasks and reduce time spent on repetitive work that is easily replaced by software, so you can focus on what you do best.
- Time for marketing: Most small business owners do not have enough time for marketing. One answer to this is to schedule a couple hours once a week or every two weeks to go over your paid advertising. Then just forget about it until the next session. Same with your big social media posts, you can create all your posts in one sitting, and then schedule them to go out over the next week/s.
- Hard to manage finances: Having poor cash flow means that you can't invest in growing the business or pay yourself a living wage. Keep track of your outgoings, try and make a reasonable budget and stick to it, don't forget to keep some money aside for contingency.
- Lack of passion/creativity: Find a way to get some energy back, take some off time. Think about for who and why you are doing this. Take inspiration from other people, whether it be some art they have made or obstacles they have overcome. And finally get some motivation by looking back and seeing how far you have come.
- Finding the right location: Being unable to find the right space for your business can make or break your small business. There is always going to be a trade-off between the perfect location and the amount you have to spend on rent. Is really comes down to is the extra money you're going to be able pull in from your prime position or larger space going to more than cover the extra money you would spend on rent? If you're not really relying on foot traffic, then a less than prime location can be a great money saver.
- Lack of customers: Not being able to reach out and get customers. This very much ties into two areas, word of mouth and paid advertising. With word of mouth, just keep on doing what you are doing and don'f forget you can try and offer some incentives for new customers. Paid marketing can be a big part of your business, so test it out, try different things. Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, each one of these platforms makes it easy for you to promote your messages.
- Struggling with marketing: Not knowing where to start with your marketing strategy. There is no right answer to this, however one place to start is seeing what your competition is being doing. The leader in your industry is there for a reason, look at what they are doing. See how you can do something similar, with your own twist.
- Time management: Not having enough time in your day to do everything done, sometimes you just don't knowing where to start. Try using an online todo list to help you work out what really needs to be done. Prioritising your daily tasks, so you don't miss those important tasks.
- Unfocused or no direction: It can be hard to keep focus when you are going through your daily grind. Don't forget to take the time and take a step back and make sure you are taking the business in the direction you had envisioned. Or, look to see if there are other opportunities to pivot if a specific area of your business is going really well.
- Keeping on top of all the paperwork: Sooner or later it's going to be that time of year again and you will have to pay the government its dues. There is no escaping it, you might as well be prepared for the day when it comes. So, how do we do that? If you're using software like Bunya, well everything is all ready for the tax man. All you incomings and outgoings, just export, send that off to your accountant and you are done.
I hope these some of these tips help you out before any of these small problems become larger issues, and all the best with your business journey ahead!
