According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. Five years later, this number goes up to 50%. 10 years later, only around 30% of businesses remain.
It’s no surprise that there are many challenges in starting a small business. But the first few years are also an excellent time to grow your company. So how can you ensure success?
Keep reading to learn about five small business challenges and how to overcome them.
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New Employee Difficulties
No matter how long you’ve been a business owner, odds are that you understand the difficulty that comes with bringing new employees on board. Aside from being difficult, it can also be time-consuming.
Instead of training employees one at a time, consider creating a team dashboard system that can keep employees updated. Make a list of information that all team members need to know, and provide them with weekly or monthly updates.
Once you do have new employees, check out this like to help you create W-2 forms: https://www.paystubs.net/create-form-w2.
Difficulty With Acquiring New Clients
It can be challenging to acquire new clients and customers when you’re first getting started. Lack of finances can limit your ability to embark on extensive marketing campaigns. To combat this, you’ll need to get creative.
Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing and traditional marketing methods. For example, custom-designed yard signs can help you attract local consumers for a fraction of the cost of what a television or radio advertisement campaign would cost.
Problems Managing Customers
As you do start to acquire clients, it can be difficult to find an effective system to manage them. If you can afford it, consider hiring a customer relations manager to keep track of all the necessary information.
If you can’t afford to bring another employee on, explore some of the different customer relations management programs. This will allow you to keep track of your client base, suppliers, and any other relevant information you need to manage.
Fierce Competition
Depending on which market your small business forms a part of, you may find it saturated and full of tough competitors. To stand out amongst the crowd, you need to find and highlight your company’s strengths and uniqueness.
Why should people choose you over the competitors? Do you provide high-quality products, excellent customer service, or something else? Find a strength and emphasize it.
Trouble Sticking to a Budget
When finances are tight, it can be difficult to know which opportunities to invest in and which to ignore. The right decision can help your company grow, while the wrong one can set you back.
Before embarking on any project, make sure to plan the required expenditures, as well as the estimated return. Resource management software can help you go about doing this.
Be Prepared for These Small Business Challenges
If you own a small business, you understand the difficulties and problems that can come along with it. Yet by following this guide, you’ll be aware and prepared to overcome these small business challenges.
Do know about any other challenges and opportunities of small businesses? Let us know!
If you found this article to be helpful, don’t forget to check out some of our other blog posts for more business-related guides and tips.
