The journey of entrepreneurship and having one’s own business comes with plenty of challenges. Even the start of such a journey is too hard for most small businesses, which fail during the first year. However, once we start getting a hold of things, calmer periods will arrive. This doesn’t mean it will be a walk in the park, either, but we will always be facing business roadblocks we must overcome, all the time.
Whenever we face one of these business roadblocks, we need to keep in mind that, most of the times, we will be able to find a solution. Some even might say business roadblocks are a result of weak planning, but that can be easily corrected. We will talk about three common business roadblocks, and what we can do to overcome them. Knowing how to manage your capital, trying to hire the perfect team, and fear of taking the next step.
Probably the most common challenge for startups and small businesses has to do with funds and financing. Some say that we should never use our money to start a business, but the money of others instead. This might be a decent advice, actually, and it could even apply for financing your company’s capital.
There are different alternatives to find capital for our company. To keep the cash flowing and cover every day or unplanned expenses, a business credit line should work. Getting an SBA loan or finding funding through a bank could work, too. Another useful and quite effective funding alternative would be factoring your company’s accounts receivable as a means of getting paid for your work immediately from the factor who in turn gets paid from your customer in 30 to 60 days.
Once we have found financing, managing such capital is essential, and keeping track of payments and expenses can get tricky sometimes. The best solution would be to hire bookkeeping services or a professional accountant. If such alternatives are out of our budget, we could consider using a bookkeeping app or software to help us keep track of our expenses.
It happens more often than we’d like but having the right team members in your company can (and will) make a difference. That’s why we should make sure our recruitment process and our talent acquisition department is at its best. Having detailed job descriptions, and an accurate list of the characteristics we’re looking for in job applicants is crucial too.
Another aspect to keep in mind is that there is no such thing as the perfect employee. And even if there were, they are not just going to arrive to your job interview and completely shift your company. Once we find job applicants we would like to see in our company, constant training and education are key. Besides, we should not forget we play an important role when developing the perfect team. This is why it is important to keep motivating our employees.
It is common for small businesses to begin operations with a small team. It only makes sense, though, as we might not be able to afford hiring more people than needed. However, there comes a time for all small businesses to decide whether to take the next step or not. This decisive moment can have a great influence on the success or demise of our company.
Being able to identify that moment where growth is within our reach, regardless of the challenges it might bring, is imperative. Some small business owners might struggle with the fact that their company is growing, and more help is needed. Some others might be waiting for the “right moment” to arrive. We must remember that growing also comes with challenges but deciding to go for it and take the next step is what will differentiate your company from all the ones that came (and failed) before you.
