One of the main mistakes many freelancers make is that they think starting a small business is the same as being a freelancer – it isn’t! Of course, if you’re new to the small business party, this won’t be a pitfall, but there are plenty of others.
Here are the most common challenges start-ups face, with some ideas on how to manage them.
1. Money Management
Even small-scale money matters can become a headache and quickly get out of control. If you’re hiring staff, then there are obligations about payroll, tax, and maybe even pensions.
Accounting services like MI Tax CPA are worth their weight in gold for the intrepid entrepreneur with a whole range of business accounting services that can manage the needs of large companies right down to small startups.
Take the hassle of money management out of your life with targeted financial support, leaving you free to concentrate on the core operation.
2. Not Becoming Dependent on a Single Client
Having multiple clients will safeguard your business if something goes wrong with one client. It’s called spreading your risk.
It’s hard to reduce dependency on a good client who pays well and on time, but the long-term health of your business is more important. Of course, if you can guarantee that the work’s consistent and won’t dry up, that’s a different matter.
3. Work-Life Balance
It’s a well-known fact that small business owners can work 24/7. It’s your baby, and there’s always this sense that no one else can run things as well as you. Many owners also fear their enterprise will go to the wall in their absence.
Not feeling you have to work every hour of every day is a surprisingly hard habit to break. Fortunately, there is lots of online help and advice to help stop you from working twice as hard as your employees, and that’s a fact.
Learning to delegate is a crucial part of this process. Many business owners handle tasks that are non-critical that they could easily pass on to someone else.
4. Founder Dependence
If your business can’t function without you, it’s time to rethink. You can’t work 24/7. If you are, you’re effectively time-limiting your enterprise by making yourself so central to its function.
Again, the stumbling block is usually delegation. It’s a common pitfall for a starter to think that no one can do the job as well as they can. But quality may slip a little while someone else learns the ropes.
The ethos of a small business has to be collaborative. A business can’t thrive if it is solely reliant on one person.
5. Rapid versus Sustainable Growth
Business growth should be targeted and strategic, not haphazard and random. Scaling a business is a challenging and expert process. Businesses that grow too fast and without the proper infrastructure will collapse under their own weight.
Success can be the enemy of growth. Every small business owner wants success but needs to manage it sustainably.
When to scale should be formulaic, and there are many tried and tested strategies that any business owner can use to devise when and how to grow.
Final Thoughts
Starting a small business has a buzz and excitement like nothing else, but it is challenging. Just don’t make it challenging for all the wrong reasons.
