We’re glad that you’ve fought all odds to start your own small or medium-sized business, but look at the maze that you’ve got yourself stuck in. By now, you will have realized that entrepreneurship is a risky business. This risky business involves a lot of intricate planning for dealing not only with the risks, but with all sorts of challenges and other contingencies. And yes, the failure rate of small businesses is daunting, as so many fall victim to the challenges they face. As an owner, it’s always disheartening to watch your SMB sink to the bottom of the ocean. Hence, we bring you the eight biggest challenges small businesses have to face and brace you up to face them.
Technological challenges faced by small businesses
Large firms have mastered the art of choosing technology for their business, but SMBs usually struggle when it comes to applying business technology. Let’s look at four major technological challenges faced by SMBs.
Deficit in IT skill set
Almost half of the small businesses outsource all of their technological support and management work to a third party. The officials are expected to be multi-trade specialists and one has to wear many hats at times. But somehow, due to the lack of funds, an IT staff is the last thing an SMB wants to hire. This usually means that the technological work is burdened on non-technical professionals, leading to sub-normal IT skills in an SMB.
Securing data against cyberattacks
A big misconception that most of SMBs have is that cyberattackers target only larger businesses because they payoff is usually much higher. Well, to be honest, not all cybercriminals are looking for a large sum, some of them are looking for less risky quick dollars.
SMBs, delved in this misconception, do not effectively protect company data, and the cyberattackers know about this. Hence, SMBs end up becoming soft targets for hackers.
Inability to stay up-to-date with latest business technology
You are among the 31 percent of owners of small businesses in the world if you don’t know which technology fits your business perfectly. It’s very common that most of SMBs are unaware of the latest business technology and which one to use. https://www.camilyo.com/blog/articles/8-Technology-Challenges-Small-Businesses-Face-Every-Day1
For starters, be ready to shed just a little money, unlike those 31 percent of SMBs. Research exactly the sort of technology and business tools that will fit your company’s working style. Lastly, be willing to update to the recent technologies available to keep you in the race.
Absence or lack of data backup
Regardless of the size of your company, you’re producing tremendous amount of data. The data needs to be stored into the physical storage devices but you need to create a back-up for this data too as the traditional methods won’t cut it anymore.
With the improvements in cloud computing, many SMBs are not able to use the clouds and store data online from where it is easily accessible and safer. In order to save a few bucks, SMBs opt for slow and unreliable cloud storages, which may save a little money but will end up being a big loss.
General challenges faced by small businesses
Apart from being haywired by how to use and apply the technology, there are other hurdles that a SMB has to surmount. Watch out and prepare for these challenges:
Obtaining and maintaining a client base
People go gaga over a new business that is developing in their nearby locations. Not only are the people curious, but also excited to be a part of it. They are the ones who are your SMB’s potential clients and connections.
But, most SMBs do not focus on garnering these connections with people and customers, and even if they do, they can’t maintain it stably. Hence, promoting, marketing, and pitching your SMB’s products and services are very essential to manage connections and clients.
Profitability and productivity
We understand you’ve got a golden heart and you’re not starting your business totally for profit. But let’s be honest, it always boils down to having profit in your business, that’s what keeps the business itself steady and running. So focus on profits even if you have to squeeze every bit of the money available to you.
High productivity is the fruitful result of getting the most of every minute that you have to spend on work. High productivity equals great profitability — so everyone wins. Maintain a continuous and intense focus, that’s the only key to high productivity.
Paper-thin budget and inexperienced money management
It’s a gigantic step to obtain a regular cash-flow for your SMB, and so is to find an investor. But as the proud owner of an SMB, you have to agree that the budget is always stretched thin like an elastic band and there is a lot you have to obtain out of it.
One way to deal with the low budget is to apply an experienced individual or a small team for budgeting. A smart budgeting can help prepare for cost overruns and have a contingency plan handy for times like these.
Sands of time running low
The old proverb “time is money” is well explained when it comes to SMBs. It doesn’t matter what service or product that your SMB is providing, as an owner you’re always racing the clock to meet deadlines.
Hence, management of time is crucially important. It’s also essential to quarantine and isolate the critical activities so that there is lesser slack in the processes. Planning and managing time is the key to success of your SMB in the long run.
Will these prepare you for the worst?
Honestly, these are only some of the major causes of failures for small businesses. These challenges usually shake the foundation of even the best of entrepreneurs, but that shall not always be the case with you. In many rare cases, even minor flaws can attack the jugular of the business and to prepare against them requires deep understanding and thorough planning. Success and failure of your business are the two crossroads that you will mostly face as an owner, true! But it’s the universal fact that once you’ve gauged the problem and are already aware of the challenges, it’s easy to plan mitigation strategies and prepare yourself. Avoiding pitfalls is how you can assure that you have a stable and successful SMB.
Images: Pixabay
