Small business owners need no reminder of the challenges they face. Because most owners sport multiple roles— often serving as their own HR, legal, accounting, business development, recruiter, and their own sales department— challenges are everywhere. Here’s a look at three of the most common challenges with proposed solutions.
– Legal Issues. Even in the most innocuous markets, legal problems inevitably ensue that can distract time and energy away from running your business. Therefore, it’s advantageous for small business owners to have a legal contact and strategy for potential litigation. An initial consultation and review of the contracts you use can help protect you from these legal distractions.
– Growing the Team. Many small businesses start as one-person operations, sometimes husband and wife duos. Such a private, intimate working relationship—as rewarding as it may be—can present unique challenging when it’s time to grow the team. Obviously you’ll need help sharing the workload and pushing your product, but consider hiring contractors over adding employees. This will lighten your load without disrupting your team’s natural chemistry.
– Keeping Creativity Alive. You started your business, in part, to exercise your creativity. Your entrepreneurial mindset couldn’t tolerate the tedium of a typical office job. Yet once you became the boss and put in charge of increasing profit margins and running the day-to-day operations of your business, it became easy to lose this creativity in favor of balancing your finances. Take time to reconnect with what got you into this business in the first place. Whether it’s taking on a less critical, but creative project or building better relationships with your clients, be sure you’re keeping the passion that started your company as present as possible.