~ by Hannah Whittenly ~
Running a successful business seems more and more difficult as the business world itself becomes an increasingly complex place to operate. While it is true that the way people do business today has changed radically, from even a few years ago, there are still ways a savvy entrepreneur can get a foothold in the market and ensure that their business will thrive despite all the modern obstacles to doing business.
Here are a few of the important potholes to avoid on the road to business success.
Not Adequately Funding Your Business
It is often said that it takes money to make money. The truth is that it takes lots of money to reap decent profits. Many entrepreneurs find themselves ill-prepared for the dangers funding deficiencies can cause to their business. For this reason, a business must be built on a solid foundation of capital funds. This will ensure that when a business is ready to grow or make a big move in the marketplace, the capital is there to drive the right plan of action that will best benefit a company’s bottom line. Unfortunately, a severe lack of funds is usually a sign that a business is dead in the water. Just know that there are a variety of methods a business can employ to obtain the funding it needs. From borrowing money from family and friends to selling stocks in the business, it is possible to raise enough capital to keep a business operational even through the tough times.
Being Out of Touch With Your Customer Base
From consumer feedback to great customer service, how a company chooses to interact with customers can often mean the difference between massive success and massive failure. This is another major area where businesses face difficulty, because they do not always know the best way to maintain a connection with their customer base. However, getting in touch with a company’s customer base will often require more in-depth research into the habits and the ways that customers access modern technology than a business has invested the time and resources towards. This is important since it exposes how to leverage all the available avenues for the best strategies to ensure your company is engaging customers on their level.
When Logistics Get out of Control
When you need product fast or need to make sure product will reach the right customer in a timely manner, there exists a wide variety of product suppliers and drop shippers who can help a business operate like a well-oiled machine. Fulfillment centers can help to ensure that companies they service turn over orders fast, and they should be able to provide real time tracking and reporting on anything from raw materials to finished products. When a company’s logistics are not running smoothly, this can and will often lead to many missed opportunities and lost profits along the way.
Not Outsourcing Where Needed
Outsourcing labor and tedious tasks to a third party company can massively improve the efficiency of a business’s daily operations. Because less of the heavy lifting on projects is being done in-house, a company that outsources will find it needs less staff and can get things done much faster. A business that fails to outsource where necessary will typically pay more to hire staff that cannot get nearly as much done for the low costs charged when hiring a third party provider. Often, keeping many of these tasks in-house leads to the need to spend more money than necessary on office space and is a mistake that should be avoided when possible.
While it is important to focus on the successful operations of a business, it is equally important to beware the many pitfalls that await a business in the marketplace. From technology-related business issues to employment standards, business’s today have to watch out for many unforeseen pitfalls as they strive to do it better than their competitors. For this reason it is essential for a business owner to keep their eyes open and be ready to face any challenges that stand to hinder how their business maintains its bottom line.
Meet the Author: Hannah Whittenly
Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She graduated from the University of California-Sacramento with a degree in Journalism.
