Small Business Struggles to Overcome

Even If You’re a New Entrepreneur, You Can Succeed!

Small business struggles are simply a part of learning how to navigate the waters of entrepreneurship. We’ve all been there, so I wanted to share the details of some small business struggles you can easily overcome.

Build a Brand that Gets You Noticed

One of the benefits of owning a small business lies in the unique nuances that make your business original. Having a small business allows you to offer goods and services to whatever market you choose in whatever manner you prefer. If you want to sell ice cream to surfers from a floating dock, or open a doggie spa for pampered pooches, the sky’s the limit.

Small businesses have a lot of competition, both on the large and small scale. That’s why it’s important to figure out how to stand out in the crowd and grab some attention. In a sea of sameness, showcasing something unique and different is the best way to build a brand and your reputation.

Don’t Be Afraid of Who You Want to Be

Sometimes it’s good to be weird, bold, quirky, funny, etc. You may feel inclined to keep things safe when creating a brand, but that could work against you. Toning things down too much can result in going unnoticed or appearing down right boring. Rather than play it safe, focus on what it is about your business that’s most in alignment with your goals and objectives, while also expressing something fun and unique to the marketplace.

Don’t be afraid to infuse your personality into your business to help overcome your small business struggles. Customers will be attracted to your unique brand of humor, sentiment, and vibes. Build your marketing strategy around something that sets you apart from others. This could be done in a myriad of ways including:

• Creating a bold and unique logo
• Having a funny motto or catch phrase
• Using verbiage that’s edgy or unique to your voice
• Wearing fun and identifying clothing
• Creating a unique customer service experience

Don’t Be Afraid to Shake Things Up

It’s worth it to be bold and take some risks to get noticed. From creating quirky videos for TikTok to being a roller derby sponsor, think of fun ways to represent your business that attracts your ideal customer. Just because you don’t see every business doing something, doesn’t mean your idea won’t be a winner.

Begin Where Your Natural Talents Lie

If you are unsure where to put your branding efforts, begin with your natural talents and inclinations. If you are a regular user or LinkedIn or Facebook, it makes sense to focus on building a brand on these platforms. If you are well known in your community, it makes sense to become a sponsor or supporter of local activities. From there, find fun and unique ways to engage that get you noticed.

Don’t shy away from making sure your small business is a reflection of who you are and what you love. This makes it much easier to build a brand that gets you noticed and one of the small business struggles that will be a joy to overcome.

Tips for Attracting and Holding onto the Right Team Members

Attracting and onboarding new members to your team is a common small business struggle. Finding qualified staff, training them, and keeping them motivated and engaged requires time and money so it’s important to make the investment count.

Many small businesses fall short of hiring the right people because they…

• Lack human resource experience
• Feel desperate to hire someone
• Fail to ask the right questions
• Aren’t paying enough attention

You Aren’t a Human Resources Expert: Most small business owners aren’t experienced with human resources. They are often unaware of what to look for in an employee or don’t know how to properly screen for the right skill sets, personality, and ethics needed for the workplace.
Just because someone can do the job, doesn’t always mean they are the right fit for your job opening.

Tip: If you are brand new to the hiring process, consider using a temp agency. Staffing agencies can screen potential employees ahead of time and often take on the administrative rolls on your behalf. Once you have more experience hiring and managing staff you can make the switch to in-house.

You Need Someone NOW- Whether it’s due to a growth spurt, lack of qualified applicants, or trying to delegate responsibility to focus on the business, the urgency to hire someone can overpower the responsible choice to find the ideal candidate. Feeling desperate can lead to settling, or worse yet, choosing someone unfit for your business. This can directly affect the culture and customer experience of your business and could lead to costly consequences.

Tip: Cultivate a pipeline of applicants for your business. Be on the lookout for ideal candidates before, during, and after your need for staff. Avoid waiting until you are strapped for staff to begin recruiting. Pay attention to your sphere of influence and be on the lookout for possible employees. Build relationships in your niche to network for staff should the need come up quickly. This can help you get direct referrals or recommendations for higher-quality applicants.

You Aren’t Asking the Right Questions: If you aren’t familiar with hiring, you may be focused on the wrong thing. In most situations, the technical aspects of a position aren’t as important as who is doing the work. Meaning, people can be trained to do specific tasks, but elements such as personality, work ethic, and other subtle nuances may matter even more.

Tip: Be sure to ask interview questions that identify the ethics, values, and personality of your applicants. Be clear about the culture and work environment you offer and look for a good fit. Looking for staff who match up with the technical as well as environmental aspects of your business will help attract and keep the best people for your business.

Your Attention is on the Wrong Thing: Once you’ve taken the time and expense to hire staff, it’s important to pay close attention to the right things. Understanding what motivates your staff specifically is important. Some people need to be told they are doing an excellent job. Some desire public recognition, rewards, or bonuses. Knowing what unique things motivate your staff can help retain them and boost your business.

Tip: Pay attention to your staff. Learn what motivates each of them specifically and implement ways to encourage and reward them. Recognize it’s your responsibility to lead and motivate. Be sure to educate yourself on leadership skills and team building. Don’t make assumptions about employee engagement and satisfaction. Be proactive about reviewing staff performance and understanding their perspectives.

Finding and keeping good employees can be challenging, but it’s easier when you emphasize hiring the right people and maintaining their commitment to your small business.

Expand Your Reach: Three Ways to Find New Customers

One of the more common small business struggles is the ongoing need to reach new customers. While repeat business from a loyal customer base is essential, it’s equally important to have new customers coming into your pipeline as well.

Here are three strategies that help small businesses find new customers-

1. Focus on a new strategy each quarter
2. Collaborate with your businesses ‘cousins’
3. Become somewhat of a celebrity

Master a new strategy every quarter: Rather than throw a bunch of ideas at the wall, focus on one strategy at a time. Divide marketing strategies by the four quarters of the year. Focus on one strategy until you’ve mastered it. Then implement a new strategy in addition to the one you’ve mastered. At the end of the year, you’ll have four strategies up and running. You can always modify or discontinue one if it doesn’t prove to be effective over time. Some strategies include:

• Starting a new social media campaign including ads or incentives for customers to follow your account
• Sponsorships within your community
• Releasing a new product into the marketplace

Discover audiences adjacent to your business: Your business is of value to a host of customers who don’t not know you exist. For example, a business that provides personal coaching has customers who could benefit from a virtual assistant. Or, a business that creates marketing material has customers who could benefit from a social media expert. These business relationships are cousins in that they offer services that are different, but support the same customer base.

Collaborating with other businesses who ultimately serve the same customer (but in different capacities) is a great way to get exposure to new customers. Plus, the endorsement from one another makes sales even easier. Find ways to connect, collaborate and partner with these business ‘cousins’, and their audiences, so you can share more about your business and learn through your small business struggles. Some strategies include:

• Collaborating on a webinar, zoom, or training
• Creating a product to sell to both audiences
• Having a referral or affiliate program

Become a star and put yourself in the spotlight: Your business is more than what you do or sell. As a business owner, you have unique talents and abilities that expand your reach. As an ambassador for your business, you have the potential to reach whole new audiences, by showcasing yourself and, by default, your business.

Did you know podcasts are always looking for guests? Many podcasts showcase business owners for qualities other than their goods and services. Being a guest on a podcast can allow you to share your experiences on and off-duty. For example, being a guest on a health and wellness podcast to discuss vegetarianism would focus on lifestyle; however, there’s also the opportunity to share your business.

A hobbyist podcast is a great way to share your enthusiasm for your off-duty hobby, while also sharing how your hobby ties in with your on-duty life. These opportunities can generate interest in your business in unexpected ways. Some additional strategies include:

• Participating in civic groups
• Volunteering in the community
• Guest blogging, podcasting, or being featured in a magazine

Finding new customers is vital for your business growth and strength. Look for new ways to reach people both traditionally and in innovative ways.

Time Management Skills Every Small Business Owner Needs

Small business owners tend to wear many hats, making it difficult to prioritize their time. Most days are spent multitasking on sales, marketing, creating goods and services, while juggling customer service, answering emails, and trying to get through the day.

With so much to do, the tail starts wagging the dog and each day is dictated by which fire burns the brightest and requires the most attention. It may feel as though there’s no way to be in control of everything when there’s so much going on, but it is possible to gain control and manage your priorities and your day. These time management skills will help-

Skill set… Setting goals: Knowing what you’re working towards is vital. Setting goals helps you determine where to put your energy and what tasks to create to reach them. Taking time to create goals and set deadlines can help you determine your priorities and hold yourself accountable.

Be as specific as you can and measure your success along the way. Track your progress and learn from what’s working and what isn’t. Be willing to do the deep work to overcome small business struggles as they come up.

Skill set: Organizing tasks and creating plans- You may not be able to control unexpected tasks or situations that pop up during the day; however, you can organize and plan the general framework of your month, week, and daily schedule.

Effectively organizing and planning out tasks helps streamline duties, priorities, and day-to-day activities. Creating a weekly plan helps prioritize your time efficiently and creates a roadmap for daily activities. Find a framework that works best for your business tasks and design your day around it.

Skill set: Eliminating distractions: Proper time management requires focus. It’s easy to get off track when you’re pulled in too many directions. Learning to set priorities and prevent distractions can help. From setting your smartphone to do not disturb, to only answering emails or voicemails at designated times, there are a lot of ways to eliminate distractions.

Determine what your biggest distractions are and find ways to set boundaries. Finding solutions for your distractions results in working smarter, rather than harder, and allows you to focus and get things done.

Skill set: Working from your strengths: Every small business owner has strengths and weaknesses. While it’s important to always look to improve your skill sets, it doesn’t make sense to waste time and resources doing things others can do better. Your time is better managed doing things within your wheelhouse and delegating the tasks outside of your expertise.

When possible, delegate, automate, or hire someone else to complete certain tasks so you can focus on tasks you’re most suited for. I did this almost immediately after starting my online business so that I could be proactive when small business struggles arose. Time is money and mastering your time will help you be a better business owner and increase your revenue.

Mastering the Art of the Pivot- Knowing When to Make Changes or Hold Your Ground

A crucial determination for success is the ability to stick with things when they are tough. Developing grit and holding your ground is vital to weather storms and ride them out rather than giving up. How do you know when to hold your ground and when to pivot?

Small Business Struggles are Common to All Businesses

New businesses face problems at every turn. Tackling challenges and finding solutions is part of building a new brand, but even seasoned businesses have struggles. Changes in the economy, customer buying habits, or shifts in trends effect every type of business. Being able to assess and pivot if necessary is often the key to longevity.

Change is Good and Inevitable

All businesses evolve with time. Nothing tends to stay the same and embracing change is important since it’s inevitable. If you sense your business needs to make a shift, timing is everything. Jumping too fast could ruin a good thing, but waiting too long could cost customers and revenue.

Small Business Struggles That Signal You May Need to Pivot

Your data determines your status. From the number of followers, subscribers, or sales, your data is the primary indicator of the health of your business. Additionally, if you find your business hasn’t found new customers, your competition seems to be doing better, or repeat sales are down, the data doesn’t lie. If there is a downturn in your data, it could indicate you need to pivot and make changes.

Changes in technology are often important to adopt to accommodate how customers make payments, receive goods and services, or engage with your business.

Signs You Need to Hold Your Ground

Life is cyclic and there’s a whole lot going on out there. The economy, time of year, and buying habits of your target audience all have influence on your business. Sometimes despite your best efforts, there are slumps you’ve got to ride out.

Even if the data shows a downturn, it could be related to circumstances unrelated to your business. Sometimes getting creative can boost engagement with your customers and help restore activity.

Patience and Wisdom are Key

The keys to mastering the art of the pivot are patience and wisdom. Learn the patterns within your industry and your customer’s habits. Prepare for leaner times when business is naturally slow and capitalize on the busier seasons.

Watch for changes in the industry and pivot with them in strategic ways, but don’t make sweeping changes for trends that won’t last. Find subtle ways to stay relevant and grow with the changing times while keeping the elements of your business that are timeless and part of your core mission. While small business struggles affect everyone, know that by learning more about what I’m sharing here will make a significant difference for your results.

I’m bestselling author, marketing strategist, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and I would love to connect further with you to help you to achieve your goals. If you are interested in learning how to optimize the syndication of your content, please take a look at my popular Syndication Optimization training course (Save with Code: INDEPENDENCE) and consider coming aboard to increase your visibility, credibility, and profitability.