3 Big Challenges Your Small Business Needs to Overcome To Survive
Whether you’re planning for long term growth or performing your daily tasks, as a small business owner you are going to face countless obstacles to your success.
It’s all in the Implementation
The difference between you making little money each month and tens of thousands lies in how well you handle the challenges you face and implement the changes needed to survive.
Let’s not be in any doubt - COVID-19 has disrupted small businesses globally, without discrimination. According to a Facebook survey, 31% of small and medium-sized businesses have shut down in the last 3 months. However, you do not have to be one of those casualties.
Every business has a chance of riding every wave of a tsunami that may hit, by understanding the challenges that most, if not all small businesses face and arming yourself with the right strategies to weather any storm.
From my experience, I'm going to highlight my top three challenges and ways you can protect yourself and overcome them.
Challenge 1-Lack of Potential Customers
Lack of customers is a big one. For without customers you really don't exist in business. Your job as a small business owner is to generate leads. A lead is a person who has indicated an interest in your company. This could be a direct message on Instagram, a Facebook message, or an email. Even a simple, can I have your card. These are all leads, and it's down to you to chase them up. You cannot sit passively and hope people will find you and contact you.
How to overcome?
In business, you cannot be everything to everyone because there’s no one size fits all kind of thing.
Understand whom you’re trying to attract in order to give them something that they can resonate with.
The right bait is critical in catching the fish.
To resonate with your audience ;
Know who they are specifically
Know what they want and offer just that
Ahmad Munawar, A marketing Coach States;
“…next time you want to try something — ask yourself a simple question — is this going to generate leads?
If the answer is no and you’re one of the 77% who needs more leads, don’t do it. Because you don’t have the time or money to try things that aren’t going to generate leads.”
Challenge 2-Lack of Marketing Knowledge
As you start your business, you’ll automatically turn into a jack of all trade because every decision will fall on you. But being responsible for everything doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing.
You’re going to learn as you go, so don’t be paralyzed into inaction by fear.
How to overcome?
Create a marketing plan to keep you on track, learn all you can. There are tons of free marketing materials on the internet, take advantage of them, and get knowledge.
Photo by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels
“…next time you want to try something — ask yourself a simple question — is this going to generate leads?
”
Challenge 3 - Poor Visibility
How many people know about your brand? You may have the greatest product or service but if no one knows about it your business may not last.
Remember there are myriads of competitors of all sizes out there, how can you ensure your brand’s voice can be heard and be seen?
Have you noticed how established brands continue to advertise even today? It’s because they know they have to stay in their customer’s minds in order to thrive. This is the same case for your small venture.
Photo by energepic.com from Pexels
You need to be seen or no one will remember you.
How to overcome?
You must have an online presence. Does your brand have social media accounts? You need to leverage these free marketing tools to reach as much audience as you can.
Find out where your target audience spends most of its time and market there.
You can also make use of physical marketing platforms where your target audience is.
The trick in capturing your audience's attention lies in being authentic and as unique as possible. You need to stand out in order to be noticed, so offer that along with the solution you’re offering them.
Business is not a walk in the park, but it can be fun. Be realistic in how you approach each challenge and get help. Don't suffer in silence and do not hope that the problem will go away. Your business needs you to be proactive. To take the proverbial bull by the horns, make a decision and take some action. No one said it was going to be easy or everyone would do it and be successful at it. The ones that are successful are the ones that stand up to every challenge and say Hey, what are we going to do here?
Final thoughts
You are capable of riding the storms. Don't be ashamed of the challenges, embrace them, get help, and take the action. If nothing else, you will learn and build your resilience to make even better choices.
What challenges are you facing or have faced in business? Just leave a comment below. How have you overcome? We’d love for you to share with us your insights.
If you need help to overcome those inevitable business challenges, let’s have a chat. Click here
Want to be in the loop?
For the latest blog posts, sign up below!