According to statistics, about 44% of small businesses fail by their fourth year. There are many reasons why your small business can make it or fail in the market. Of course, a lot depends on factors like finances, having a competent team, the products, and services, among others. That said, you can put all the necessary resources in place and still fail if you do not avoid some of the common small business mistakes. Let us look at some costly mistakes you ought to keep an eye on.
Underestimating the power of a business website
In the modern era, technology is king and you cannot afford to ignore the significance of investing in a good business website for your growth. A website is a tool that will connect your business to your clients virtually and easily. You will be able to advertise, market, and even sell products and services via a platform loved by digital consumers. Well, a good website will reduce the amount of your business costs. You can be able to squeeze the savings to your business’s much-needed budget and cater to other needs. The bottom line is that failing to invest in a good business website will set you up for failure in a competitive business environment.
Tip: Don’t underestimate the power of tech in business. Invest in the right tools to fine-tune your products and services.
Underinvesting in marketing
One way of getting your business brand out there is through creative marketing. Many small businesses, especially those operating on a shoestring budget, fail to allocate enough resources to this facet. Consequently, the brand remains unknown to prospective customers for a long time leading to a struggle in growth.
Tips:
- These days you do not have to break the bank to advertise your goods and services. You can use such affordable and equally effective channels, such as social media platforms. Utilize Facebook pages, Twitter, and Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, among other social media channels.
- Ensure that you craft the right social media marketing strategy for your small business
Doing everything on your own
From afar, doing everything on your own or assigning all the work to your internal staff seems a great idea. It is not! You don’t have to do everything on your own despite the fact that you are operating on a limited budget. You can avoid this by outsourcing services from experts and focusing only on the areas that need your intervention. For example, you can outsource fast and reliable IT support from a managed services provider. This will increase your business’s efficiency and streamline such as IT and business functions whilst saving on IT costs. In this case, you don’t need to buy hardware or install expensive software to run your business IT functions. You will also be working with pros that you might not afford to hire in-house.
Having a poor or no business plan
A business plan is a crucial document that acts as a map for your business. It is a compass direction that shows you where you are heading as a business. Are you making profits or losses? Is your business growing as intended? Do you have enough workforce to realize your business goals? A business plan comes in handy in answering the questions. It becomes hard to know if you are losing or winning at business without a plan that indicates your goals and gives you an idea of how to achieve your business goals.
Worse still, you might fail to secure the much-needed financing to boost your business if you do not have a written business plan. Yes, most financiers want to fund businesses that have a solid plan on the table.
Tip: You can utilize a free business plan templates or even use the paid platform to help you craft a more in-depth plan.
Using a rigid business model
This is one of the most frequent mistakes that many small business owners make. Getting too much attached to your business idea without regard for a possible change is bad for your business. Your idea might have been good when you started but it might not be working. For example, there are external factors that might change your trajectory. We have seen this in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Your small business can be knocked off the market if you do not have flexible plans to adapt.
For example, if your business model is so rigid that the workers have to meet in a physical office, then you might struggle. That’s why you need to consider room for flexibility and change for your small business to grow.
Wrap up
Starting and running a business calls for dedication, hard work, and smart moves. You need to know the dos and the don’ts that will help you stay afloat, compete favorably and grow revenue.
