A certain amount of worry comes along with being a small business owner. No matter how well your day went, at night you’ll probably be lying awake stressing about something. These worries can become overwhelming. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of four common things that keep business owners up at night and their solutions.
1. Liability Lawsuits
Today, it’s common for business owners to worry about one day being involved in a liability lawsuit. It only takes one unhappy customer to accuse your business of intentional (or unintentional) negligence, including property damage and personal injury.
Buying a business insurance plan can actually help preserve your business bank account and alleviate all your concerns. By having a public liability policy, you won’t have to deduct money from your corporate checking account to cover legal costs.
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2. Business Ownership vs Personal Time
The beginning months and years of a new business can really drain the business owner. Starting out with little money, no staff and limited resources means the business owner will have to sacrifice a lot. The entrepreneur will have to take on a lot of duties like inventory, bookkeeping, custodial work, sales and marketing. It is typical for the business owner to find themselves drowning in paperwork, not allowing much time for sleep.
As soon as you can, hire professional assistance to alleviate some of the pressure. First, you want to delegate your workload, so everything gets done correctly and on time. You wouldn’t want to find yourself stretched too thin, resulting in mistakes. You don’t have to hire full-time help unless you believe it’s necessary. You can opt to hire an intern or a temp worker. There is also the option of outsourcing small duties to outside contractors. This will help you avoid the time and cost of hiring a permanent employee. Outsourcing is beneficial because you can avoid labor regulations and not be concerned about having enough office space and equipment.
Your most important job is to manage your business. All other job responsibilities can be reassigned to another person. Learn to delegate your tasks more evenly and look for opportunities to improve efficiency.
3. Hanging on to Key Employees
Many business owners worry that some superstar employees will leave for another opportunity. Every businessperson knows all employees aren’t the same, some have more ambition, more skills and more smarts. Over time a top performer becomes more critical to the company’s success. It may cause a great hardship for one of your key employees to depart which is why you’ll end up worrying about it.
Keep a close eye on all your employees so you have a grasp of their individual performance. You will know quickly which employees standout. Those are the people you must keep satisfied so they don’t move to a competitor. Make sure they are aware of how much their hard work is appreciated. On occasion, business owners might say thank you through an official recognition program. The gifts could be a formal certificate of achievement, a weekend trip, or another special token.
Employees that feel pride in the company and pleasure in their will feel strongly connected. Usually this alone can be enough to keep the key employee from leaving.
4. Customers
Same as worrying about your most valuable employees, you’ll also get restless when it comes to your clients. Are you keeping your customers happy? How do you know if they are (or are not) happy? How often do you talk to your clients? What portion of your revenue comes from regular clients?
As the business owner, it’s important for you to remain approachable to everyone. You want to welcome both positive and negative feedback from clients. Consider sending out a regular survey, make courtesy calls thanking clients for their business, or shipping special gifts/cards as a thank you. The more personal your contact, the better your customers will feel.
5. Being Sure You Have Enough Cash
The overall goal for every business is to provide more of something for less, which really is the perfect way to measure profitability. Many entrepreneurs worry about running low on capital. The cash may be for operational costs, for capital improvements, or an overall expansion. Each of these purposes gets the business to run as lean a budget as possible while maintaining results. Clients demand more for their money, and business owners typically don’t have a choice but to try to operate on the smallest budget possible.
There’s nothing really wrong with trying to do more for less money. After all, efficiency is something all companies want to capture. To painlessly cut your corporate budget down, you’ll need to be sure you have all your figures correct. An estimated cash flow prepared by a professional accountant is the best approach. It is also necessary to have a back-up plan ready in case an unplanned cost comes up or you underestimate your cash needs. You could rely on your local bank or other lender that’s willing to provide loans. You can also read more interesting stories here.
