What do small businesses struggle with?

Every day, the owner of a small business must contend with a variety of challenges simply to maintain their company. Small businesses sometimes have a difficult time generating income and turning a profit because they lack the extensive resources that are available to major enterprises. You need to have a solid understanding of these day-to-day business problems before you can effectively solve the challenges that are faced by those who own small businesses.

The category of "small business" encompasses some of the most inventive companies in Australia, which can be found here. It is not an easy task, however, to overcome obstacles in order to take advantage of opportunities for progress.

Small firms have a number of benefits over huge corporations in the long run, including the ability to quickly scale up in response to expansion and adapt to shifting market conditions. Large corporations are often referred to as "dinosaurs."

As a group, they are a formidable adversary that must be taken seriously. According to official estimates, there are 2,056,523 small businesses in Australia that employ less than 19 people. This represents 97 percent of all firms when categorized by the number of employees they have.

Challenges Facing Your Small Business

Cash Flow

A steady cash flow is essential to the operation of a successful business, but it can be difficult to maintain this balance while also meeting other financial obligations. Thankfully, there are a plethora of modern software and app choices available to assist Australian businesses with their cash flow issues.

Productivity

Although the introduction of new technologies makes us more productive, many business owners still realize that increasing their company's output is a difficult task. Investigate options that do not involve the participation of your staff members in order to complete labour-intensive and time-consuming activities. In this approach, they will be able to direct their efforts toward creating value in the areas that matter the most.

Profitability

It can be challenging to move an enterprise from the start-up phase into a lucrative one, particularly for sole proprietorships and other extremely tiny firms. This is especially true in markets that are very competitive. One piece of advice that we can offer is to investigate the various ways in which the application of digital innovation might assist you in achieving financial success.

Bringing in Clients as an Objective

I believe that our "biggest issue" is the same one that many other businesses have, which is to consistently acquire new consumers and clients who are both able and willing to pay for the goods and services that we offer. Obviously, in order to carve out a space that is suitable for its needs, each and every small business needs to respond to this challenge in a unique manner. We accomplish this by developing a message that is exclusive to our company and directing that message toward the people who would make the best customers for us utilizing a variety of channels, ranging from direct mail to the internet. However, above all things, we make it a point to constantly remind ourselves not to mistake the services that we provide with the line of work that we do, which is marketing legal services.

Because of the dramatic shifts that have taken place in marketing over the past few years, it can be challenging to win new clients, particularly if you are unfamiliar or uneasy with the concepts of digital marketing and social media. Take the plunge into inbound marketing and look for assistance if you get stuck along the way.

Networking

The owners of businesses in Australia frequently devote their daytime hours to ensuring the smooth operation of their companies. They simply do not have the time to put in the effort required to build relationships and networks. Because networking may be quite beneficial, you should make it a priority to spend some of your time each month establishing new contacts.

Regulation by the Government

The cost of complying with regulations and the resulting loss of production in Australia totals $249 billion each year. The cost of compliance with regulations can have a significant impact on the earnings of an organization.

Time

Owners of businesses are some of the busiest individuals around, and juggling all of the competing demands on their time is an ongoing challenge for them. You may lessen the severity of the problem, even though there is no simple solution to the lack of time, by setting priorities: taking care of the most important things and delegating the less important tasks.

Observing and Upholding Procedures

Ongoing management is required for a number of duties, including recruitment, instruction, payroll processing, marketing, payment of bills, and administration of human resources. Finding strategies to keep these processes running well without requiring an excessive amount of control can make a business owner's job considerably easier.

Marketing

My biggest challenge is staying current on all of the rules, guidelines, and best practices that pertain to search engine optimization. This is made more difficult by the fact that Google rarely discloses absolutes regarding the changes that they are making to their algorithm. Read for around one hour each day in an effort to keep up with the most recent recommendations and suggestions. Look at the products recommended by so-called "gurus" and determine which ones you like best. I don't know the first thing about technology, but I do know a fair amount about search engine marketing. Therefore, I need to find someone to implement my adjustments while maintaining my present ranks so that I can continue to use them. It is a delicate balancing act that frequently drives people crazy. However, I really like it since I do not have to spend a lot of money on marketing; all I need is a lot of time.

When it comes to marketing, it's simple to make mistakes. It's easy to let marketing fall by the wayside when you're preoccupied with the day-to-day activities of running your company. However, if you do not engage in marketing activities today, you could not have any clients tomorrow. Find ways to make marketing more automated or maintain it with less control from you.

meeting on finances

Visibility

The effort to be seen by others has been our single most significant obstacle. Due to the fact that we run a relatively little internet business, we do not have the resources to invest in social media, the development of website content, or search engine optimization. But if you don't have it, no one will ever know about your company. You will not only lose existing clients who are interacting with your competitors online, but you will also lose new customers who are unable to locate you. Small businesses who lack the financial resources to pay for the services of search engine optimization marketers or writers are forced to practically teach themselves how to code and create attractive content on their own.

The Conduct of Research and Development

R&D, much like marketing, is frequently put on the backburner while today's pressing problems are being addressed. Encourage innovation within your organization and provide R&D with the focus it requires; the prosperous future of your business depends on it.

The Loyalty of Employees

The most effective strategy for fostering employee loyalty in today's highly competitive labor market is to cultivate a culture in which workers are made to feel valued and are given opportunities to further their careers. The processes of coaching and mentoring can be quite useful in the development of a culture like this.

Business Loans

There may come a time in the development of your company when a business loan is absolutely necessary. It is necessary to have finances for starting a business, and it is possible that you will require additional capital if the business grows or expands into new territory. Find an honest lender who is willing to work with you and provide loan terms that won't have a negative impact on your company in the long run.

Money Management

It is essential for any company, as well as for every single person, to be in possession of sufficient liquid assets to pay off their monthly expenses. Whether it's your company or your personal life, it's likely that one of them will become a source of financial strain that puts pressure on the other. To stay one step ahead of this challenge, owners of small businesses either require substantial financial backing or the ability to generate additional revenue on demand in order to maintain enough cash reserves. Because of this, many small businesses get their start with the founders maintaining full-time employment while also working to establish the company. Having your attention pulled in several directions might make it challenging to expand a firm, but not having enough money to do so makes expansion impossible.

When cash is flowing into the business, proper money management takes on an even greater level of importance. Even while handling business accounting and taxes may be within the skills of the majority of business owners, it is almost always a good idea to get expert assistance for these tasks. Considering that the complexity of a company's books will rise with each new customer and employee, seeking outside assistance with bookkeeping can help prevent the issue from becoming a barrier to business growth.

Efficiency

Any organization can suffer in the long run if its approach to expenditure is too relaxed. Foster responsible financial behaviour among your managers, and you'll have more money available for investments in areas such as marketing and research and development, both of which will provide results that are beneficial over the long term.

Maintaining the Faith of Our Clientele

It can be just as challenging to cultivate staff loyalty as it can to cultivate consumer loyalty, but doing so is just as crucial. The use of digital tools can be of tremendous assistance in this endeavour. Maintaining a prominent presence in the minds of customers can be accomplished through the use of email newsletters, social media, and a company blog.

Identifying the Ideal Clientele to Serve

Because of the nature of web marketing, it is simple to throw a very wide net; the question is whether or not you are capturing the appropriate customers. You will be able to market to the appropriate people at the appropriate times if you make use of sound SEO methods and segment your email list.

Harmony between work and life

Many people in Australia who operate their own businesses have difficulty striking a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives. When they put in long hours at work, they worry that they are ignoring their personal lives and the people closest to them, and when they take time off to relax, they worry that they should be at the office. Make an effort to establish crisp limits, and make efficient use of the time you have. Try not to give up.

Finding and Employing the Best Candidates

Finding qualified employees to fill open positions in your company can be critical to its success and the smooth operation of its daily operations. To get started, write job descriptions that are detailed and truthful, and take your time going through the hiring process. Try not to hire someone questionable just because you're desperate. Have the self-control to hold out until you find the one who is best for you.

Increased levels of rivalry

An increase in the level of competitiveness can be attributed to the fact that it is now simpler to launch a company in Australia than it was in times gone by, when the internet lacked its current level of accessibility. Maintain your position in the competitive market by keeping a close eye on the prices of the goods and services you offer and by placing a strong emphasis on providing superior support to your clients.

Labour Costs

The wage rate, in addition to the administrative aspects of hiring and firing employees, presents a difficulty for owners of businesses in Australia in terms of labor costs. You could want to think about hiring younger employees and providing them with training for medium-term career advancement in order to cut costs.

Increases in Price

Lastly, the difficulty of rising costs is one that is being faced by owners of businesses in Australia. In order to successfully deal with this obstacle:

  • Do some comparison shopping to find a better deal on your telephone service and insurance.
  • Have a conversation with your suppliers about getting discounts for early payment or for volume.
  • Examine each of your procedures to determine whether or not it is possible to modernize or automate them.

It is an exciting moment to own and operate a business in Australia, despite the fact that owners of businesses in Australia confront problems such as these and others.

Striking a Balance Between Quality and Growth

Even if a company is not dependent on its founders for survival, there will come a moment when the challenges that accompany expansion appear to equal or even outweigh the rewards. In order for a company to grow and expand, at some point, they will need to make sacrifices, regardless of whether they provide a service or a product. This can mean that you are unable to handle every customer contact or that you are unable to manually inspect every widget.

Unhappily, the level of personal commitment and attention to detail that makes a business successful is almost always present in successful businesses. As a result of this, many owners of small businesses discover that they are unable to break these behaviours, which is detrimental to the growth of their businesses. It is up to the owner of the firm to manage the company's procedures toward a compromise that allows expansion without harming the brand. There is a huge middle ground between substandard work and an obsessive preoccupation with quality.

Expanding of Resources

Whether or not there is a pandemic, making sure that you are properly managing your finances is one of the most challenging but crucial things that you can do as the owner of a small business. If you own a local company, the odds are good that you don't have a lot of spare cash hanging around that you can spend any way you choose. For this reason, achieving financial growth and striking a balance between what you should invest your money in and how much of it you should invest is essential for the expansion of a small firm. The following are some areas in which you should make investments as soon as possible:

  • An emergency fund: This should have enough money in it to cover your living expenditures for approximately three to six months;
  • Your personal credit score: Having a personal credit score that is in a healthy range will make it much simpler to be approved for any future company loans;
  • In the long run, it will be beneficial for your small business to invest in the services of an accountant, bookkeeper, and/or financial consultant to handle its finances. After all, these professionals have become specialists in their fields for a reason.

Development from Within

Internal growth is just as important for the expansion of a small business as financial growth is. When it comes to putting together your team, you want to make sure that you choose qualified individuals to fill each position on the team. In addition to this, you will want to make sure that the staff you choose have a good reputation in the industry and will make a good impression on customers. Last but not least, if you want to save money on the cost of employee turnover, you need to invest some money in incentives that will encourage your staff to continue working for your firm. The cost of employee turnover can quickly build up to a significant amount of money, which is why it is worthwhile to spend money to retain your personnel. Additionally, a happy team typically leads in increased production as well as a higher quality of work, making this a situation in which everyone involved benefits.

Growth From Without

The expansion of a small company is impossible without first achieving financial and internal growth, but none of those things is possible without first achieving exterior growth. One of the finest methods to boost the external growth of YOUR small business is to strengthen the strategies you use to retain existing customers. In the same way that you should invest in experts to handle the finances of your small business, you should also engage in client retention tactics that will help you keep your current clientele as well as attract new customers. It is recommended that you engage a digital marketing team that will build and carry out the customer retention tactics that you require. This will make things much simpler for you. The following methods are included in these tactics; however, this list is not exhaustive:

  • Reputation management: if you answer promptly to client reviews, whether they are positive or negative, you will demonstrate to clients that you are actually involved in them, which will boost the likelihood that they will utilize your service once more;
  • It is imperative that you have an active presence across all of your social media platforms since connecting with your customers through social media is a terrific method to build your business.
  • Blog material: If you consistently post blogs with free, educational content that your customers can use, you will establish yourself as the authority figure in your field, and your customers will continue to return to your website for more.

What can be done to assist small businesses?

Obtainable sources of funding

Cash flow issues are almost certain to arise for a number of the numerous small firms that are going to have difficulty getting by during the temporary economic down wave. Because issues with a company's ability to generate cash flow are the leading cause of failure for small businesses, the ability to find solutions to these issues is extremely important.

Because obtaining funds through equity takes too much time and because bank loans also take too much time, this is the only practical means to immediately respond to difficulties. Suddenly, easily accessible finance becomes one of the most essential industries that can help support the economy. This industry, also known as a business lending engine, assists a large number of businesses in remaining solvent. Especially when one considers how essential small firms are to the expansion of the economy and how many of them are unable to survive because they lack adequate finance.

Government help

If the government were to lend a hand to struggling enterprises, this would be yet another means by which they may be prepared to weather the impending wave of economic turbulence. For instance, subsidies can be an excellent approach to assist firms in paying their personnel, with a portion of the salaries being funded by the government at the expense of the taxpayer.

The investment of the government could support small enterprises in two different ways: directly and indirectly. Investing in cyberinfrastructure, for instance, might provide digitally-based small enterprises with access to more useful resources, which would in turn help them compete more effectively on a global scale.

However, it does have the potential to assist small enterprises in general. The investment will lead to an increase in economic output (or GDP, as it is known to economists), which can have a domino effect on other aspects of the economy. This might result in increased consumer spending, which would then contribute to an increase in sales for small businesses.

Changing in response to dangers

There is always the possibility of acquiring the capacity to adapt and transform the aforementioned dangers into possibilities. Let's reframe the aforementioned "issues" as possibilities instead:

  • The economies of Asia are showing signs of improvement. This presents a potential chance to capitalize on Asia's rapidly expanding middle class, which could be seen as an opportunity. In light of the fact that China is now Australia's most important export market, this is a new market that is expanding at a rapid rate.
  • Alteration of the climate Due to the unavoidable expansion of this sector, this presents an opportunity to either develop innovative solutions to the challenges posed by climate change or to provide services that are favourable to the environment.
  • The advancement of technology. Put automation and artificial intelligence to work for your company to increase productivity and save expenses.
  • a struggling economy as a whole An opportunity to develop a product or service that can withstand economic downturns (e.g. repairs, cleaning, IT, food). While other companies are having difficulty, this may present a chance to increase your share of the market.

What is most important, regardless of the reason they are leaving you, is what you should be aware of. In point of fact, it is impossible to satisfy each and every one of your clients. However, it is not a desirable situation to have a high turnover rate. In accordance with the 80/20 principle, the revenue generated by 20 percent of your clientele accounts for 80 percent of your total revenue. Once you have established a devoted customer base, you will be able to direct your attention to the customers you already have and the areas in which you excel. However, in order to get there, you will need to endure the arduous process of going through revisions based on the input from your customers.

You can have a better understanding of the issues by soliciting feedback and monitoring your profiles on various social media platforms. Make an effort to enhance the areas in which the majority of your consumers are experiencing difficulties.

Fixes such as those described above can solve a variety of problems that arise in business. However, it is crucial to be aware that not every company is successful on their very first attempt at doing something. Every single move, no matter how large or how tiny, will be met with obstacles. You may pass, you may fail. The most essential thing is to pick yourself up after a setback and try again.

Scroll to Top