Best Startup
Running a small business is not for the faint of heart. It often means taking work home with you, sleepless nights, and a whole host of problem-solving.
That being said, entrepreneurs are extremely passionate, creative people and do whatever they have to do to make their business work.
This article explores some of the difficulties small businesses face and ways in which you can overcome them easily.
Poor Supplier Pricing
One of the biggest benefits is the ability to order in bulk from suppliers, meaning that you get a better per unit cost and therefore better profit margin on every product you sell. This seems unfair, considering small businesses really need better margins to keep going.
However, there are a couple of ways to combat this. The first would be to move your trade abroad and import your products if it is viable for your business. You can do this via sites like Alibaba and AliExpress and it will allow you to purchase in small bulk, saving money on your products.
Another way is to team up with a competitor (yes, you heard that right) and collaborate on sharing large bulk orders from UK suppliers to secure favourable pricing.
Funding Issues
Banks often overlook small businesses and are not willing to give out loans for expansion as easily as they would for large established business enterprises.
This can be extremely frustrating for a business owner whose balance sheets look great and who just need funding to expand and keep growing.
There are a couple of options here. You could try getting an investor or crowdfunding as one option.
If you’re still struggling, you can hire business growth experts like Chalkhill Blue who can not only advise you on the best way to secure funding, but also provide growth advice, help you market your business, and provide training. Professionals like Chalkhill offer a holistic service for growing your business.
Small Teams
One of the difficulties small businesses face is that their teams have to remain small due to budgeting, and so, in many cases, staff have to take on a number of different roles. This means while you will have a few great ‘all-rounders’, you won’t have any staff members who specialise in one area.
In order to get the best from your team, outsourcing some tasks to experts is a great way to fill the expertise gap, without adding extra pressure on your current staff members.
You can use sites like Upwork and Fiverr to find good freelancers who are experts in everything from coding to customer service or even data entry.
Outsourcing is also extremely cost effective, for example, having a website built by an overseas freelancer is often cheaper than having it created in the UK.
Small business owners do what they do because they love it, and while it can be challenging, with the right planning and preparation small obstacles can be overcome and it is entirely worth it!
