5 Overlooked Little Things That Impact Your Small Business

Some of the biggest challenges for small businesses are often ones neither owners nor employees see coming. In a lot of cases, it’s the little details that can drive a business’ success.

Small issues may either slip by unnoticed or get overlooked, but these things can greatly impact your small business if left unchecked. And this time left unprepared opens the door wider for the possibility of decline or failure.

Small businesses face numerous challenges in today’s crowded market, where the battle is fierce among them along with the constant pressure of large enterprises. One mistake can send a company into a downward spiral that can be difficult to address or recover from, which is why it’s paramount to address them before they happen.

Here are four overlooked little things that can greatly impact your small business.

1. Confidential Information

Whether it’s your business strategy or simply passwords that gain access to computers, confidential information can come under threat from former employees, even by accident.

The solution is to be careful with what information you give to whom and to constantly change passwords. Anything could become a breach in security, even the login password to your business’ account for a third party service.

When an employee departs, I opt for changing all the passwords they had access to. The inconvenience to the remaining workers will be brief, but worth it in order to reduce the risk of information breaches.

2. Incomplete Brand Story

Most small business owners have faced the same initial problems when creating their brand, such as picking a name, getting a logo and creating a website.

However, there are 1.14 million small businesses in Canada alone, and chances are, at least a few of them have a similar offering as you. This is why having a rich brand story is a necessity to your marketing strategy, but it’s often neglected.

A brand story can be an overlooked detail that can severely impact your small business. Your brand needs substance to match its image. Make sure you’re display your values and ethics in order to give customers something they can relate to and understand, in addition to having a catchy business name, great logo and amazing website.

3. Difficulties in Your Team

Needless to say, hiring the right people who can do the job right is one of the biggest challenges a small business owner will encounter.

We’re all familiar with the constant searches for ideal candidates, the long hiring process and the occasional a poor fit between a new employee and your business. It takes a lot of effort and luck to find that perfect employee.

One important tip is that you need not only employees who can work, but people who can help you grow. Small businesses often hire people so they can keep moving forwards, but often forget to look for applicants that can help them improve as a business, and this can be why a business stagnates.

Employees are your brand’s ambassadors. If they don’t share your beliefs and goals, your company will never go further than it already is.

4. Blind Marketing

Advertise, advertise, advertise. That’s what we all focus on in the beginning – to get our name out there and standing out of the crowded market.

However, we often fall prey to the desire being everyone’s first option. Unfortunately, that can lead to small business owners forgetting to actively target a specific audience with their marketing campaigns.

Tackling all platforms and forgetting who you are trying to attract is a common pitfall that most business owners don’t even realize they have fallen into. It’s important to remember that you can’t target everyone. Find your audience and create your marketing strategy around them.

5. Uncontrolled Growth

Most of the time, fast growth means that your company is doing well. Nevertheless, if your business expansion happens too quickly, that can have a negative impact on the long-run.
If your business expenses surpass your revenues, that could leave you with a shortage of cashflow, which might force you to go into debt. Furthermore, an uncontrolled business growth could in turn leave your employees overworked and experiencing burnout, which will later cause problems for their overall productivity.

Another important issue that may stem from a fast expansion is the potential shift from quality to quantity. If your customer base grows too quickly and unexpectedly, you should perform a thorough check over the type of service you are providing to your clients.

Learn More

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