If you’re thinking about starting a business or maybe you’ve already taken the leap and you’ve just started trading, you may be thinking how difficult can this be? After all, thousands of business owners run successful companies that grow and prosper, year on year.

We are definitely not trying to put you off, as running your own company has many advantages, but it also does have its drawbacks and they don’t suit everyone. Here, we run through some of the top problems business owners face and some helpful advice to help you circumnavigate them before they become too big of an issue in your own business.

Money

One of the main problems with any start up is cashflow. Whilst you’re waiting for your invoices to be paid, you’ll be juggling paying your suppliers, staff and bills and that’s without even thinking about paying yourself. Budgeting to allow for 30-day payment terms can help you overcome some of the shortfall plus taking down payments could also help boost your cashflow. Even thought you will have no doubt set yourself an amount to invest initially don’t be surprised if you have to dig into your pocket for more funds. Visit the government website for details on invoicing and payment terms: https://www.gov.uk/invoicing-and-taking-payment-from-customers/payment-obligations

Customers

If you’re dealing with customers, you’ll find yourself at the coal face every day. As a business owner you will automatically want to bend over backwards for your customers to make sure they receive the best service possible but sometimes even this won’t be enough. Dealing with rude and obnoxious people can be very wearing, emotionally exhausting and time consuming! Putting in place processes that leave little room for errors will help your customer service standards. Remember to also treat negativity with kindness, it will go along way to help you keep calm. Read this article for some more great advice: https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/lead/culture/what-is-good-customer-service-anyway

Peaks and troughs

Dealing with the peaks and troughs of a business can be tough. One week you’ll have orders flying out of the door and then the following week your orders may half. Exasperating as this is, it’s a common occurrence whilst your business builds. Try not to panic and learn to ride out the troughs by recharging and generating new ideas. As the business grows and your reputation builds the peaks and troughs will still remain, but they will be become less severe.

Jack of all trades

One of the major problems all new business owners face is splitting their time doing lots of different tasks. From creating a marketing strategy to stock taking and cleaning the office, there won’t be day that’s the same! However, as you get busier and need to spend more time in the business you may find that outsourcing key functions could help save you time and money in the long run. Hiring the services of a book keeper or if you are an online business an accountant like Evenstone who specialises in ecommerce could really help your day to day time management.

We hope that helps with some of your initial concerns and remember no two businesses are the same!