What Do Small Business Owners Really Need Help With?

Within five years, if you’re in the same business you are in now, you’re going to be out of business.
-Peter Drucker

No business attribute is more important today than that of adaptability, as many, many businesses are on the brink of irrelevance … unless they change as fast as change itself. Study these 28 small business struggles. They will alert you to common mistakes to avoid and help you adapt.

So what other mistakes can a small business avoid to improve its success besides having more cash as a safety net? Consider these you should avoid improving your success rate:

Weak to no competitive advantages

Quite simply, if you can’t build and sustain competitive advantages, don’t start the business. Best places to look for advantages? Customer service and convenience. Find ways to save customers more time in solving their problems than your competitors.

Think differently: https://digitalsparkmarketing.com/business-partnership/

No focus on customer relationships

Customer relationship building is not rocket science. Build customer relationships like you make friends. Be pleasant, social … wear a smile and a nametag. All things being equal, people like doing business with their friends. Not very good at making friends? Maybe a small business is not for you.

Ignoring the little things

How many times have you surprised customers by doing little things that were not expected? Here is an example. My favorite florist always insists on taking my vase of flowers out to my car and setting it up so it won’t get knocked over. Consistently. A little thing, yes. But it makes a difference.

Remember, the more you engage with customers, the more you can own the moment. And the better your understanding of their needs and from these insights the easier it is for you to win new advocates.

Limited focus on business plan

It’s not clear to us why business plans are the way they are, but they’re often focused on too many things. If you want to maximize success, the key is to focus on five topics. We recommend dividing the business plan into these five sections and use them to manage your business:

· Competitive analysis

· Market research and analysis

· Marketing plan

· Financial plan and cash flow

· Short versus long term

Not seeking help from others

Find local business leaders that can exchange ideas and support your thinking on day-to-day activities. Activities like being a sounding board, idea generation, and offering lessons learned. They often see solutions that you can’t see. You can do the same for them. Create a large network and make it social … like a casual advisory board.