The 5 Challenges Every Business Owner Faces (No Matter What)

Whether your business is 10 months or 10 years old, you’re bound to encounter challenges along the way. Unfortunately, diagnosing and solving challenges will always be part of your business’s journey. Fortunately, resolving these challenges can be the first step in taking your business to the next level. 

These are five of the challenges that you might face as your business grows, and ways that you can get ahead of the curve or minimize the impact.

1. Cash Flow Shortages

Simply put, cash flow is a universal challenge. 

It’s natural for you to think you’re the only one who faces these issues. But business owners in every industry experience cash flow shortages in the beginning, along the way, and after their company has doubled or tripled in size.

Many business owners think that financing is only necessary when business is down. In reality, rapidly growing businesses need far more capital. 

Between hiring new employees, upgrading equipment, and buying inventory, the expenses involved in growth are substantial. In most cases, the expenses of taking things to the next level pile up faster than you can bring new revenue in.

The old-school mentality that borrowing money is something to be ashamed of sometimes holds business owners back. Using business financing as a tool, though, is the best way to rise above competitors.

If you want to learn more about how capital can help your business, be sure to consult with your accountant about expenses and revenue in your unique situation. 

Additionally, be sure to start building a relationship with a company that can help you access capital quickly, and whenever you need it.

2. Establishing Process & Structure

Having processes and structure in your business is crucial.

When things are moving along well in your business, it’s natural to focus on simply bringing in new sales. But, you’ll eventually realize that more sales and higher revenue isn’t always the answer. If you don’t have an established process and structure, then getting new leads could be disastrous.

• Who’s answering the phone?
• Is there somebody responsible for hiring and personnel?
• What happens when customers say “yes”?
• Who solves employees’ challenges?

All of these things need a process in order to ensure that they’re accomplished in a reasonable time frame.

There’s a great book written by Michael Gerber called the E-Myth Revisited that explains the importance of processes and structure for small businesses. If you need to establish these in your business, I highly recommend you read it. 

Taking three steps back is sometimes all you need to take ten steps forward!

3. Hiring and Building Teams

No matter what industry your business is in, as the business owner, you’re in the people business.

The better you understand people, the better you can build your teams. If you don’t put the right people in place, you’ll “have a job”, and be burnt out. As the leader, your goal should be to find ways to get out of this role, and focus on growth.

Hiring effective employees translates to a better personal and business life 100% of the time. For this reason, you must perfect your process for hiring the right people for the right seat.

Before selecting a candidate for a new position, make sure you understand what you’re really trying to accomplish. Take your time, and don’t rush. It’s always worthwhile to spend another month looking for the right candidate, compared to hiring the wrong person right away.

4. Responding to Employee Issues

It’s human nature to go through life and work with the hope that you’ll have an uneventful day free of any issues. But unfortunately,that’s just not realistic, especially as a business owner.

It’s your job to help employees resolve any issues—including disputes with customers and other employees.

As your business grows, you can choose to hire managers to take on this responsibility. Otherwise, handling all of this yourself will leave you burnt out.

5. Feeling Lonely at the Top

If you own a business, then you’re at the top. There’s nobody else in your business who’s responsible for helping you improve the way you do things. However, you can look elsewhere for inspiration, guidance, and tips about driving your business further.

Finding a mentor, coach, or outside consultant can often give you the fresh perspective you need. Being active in peer groups like YPO has given me incredible guidance and opened the door for countless new opportunities in my business.

Once you identify your blind spots, you can adjust your course accordingly, and get back on track for business growth.

Get Funding to Grow Your Business

No business is immune to these issues, but following these tips will help you to start thinking differently and find strategic solutions. 

However, it won’t necessarily give you everything you need to reach the next level. 

At National, we take pride in helping business owners grow by finding the best deal on financing. Applying only takes 1 minute, and your options will be available right away. 

About National Business Capital & Services

National Business Capital & Services is the #1 FinTech marketplace offering small business financing and services. Harnessing the power of smart technology and even smarter people, we’ve streamlined the approval process to secure over $1 billion in financing for small business owners to date.

Our expert Business Financing Advisors work within our 75+ Lender Marketplace in real time to give you easy access to the best low-interest SBA loans, short and long-term loans and business lines of credit, as well as a full suite of revenue-driving business services.

We strengthen local communities one small business loan at a time.

For every deal we fund, we donate 10 meals to Feeding America!

Disclaimer: The information and insights in this article are provided for informational purposes only, and do not constitute financial, legal, tax, business or personal advice from National Business Capital & Services and the author. Do not rely on this information as advice and please consult with your financial advisor, accountant and/or attorney before making any decisions. If you rely solely on this information it is at your own risk. The information is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge, but there may be errors, omissions or mistakes.