Setting up a small business can be daunting for a number of reasons. Any prospective business owner entering a shop naturally tends to think ‘where do I start?’ This is a natural response when you see things like futuristic cash registers, at a time when you’re inevitably faced with a lack of ready cash to implement your ideas.
It would seem like getting a loan for a small business is getting ever more difficult, which is a real barrier to entry when it seems that government support or financial help is less forthcoming than it was ten years ago.
BDRC research suggests that half of the small businesses applying for loans are being rejected. Then there’s the fact that most of the products on offer from small businesses can be produced more cheaply by the monolithic superstores which have gazumped the UK’s desolate high streets.
Small Business Spotlight: Challenges of starting a small business
This is where you need to be clever, and if you do things right you can even take on the big pub chains and breweries. It’s not quite as simple as placing ‘artisan’ before your everyday product, but if you can make your product personal and expertly crafted, you have a chance.
If you’re a medium-sized enterprise, you’ll definitely suffer from decision fatigue. You can’t micro manage every aspect of your business, and what’s more, if you do you’ll put your talented employees in a straightjacket and stifle all legitimate input. Be wise and let the talent in your company achieve what you hired them for; we all have limitations and this will become painfully apparent to any new business owner.
If you’re a smaller business, all decisions are probably on your head anyway so you bear the responsibility for areas you know nothing about including the instillation of effective point of sale equipment. Don’t be perturbed by this task as it’s much easier than you may imagine; there are tens of firms waiting to offer you reasonably priced card readers that can quite easily attach to your phone or tablet. Read this Gocompare article concerning the advantages of accepting card payments.
Setting up and running a small business is challenging, but don’t let this force you into procrastination and indecision. If you have an idea and it’s carefully researched and planned out, you may well be onto a winner; after all, most of the challenges of setting up a business are far easier than you imagine.
