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6 Often-overlooked Aspects of Building a Small Business
6 Often-overlooked Aspects of Building a Small Business
Resources and funding within a small business are typically slim. Much of their money is already spoken for, whether it be for inventory, paying employees, or utilities and expenses. Additionally, as an owner, you may not have much help running your operations.
Still, you must find a way to prioritize the most essential elements of owning a business, even with a little budget, minimal resources, and a small workforce. These six aspects of operating a small business often fall by the wayside, but they’re vital to your organization’s success — and your organization may fail without them.
1. Hiring the Right Team
Many small business owners run their companies on their own. They also think they can keep this one-person show going forever. As a result, they stifle their business development and diminish their chance of longevity. Although it may be necessary initially, doing everything yourself isn’t sustainable or conducive to business growth. That’s why it’s essential to hire a solid team.
You should wait until the right time to start hiring. Doing it prematurely can negatively impact your finances. Wait until you can afford to recruit and hire new talent.
It’s also essential not to rush the process. Instead, take your time understanding the roles you need to fill. Then, create thorough job listings and slowly work through applications and interviews to ensure you choose the best candidates.
2. Maintaining Employee Health and Wellness
One Statista study revealed that in 2021, 75% percent of respondents said reducing their stress was a priority. 71% said routine medical screenings and annual physicals are a priority, and so is spending more time on themselves and their interests.
Further, the last few years have brought a lot of loss and grief, giving way to people dealing with many difficulties at once, including trauma and economic hardship. It’s challenging to keep these things out of the workplace and they naturally seep into employee performance.
This means that maintaining employee health and wellness is crucial. But unfortunately, many small business owners don’t provide the necessary support for their employees because they don’t have the resources to do it. However, without the proper support, employees have less incentive to stay with your organization and may leave for a business that offers these benefits.
Instead, create a workplace that employees enjoy being in. Make room in your budget for adequate healthcare coverage that includes mental health and emotional wellness resources. If that’s truly inaccessible, wait to hire employees until you can provide a decent health and wellness package.
3. Nurturing Your Holistic Health as the Owner
It’s just as important to take care of your own health. Small business owners have a terrible habit of putting their health aside for their company’s success. Many are willing to sacrifice a work-life balance, their mental health, physical wellness, friendships, and romantic relationships for a flourishing operation.
But neglecting your health leads to burnout, stress, isolation, and the inability to run your business with clarity, intelligence, and a positive mindset. Don’t disregard the importance of taking care of yourself.
Be the best owner you can be by:
- Exercising daily.
- Prioritizing good nutrition.
- Making time for socialization.
- Setting intentional work hours.
- Creating healthy sleep habits.
- Making self-care a part of your day.
- Being proactive about your mental health.
- Growing healthy professional and personal relationships.
- Seeing your primary care physician and any specialists regularly.
When you’re well, a thriving business will follow.
4.Leaning on Technology
Your small business won’t survive in today’s increasingly digital world without suitable tech tools. Technology allows small business teams to flourish. Automation and artificial intelligence tools are especially helpful, as they can take over repetitive tasks and free up time for you and your team to work on tasks that require a human touch.
Many small companies discount how essential technology is. They’re using outdated hardware and software or are implementing manual processes that slow them down and interrupt their workflow.
Instead of spending a lot of money on a whole bunch of new technology for your small business, implement tools in stages.
Audit your current tech tools and how they’re hurting or helping your operation. After that, look at your budget to see what you can afford right now. Then, choose a high-priority tech tool to implement or replace and do your research on the most affordable options. Finally, train your team on how to best use a new device once you've introduced it.
5. Prioritizing Cybersecurity
As mentioned above, a lot of small businesses don’t prioritize technology. They also don’t have a robust digital presence that warrants serious protection. This means cybersecurity is an afterthought.
Cyberthieves go after small businesses because they know these companies typically have minimal security measures in place. Phishing attacks, ransomware, data breaches, and unauthorized access are common ways small businesses are targeted.
You must allocate some of your budget to cybersecurity protection. When your technology and digital platforms are secure, you can better protect your business from external and internal threats.
Figure out how much money you can spend on cybersecurity tools. Next, research the best tools within this budget. Then, request demos for your top choices and make an informed decision about which solutions to implement.
6. Managing Finances
Between daily operations and big-picture decisions, it’s all too easy to forget about properly managing your business’s finances. After all, managing finances and understanding how cash moves through a business is complex.
If you ignore or mismanage your finances, you won’t be able to turn a profit. You won’t know where your money goes or how much your monthly expenses are. You won’t be able to make insightful investments or strategic decisions that drive your business forward.
Don’t neglect the significance of financial management. Make time for it instead. At the very least, you should:
- Have a business budget.
- Educate yourself on taxes.
- Talk to a financial advisor.
- Track your inventory effectively.
- Account for unexpected expenses.
- Learn about possible investments.
- Understand your profitability and bottom line.
- Consider using financial management software.
- Keep your financial documents organized and accessible.
- Spend time each week improving your financial management.
When your business finances are in order, you can make productive investments and use what you have more efficiently.
Conclusion
Small businesses often need to make big decisions to flourish. So often, in fact, that many essential aspects of running a successful company get overlooked. Use the tips above to ensure you don’t disregard the very things that will make your small business thrive rather than fail. For further learning opportunities, contact us at the Allen Fairview Chamber of Commerce today. Our mission is to advocate, educate, and build business relationships that enable our communities and members to prosper — and we strive to be an indispensable resource for your business.
