Business Tips
Although remote work may have once only been possible for large or global enterprises, small businesses today are often just as privy to flexible, at-home work benefits as the much larger organizations in their industry. According to Owl Labs, smaller companies are twice as likely to hire full-time remote workers, as these employees can help […]
Business growth is a scary endeavor. There are so many uncertainties and potential mistakes lying ahead. First off, it’s often difficult to tell if your business is even ready to grow at all. Is this the right time to make significant changes? How do you know if you’re growing too fast? Countless failed businesses believed they were ready to grow, only to discover that they were not as successful as they thought, or were not equipped to take on a new level of competition.
The daunting task of marketing a product or service becomes much less intimidating when broken down into two areas: tools and strategy. Many entrepreneurs have revealed that the key to a successful marketing strategy is choosing the right marketing tool to master. Once you know which marketing tool has the highest success rate with your target audience, you can design a strategy based on the best practices for that tool.
Small businesses cannot succeed by relying on the quality of their products or services alone. All the work you put in to perfecting your business model and serving your customers means nothing if you don’t know how to market these products or services as well.
At first, seasonality seems more like a weakness than a strength in the business world. However, virtually all businesses experience some degree of seasonality. What business doesn’t have customers whose behavior is influenced by the weather? For specific industries, that influence is just a little more extreme.
It’s not hard to see how terrified many small business owners are of debt. They often complain that they can’t find the working capital to grow or stabilize their businesses. The solutions are right in front of them (business loans, business credit cards, etc.) but many act as if they don’t exist. Why do they do this? Well, one possibility is that they are so fearful of debt that they don’t even view debt financing as a viable option.
Loyal employees seem a lot harder to come by these days, even in larger companies. The world has finally figured out that treating employees with care and respect is simply more conducive to success than completely disregarding their needs. For this reason, employees who don’t feel they are being treated correctly are less likely to just “stick it out.”
Hiring is unquestionably one of the most important entrepreneurial skills. A small business is only as strong as its team, but the right team can conquer almost anything. Many entrepreneurs would likely attribute the majority of their success to the strength of their team. You could argue that this is what separates the winners and losers in the business world. Even the hardest-working entrepreneurs will struggle to grow their businesses without a loyal team behind them.
Even the most intelligent business leaders have trouble understanding small business taxes. They might not know how many different types of taxes they have to pay, how each rate is calculated, or which factors have the biggest impact on their final tax bill. The answer to each question isn’t entirely clear because it depends on a variety of factors, like business structure and location.
One of the main reasons for applying for a small business loan is seen as such a confusing, stressful process is the fact that every business lender is different. It’s not uncommon for a borrower to have to speak with multiple business lenders before being approved. After figuring out which type of small business loan makes sense for your specific needs (which is tedious enough), you have to find a business lender that offers your desired product for requirements you are able to meet.
