Help For Small Business Owners – What They Really Need

Help for small business owners is all around you. Looking for information and advice about growing your business?

Here’s the truth; 

There’s plenty of help for small business owners out there; both free and paid. Courses designed to help you research, plan, and turn your ideas into a thriving business. Blog posts, case studies, how to videos and podcasts all talking about tactics that can help you.

The problem is;

Some small business owners are so focused on getting the help that they forget to do the actual work of growing a business

Here’s a secret that most people do not tell you.

There’s no formula for growing a business. No step by step process, no right or wrong way. Every business is different and comes with its own set of problems.

The real business success comes from doing the things you can do yourself to help your own business thrive.

Even though there’s no step by step process, no right or wrong way to grow a business, there are certain universal principles that lead to a thriving business.

What are these you ask,

I think you know the principles. Everyone does. But 99% of all people don’t do what they already know.

Think about it for a moment, how many people actually do what they say?

Let’s leave the small business world for a moment, shall we?

We often talk about doing all kinds of crazy things. Climb mountains, run marathons, skydive, travel the world, write books, meet a top CEO, make movies, the list is endless.

Just think about what’s on your bucket list for a second. Now, can I ask you one simple question?

Why haven’t you done all those things?

I know the Answer, IT’S HARD.

Well, I hate to break it to you.

Life is hard generally, and so is business. Nothing good comes easy. And if you must survive in business, you have to be tough and just get some stuff done. Period!

Now before you ask for help from yourself, your family/friends or the general public.

Here’s what you need to do;

Audit your business to identify problem areas. For example, you might be out there looking for financial help whereas what your business is lacking is customers. Or you might be out there reading resources on how to scale whereas your existing customer service reps are not dealing with customers the right way. Auditing your business opens up areas for improvement.

Universal principles that lead to a thriving business.

Entrepreneurship comes with a lot of mistakes, trial and error, fancy dinners that are missed, nice vacations that are put off and no time to hang out with friends and family

And it can be very hard to keep up and still stay motivated.

Tracking your metrics.

Track every aspect of your business. It’s a necessary step for creating a business capable of predictable growth.

Getting Customers

Whether your business has cash flow problems or not, the customer is the very foundation upon which business success is built. This is the most important area where you need help but most small business owners don’t pay too much attention and instead on focusing on getting customers and making them happy, they focus on getting investors be it Capitalists or Angel. Don’t get me wrong, getting investors is a good thing, but mind you there are so many conditions that go with it. So I recommend getting some traction first before seeking investors.

Here are some questions to ask yourself.

  • Do I consistently have an adequate number of leads to meet my objectives?
  • Are my incoming leads quality prospects who meet my ideal customer profile?
  • At what rate do the leads that come into my business convert into customers? How can that number be improved?

If you answer these questions correctly, it will be clear to you what needs fixing in your sales process.

Automation.

Automate existing business processes such as emailing, follow up etc can free you up some time. You can use this time to focus on other tasks that bots or machines cannot do.

For example, a tool such as MailChimp can help you automate messages to customers.

Conclusion

As a small business owner, you face a number of distinct challenges that CEOs at large corporations and Fortune 500 organizations don’t necessarily encounter. The good news is that you also have a distinct set of advantages. Because you’re small, you’re also more agile and responsive to shifting circumstances.

Choose to focus on the advantages you have as a small business and leverage them in ways that empower you to overcome the challenges you have.

There are plenty of ways to get over these hurdles yourself; you just have to identify problem areas first, before seeking a solution.

Finally, Use these Five steps to maximize productivity.

About the Author:

Ronan Leonard is a Mastermind facilitator and Mastermind teacher. Connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners together to create the perfect Mastermind groups or teaching self-employed professionals how to run their own groups. Small business owners are often overwhelmed with to-do lists and need impartial advice to get the right support to help them achieve their goals.