10 Biggest Challenges of Starting a Small Business

People come to the idea of starting a business for different reasons. Some future entrepreneurs don’t want to follow someone else’s orders at work, some have ambitions and see themselves as leaders, and some just cannot find products or services they’re looking for and decided to provide them by themselves. The reasons to start a business vary, so do the challenges most people face during the creation of their small business. Here are the main problems and challenges a person can face while building their small business and a few suggestions on how to overcome them effectively.

1. Finding Money or Investors

Different businesses need different budgets, but no business can be created without some seed funding. In fact, there are various ways to get the beginning capital:

– bank loan;
– loan from a friend or a relative;
– finding an investor;
– crowdfunding;
– saving money, etc.

When it comes to finding money, having multiple variants is always a huge plus. When the door to the bank loan is closed, and a prospective investor doesn’t answer your email, there are plenty of crowdfunding services like Kickstarter.

2. Creating a Good Business Plan

Businesses usually don’t survive without a solid business plan. However, if you’re new to the business, it will be challenging to create a really good one without any help from the side. Additionally, without a business plan, very likely you wouldn’t get a bank loan or an investment because these people always want to be sure your business brings them more money.

If you have difficulties with creating the plan, you may rely on a consulting agency. Just be sure you read their clients’ feedback to know that you get recommendations from the professionals.

3. Getting Enough Resources for Market Research

Market research requires plenty of time and analytical skills. If you don’t have enough experience but can outsource it to someone reliable, the entire process will be less challenging and more efficient.

However, if you need to do the research by yourself, you need to analyze at least five or seven of your primary business competitors to turn their weaknesses into your strengths.

4. Finding a Good Niche

Finding a profitable niche where your small business can compete and survive is difficult. Even if a future entrepreneur sees a promising niche with no competitors, it doesn’t mean that the niche is good for business.

Starting a small business should always begin with extensive market research and analysis to make sure it brings enough profit. There’s always at least one reason for the lack of competitors in some niche – low demand, high production cost, poor market vitality, etc.

5. Competing against Large Corporations

Thousands of small businesses failed in this war and terminated their existence on the market. However, some of them prove to be viable. To ensure you survive in this competition, you need to analyze your target audience's needs and what large corporations don't provide their customers who happen to be your target customer.

6. Too Many Competitors in the Same Market

This is not the reason for panic because many competitors mean that there's high demand in the market you've chosen to start a small business. If you do an excellent job on the market research, you'll be able to receive enough information on the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and create a great business plan and marketing strategy.

Market research and analysis can help you distinguish your business product and even turn your competitors into community colleagues or partners.

7. Finding Reliable Employees

Finding good specialists is challenging for all businesses, but it is especially difficult to find good ones for a small business. Small businesses are usually limited in revenue but still should offer competitive salaries and work conditions.

The owners of a small business commonly have difficulties with hiring new employees because they seek the same amount of interest and emotional investment as their own. However, once such small business owners stop sticking to high expectations, it becomes easier to employ a good specialist.

8. Effective Task Delegation

One of the biggest problems of small business owners is the inability to delegate tasks appropriately. The passion for their business product results in attempts to do everything by themselves. At one point, it is not bad because the most successful entrepreneurs know even the slightest details of their business. On the other hand, trying to control everything is emotionally exhausting and, in many cases, results in severe burnout and even depression.

Effective task delegation implies no micromanagement from an entrepreneur. Instead, they should request regular reporting on the progress and results.

9. Remain Optimistic and Motivated

Starting and having a small business is challenging physically and emotionally. In the beginning, the idea of becoming an entrepreneur charges people with positive emotions and life force. Yet, every difficulty can vastly affect motivation and result in refusing to open a business.

This problem can be solved by reminding yourself why you wanted to start a business in the first place. Also, having emotional support from family members, friends, and partners always contributes to motivation and desire to move forward despite all challenges.

10. Successful Promotion

All businesses need promotion, especially small ones. When starting a business, entrepreneurs also need to start working on a successful promotion strategy to bring the first customers. Promoting is also challenging because it requires a certain amount of resources, knowledge, and skills. Not all business owners are great at sales and marketing. Luckily, they can outsource this activity to professional agencies or freelance specialists to focus on other aspects of building a business.

Final Words

Simply by knowing what challenges you might face when starting a small business, you'll be prepared to solve them fast and smoothly. Becoming a business owner is challenging because it is a life-changing step. However, if you believe in yourself and have a plan as well as support from friends and family, no challenge will prevent you from creating a business and making it successful.