Six Things that Can Keep a Business from Growing

Small business owners might start out with a grand vision, but end up falling into day-to-day ruts, and losing their direction and view of the bigger picture. We highlight six things business owners sometimes do that can limit business growth if they are not remedied.

1. Failure to adapt to changing technologies and buyer behaviour

Businesses that fail to make use of new technologies risk missing out on a major chunk of the market, especially as buyer behaviour is shifting more towards online research and purchasing.

Examples of this includenot having a website in place, especially as a high-quality site can be an excellent marketing tool, as well as failure to utilise social media for business marketing and engagement, and not having a solid digital strategy in place.

2. Poor financial and cashflow management

Running a business successfully requires rigorous financial management in order to ensure adequate cashflow to run the enterprise, to pay wages and bills, and to remain compliant with the tax office.

Small business owners that are disorganised and that fail to put proper procedures and controls in place for bookkeeping and financial management can end up lurching from one disaster to another, and then breathing a sigh of relief that they survived another week! They may also end up paying more than they should in interest and penalties through falling behind on their accounts.

Remedying this may require renegotiating the terms on finance,and ensuring they hire people with the right skills,such as a Xero bookkeeper,to manage their accounts properly and professionally.

3. Being too busy to work on the big picture

It can be easy for small business owners to try to do it all themselves to save costs, which can end up leading to a focus on short-term results and achievements. However, delegating tasks to those who have the skills to perform them can enable the owner to get on with longer-term planning, focus on the bigger picture, and to keep an eye on the wider business landscape. This islikely to involve some letting go of control, and trusting others to do the job!

4. Not meeting customers’ needs and expectations

This can be potentially disastrous for any business! All businesses should have customers as their top priority, as without their customers they would not exist. SME owners should make it a priority to listen to their customers to find out what they really want, monitor how their needs are changing, and to always deliver on promises.

5. Thinking like an employee instead of a business owner

Running a business is a vastly different role to that of an employee. A valuable employee is concerned with providing the skills and services their employer wants, and with developing a career path.

Being a business owner on the other hand involves thinking like a strategist and steering the enterprise in the right direction. It also means keeping an eye on the bigger picture, and the external business landscape.

6. Failure to adapt to a changing workforce

The way of work is changing, and not adapting could result in losing valuable employees. These days, many workplaces are embracing remote work, cloud computing, electronic communications, part-time work and flexible hours to meet the varied needs of different generations.

Even highly successful large commercial enterprises can end up in deep water when they fail to adapt to changing business trends and customer behaviour. If this is happening in your business, consider getting professional assistance from a business accountant in Sydney to help you to regain that great vision you had in the beginning!