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Growth and
operational challenges for small businesses |
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We know how difficult it
can be to be an entrepreneur of a small business or a
startup because we have been there. In this
article we would like to share some of the lessons
that we have learned over the years starting and
operating a small business:
- Be flexible: Since small
businesses work on very small resources and do not
have deep pockets to take big risks, flexibility
is key to their survival. Flexibility alone
will enable you to move fast, dump non-performing
businesses, and move into high-growth
businesses. If you are rigid, you are dead.
- Understand the value of money:
As one venture capitalist once advised us,
"If you have more time than money, use your
time first." Of course, that meant that
we continued to work harder for years, but it also
allowed us not to have a large workforce. We
learned new skills when we had to and hired staff
only when we ran out of time. And that too
by using contractors rather than full-time
employees.
- Nothing will work as the books and gurus
say: Each business is different even
if all you are doing is selling lemonade on the
beach. So don't expect that if you do A and
B, C will happen because that is how it has been
for a million other lemonade shops.
- Your sales will always be lower and costs
will always be higher than expected/desired
(Unless you get very very lucky; in that case do
not think that you are some kind of a
wizard): This can be very frustrating and it
often discouraged us to the point of giving it all
up and finding a job. But that is what the
reality is and once you understand it you will
learn to set more realistic expectations and even
then if you don't achieve them, you will learn to
get used to it.
- Have fun while doing it:
Running a small business (or for that matter, any
business) is not easy and if you get stressed out
you will not take advantage of all the luxuries of
being an entrepreneur: You are your own
boss, you work when you want, you have potential
to get rich because when you work hard you get the
credit (not some stupid boss who does nothing but
likes to claim credit for all the successes and
blames you for all the failures). So think
of yourself as a lucky person to come up with the
idea of doing something on your own.
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