What is the SINGLE biggest problem facing business owners?

[Gecko001]

Stupid people!

Stupid people are by far the biggest problem. Be it a customer, supplier, business owner, red tape loving politician etc, they are without doubt the biggest problem.

Do not knock stupid people. There are plenty of business people making a nice little business out of them.

 

[MOIC]

So increasing costs & increasing competition

..As well as maintaining a competitive price point!

 

[kennygoodman]

..As well as maintaing a competitive price point!

Or niching & differentiating yourself into a less price sensitive position. Easier said than done I know but well worth thinking about.

Did you know that if your gross margin is 30% - if you increased your prices by 10% you could afford to lose 25% of your customers? These are usually the high maintenance penny pinching ones anyway. Thus reducing your work load.

On the flip side if your Gross margin is still 30% and you reduced your prices by 10% you need to gain 50% more customers and yes these are the price sensitive, penny pinching high maintenance ones. Thus increasing your workload massively.

I got this from Growth Expert Robert Craven - again too new to post links here but you can hear the interview if you type this into Google:

"interview robert craven part 2"

 

[businessfunding]

Or niching & differentiating yourself into a less price sensitive position. Easier said than done I know but well worth thinking about.

Did you know that if your gross margin is 30% - if you increased your prices by 10% you could afford to lose 25% of your customers? These are usually the high maintenance penny pinching ones anyway. Thus reducing your work load.

On the flip side if your Gross margin is still 30% and you reduced your prices by 10% you need to gain 50% more customers and yes these are the price sensitive, penny pinching high maintenance ones. Thus increasing your workload massively.

I got this from Growth Expert Robert Craven - again too new to post links here but you can hear the interview if you type this into Google:

"interview robert craven part 2"

Very, very valuable message illustrated here with zebras.

 

[MOIC]

Or niching & differentiating yourself into a less price sensitive position. Easier said than done I know but well worth thinking about.

Did you know that if your gross margin is 30% - if you increased your prices by 10% you could afford to lose 25% of your customers? These are usually the high maintenance penny pinching ones anyway. Thus reducing your work load.

On the flip side if your Gross margin is still 30% and you reduced your prices by 10% you need to gain 50% more customers and yes these are the price sensitive, penny pinching high maintenance ones. Thus increasing your workload massively.

I got this from Growth Expert Robert Craven - again too new to post links here but you can hear the interview if you type this into Google:

"interview robert craven part 2"

Every business is unique....................and that's the beautiful thing about running a business.

Each owner has different priorities, goals, problems and their own unique way of solving them.

I think what works for one business does not mean it will work for another business. There are too many varying factors to take into account.

 

[Duke Fame]

I'm writing an article for Find The Edge (UK's fastest growing Business News, Tips & Insights website) next week and having asked lots of business coaches the above question I found that they generally only spoke about their particular expertise, in order to promote their service, so thought I would ask business owners direct.

If you would like me to quote you please DM me your Name & Company name.

So what is the single biggest problem you face right now?

Problems that have come up so far is:

- Funding issues
- Finding the right Staff & Staff Management issues
- Growth Issues
- Sales & Marketing issues like being overwhelmed with all the new channels to market etc.
- Time Management & Productivity - feeling there's not enough hours in the day
- Change
- Confidence issues

Do any of these stand out and if so can you elaborate?

Are there any missing off this list?

Any help would be much appreciated

Kenny

I can't believe anyone thinks there is a problem "Finding Staff" right now, it sounds like something put in to apease employment agency advertisers.

Problems I've seen:

Small business:

Fixed costs - business rates
Increasing staff costs
fluctuating exchange rates
availablility of credit

 

[ChrisBackman]

At the moment certain businesses are still finding it difficult to make any money, meaning they're still firing people. A lof of these businesses are firing the wrong people, and then suffering because of it, this is the biggest issue in my opinion.

 

[Vectis]

I can't believe anyone thinks there is a problem "Finding Staff" right now, it sounds like something put in to apease employment agency advertisers.

Problems I've seen:

Small business:

Fixed costs - business rates
Increasing staff costs
fluctuating exchange rates
availablility of credit

There's a huge difference between simply finding staff and finding the right staff.

 

[businessfunding]

I can't believe anyone thinks there is a problem "Finding Staff" right now, it sounds like something put in to apease employment agency advertisers.

Problems I've seen:

Small business:

Fixed costs - business rates
Increasing staff costs
fluctuating exchange rates
availablility of credit

Staff quality is a very regional thing. In my area there is on average less then one application per job vacancy.

I have to say that availability of credit it something of a myth (though there is a bit of a hole in the short term lending market - what is missing is education and willingness to support applications.

 

[Psl]

Who are you specifically talkin about here? Clients? If so is this regarding sales oir something else?

Hi Kenny, I am talking about the life blood of any business - sales.
Layers of management hindering what should be a straightforward process!

Example:
I sell an energy saving product for wet heating systems to the commercial sector. ROI less than a year and all backed by case studies and scientific reports by an academic, who is well respected and a leading authority on heat transfer.
I have had people that have job titles that indicates that they have been empowered to make the purchase decision, yet when a solid economic case is made and accepted, the CYA syndrome kicks in.

 

[thelegalstop]

Lol, yesterday I was the first to write and now I am happy to see it turned out to be a very good discussion. Shall I add "finding a reliable team" as well?

 

[bsummers]

It has to be the uncertainty of the business environment. Looking at how things look, a lot of businesses have a hard time planning their next step.

 

[Davidcooper]

One problem that I found with my start up was the fact that a few of my employees decided to take my idea and start there own enterprise doing a similar thing but on a smaller scale. I wasn't impressed because they were my best employees and it made me miss deadlines and have to spend the time and money looking for new employees of the same standard.

 

[SillyJokes]

what about huge companies like Amazon and the supermarkets taking every last little bit of business from everyone else, internet and high street in return for providing part time jobs and cost engineering best selling products until they become worthless.