Top 3 Challenges in Business

This post was originally published on The Broshe Group blog.

Dealing with challenges in business is almost a rite of passage.Everyone juggles financially, loses key staff members, and experiences growing pains. The test of a business owner is not how much money you can make, but how you can dig out of these predicaments and emerge victorious. These 3 common areas of weakness can be the undoing of a business - or could give you the breakthrough you needed!

1. Money Problems. You need start up funds, and a good supply of reserves to pay various bills until your business gets off the ground. There are bills that need to be paid and debts written off. Most importantly, if you have employees, they need to be paid as promised. Businesses thrive on profits, so you need plenty of loyal, paying customers. Not just customers who spend time in your shop taking up time and space. As a business owner, you need to know how to convert these interested parties into direct sales.

2. Not Knowing When to Hire Out. You can't do everything on your own unless you clone yourself. And even then, there are certain specialties - like writing ad copy, legal advice, or accounting - that can cost you lots of money and time if you don't know what you're doing. When you decide to hire an employee, you want that person to be accountable even when left alone. Even if they don't know much about your business, they can learn about it. It's the work ethic that can't be taught. Hire right, and you'll save sales. Customers don't wait. They will move on if you don't have a good employee at the helm when you're not there. 

3. You Don't Have a Backup Plan. A temporary setback forces us to take drastic measures. We don't eat, don't sleep, and pretty much can't focus until the problem is resolved. Don't wait until you're in a crisis to assess the health of your business. By thinking this through and drawing up a plan, you'll learn a lot about your business - and maybe even pick up on some missed opportunities. Look at the big picture, and instead of finding potential problems, find ways that you can improve your product if it falters. 

No matter what happens, don't walk away from your business - in war, this would be considered going AWOL. Take the good and the bad, and stand up and fight for what you believe in. Once you walk away, you'll never be able to salvage the situation, and people will be gun shy about ever doing any business with you again!

About Melissa Evans

President and CEO of The Broshe Group, Melissa Evans, “The Guru of Implementation,” is a self-made millionaire and spoke at the 2012 MACsWomen Celebrate You Entrepreneurs Conference on the Millionaires panel. She will be available to answer questions and share knowledge personally with you! Her "Soul Purpose" is to design and implement ongoing strategies and tactics that help her clients to make more money while remaining true to themselves.

For more information on the summit visit www.MACsWomenSummit.com