5 Things That Are Holding Your Small Business Back

Social Media Presence

Are you on Snapchat? What about Twitter? Facebook? There are people who argue against using social media and those that argue for using social media. If you do decide to use social media, chose the one(s) where your audience is most active and put your resources into that. There’s no reason to do Pinterest if no one from your audience is there.

Time Wasting Tasks

“Time is money”

That’s the old saying that still rings true today. Thousands of hours are lost each year on employers filling out and managing employee documents. These hours could be better spent on closing sales, developing new products, marketing to new leads, or meeting with potential investors. While large companies have more employees, thus inturn more paperwork, they’ve cut down on the time it takes to manage the documents by implementing HR software to help with the demand. New startups are taking HR software from the large companies and customizing it to small and medium sized businesses.

Hiring The Wrong People

With every business you should expect some growing pains. One growing pain that can turn into a nightmare is hiring the wrong person. The wrong person can set your company back months and cost you thousands of dollars. Between training costs, interviewing them, onboarding, and then having to let them go, it’s estimated that it can cost upwards of 150% of their annual salary. That’s a lot of money for a small business.

Poorly Trained Staff

Many small businesses that are starting out focus on finding new customers and perfecting their product. Few take time to adequately train their staff to prepare them for their roles or if a crisis were to arise in the company. A study showed that 38% of employees at small businesses felt that didn’t have adequate training, while an amazing 42% of employees had received no formal training. A well trained staff is a major time investment, but it’s a worthwhile investment

Bad Budget Forecasting

We all make fun of the weatherman when he gets the forecast wrong, but getting the budget forecast wrong is no laughing matter. This process usually falls with your accounting department and helps detail the company’s short- and long-term goals. It is designed to help you make a plan for spending, customer acquisition, sales, and projected revenue. Poor forecasting can alter a company’s future plans and cause layoffs.