5 Worst Things That Can Happen to an SME

Small to medium business owners have to face the possibility of things going wrong on a daily basis. Often there is an underlying feeling of stress with any business owner, but if you’re running an SME or start-up, you need to deal with the fact that even if you play all your cards right, there are things that can completely derail or destroy your business. Here are the 5 to look out for.

 

Lack of Vision and Goals

 If you’ve started a small business, you definitely need a vision that’s a bit more sophisticated than a desire to make money. You don’t need too much, but you need enough of a goal for all your employees to understand what the company wants to achieve and to motivate you as the captain of the company. You should always know what you’re fighting for and try to make it both aspirational and realistic.

 

No Communication

 There are countless start-ups that have failed because team members can’t communicate properly. Communication breakdowns often lead to people doing things that they feel are right without really letting their fellow team members know. This can lead to contradictory decisions being made and terrible commitments that are not good for the company. Make sure to hold regular meetings explaining ideas and decisions that need to be made in the near future, as well as actively trying to maintain communication and culture.

 

No Backups

 If you are just setting out on your venture and are part of a very small team of people, there’s probably information that you alone have stored on your computer. Wouldn’t it be a shame if that computer crashed and you lost all your data? Don’t let it happen! Back up now! If not, there are opportunities available to you like professional hard drive recovery, but in an industry where time is money, that should be your last call.

 

Not Vetting the New Guys

 People are the part and parcel of any industry, whether it’s commerce or tech. Therefore you need to make sure you have the right ones. If you don’t have a strategy for recruitment you will get an influx of unqualified candidates that can do a lot more harm than good. A good team is really crucial for good growth, so make sure you know what you’re looking for and how to test the talent.

 

No Presence

 If you lack online presence (it’s 2019, which means a website at a minimum), you need to fix that ASAP. Most people who want to find a particular business will go online. You should build an online presence and dedicate time and resources to managing and maintaining it. That includes SEO, social media management, content creation, and in general, just operating a fresh, healthy website.

 

Having a deficit in any of these 5 areas can lead to a huge problem that can destroy a business. Even in what might seem like more mundane cases (like not backing up your hard drive), the consequences can be the loss of so much information that you literally can’t function.

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