Small and medium enterprises, commonly SMEs, are a catalyst for growth essential to most economies. In a number of countries, they contribute to the GDP and make up a significant percentage of firms. They cater to local demand of services and in turn support large firms with their services and input.
It goes without saying, they do have their share of challenges that have disrupted a few businesses.
These include:
1️⃣ Lack of leadership skills
Because the position of an SME leader does not require academic qualifications, anyone can take up the position. Many do and fall short having not gathered any related skills. Nowadays, they are many mediums to learn such kind of skills and all you really need is to develop skills and practices best suited to your group.
2️⃣ Plan
The two go hand in hand, without the right leadership there is no one to formulate a strategy for a team. A team needs to have goals, timelines and proper execution methods in order for it to succeed. They need to know what to prioritize. One can learn how to formulate such a plan.
3️⃣ Having the right team
A directing manager or business owner needs to select the right people for the job. A weak team will sabotage an SME is the owner has to constantly intervene in day to day operations instead of working on the big picture items.
4️⃣ Having an edge
The competition is stiff and therefore companies need to stand out in the way they package themselves and their services. It is not a cheap endeavor though quite necessary. In order to beat the competition, you have to offer something unique which many SMEs lack and therefore don’t stand the test of time.
5️⃣ Happy Employees
It is only logical that the happier your employees are, the more productive they are likely to be. An unhappy staff leads to an unsatisfied customer. What your staff needs once they are trained and have laid down a strategy is autonomy. Then they will deliver results leaving your customers happy. When people like something,ey will talk about it and that’s how you expand your reach.
6️⃣ Evaluating Performance
There needs to be a metric by which the business input is measured could be monthly profitability or sales which is still not enough. The key drive of the business needs to be identified which proves to be a challenge for a number of SMEs. The process needs to be vigorous and involves a lot of trial and error.
7️⃣ Getting clients
Creating a client base is not easy. The consumer of your service or product needs to be first aware of you. With digital marketing, you could expand your reach but the effort spent needs to apply the right kind of marketing. Consumers commit when promised quality and have that quality delivered. The strategic approach should be sustainability. Eventually word gets around if you deliver on your commitment.
8️⃣ Raising funds
While big firms find it easy to raise funds, the opposite is true for SMEs due to several reasons. For example, the majority of them lack credit scoring which is one of criteria required by banks or other financial institutions. Thus, it’s of importance for them to find a right place such as LiveTrade which can bring potential investors and small businesses together.
The take away is that it all comes down to knowing what you want and having the initiative to fulfill it. There should be no rush to success, the frustration and disappointment eventually ends and the outcome better than even expected.
