Being In Control Of Your Business: The Stressful Situations You Can Find Yourself In
When it comes to starting your business, there is no doubt that you will face stressful situations, and being in control of your business may seem impossible. There are so many decisions along the way to make in those early days.
You decide on branding, you think about getting your business seen and heard, you set up websites, you set up a if you are going to work from home or not and more. There seem to be so many things to think about that no wonder you end up feeling stressed spinning all of the plates.
But, as your business gets going and thrives, you would think that these things start to settle down. You probably think that you might now have a whole team of people working in different areas of your business and you’ll be less stressed.
Maybe that you have moved so far that stress should not be something that you have to feel, but unfortunately you still will have stress. No matter what happens within your business, there will always be areas that feel slightly out of your control.
Here are some of the common issues that all business owners can face with some helpful hints on how you may be able to manage them more effectively.
Looking after a fleet of vehicles
When it comes to a business, one of the areas you may have no real knowledge in but could become a real part of your business plan is dealing with vehicles. Depending on the direction you take, it may require you to have a fleet of vehicles at your disposal.
This might be salespeople traveling to see your clients and you need to provide a company vehicle for it. It might be vans and trucks that you use as a way of handling the logistics.
The big thing to remember about a fleet of vehicles is the aspect of keeping them on the road. So you have things like regular servicing and maintenance that may need to be done. This could be in terms of repairs, but also for keeping track of things like damage.
The bottom line is that these vehicles are assets to your business, so it is in your best interest to keep them up to scratch. This is important because, in the end, you this can keep your costs down. This can help to delay the time you need to replace them as well.
Not being in control of those assets and things going wrong
There is one thing that having a fleet of vehicles means, and that is the control over the assets when then are being used. Driver behavior counts for a lot, and while you may go through extensive driving record checks before you allow the use or ensure that person to drive the vehicle, things can happen.
Especially that is something that is outside of their control like when they are involved in an accident that might not be their fault. This is when as a business owner you may want to seek advice from a semi truck accident lawyer or someone who specializes in car accidents. That way you can know exactly what you need to do, to legally gain compensation and to also get those vehicles back on the road.
Being in control of your business requires effective cash flow management
Cash flow can be a big worry for any business, and you want to remain in the black as often as possible. When invoices are not paid on time, things can take a turn for the worse.
Cash flow will rise and fall and when you have things being paid out and paid in on a regular basis. The best advice would be to be aware of payment windows that people set when it comes to sending an invoice out.
Some will say payable in thirty days, or some say pay immediately. If there is a longer window it means you have some leeway and can work well if you have cash flow issues. This can also help you when it comes to things like creating realistic forecasts and projections for your business.
This can help you be able to make good short term decisions but good long term decisions as well. A part of your business could also benefit from using credit to your advantage. Most people don’t understand how credit really works, and how to actually use it to their advantage.
You may also enjoy this video below on how to use credit to build your business.
Being engaged and relevant to social media
In a digital world social media is taking over, and it is amazing news for businesses of any size as this can be such an easy way to get your products and services in front of potential customers and clients.
However, if you are not engaging on social media or seem to not be relevant, then people can lose interest fast. It is a constant battle with new algorithms which means that social media strategies are now more important than ever to help you stay relevant online, and to help you continue to grow your reach and audience.
For example, you might be building your business on Instagram and have experienced follow blocks or thanks to the latest update. Perhaps you use automation on Instagram as a means to promote your business more effectively but your account was flagged.
If you’ve experienced anything like that or are currently trying to figure out what to do you may want to check out one of my latest videos on How To Fix Instagram Follow Block for 2019.
It’s frustrating when there are constant changes, but when you learn the right principles of marketing effectively you can actually generate leads consistently through social media for your business.
The right sort of marketing for your business
Marketing is also a big aspect of your business these days, but there are so many different outlets that you can choose. You may be wondering what is the right step to take to ensure that your marketing is on point?
These days targeting the local area can be a big boost to your business. Helping you to focus on being the local hero, and expanding from that point. Networking can be an effective strategy, but the downside is that there isn’t much leverage with it.
This can lead to building your relevance online, as well as other physical advertising options. This is when hiring a marketing coach, or getting the right marketing tools and systems in place can help steer your business in the right direction.
Being in control of your business starts with effective marketing strategies and having a steady flow of leads coming in. A couple of resources you could help with this is the free lead generation training below, and this post Top 8 Online Marketing Essentials To Build An Online Business.
When to expand and what the next step is?
Expansion is always going to be on the cards, but often the big question is what is right for your business? This is when you need to think about expanding products and services. This could be a better way to expand versus gaining more stock and opening up a retail premise.
You often can grow your business faster and at a lower cost vs moving out of your home into an office location. What is right for your business?
It can be stressful to navigate, but looking back over business plans may point you to where you wanted to be. Another option to expand is with the right tools and systems to automate and grow your business 24/7.
One stumbling block many people make is that they try and be a one-person show and do everything manually or by themselves. Using the right marketing tools can greatly work to expand your business while saving you massive amounts of time.
Some of the best tools to start with are an email autoresponder and a sales funnel system. If you don’t already have these and would like to learn more about them, click here to get a free 14-day trial of a sales funnel system, and click here to get your first 30 days of an email autoresponder.
I’d also suggest checking out my post 9 Online Marketing Investments I Wish I Made Sooner to avoid some of the mistakes I made early on by being cheap with my business.
Enhance the customer experience by adding value is one way of being in control of your business growth
The customer experience is also vital to your business, so how do you ensure that you get this right? It can often be about the personal touch and ensuring you deliver to time.
Keeping customers informed of the whole process and ensuring they feel valued. It is the small things that make a big difference, but without customers, you don’t have a business.
Most people have heard the term adding value, but they don’t often do it in their businesses. One effective strategy to increase customer loyalty and to attract new customers is through leading with value first.
A great way to do this is through creating a content marketing strategy that is focused around answering common questions of your ideal target market, helping them solve their biggest problems, or helping them reach their goals faster. One marketing strategy I’d recommend is with blogging.
When you blog effectively you can add a ton of value and build an asset that can generate free traffic to your website on a 24/7 basis. If you don’t think you can blog because you aren’t a talented writer or that you don’t have the time, I’d recommend you check out my guide on how to write the perfect blog post fast.
Follow these simple steps and you’ll start to have a lot more control of your business.
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