Small Business,
Big Problems
If
you are a small business owner, you probably spend
a lot of time worrying. Its perfectly understandable,
too. If youre the Big Boss, you find yourself
in the position of trying to be all things to all
people, and thats a lot to be concerned about.
Everyone wants an answer from youemployees,
vendors, clients, contractors, customers, and your
family.
High
employee turnover and the difficulty of finding reliable
workers is one of the major problems reported by small
business owners. Even when you use pre-hiring drug
tests and background checks, there always seem to
be problem employees, malcontents who like to make
the company out to be greedy and unfair,
and of course youre the main villain in the
scenario.
Meanwhile,
although you may be painted as the bad guy or gal,
youre actually worrying about how much of a
raise you can afford to give employees while you continue
to obey all the workplace regulations of the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration and other government
bureaucracies, make sure you arent discriminating
against anyone who might sue you, and try to work
out the biggest bugaboo of allhealth insurance.
Then
there are workers compensation, unemployment
compensation, and liability insuranceto say
nothing of payroll tax reports, W-2s, 1099s, performance
reports, and all the other forms associated with employing
and paying people. Even though you delegate a lot
of these responsibilities to others, youre the
one who makes the final call and takes the big fall
if someone doesnt do their job.
Of
course, you need to leave some time to think about
the economic aspects of your business. Are you targeting
the right market with the correct strategies? Are
you keeping up with changing market conditions? Are
your prices in line? Too high? Too low? How can you
compete with the big-box stores? Youve got to
read reports that track your sales, measure your profit
margins, detail your inventory, explain your net profit,
and list your expenses. What about those cash flow
problems? Are you going to be able to make the payroll
and pay yourself this week? Has that loan been approved?
If
youve got a business with trucks on the road
or other equipment, youve got maintenance, safety,
and insurance headaches to deal with. Office equipment
is another source of frustration. Sure, its
great that everything is done by computer these daysbut
what a mess it is when the person inputting the data
messes up or forgets to backup important files. And
speaking of computers, has your web site been updated
lately? How about your virus protection?
The
list of troubles to be faced daily goes on and on.
Vendors want to be paid. Dissatisfied customers want
refunds. Contractors dont meet deadlines. The
computer crashes.
As
we said, small business owners have a lot of worries.
Spreading themselves too thin inevitably leads to
stress, and in return stress can lead to depression,
anxiety, heart problems, and difficulties in personal
relationships. Spouses and children may complain,
Youre married to the business, or
Youre never home, and when you are youre
so distracted they cant get through to you anyway
because your mind is still at the office. Vacations?
Forget it. The small business owner is always on
call even if a short vacation can be managed.
The
truth is, a lot of small business owners wished they
had never gone into business at all. But what would
they do if they sold out? After all, theyre
business people. They love the idea of being part
of the business world, associating with other business
owners, and simply being part of the amazing free
enterprise system. But being your own boss is supposed
to be a dream-come-true, not a daily round of hassles.
Is
it Time to Re-evaluate?
If
youre a frustrated small business owner and
you feel trapped by many of these problems, you may
be looking for a new enterprise that will not be so
taxinga way to create a stable income that still
leaves you time for the very people youve been
working so hard for: yourself and your family. Youve
already proven that you can succeedand if only
it werent for all those annoyances bogging you
down, you can only imagine how much more successful
youd be.
There
is an alternative to a bricks-and-mortar business
that robs your energy and enthusiasm. According to
a September, 2006, report by the U.S. Census Bureau,
about 49% of small businesses today are home-based,
and the number is expected to continue rising. Why
is a home-based business so appealing to so many?
To begin with, most of the aggravations associated
with storefront businesses just arent there.
Feelings of freedom and peace reign in a comfortable
home office environment. There is time to spend with
family.
As
a home-based entrepreneur, you will still be part
of a viable business community of like-minded individuals
who will be happy to network with you and who wont
expect you to be their caretaker. This frees you up
to devote your time to accumulating wealth for yourself
and your family, the people who matter most to you.
It
costs nothing to investigate this burgeoning business
concept. Simply fill in the web form to receive free,
no-obligation information on how a home-based business
can give you a whole new outlook on your business
life.