5 Challenges Facing Modern Business Owners

January 15 2020 | Category: Small Business Finance

Life as a business owner is tough. There are dozens of plates you need to keep spinning at any one time, and often a lot of them are kept going by you single-handedly. Even if you hire staff to help you manage everything, there are a variety of tasks where the buck stops with you. If that sounds familiar, then so will a few of the things on this list! As the business world changes, the challenges modern business owners face change too, and here are just a few of the things that are causing problems for people just like you.

Uncertainty

Predictability is one of the most important things in the business world. Being able to understand what’s coming in terms of customer trends, market trends and the economic climate can help businesses prepare for the future, and develop resilient plans with it. But not every CEO is a fortune teller. The problem is that where we previously had strong data, trends and a general idea of what would be happening next, the world right now is in a state of permanent uncertainty. We’ve talked a lot about Brexit and the instability it’s caused in the political and business climate, but there are other factors as well, from financial insecurity to worries about another recession.

Monitoring Performance

Tracking and monitoring the performance of your business is an important part of management. Being able to understand how your business is performing, especially in financial terms, is essential for growth, but developing KPIs and keeping track of them is not a simple thing. There are some major pitfalls involved in deciding what to track and when, not to mention how to actually do the tracking and what to do with the information when you have it. Because of this, most businesses end up relying on overly simple financial indicators that do nothing more than clog up reporting flow, and don’t actually give you any meaningful information. Finding the right financial metrics to track, and having systems in place to track and learn from them, is an important part of running a business, yet it is an area most businesses struggle with.

Regulation and Compliance

As markets and technologies shift, so do rules and regulations. Depending on the industry you’re in, staying on top of these changing regulations and ensuring your compliance becomes more and more difficult. In most cases, business owners could benefit from bringing in a consultant to help with these areas, and guide them on how to stay compliant (and avoid hefty fines).

Technology

As technologies change at practically the speed of light, it’s important for companies to innovate or be left in the dust. Since there is so much change, a lot of business owners started out before these new technologies came into play. And by the time they have been adopted, even newer technologies are developing to take their place! Staying on top of technology is a consistent challenge, and one that probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. The problem is, if you continually invest in every new technology that comes along, you will struggle to justify the cost, and eventually run out of money. So it becomes a case of choosing the right technologies for your business to invest in in order to grow.

Financial Management

A lot of CEOs and business owners are ideas people. That means they’re great at the big picture, disruptive thinking and coming up with new, innovative ideas, and not so much of the things like cash flow, profit margins, reducing costs, financing etc. Financial management for businesses has become more complex over the years, and with so many different tools available and things to track it can be confusing just to stay on top of everything. In this scenario, using an external financial adviser can be a huge help in understanding your business finances, keeping on track with your goals and making wiser investment decisions.

At Chilvester Financial, we are a team of specialised financial advisers, and we are always happy to answer any questions, talk through your options or give you a helpful hint here and there to improve your business. If you would like to know more, or have any questions, just get in touch with the team today and book your free, no-obligation consultation.

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