Ailment: You company lacks customers.
Prognosis: The company is inconsistent with business practices.
Prescription: A business owner should be selling, delivering on what the company sold, and developing the product all at the same time, Pledger says. If a business spends all of its resources on one client then it is not only neglecting potential clients, but also the day-to-day responsibilities that help build their brand.
A business must consistently work on developing every area of the business including accounting, marketing, and employee relations so that it can maintain the quality of its products or services. One way to accomplish that is to meet or exceed the expectations of returning customers. Lowering the standards of a product or service after the product launch is one way to disappoint returning customers and keep them from coming back.
Ailment: Contracts and critical assignments are not fulfilled.
Prognosis: The owner is trying to do too much on his own.
Prescription: Hire expert employees and learn to say no to contracts or business propositions that do not match your company’s mission. Small business owners sometimes don’t trust their employees enough because they think no one knows better than they do what is best for their business. “You can not grow and do it all [on your own],†Pledger says.
Also, don’t try to cut corners when it comes to professional help, Pledger says. The difference between a bookkeeper and a certified public accountant will make a world of difference come tax time. Hire competent people that understand your industry. Once you put the right people in place you have to trust them and know when to let them do their jobs.
Also, take time off and get away from your business once in a while. Otherwise you will begin to lose your enthusiasm, which will affect your customers and employees. “Entrepreneurs very rarely say no because they are always chasing the next dollar,†says Edmondson. “Sometimes the next dollar can be [found by] getting rest and relaxation.â€
Resources
Small Business Administration — Small Business Training Network
U.S. Chamber of Commerce — Small Business Library
SCORE -Counselors to America’s Small Business
Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship