5 Most common challenges faced by the business today and coming future.

With the proactive initiative of the government, every day approximately 70 new startups register in India, most of them are in the service sector. This economic boost is turning India into a new business hub for the world. So 16 January is now celebrated as “National Startup day”, Indian Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi encouraged new entrepreneurs and said “Our Stat-ups are changing the rules of the game. Start-ups are going to be the backbone of new India”.

This is a real boast in the confidence of entrepreneurs who are taking a risk with new ideas and innovations. They are coming up with brilliant solutions to global problems in a very effective way. With the increase in the number of start-ups, there are some major concerns related to the longevity of the business. How do these new start-ups survive the wave of rapid global market changes? How the big business houses can affect their presence in the market?

There are many challenges faced by new and small businesses in today’s competitive world especially start-ups. They are facing the heat from the first step of their journey.

There are some common but very crucial challenges faced by new start-ups and even small businesses.

Let’s see the 5 most common ones

“Innovation doesn’t mean thinking out of the box, but thinking inside the box with out-of-the-box thinking”.

1. Financial Management — The biggest challenge for any business is the utilization of financial funds. In economic books, a very important and common term is repeated again and again throughout the course which is “Optimum Utilization of the resources”. Finance is the main resource for any business. Proper management of funds and clever investment in the business is the key to every successful business in the long run. This requires an experienced and expert financial advisor who can guide the founder throughout the business journey. Most businesses have brilliant launch but as the business grows and the market becomes volatile, the right investments will help them to survive and make a strong leap.

Solution: Plan your expenditures cautiously,and find out cost- effective supplier and vendors. Sales and product analysis is a must for any business. Forecasting and trend analysis help to keep track on the financial position of the business.

2. Competition and Product innovation — With the new initiatives of the Indian government the market become more competitive and the margin of profit becomes a challenge for any business. This competitive environment and change in customer preference and taste. This keeps the business always in attacking mode. The market is changing very fast similarly, the preference of the customer also. If your product cannot satisfy the need of the market, it will lose the market share, and before you can realize you are out of business.

Solution-“Think beyond profit, think as a customer”- whether you are in B2B, B2C, or online or offline business, product and service innovation is the critical part. Successful Businesses keep upgrading their product and services continuously. Keep track of the market, what is the market trend, and keep interaction with customers and experts regarding the need for change in the product or services. Start-ups should invest time and funds in research and innovation regarding products and services. They should think futuristic and always keep the global trend in their mind while preparing strategies regarding up-gradation and new product launches. The help of data analytics with market research will keep you ahead of time and your competitors. The common theory of marketing that should be kept in mind is “work for Customer delight”.

3. Marketing and brand management- “Use of Right marketing strategy at the wrong place and inappropriate time is a disaster”. Most start-ups are young and energetic, they know the right use of the digital platform and social media. Still not able to utilize marketing campaign effectively. This impact their reach to the customers. In any marketing decision, time plays a very important role, if your product communication reaches to target audience at right time then only your marketing strategy is successful. These days every competitor and business founder is using the technology and marketing tool mix effectively, still, only rare can gain out from it. Why? One strategy is success for your competitor but the same strategy doesn’t help you.

Solution: It is always advisable to involve the marketing team at the start of the marketing campaign so that they can effectively plan and implement the marketing strategy in the most cost-effective way. To make a start-up a brand, a strong communication strategy is required which should be implemented and analyzed for better reach. It is always advisable to involve professional marketing experts with experience in the local market as well as a global trend.

4. Networking and relationship management- “Business is all about building trust and relationship”. Business is done with the people, by the people, and for the people. Where maintaining a trustworthy relationship with the customer is crucial. As the business becomes global with the technology and service industry, it is a challenge to keep the customer loyal to your product or services. The business leaders are under continuous pressure of finding ways to keep the offers exciting and eye-catching for the customers. Your relations with the suppliers, vendors, and distributors also affect the business.

Solution — Networking with the right people is the need of a successful business. Start-ups should maintain a healthy and strong relationship with the clients, and innovative ideas for customer interaction and preference for the product should be implemented. Business is still based on relationship building. Each and everyone in the organization should follow this, as a rule, manage your relation with suppliers, vendors, distributors, and most importantly with your customers, Customer relationship team should be well experienced and trained to handle every query and interaction effective manner.

5. Right- employee-Employees are the front runner of the business, they help to run the business most effectively and cordially. But if the wrong person comes to the team, it will damage all the progress of the business. The biggest challenge comes with the difference in leader and employee mindset. Hiring a perfect team is a critical decision, which should be taken after searching for an appropriate person for a particular position.

Solution-”Maintain trustworthy relationship with employees for the successful running of the business”

Hiring is a very critical and crucial time taking process, selecting the right person for the right job is important. sometimes inexperienced and fresher can bring higher sales than experienced employees. So keep a check on the performance of the hires, and allocate work accordingly. Maintain a transparent and honest work culture where management and employees have no communication gap. The management and employee should share the same vision and goal for the business.

Every business grows with collective efforts. In this journey of growth, we are here to provide solutions to the problems faced by the business. We aim to help new start-ups and small businesses to grow big. Let’s do it together.