When most Entrepreneurs think about risk, they conjure thoughts of financial ruin or legal troubles. There are other risks and liabilities in your small business. Staying afloat and having a sustainable business is a priority -even before growth. Threats can lurk in the intricacies of business management often not considered for Entrepreneurs. Let’s dive into a few worth considering.
Offer Lacks Market Fit. Great businesses are built on the notions of “find a need and fill it” or “find a problem and solve it”. However, many Entrepreneurs don’t do the market research necessary to be sure their business idea is validated before trying to scale. Big businesses budget to make sure products are desired how they are offered it by whom they are trying to sell BEFORE dropping big money and lots of time on new products that may not hit the mark.
Wide Instead Of Deep. A lot of Entrepreneurs make the mistake of changing their offers too quickly or even trying to appeal to a wider audience rather than going deeper into a niche to appeal to a specialized audience. I speak a lot about how we search for the deep niche as customers but as Entrepreneurs, we somehow feel we are leaving money on the table if we don’t try to sell to everybody. In fact, doing the latter is probably why the offer isn’t appealing. When we identify and find ways to cater to the right subsect we have a better chance of being successful with our offers. Switch your approach to attracting people to your offer before you switch the offer itself.
Changing Climates. This is a tough one. There has been so much uncontrollable change in just the last few years that has heavily impacted business as we know it. Unexpected external factors like pandemics, changing market trends, and downturning economies have changed the landscape and some businesses did not survive. The best defense is to have contingency plans.
Burnout. The average Entrepreneur isn’t paying enough attention to whether or not they are headed toward burnout and too many of us are trying to hustle through it. Most small business owners ARE the business; meaning that if they don’t perform the service or execute in some way, then the business does not make money. This is all the more reason to protect your health: body and mind. You are the greatest asset of your business and you have to treat yourself as such because without you there is no business.
Need an assessment of risk for your 2024 business year? Let’s talk. It’s FREE. ShaCannon.info/talk