Small business owners usually encounter lot of obstacles when starting a business. It takes a lot for small businesses to thrive and they usually focus on their survival before they see growth. Things such as increased competition, rising operation costs, economic uncertainty, and developing new products means small businesses have to adapt to the high risk fast-paced markets of today in order to succeed. Despite the many challenges, UK entrepreneurs have been known to be successful. In order to explain further, this blog post will outline some common misconceptions small business owners should avoid.
‘I know everything about my business’
Many small business owners believe that because they built their business from the ground up they often assume they know everything about the product, services, and customers. But this is a big misconception because in the digital age things are constantly evolving and it is hard to stay in control of everything. Business owners need to use technology in order to understand, collect, and analyze the data created by their businesses. By doing this it will be easier to spot trends in the data to either avoid risk or find opportunities.
‘If I create a website, I will get traffic’
Gaining a lot of web traffic is more complicated than just creating a website. There are a number of factors that must be in place in order for you to attract potential customers to your website. It should have a visual easy to navigate design. Some studies say that there are only five to seven seconds to make a good impression on a site visitor. Making sure the text on your website is concise and includes specifics about your product or service is important. The key words on your site ensure that it will be easy for visitors to find you. It is also important to find and work with the right professionals who know about web design and SEO (search engine optimization).
‘I am already innovating’
Some entrepreneurs have a limited view on innovation. It goes beyond adding product changes, or new features, it means going against the status quo and having an understanding about how what worked in the past may not work in the future. It is all about making bold moves in new and progressive directions. This is not an easy task and takes time in order to get it right. Gaining different perspectives and a fresh outlook is essential for providing assistance to innovation.
‘New technologies are not for me’
We are in the digital age, and it is hard to miss the buzz around new technologies. With things like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, most small business owner believe it is too complicated or costly, or that it might not be relevant to them. But AI has broken into SME market and it can helps business owners analyse data and make automatic recommendations based on that data. This is helpful to entrepreneurs so that they can focus on more important tasks like finding new prospects, analysing leads, and closing deals. New technologies are not as frightening as they seem and can help to improve your business in multiple aspects.
In order for small businesses to be successful the focus should be on the owner and their employees, but that should not the be all and end all of the business. Entrepreneurs should be working smarter and harder with the technological tools that have been established in recent years. It is up to you to ensure that the technology and your mindset work to your advantage instead of hindering your success.
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