Small Business Growing Pains and How to Overcome Them

growing pains

Starting a business is hard. The first few months or years can be challenging for anyone, but especially for people starting a business for the first time. With so many decisions to make and tasks to complete, it’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed or like you’re in over your head.

And thought it might sometimes seem like it, you’re not alone in these feelings. Many small business owners struggle their first few months to find their footing and set their business up for success. And how you handle these growing pains can dictate the future of your business — so you’ll want to make sure you come prepared and persevere.

Below, we’ll detail some common small business growing pains and how to navigate them so you can stay focused on the health and success of your budding business while you grow and improve.

Lack of Work/Life Balance

It’s easy to let 9 to 5 become 9 to 7, 8 or 9 p.m. But realistically, this isn’t sustainable. Logging off and detaching from work will actually help you in the long run, as it will help you and your employees avoid feeling burnt out and mentally, physically or emotionally exhausted.

In 2020, 70% of workers reported feeling burnt out. With such a significant portion of the workforce feeling overworked and tired, it’s up to new businesses to provide a healthy workplace where employees can feel supported and do their best work.

You can set up a healthy work/life balance at your company by refraining from sending work emails outside of work hours or on the weekend. Also, make sure you and your employees log off at a reasonable hour, and dedicate some time in the evenings and mornings to activities you enjoy that aren’t work-related.

Hiring Smart

It can be tempting to jump at applicants and hire them without much thought, just because you’re so thrilled that someone wants to work at your new company. This hiring method, however, can be costly. To put it frankly: bad hires cost the company money. Through training, onboarding and then severing the relationship, the company is spending money on someone who isn’t giving that value back.

And more than that, it’s disappointing for both you and the person who isn’t a fit for your company to lose that relationship.

You can avoid this scenario by hiring smart from the get-go. Hire people who have the qualities you’re looking for and will be a culture addition to your workplace. Take your time, ask thorough questions and be sure both parties are confident in the relationship before continuing with the hiring.

Goal-Setting

If your new enterprise seems directionless, that may be because it is. A company without clear goals in mind might feel like you’re riding a speeding train with no destination, and make you and your employees feel like you don’t know exactly what you’re working toward.

You can avoid this listless feeling by setting both short and long-term goals. Short-term goals can inspire confidence in you and your employees as you continue to hit your goals, and long-term goals can give you something to work toward.

When setting goals, make sure you’re thinking about objectives that are realistic, actionable and positive. Share them with the team in meetings, or post them on the wall. This can help your business thrive, and keep your employees motivated.

For more info on small business growing pains and how to combat them, check out the following infographic.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *