Introduction
Running a business requires extra efforts nowadays. Gone are the days when businesses had their own natural flow. The reason is – economic and above all technology factors that are pretty dynamic now. What works today may not be appropriate for tomorrow. In fact, the present approach could be a disaster going ahead if not amended on time. The key is to identify these dynamic issues and come up with a solution to avoid closing the doors (“The 10 biggest challenges businesses face today (and need consultants for) – Hiscox Business Blog” 2018). Discussed below are the key business challenges.
Integrity
The moral challenges faced by business firms presently are something that was unheard of in the past. Everybody is in a race to get success. People are also struggling to keep their jobs, to earn more and be competitive than the rest. This has led to a practice where people are omitting important information and follow whatever practices comes to the mind. The aim is to get ahead of the others even if it requires cutting corners indiscriminately (“The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All)” 2018). This approach turns into a habit and subsequently employees feel that lying a bit, stealing a chunk, misleading occasionally is all part of the game and is ok. And, this is not a long term approach at all. At the end of the day, the trust that should be there among employees, employers, stakeholders or partners is gone.
Resource and Cash
Money is King. Therefore, if the expenses incurred are on the higher side and are not under control, things cannot run for long. It is to be noted that this aspect has got nothing to do with the financial report of the company. What is important is the ratio. If the cash flow is not strictly monitored, business won’t stay afloat for long. Mid-sized business houses and financial executives need to be very careful about this. This aspect of cash management becomes even more important during dull periods or recessions (“The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All)” 2018). In this situation, the cash flow slows and creditors are less inclined to extent repayment time. Another challenge is that banks may not be willing to ease their lending policies.
Increased options and competition
Starting up a business is pretty easy now. There is no need to go through heaps of forms. Buying a domain is a walk in the garden. Thereafter, the registration needs to be completed and that’s it. However, the real challenge is continuing with the business that has been started. This is primarily because others would be following the same approach. Hence, the frequency of new businesses or start-ups coming up will be on the higher side (“The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All)” 2018). This leads to a situation where the suppliers are more than required compared to the buyers. So, the market share per business goes down especially when the buyer has the choice to change the supplier by a screen tap.
Market strategy and Customer Retention
Similar to the above factor, another key aspect is reaching out to potential buyers and then ensuring that they are retained as well. There are lots of choices these days to reach out to your prospects – Email, Social media, twitter, text message and whatsapp have changed the approach altogether (“The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All)” 2018). Therefore, a lot of information is being passed to prospects by many.
Rules & Regulation
The prime factors that affect any business are – finance, environment and energy. If there is instability in these factors, the progress will always be slow (“The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All)” 2018).
Too much information
Presently, nothing is undergoing any change or expanding than information. An estimate suggest that almost 20 EB (Exabyte) of date exchange happened in 2010. Two years back that went up to 1 zettabytes. On top, nearly 2.5 quintillion new data is coming up. Therefore, to process and conclude the information is a major task (“Top 10 challenges of doing business in Malaysia” 2018).
The remedy for the challenges being faced by businesses:
As discussed, trust factor is above all. The infectious approach of a short cut has to be stopped. Systems should be in place so that the basics are under control. This will drastically reduce the scope to manipulate. Continuous monitoring of all details need to be avoided as this can hinder creativity which in turn can affect the motivation level (“The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All)” 2018). Without trust and transparency, business will eventually die. Firms need to be adequately funded and there should be a reserve policy so that obligations are covered especially during the slide phase or emergencies. Professional help is strongly recommended apart from the finance being handled by the directors directly (“The challenges of growing a business – and how to meet them” 2018).
A good marketing policy is essential to ensure that the attention of the potential buyers is grabbed. Identifying the key requirements of the buyers and accordingly promoting the right products or services is the trick. In the process, developing a personal relation also helps (“The 10 biggest challenges businesses face today (and need consultants for) – Hiscox Business Blog” 2018). Going over the top to retain clients and managing the same with a budget-friendly method can be a game changer. A lot of problems can be solved if business owners can precisely understand the meaning of the regulation(s) applicable for them. Internal resource must be in place to cover this (“The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All)” 2018). Taking care of two things would be enough – Tax and Health Care. Outsourcing can be a good option to handle these aspects.
To manage the data or information flow which is the key factor of any business currently, technology like Big Data has to be adopted. If required, it could be a combination of both technology and offline but information should not go waste. Another factor affecting the business is complacency (“How changing market conditions can affect your business” 2018). The thought that someone will continue to exist simply because they have been around for a while is nothing short of living in a fool’s paradise. There has to be regular update and re-structuring so that business are up-to-date with the constantly changing market scenario. This can be achieved by onboarding new suppliers, renewing contracts, employee development and upgrading or replacing technologies in use (“Top 10 challenges of doing business in Malaysia” 2018).
Conclusion
Lastly, there has to be adequate systems so that the process, services or products and the business model are handled in a way to avoid sudden complexities. Equally important is time management skills since time is money.
Reference
How changing market conditions can affect your business. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/how-changing-market-conditions-can-affect-your-business
The 10 biggest challenges businesses face today (and need consultants for) – Hiscox Business Blog. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.hiscox.co.uk/business-blog/the-10-biggest-challenges-businesses-face-today-and-need-consultants-for/
The ‘8 Great’ Challenges Every Business Faces (And How To Master Them All). 2018. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/03/04/the-8-great-challenges-every-business-faces-and-how-to-master-them-all/
The challenges of growing a business – and how to meet them. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/the-challenges-of-growing-a-business—and-how-to-meet-them/
Top 10 challenges of doing business in Malaysia. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.tmf-group.com/en/news-insights/business-culture/top-challenges-malaysia/