Taking out a small business loan and living out your entrepreneurial dreams can be a major step in finally realizing your true potential. While this can be an extremely busy time in your life as you try to implement the business plan, build up an inventory of products, hire employees and take care of the endless amount of paperwork, it can also be rewarding to experience the first business transaction or deposit the money from the first sale. However, in the midst of all the excitement and busywork, there are a few things the business gurus and how-to books fail to mention sometimes.
Here are three tips for small-business owners, which can sometimes fall through the cracks:
- It can get rather lonely
With all the new responsibilities heaped on your shoulders, you’re likely not going to have a lot of time for social interaction. In fact, according to a survey by Harvard Business Review, half of CEOs experience loneliness in their roles, and 61 percent of these respondents think these feelings are detrimental to their overall performance. This is especially true of first-time CEOs, with almost 70 percent citing loneliness having a negative impact on their ability to conduct business.There are several ways to remedy these feelings of isolation and loneliness, but the first step is admitting them in the first place. Once you are able to express the feeling of loneliness, you can discuss the issue with co-workers, business associates, family members, friends or anyone else that will listen. While not everyone will be able to relate or solve the problem, simply speaking about it to others can greatly alleviate these feelings.
- Not everyone will like you
Building off the previous note, despite how friendly and accommodating you might try to be with your employees or business associates, not everyone will want to be your friend. In fact, some people might downright dislike you for no reason at all. This can be especially hard to overcome for individuals who are sociable and natural people persons. Since you are the one making the tough decisions, there will naturally be times when you might make a choice that benefits the company at the detriment of an employee or a vendor. No matter how hard you try, you must remember that you will not be able to please everyone – but that doesn’t mean you still shouldn’t try.
- Be prepared for anything
As the owner, you will be required to put out every fire and solve every problem. While most of this problem solving will be business related, there are times when disaster strikes as well. According to BusinessNewsDaily, business owners should have a constantly updated disaster plan. As storms across the nation intensify and more companies revolve around having constant Internet access and files stored in data centers, owners need to ensure they have backup plans in case a storm knocks out the power or cuts out the Internet.
