The Biggest Problem Faced by Small Business Owners Today

A couple of weeks ago, to a LinkedIn business group I posed the question “What do you think is the biggest problem faced by Small Business Owners today?”   Yesterday I returned from holidays to see a stream of responses and what I learned was fascinating.

In the beginning I was monitoring the responses day by day and answering each one individually, it was easy to ‘buy-in’ to their stories and how everyone had perceived their own personal challenges.  During that first two weeks I struggled to see many consistent issues, let alone the one biggest problem.

Then I went away on holidays and when I returned a week later I was reading the new contributions as one long conversation.  It was then that something happened, I discovered what was REALLY going on… THE ONE BIG PROBLEM!

It wasn’t an external problem that could be ‘fixed’ with a bit of training or a nifty little tool, it was an internal problem and it was going to take some work.

The biggest problem faced by Small Business owners is their inadequate critical thinking, which typically shows up as a lack of focus, or poorly placed focus.  Examples of this include:

1. No goals (or KPIs)
2. No clear mission or purpose (overall and/or task based)
3. Time wasting (lack of action, or focusing on the wrong thing)
4. No systems
5. No criteria for success

The first step to success is to lead yourself to victory.  If you’re not currently achieving ALL your goals, then you need to figure this out before anything else!  If your first response is “not more goals” or some similar complaint, I have one thing to ask… “How’s that working out for you?”

I’m not going to sit here and remind you how great goals are, or tell you again about the Harvard study, or remind you of what you already know.  You’re reading this because you need to do it, not read about it again, but do it!  And not just do it again the same wingy old way you always have, but to embrace it.  This goals process must become a part of who you are, if it has any hope of lasting past the end of the week.  And it needs to last if it is going to transform your results.  Do you get that?

So lets GET RESULTS AND HAVE SOME FUN, shall we?  🙂

Decide where you are going to write your goals.  It must be highly visible so you can read it regularly while you’re achieving it.

Write down your first goal.  Make it something easy and make it something fun.  How about, “have my favourite meal for dinner tonight”.  That sounds like a goal I can sink my teeth in to, now I could definitely go for that!

From there, slowly increase the difficulty of each goal.  Add more and make some multi-day goals. You are now reaching a point where you’re so focused and intentional you’ll barely recognise yourself, and your impressive results.