Overcome Your Areas of Weakness and Drive Your Small Business Forward
As you navigate the small business landscape [3] in your industry and your local area, you do so with a cool head and clear eyes. You play to your strengths whenever you can, but at the same time, you aren’t blind to your weaknesses. In some areas—staffing, for example—your natural talent may keep you soaring comfortably above your competition. Maybe you have a natural eye for great candidates or you’re an ace at the negotiating table. And maybe you have a special knack for coaching and motivating employees and your productivity levels are far ahead of the curve.
But in other areas, you may find yourself struggling with issues that don’t seem to faze your competitors. Marketing may not come naturally to you, for example. Financial planning [4] may present some disproportionate difficulties. Or maybe you’re struggling with circumstances beyond your control. If you’re running a tech business with primarily Silicon Valley clients and your head office is located in Nebraska, you may face an uphill climb every day that your competitors don’t have to deal with.
So how can you reduce the impact of your weaknesses on your overall bottom line? Better yet, how can you turn those weaknesses around and actually use them to your advantage? Here are a few considerations to keep in mind.
Turn Weakness into Strength
1. First, you’ll need to know exactly what your weaknesses are. Conduct an objective assessment of each area in which you feel you may be falling behind. Consider each metric separately. In the area of customer service, for example, gather data on your number of first call completions, your customer satisfaction ratings, your number of complaint calls, and any other potentially valuable metric. Then compare your numbers to industry standards in your market sector and local area.
2. Once you know where you’re struggling, create a point-by-point plan for recovery. Temporarily reallocate budget and other resources to the resolution of this issue. Establish a timeline to keep your progress on track.
3. Enlist help. If online marketing weaknesses are holding you back, consult with a digital marketing firm. If staffing and turnover are creating problems, contact a professional staffing firm for advice and guidance.
4. You may not be proud of your weakness, but you can and should be proud of your focused efforts to learn, grow, and correct your mistakes. Try to encourage this attitude among your employees and partners as well as yourself.
As a small business owner, have you faced and overcome a significant weakness? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.