Since it is Friday the 13th today and Halloween is just around the corner, The Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb decided we'd have a little fun while also discovering what really scares most small business owners. It is such a valid question, and one we will answer with the following research and information.
For Small Business Owners: What Scares You The Most?
To really get a picture of the landscape of what small business owners fear the most, let us go to the experts. 1. Lack of sales, 2. government regulation and 3. cash flow were the top three worries concerning small business owners, according to a survey released by the Enterprise Council on Small Businesses. The survey posed the question, “What is the single most important problem facing your business today?”
“Poor Sales” was still the No. 1 concern for small businesses, but it dropped from 25 percent to 20 percent in the most recent survey. Uncertainty surrounding “Government Requirements” almost doubled from 9 percent to 16 percent for small business owners. And “Cash Flow” concerns fell from 17 percent to 13 percent.
The biggest change was the increase in anxiety small business owners felt toward new government regulation. ECSB Research reported in a separate study that one reason for this might be that owners need help understanding the new regulations. For example, only 25 percent of small business owners who are eligible for tax credits know that they qualify.
The second-biggest increase was related to labor concerns, as labor quality and labor cost concerns each jumped 3 percent. Fears of “Cost and Availability of Insurance,” “Interest Rates” and “Inflation” each jumped 2 percent.
The decline in fears surrounding sales and cash flow indicates many businesses are becoming more adaptable to the volatile economy and that business may be improving. However, concerns over the unpredictable and seemingly uncontrollable regulatory environment are continuing to weigh on their minds. With all-time low Congressional approval ratings, this is perhaps, a reflection of the general public’s uncertainty of the nation’s political environment.
So, as we see, the fears faced by small business owners and other entrepreneurs are mostly based on real-life problems that could occur. But we all know that most fear is self-created. As Winston Churchill said, "When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened."
Let us end this article with a solution. Why present a problem unless you are going to also present what it will take to solve said problem? In this article from Entrepreneur.com titled, 5 Ways to Slay the Enemy of Entrepreneurs; Fear, Guest Writer Sarah Crossman Sullivan offers real solutions for owners and entrepreneurs to overcome their common fears.
If you have found this article and its advice to be helpful to you as a small business owners, will you please share it on your social media pages?
Thanks, and have a fun Friday the 13th. Bwaaaahh!
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