Don’t Let These Business Worries Keep You Up At Night

Running a business isn’t easy. You will know that already, of course, and because of the stresses you might sometimes face, you might toss and turn in the night worrying about them. You aren’t alone, but as getting a good night’s sleep is obviously important for both you and your business, you should do all you can to eliminate your business worries.

What worries are we talking about? Well, we list a few of them below. We will also suggest strategies for alleviating them, so consider our suggestions if they relate to you. 

#1: Finances (or a lack of them)

A lack of money is the reason why many businesses fail, so it’s understandable if this is one worry that keeps you awake at night. If you don’t have the funds to develop and grow your business, and if there are issues with your cash flow, you are bound to feel anxious about the future.

To alleviate this worry, concentrate on the following.

• Do what you can to raise more money. There are a number of ways you can do this, from planning an investor roadshow to secure extra funding to using crowdfunding sites to appeal for more money. There are other ideas online, so take a look.
• Do what you can to save money. This is especially important when money is tight, so curb your spending. Cut out any non-essentials from your budget and for everything else, find ways to reduce costs. As examples, you could use a cheaper supplier, switch utility providers, adhere to these energy-saving tips, and consider remote working for some of your employees.
• Find affordable ways to market your business. This is better than not marketing your business at all because of your lack of finances. There are lots of cheap marketing ideas here. 

These are just some of the things you can do, but speak to people you know in business and ask them for their ideas too. 

#2: Paying your taxes

Many business owners hold their heads in their hands when tax season comes around. Not only do they have to deal with the paperwork, but they have to deal with the potential stress of a higher-than-expected tax bill too. Now, there are those who will try to avoid their tax obligations. They might even fiddle their tax returns. As you will understand, these are the wrong steps to take. Paying your taxes is a necessity, despite the headaches they cause, and you do need to stay compliant. Still, you can be forgiven for worrying about them, especially around tax season.

To ease your worries, consider the following.

• Put money aside for your taxes each month. This will soften the blow if your tax bill is bigger than expected. You won’t have to take out a loan if you have money available, and you won’t have to incur the risk of a financial penalty for not paying on time.
• Don’t do your taxes alone. With an accountancy firm like Gerald Edelman, you will have somebody on your side to help you. They will do all the necessary paperwork and form filling on your behalf, and they will ensure you remain compliant too. 

• Find ways to offset your tax bill. This will help you to reduce your spend when filing your tax returns. You can do this by claiming every business expense you’re allowed (check HMRC for a full list), and by finding out if your business is entitled to any tax relief. An accountant will be able to give you more advice so seek their professional assistance. 

With savings in place and the support of somebody who knows more about taxes than you do, you should have fewer sleepless nights when it gets closer to tax season.

#3: Your business competition

If only you didn’t have to worry about any competition. Unless your business is completely unique, this is something that you will have to put up with. They can steal away your customers, hinder your attempts at making a profit, and surpass what you are doing if they are savvy enough to do so. From online stores to big supermarket chains, there will be a number of competitors you will probably be worrying about.

What can you do about the situation? Well, you can ease your worries by adhering to the following.

• Find out what your competition is up to. This is the only way you’re going to beat them, as by monitoring their activities, you will know how to surpass their efforts. So, visit their business premises if you can, check out their websites, and use some of these sneaky online tools to spy on your competitors.
• Seek gaps in the customer experience. You can do this by finding out what your competitors aren’t doing. If you can fill those gaps, you might attract more customers to your side. So, you might be able to offer a service or product with more perks attached. You could produce a website that is more user-friendly than that of your rivals. And you could make lives easier for your customers with shipping and returns policies that are better than your rivals.
• Step up your marketing efforts. You can do this by improving your SEO to improve your Google ranking and by coming up with a flashier marketing campaign than your competitors. For better results, consider outsourcing to a digital marketing team. This is especially important if you don’t have the time or the staff to concentrate on this aspect of your business. With professional assistance, you will benefit from people who are experts in their field, and you won’t have to limit your other business activities.

You will find more advice online, so don’t lose any more sleep over your competition.

Finally

We probably haven’t covered every business worry keeping you awake at night, so sorry if we haven’t eased your mind through this article. However, commit to research online as you should find an answer to many of your problems. And speak to people you know in business too as with their experienced advice, you should get the help you need to reduce some of your worries. 

Take care, and thanks for reading!