Hi guys...No my business isn't doing poorly but we are going through tight times in this Country. Many businesses have had to close their doors or downsize. Yet despite that people are clamouring for more money or promotions or whatever, but I'm not sure the Government can give the increases. Yes! people will say, why not as they spend money on some unnecessary things or don't seem to be doing what is necessary for the people. It depends on your how you view what they do spend the money on. Lets get into the woes of a business.

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Having your own business is a difficult thing, it means selling all the time and ensuring that your finances are always as it should be to deal with all of your expenses. More so, if you have a lot of staff and their livelihood depends on you. One of the biggest problems you can encounter when you have your own business is Cash flow. Money problems in their various forms are top of most lists of company woes, and for small businesses the major worries are clients stalling payments, unexpected outgoings, and outstanding bills that won't wait to be paid. This is an area you have to be very diligent with, following up on your clients and their payments. Late or non payments can break a business if it isn't handled properly. Cash flow management.......the bane of the business world. The challenge? Cash flow is essential to small business survival, yet many of us small entrepreneurs struggle to pay the bills (let alone ourselves) while we're waiting for checks to arrive. That is the worrisome part, and that is what keeps us up at night. Will the payment come in on time so we can pay salaries, or pay off the loan or, or, or?????? But that isn't the only challenge.

So outside of the Cash flow issues what are the other challenges a small business can encounter?

The 10 biggest challenges businesses face today (and need consultants for)

• Uncertainty about the future.

• Financial management.

• Monitoring performance.

• Regulation and compliance.

• Competencies and recruiting the right talent.

• Technology.

• Exploding data.

• Customer service.

Within my Coaching business and in any business the first point goes for everyone. You can't run a business without worrying about the future and hope that everything runs smooth but that is not the reality. Every business runs into some type of challenge at some point whether its finances, staff, clients....something must and will go off at some point, it's how you ride it out and deal with the situation. It's the same in life...no matter what comes at you it's not the problem but how you deal with the problem and what you learn from it and how it made you grow. Everyone is the way they are due to the challenges they encountered in life and what they learned from them.

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One thing to note though, we small businesses are critical to an economy and although we don't always get good treatment from the banks or other financial institutions we matter. Us Small businesses contribute to local economies by bringing growth and innovation to the community in which the business is established. Small businesses also help stimulate economic growth by providing employment opportunities to people who may not be employable by larger corporations.

All in all despite the challenges we face, we've been in business since 2004 and still going so that must say something for our business acumen. It's mainly all to my husband and his hard work and his level of detail and his willingness to take on the hardest part of any business....sales and finance. I pray that we are able to main this business as a legacy for our kids and then retire worry free. That is the goal. I hope everyone of you, if you run your own business, I hope that you to can set and achieve such a goal if that is your aim.

So later guys, until Thursday, I'm keeping it short today, I'm a bit tired as I did 2 Markets this weekend. Go figure.

References:

• hiveage.com

• hiscox.co.uk