A business start-up especially a small medium enterprise is highly vulnerable to teething problems that derails the progress from the desired expectations as projected. The hiccups may be fatal yet foreseen, however there is several viable mechanisms to reduce adverse effects of the potential problems to tolerable and harmless levels, allowing business growth and eventual success.
The economic contribution of the SMEs in the world economy is notably significant, for instance, in USA, SME contribute more than the large exporting establishment for the last one decade in the international trade. SMEs have really reduced the unemployment economic menace to tolerably desirable levels. Besides, all those benefits several SMEs have come to untimely close down due to the some of the following discussed reasons.
Poor Managerial skills.
Most enterprises are placed in the hands of excitedly inexperienced managers, this is due to the capital scarcity characterising start-up businesses. The owner who may have raised the seed capital prompting immediate refunding program, therefore may not afford services of a trained business administrator or the training time to garner the basic business skills (Anzengruber, 2015).
Basic business managerial skills are essential for the survival of the business, SMEs may experience a boom period at the start up, however there is need for preciseness of sound and informed decisions, which are to be made in a row every single day. A mismatch of a single decision may see the booming business venture flashed into the drain, losing all the foreseen future cash flows and the invested capital. This can be mitigated by seeking advice from sound sources or conduct a research before making the decision, especially where stakes are high.
Choice have consequences. The preferred business organisational form should be selected in line to some underlying reasons. SMEs have to have flexibility and agility, this is not viable under some business forms. Therefore poor choice of organizational form may be detrimental.
Human resource is a vital element to the success of any entity. Inability to attract and reasonably retain the desired employees, increases the operational costs of the small business besides increasing its operational inefficiency therefore increasing chances of untimely shutdown.
Organisations assume different organising styles. There is appropriateness of the business organising of activities per the industry it is operating in. where most activities and task are automated a line organisational structure is appropriate, while where the business is relatively human intensive a functional and broad organisational structure is appropriate, otherwise there will be unsustainably high operational costs (Levy & Powell, 2005).
Financial Problems.
Precisely, one of the major problems to SMEs is inability to have access to cheap funding. It requires the government and the innovation and agility of the banking system to reverse this adverse conditions. However, the availability of the funds poses other axillary financial and economic problems, therefore the banking system and government cannot afford to makes the funding absolutely cheap, however accessible. The credit rating of a start-up business is generally below average therefore disadvantaging the entity in question making its financial costs to be at the brim and sometimes unsustainable since they increase the break-even period as well as reducing the potential profitability and suitability of the venture.
Managing the cash/working capital especially for a growing entity requires well thought decisions and experience of working capital management skills. There are high chances to business risk for an SMS attributed to Liquidity risk. A well stable and profitable business with a high growth rate is can close down due to inability to pay obligations falling due.
Marketing Problems.
Market analysis are essential while carrying the feasibility of a venture. The marketing strategy must be clearly defined and communicated to relevant stakeholders. The market presents opportunities and threats, a new business needs to tactfully strategize a market entry and penetration program. Inability to make timely and calculated response to competitors action can pose marketing problems to the new business, exposing it to an expected shut down or recession (Levy & Powell, 2005).
Kinds of telephone and Data services that a start-up business may need.
Voice calls.
Access to reliable, cost effective, secure, quality services in-house connectivity of a voice call.
Caller ID identification.
3G to 4G External voice call connectivity with caller identification features.
Voice Mails.
The voice calls with ability to take a message, in case there is a missed call.
Internet services.
Cable services to allow internet access as well as secure intranet service access to the authorized persons only.
Customised SMS services.
Modern SMS services compatible with the conventional prevailing SMS applications as well as conventional hardware most typical for the target customers and other stakeholders
International call switching box services
To allow international connectivity, to facilitate growth and desired expansion to the international market.
M-banking services
Ability to allow payments through the phone network.
Toll free line.
Hotline to maximise sales and to lodge of complains, orders and other customer care services.
Special firms procedures codes.
Used to access services, where the client cannot make a voice call, so the client dials some special codes and follows the dialogue box of icon selections to diagnose a complaint or run a transaction.
References
Anzengruber, J. (2015). Discovering Gaps in Internationalization Competences of SMEsaa Comparative Case Study of Austrian SMEs. BMS, 1(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.11114/bms.v1i1.643
Levy, M., & Powell, P. (2005). Strategies for growth in SMEs. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
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