These days, starting your own business is more competitive than ever. And if you think the problems end once your business is up and running, think again.
There are many challenges to starting and maintaining your own hardwood flooring company. But don’t worry. You’re going to be ready for them because we’re going to prepare you.
Below are 3 common business problems your hardwood flooring business will undoubtedly face. Read them now to prepare for the future.
Standing Out
It used to be that starting a business required months-to-years of planning and thousands of dollars in startup cash. Now, thanks to the internet, it takes a couple of hours and little-to-no money at all.
If you have something to sell, it takes less than a day to set up a website with an online store. For a few small fees, even your garage sale can become an official eBay store. Today, a small business owner is a 15-year-old YouTuber linked to his parent’s AdSense account.
This ease of starting a business has opened wide the floodgates of competition for any business. For your hardwood flooring business, it means that local competitors can start a website, advertise online and run a flooring business right out of their own home.
What’s more is your flooring business competes not only with other sellers but customers as well. Many customers today buy their own flooring materials online and learn how to install them from DIY websites.
The Solution:
The best way to stand out in your local community is to stay on top of both traditional and online marketing techniques. Be tangible in your community using traditional marketing techniques. Direct mail marketing, trade shows, and having an actual business location are particularly helpful.
Also, use online marketing to . Register your business on Google maps to show up in local searches.
Reach the DIY crowd by starting your own DIY blog to answer their questions. Then sell them your flooring materials from your online store.
In fact, blogging brings in more search traffic regardless. People researching “cost to install hardwood floors” on Google can find the answer on your blog.
Short-Sightedness
When the economy starts to get a little rocky, the future of your business gets uncertain and scary. This causes many business owners to abandon long-term plans and focus on short-term survival.
But going into survival mode means sacrificing any efforts to grow the company. If you’re merely surviving, you’re not thriving.
The Solution:
Keep things in perspective. If you overprepare for hard times you stop investing in your future and cause the hard times yourself! Plus you’ll be completely unprepared if the economy does get better.
In short, don’t be so prepared for the bad that you stop planning for the good.
Financial Management
Business owners think big. The reason you went into business in the first place is that you’re a big picture kind of a person.
Unfortunately, this means a lot of business owners don’t do so well with the smaller, but still very important, details. While concentrating on big plans and big issues, they can lose sight of the specifics of cash flow. They may also overlook numerous small expenditures quietly adding up and draining their money away.
The Solution:
Being strict in your bookkeeping is a must.
You must keep track of exactly how much you’re making and how much you’re spending. You must know where money is coming from and where it’s going. You must even keep track of the ROI of all your marketing efforts.
And you must know all of this so well that you know what to expect in the months to come. Then you can even improve on all of this.
If this is too much to handle yourself — and for most business owners, it is, then outsource. Hire an expert bookkeeping service that not only keeps track of your finances but helps you improve them.
Be Prepared For These Common Business Problems
Don’t let these common business problems catch you off-guard. Start incorporating these solutions into your hardwood flooring business now.
Next, read How to Take Your Business to the Next Level in .
