Top Concerns of Business Owners

Top Concerns of Business Owners

Below, you will find some concerns my small business clients have. These ideas are listed in the order that they came to my mind and not in order of importance. Each owner will provide their own order of importance.

1. Availability (actually, non-availability) of quality managerial help
2. Availability of competent and skilled employees
3. Employees who lie or steal
4. Airtight internal and financial controls
5. Cash flow
6. Banking relationship and availability of loans if and when needed
7. Putting everything they have at risk for the business
8. Getting sick
9. Getting really sick, i.e. heart attack, stroke, car accident
10. Having a good varied group of customers who appreciate doing business with them and who show the appreciation by paying their bills timely
11. Threat of unionization
12. Not overpaying taxes
13. How things they can’t control can affect their business such as the economy, extremely bad weather, short supply of commodities needed to make product
14. Loss of a major supplier or being captive to them
15. Loss of a major customer or being captive to one or two customers
16. Consistency of quality of raw materials and products purchased
17. Too much of the wrong inventory
18. Being afraid to unload bad inventory at a loss
19. Customers who expect me to maintain inventory for them and they not telling me their true plans so every time they order it creates a minor crisis
20. Overspending on pet projects
21. Spiraling costs that are not controllable such as health insurance
22. Keeping current with technology changes
23. Being on top of social media
24. Succession of business leadership and ownership
25. Continued flow of new product ideas
26. Sensitivity to and adaption to new trends and needs in the market
27. Not being able to take extended vacations and even when they take short vacations they must check in with office
28. Developing a niche in their market
29. Establishing a positive and dynamic brand image
30. Lack of availability of competent consultants
31. Threat of law suits against the company
32. Being underinsured against catastrophes and the rising cost of insurance that they do have
33. Not really knowing if the insurance policies they have are for the right coverage
34. Spending too much time putting out fires and not enough time “doing business”
35. Not enough available time to reflect and see the big picture
36. Not feeling fulfilled or satisfied
37. The original fire is no longer there
38. Loss of initial momentum the business had in its early years, combined with a leveling off or capping of the business
39. Inability to reverse maturation of the business
40. Fantasies that no longer exist

There are others, but these seem like enough for now.