Business owners face a variety of challenges each day, especially the younger ones. The image of a young, hoodie-wearing entrepreneur doesn’t seem to match up with reality. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, the average age of a successful start-up founder is 45 years old.
From the struggles managing the operations to securing funding for the business, the struggles that business owners deal with may seem never-ending. For the younger generation, it’s even worse. It takes years’ worth of experience and skill to successfully launch a company and see its success – at least according to some people’s opinion.
The truth is, challenges will always be part of running a business, and overcoming them is a critical part of your success. If you find yourself struggling in the early stages of the business because of the different challenges, we’re here to help. Here are five of the best ways to overcome hurdles as a young entrepreneur:
- Assess your personal habits
One of the challenges you’ll face as you start running your business is getting rid of your bad habits. Early on in the business, learn how to be self-aware. This could mean accounting for each one of your personal habits.
For instance, if you’re not good at listening to others for ideas, you have to learn how to handle that because running a business requires teamwork. You may be the head of the operations and make major decisions, but ultimately, it will require a village to run your business altogether and steer it to success.
If you’ve never been good at receiving criticisms in the past, if you want to run your business successfully, you have to learn how to accept those. Not all criticisms are bad. If you receive feedback from anyone, take it as a chance to improve yourself. If you don’t grow personally, chances are, your business won’t either.
- Build a network
Regardless of what industry they operate in, most business owners face the same challenges in the beginning. By attending business-related parties, seminars, and joining organizations and communities, you have the chance to meet others who have been in the same place as you. You can ask for advice and maybe even find a mentor to help guide you in overcoming the challenges. You’ll discover what works and what doesn’t, allowing you to avoid potential problems in the future.
Needless to say, the network you build as a young entrepreneur is one of the most significant investments of effort you’ll make. By constantly connecting with your network, you’ll gain insights into the different industries and discover which trends are currently on the rise. You can then use that to your advantage to get ahead of your competitors, eliminating another challenge in your journey.
- Leverage available technology
The dawn of technology has brought a lot of benefits for ordinary people and business owners alike. Gone are the days where you have to do inventory manually or manually write down everything you have scheduled for the week.
Tools have made our lives easier, and it has made running a business more bearable. For instance, the emergence of accounting tools like QuickBooks Enterprise hosting and QuickBooks cloud hosting, has led companies to save thousands of dollars in accounting mistakes. Business owners have virtually a lot of options to choose from today. Other automated tools for scheduling, inventory management, and web hosting have also come in handy.
When it comes to running a business, you need all the help you can get. And, as a start-up with limited funding, you can’t afford to commit costly mistakes. That said, choose your tools wisely. Some companies offer free trial, so you can try it out before fully committing to it.
- Delegate tasks
Sometimes, one of the challenges that young business owners face is the overwhelming number of tasks to do in one way. As a business owner, you’ll have a lot of things on your plate. Handling them all at the same time is almost impossible, not to mention stressful. Even if you do succeed on that, you might not be able to do things as efficiently.
On the other hand, if you delegate tasks, you’ll be able to accomplish a lot of things in one day. Again, running a business requires teamwork. By unloading some responsibilities, you can focus on high-level tasks and make better company decisions. Plus, it gives others a chance to learn or develop their skills. In that way, you gain an employee you can rely on to get a specific task done.
- Take a breather
Most importantly, don’t forget to give yourself time to relax and recharge. As you run your business, you’ll fight battles along the way. If you don’t take time to breathe, the stress that comes with it will eventually lead to burnout. If left unaddressed, it could lead to unproductivity, and you’ll eventually lose your passion.
Whether it’s a day trip to the beach, a weekend hike, or a week-long vacation, give yourself a chance to forget about work for a while and focus on recharging your mind. Doing that helps unload all stresses and clears your head. Once your mind is refreshed, you’ll be able to think more clearly and make better decisions for your company.
Ready to Bring Your Business to Success?
Things can get tough at some point in your business. But giving up is never the answer to it. Challenges are not a sign that your business is heading the wrong way. It’s a sign that your business is growing.
Remember that the most successful entrepreneurs today have been in your shoes at some point in their journey. As a young entrepreneur, you have a lot of time and resources (i.e., a network of willing investors, tools, etc.) to build your business from the ground up. So, take advantage of it in growing your business. Before you know it, you’ll slowly be ticking one goal after the next and succeed in your chosen industry.