What Causes Bottlenecks for SMB Owners? 5 Common Mistakes

Mistakes in business cost time and money. While they’re inevitable at some stage, knowing where the bottlenecks are in your SMB can minimize how much of each valuable resource you lose. Below are 5 of the most common mistakes that SMB owners make, and how you can avoid making them so you can lose less time and make more money.

smb business mistake

1.Spending too much time on manual processes

Automation is no longer the future; it’s the present. Automation allows you to step away from the manual processes that cost time and therefore money. Areas of your business that are heavy on the side of manual processing, from administration to the simple processing of orders, are areas that could benefit most from automation. It could be a case of putting the wrong person in the wrong job that is leading to longer processing times. Or it could be a case of having a person do a job that you could easily automate using a computer program. Find areas of your business you can automate to unlock your SMB’s potential for growth.

2.Getting stuck in a fixed mindset

Having a fixed mindset is common in all aspects of business, as we all find it easy to assume our skills and the situations in which we find ourselves are just how they were meant to be. But this is not conducive to success. Instead, you must have a growth mindset as the owner of an SMB. You need to be willing to take risks, and not simply assume they aren’t worth it. The key is obviously to take calculated risks rather than heedless ones. While the security of your business should be at the top of your priority list, in order to grow you must have the mindset to grow in the first place. As SMBs tend to have smaller budgets than enterprises and face different problems in the realm of IT, it’s vital that you regularly take calculated risks. This is how to maximize your resources.

lack of IT technical skill

3.Having a lack of technical skills and personnel

Whether you yourself lack the technical skills or if the people you hire are not up to scratch, it’s easy for your business to fall behind. In the digital age, while the growth of businesses depends on having a strong digital presence, cyber security is also a key issue you must consider. It’s easy for an SMB to think it’s not big enough to be threatened by cyber security issues that are common in larger businesses. But you need to be vigilant. If you don’t have the technical or IT skills to protect your business, you need to make sure that you hire people who do. Being cyber risk aware is key for SMBs

4.Lacking proper network health monitoring

According to a report in 2018, nearly three quarters of all US companies reported a data breach of some sort in the previous few years. This is often down to the businesses having poor monitoring systems in place (or none at all) for the health of their networks. Whether your SMB lacks an endpoint solution, a proper backup procedure or even a basic firewall, you’re putting your business and your data at risk. When was the last time your business had a network security check? Brushing up on simple aspects like this could save your business time and money in the long run.

using the right tools and technology

5.Not using the right tools

Finally, having the right tools at your disposal is a key aspect of your business’ overall health. From cyber security software to risk management tools, having the right ones to use will make navigating the digital world much easier for your SMB. Sometimes all it takes to secure your firm’s data is obtaining a license for a basic security tool, and having the right people around you to use it effectively.

So, if you own an SMB, be wary of making any of these 5 mistakes. They usually don’t require a massive investment to rectify them early, but if you leave it too late, it could cost you a lot in the long run. Get your priorities in order with regard to the digital health of your business, and you unlock the path towards more growth!