The world of business is rife with opportunity. What better place to make your mark on the world in a professional capacity after making your mark on the world in perhaps the most definitive way there is… by having a baby? Parenthood changes you, not just physically but neurologically. Suddenly all the things that used to terrify you and cause you to limit yourself seem trivial. Nothing seems insurmountable. You feel as though you can take on the world and rewrite the world of business as you see fit, addressing the inequities of the world of work and blazing a trail for ambitious would-be entrepreneurs trying to make it behind you.
But even when you’ve dusted off that old business plan from your uni years, managed to secure funding and recruited a dynamic team who’ll help you on the path to greatness, in many ways the struggle has just begun. For a nascent Mumtrepreneur there are some pitfalls for which you’ll need to watch out. Avoid them at all costs.
Because they can not only spell the downfall of your business, they can potentially damage your wellbeing.
Feeling that you have to do everything yourself
We get it. You love feeling in control and you want to do things your way. After all, it’s your brand. And its fate is inextricably tied to your own. Still, that doesn’t mean that you have to do everything yourself. At best it can cause you to become a relentless micromanager. At worst it can cause you to burn out.
You need to trust in your team. After all, you took the time to recruit, onboard and train them and you know first hand just how good they are. Secondly, don’t be afraid to outsource talent like an IT Consultancy for business or HR services. The people who can help you to get the most out of the resources at your disposal or fill in blind spots in your operation.
Failing to Digitize Processes
This is one aspect of your business you cannot afford to forego! Going digital can help your business in many ways; most importantly, it can save you money. It doesn’t matter how trivial a specific task appears to be, but if you can digitize it, this will have massive impacts on your business.
If you are a mumpreneur running a restaurant, you can digitize tasks such as hiring employees online, selling food on your website and more. Likewise, if you own a hair salon, you can automate how clients book appointments. For instance, you may want to consider a Salon appointment booking app that can help you take appointments at any time.
You may also want to consider moving to cloud. If your business has been experiencing data losses, it is time to consider this move, as it can save you a lot in the long run. There is no limit to what you can digitize in your small business, and once you start realizing remarkable results, you will have no one to thank but yourself for making this huge decision. So, ensure you avoid the pitfall of not going digital!
All the data- No idea
When you run a business in the age of Big Data, you have access to the means to inform your strategy and enhance your operational efficiency. But the trouble with data is that the more you accumulate, the more it can feel as though you’re drowning in it. It’s essential not just to collect data but to be able to transform it into the kind of actionable insights which will drive your strategy. So make sure you invest in the right Business Intelligence tools to make sense of your data.
Neglecting the most important metric… your margin
Finally, when you’re first starting out in business, there are so many metrics and KPIs to keep your eyes on it can be hard to see the woods for the trees. But there’s one metric to rule them all… and that’s your profit margin. Your profitability is tied to your cash flow which dictates the overall health of your business. Not only do you need to watch it like a hawk, you need to understand how all your other KPIs, and the actions of every department, tie in with this metric.
Keep all of the above in mind and you’ll be on track for success and profitability in business for years to come.