October 4, 2012
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?Starting a business is a big achievement for many entrepreneurs, but maintaining one is the larger challenge. There are many standard challenges that face every business whether they are large or small.?
We asked 15 successful entrepreneurs to reveal their biggest small business challenges.
Learn more about the barriers they faced and ultimately, how they overcame them.
1. Building brand awareness.
Our biggest challenge has been educating the public that there are investment opportunities that have less fees and risks in comparison to those that traditional banks sell.
Solution:
We overcame this challenge by providing superior pricing and customer service, using traditional forms of marketing including seminars and networking events to brand the company name and internet marketing such as search engine marketing (SEM), blogging, email marketing and social media marketing to spread the word online.
Daniel Kroll, Chief Executive Officer at Canadian Bullion Services, @cbmetals
2. Competing against established companies.
When I decided to launch a startup in the athlete representation industry, the main challenge I faced was competing against established agencies with prominent client lists.
Solution:
As a startup agency with a fledgling roster, I was required to play to my strengths and sell personalized attention ? coupled with expertise and experience. I extolled my educational background and real-life legal experience to reassure potential clients about my ability to do the job.
Eugene T. Lee, President and CEO at ETL Associates, Inc., @EugeneTLee
3. Starting big and driving demand.
I was challenged to bring in enough business to support the size of the operation I started. I didn?t grow into a 20,000 sq. ft. facility ? I started in it. We set the bar high from the beginning. If you want to be on top of your profession, I thought, start big and do what you can to fill up production.
Solution:
We overcame our challenge with two key initiatives: First, we found the proper employees with the right experience and attitude, and next we filled a void in the market by giving customers a one-stop shop for embroidery, screen printing and digital printing. No one had all three elements under one roof. Our value proposition solved a problem for our customers ? they no longer had to make multiple phone calls and deal with multiple vendors.
Eddy Levy, CEO at East End Ink, @eastendink
4. Building a company culture.
As the leader of my organization, I see it as my primary responsibility to ensure that my team understands who we are, where we are going and how we are going to get there. It must be clear that the journey we are taking together is one they want to take and will enjoy being invested in.
Solution:
I have made a point to invest in the little things that make a small team feel special ? ensuring our team has gear to wear that they are proud of, recognizing the team as a whole and individually at team outings or dinners and making it a point to keep the workplace fun and competitive. All of these things, when combined with the right team members, will provide a strong foundation that ensures a team is connected and committed.
Sam Caucci, Founder and Principal at Sales Huddle Group, Inc., @SalesHuddle
5. Finding and hiring great talent.
We are a developer of innovative social gaming apps with Mark Cuban as an investor. Our major challenge was finding the best people to hire.
Solution:
Since there is such competition for developers, we started going directly to some of the most creative, fresh minds in the workforce ? colleges. We look for talent at both my alma mater, University of Southern California and other design schools in the Los Angeles area. With so many of the students so passionate about mobile and social gaming, these new graduates can become completely invested in our new games and see the complete process.
Ryan Ozonian, Founder and President at Mention Mobile, @mentionmobile
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