Business start-ups in the UK face a few difficulties to overcome when they’re being conceived and trying to get off the ground.
Given the risk of failure in the early months or the first couple of years, it’s useful to review what these challenges are and how to either address them or work around them. This way, the entrepreneur won’t become a business failure statistic.
Here are four of the challenges faced by business start-ups in the UK.
1. Available Capital
Many business founders either don’t calculate the capital they’ll require to get the business up, running, and profitable, or they decide to just forge ahead and try to figure it out along the way.
While the latter is perhaps brave, it creates immediate difficulties because there’s likely going to be things that were forgotten about or not known that increase the capital required. Therefore, when beginning with too little, there’s double trouble heading their way.
2. Cashflow Management
Even when the capital was sufficient and the estimates were in the ballpark of being right, the money still must be managed well.
As business ramps up and new expenses get added on, the cash flow management becomes crucial. A recent reminder of this came through celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, who saw one of his restaurant chains seemingly collapse with only two hours’ notice.
The explanation Oliver gave was that the chain “ran out of money”. Indeed, it was suggested by him that he didn’t know what happened. There was insufficient clarification around cash flow within the business because even if the business model no longer worked, it still should be clear why. For example, the food supply costs rose alarmingly, or the average diner spent less than before and on less profitable dishes.
Clarity over all financial matters is required to keep any business afloat. Otherwise, when difficult markets inevitably arrive, there are zero margins for error.
3. Last-mile Deliveries
Another issue that start-ups have is that they’re often expected to complete deliveries to the door but don’t have an efficient way to do so.
Most delivery companies that outsource have limited bookings that consumers can choose between. They also somewhat predictably fail to offer a short time range for when the package will arrive. This is a major pain point for new companies keen to create a positive word of mouth with early adopters.
Fortunately, Shift.Online has arrived to bridge this gap. Through their fleet of vetted delivery drivers, they can assign deliveries to the nearest available driver and get their package moving quickly. Their one-hour delivery bookings are a hit with consumers too.
4. Staffing Problems
Staffing issues hold back start-ups in ways they never expect.
Finding the right people takes time. Competing with bigger, more established businesses for quality staff is hard for any smaller operation.
It’s also necessary to implement procedures to protect the staff in various ways and to keep the company safe from them!
Many businesses fail because of the theft of intellectual or other property that the founders never anticipated. It tends to be only later that companies put more effort into protecting themselves from anyone intent on doing them harm. However, attention should be paid to all aspects of staffing early on.
There are many difficulties or obstacles faced by new business owners. The ones detailed in this article provide only a starting point.