What Is Holding Your Business Back?

The most difficult part of this process may be the very first stage, when you need to identify what's going wrong. It seems clear that you can't make much progress, unless you can identify the extent of the problems that you're facing. This is something that you may already be aware of.

Indeed, if you're already in the position where you have a fair idea of what's going wrong, then this is clearly an advantage. It may be more likely that you are going to need to spend some time thinking about what's been happening, in a very objective manner.

I think it's worth saying that you may not already have carried out such an analysis because you're already busy trying to deal with the daily requirements of the business. This is something that can make it hard to stand back and to really look at everything properly.

It's clear that there is now a requirement for you to do so. If you're unable to make the time, then it can be suggested that this is a rather more pressing problem. It can often be tempting to blame problems on the behaviour of competitors too, but you sometimes need to acknowledge that they are rarely the cause of the problems that you are facing.

If competitors are performing well, then you need to think about what they are doing better than you. Do they have better products? Are they offering impressive levels of service? Are their costs lower?

The problems that exist within your own business may even relate to staff members. It's certainly true that employees will represent your most valuable resource, but it's also true that they need to be treated correctly. When relationships breakdown, it's important that you seek to put things right.

As the business owner, you clearly have a considerable degree of responsibility for staff members and for the progress of the business as a whole. It's important that you take such responsbilities correctly.

Remember that your own analysis of the business is likely to have an impact on members of staff, as well as on the future financial situation of the company.