Being an entrepreneur during a tumultuous year wreaked by a global pandemic can be frightening. With the economy being shut down and unemployment levels at an all-time high, business isn’t exactly booming. However, this doesn’t mean you have to give up your entrepreneurial spirit. As a business owner, it’s important you keep your morale and confidence high. To ensure your business survives this pandemic and any other obstacles thrown its way, refer to this survival guide with four tips for entrepreneurs.
1. Properly vet new hires
Your employees are the backbone of your business. They’re the ones on the frontline interacting with customers, pushing sales, and keeping your company running. And as they say, one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, which is why you want to properly vet new hires to ensure they’re a perfect fit for your company.
One of the first actions you should take when vetting new hires is conducting a background check. What is a background check? Simply put, a background check uncovers a person’s history and brings to light important information, such as:
- Previous employers
- Criminal history
- Credit report
- Identity and Social Security Verification
- National Sex Offender Public Registry
Through background checks, you can have peace of mind knowing applicants are who they say they are. In addition to background checks, it’s important to host multiple rounds of interviews, have applicants submit portfolios or complete assignments, and submit references.
2. Be flexible
As you may have experienced, the business world can change fast, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted economies across the world. Being flexible is a critical trait entrepreneurs should have, as it allows you to make game-time decisions and make any adaptations to ensure your company runs smoothly.
While it’s easy to get stuck in your ways, being flexible can be the best thing for your company. For example, let’s say an employee comes down with a severe cold and can’t come into work and deliver a presentation to a potential client. In situations like these, entrepreneurs need to be able to make any shifts to ensure that presentation can be delivered, and delivered well. It’s also essential to be able to adapt to shifts in workplace schedules, deal with an influx of new assignments, and mitigate employee issues. Situations like these can be alleviated with innovative software like employee time tracking systems and project management systems.
3. Don’t be scared to ask for help
As a business owner, your first thought might be to do everything yourself. After all, it’s your company, so you should control every aspect. While you might think this mindset is necessary, it can actually hurt you in the long run. Having your head in every project can stretch you too thin, which can decrease your quality of work and cause important things to fall through the cracks.
With that said, don’t be scared to ask for help. If your company is rapidly growing, consider looking for a business partner that can help manage different areas of your company. Or, consider reorganizing your business’s structure and promoting staff into managers for different departments.
In addition to assigning leadership roles to allow you to focus on growing your business, consider looking for a mentor. Through professional networks, you can find an entrepreneur that has more experience than you who can help guide you and answer any questions you may have. Being able to vent your frustrations, run ideas by, and have industry conversations with someone outside of your company can be extremely beneficial.
4. Don’t ignore your website
There are many moving parts of your business. One area that shouldn’t be undermined is your website. While you may want to focus on your store, office, and customers, it’s important to dedicate time to growing your online presence. Doing so can convert more leads into customers and grow your brand.
To increase organic traffic to your website, focus on search engine optimization tactics, such as growing your blog, and improving user experience. With more traffic coming to your website, you can grow your sales and your business.
Wrapping up
Being an entrepreneur isn’t an easy task. From crunching numbers to managing staff to growing sales and pleasing customers, it can be easy to get overwhelmed at work. With these four survival guide tips for entrepreneurs, you’ll be on your way to growing your brand in no time.
