6 of the Most Common Things Business Owners Worry About

Many people dream of owning and running their own business because they see freedom in this route. Being a business owner does come with freedom in your decisions, but it also comes with many different things to worry about. 

Entrepreneurs and small business have to overcome a lot of challenges when starting their businesses. As the business grows, the problems don’t always go away. They just change.

Often times, the changes are manageable but can sometimes lead to stress and anxiety. The stress isn’t helpful and also isn’t healthy. According to a study at UC Berkeley, 72% of entrepreneurs in this sample self-reported mental health concerns. A Gallup survey found that 45% of entrepreneurs experience chronic stress with 34% stating that they “worry a lot”.

Knowing the things that cause worry is a great first step in managing and minimizing that worry. Here are six of the most common things business owners worry about, as well as some tips to minimize these worries so you can enjoy your business adventure to the fullest.

6 of the Most Common Things Business Owners Worry About

1. Cash Flow

If you don’t have enough cash flow, it can cause immediate concern. Cash flow is what breathes life into the business and keeps everything moving smoothly. 

To effectively keep cash flow moving, take inventory every week of what is going well with your business. Then, invest in those areas.

Did a certain product fly off the shelves? Did an employee stand out and bring in referral customers? Did you post an ad on social media and get a large reaction? Did you create a TikTok that went viral? Find what is working, and go with it.

2. Finding Customers

You know that you offer a great product or service with your business, but how do you get this message across to find customers? In today’s business environment, customers have many options, which means your products have to stand out from the crowd.

Research where your target customers look when they need a product or service similar to yours. Do they prefer looking through newspaper advertisements or are they more into social media ads? Wherever they are looking, that is where you need to be.

3. Losing Customers

Another difficult part of today’s market is that customers aren’t quite as loyal as they were before. Since they have more options available at their fingertips, you have to work harder to keep your customers. If you don’t, there’s a higher chance you will lose them to a competitor. Losing customers is stressful, because it equates to a loss of revenue. 

While there is no way to keep every single customer happy at all times, there are some steps you can take to minimize the chance of losing your customers. 

No matter what service or product you are selling, be sure that your customer service is top notch. This is where you will stand out. There are many customers out there that are willing to pay more for the same thing that they can get somewhere else if the customer service goes above and beyond what the competition offers. 

Take feedback from your customers—the satisfied ones as well as the ones that aren’t, and use that to build your platform of customer service. Always be willing to listen to the customer and the majority will stay. 

4. Their Competition

Competition is easy to worry about, but as long as you remain innovative with your brand and messaging, your business will remain successful. It’s more important to focus on your own business than to get caught up trying to keep up with someone else. 

People will see through this. If they feel you’re more of a copy-and-paste business, they will walk right out the door. Authenticity makes a business stand out from the crowd. Focus on you and your business, and let the rest sort itself out.

5. Taxes

The word “taxes” alone makes the average U.S. citizen’s heart race, but for a business owner, it can be even more intimidating. Navigating the various loopholes, deductions, and changing codes, it can be hard to keep up.

Did you misreport some of your income? Did you withhold enough? Will you owe more money after you file? What if you mess something up?

As a business owner, there are a few ways to ease your worries about taxes. You can either do a lot of research on your own and learn the most accurate and efficient ways to complete your taxes, or you can hire an accountant that is familiar with doing taxes for businesses similar to yours.

6. The Economy

The economy, known to fluctuate and be hard to predict, can be a major source of anxiety for all business owners.

Be prepared for a possible downturn. Set aside funds for when business is booming and don’t go out and spend profits the moment they come in. Having money set aside will ease worry for a down cycle while giving you the ability to stay open while others who aren’t as prepared have to close their doors. 

Conclusion

While owning a business comes with a lot to worry about, but it also comes with positive aspects as well. It will sometimes feel like a rollercoaster. Be proactive with your business and savings plan, and everything will fall into place.

Katie Budd

Team Writer: Katie Budd is a full-time 8-5er in the commercial insurance industry and works on building her freelance writing business. She enjoys creating engaging content for people to read. She also enjoys working out at home doing Street Parking programming, encouraging her kids to chase what they are passionate about, and spending as much time on the farm with her extended family as possible. Follow along with her on her blog and Instagram as she continues to put thoughts into words.