Small Business Owners: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Your Business

If there is one lesson that any seasoned entrepreneur knows, it’s that what you don’t know can hurt your business. As a result, one of the most important aspects of starting and launching a new company is finding ways to wrap your head around all the unknowns, all the uncertainty and all the variables out there. Often, the best way to get a handle on all this uncertainty is by tapping into the skill and experience of a trusted business coach or mentor. Here are just some of the things that people don’t tell you about running a new startup.

Entrepreneurship is filled with both highs and lows

Especially for many first-time entrepreneurs, the process of running a new startup can feel like a roller-coaster ride. There are plenty of highs, but also plenty of lows. Without a trusted business coach at your side, it’s far too easy to overreact. For example, if you meet a lot of early failure with your startup, you might decide to give up entirely. And, conversely, if you are lucky enough to meet a lot of early success with your startup, you might conclude that you’re a business genius. A business coach can help keep you level headed, and help you maintain an even keel as you navigate the entrepreneurial waters.

You’ll never be able to eliminate all risk from your business

The more involved you get in running your startup, the more you’ll realize that it’s virtually impossible to eliminate all risk from your daily operations. In addition to market risk, there’s financial risk, legal risk, regulatory risk and reputation risk. As the head of the company, it’s your job to put in place risk management systems that can help you minimize risk as much as possible. This is where a business coach can play an important role, since you might only have limited experience in one area (such as finance and operations), and will definitely need the skills, insights and experience of a startup veteran to keep you on the right path to meeting all of your business goals.

Networks are critical to long-term success

In the daily grind of the 9-to-5 corporate life, networking is usually a bonus – something that you do to get ahead, but not something that you take care of on a daily basis. How much time do you really spend on LinkedIn on an average day? Once you’re an entrepreneur, however, you’ll have to take a much more serious approach to networking, because it is something that will be absolutely essential to your future success. Whether it is lining up a new partner or vendor, or finding a new executive for your management team, you’ll be tapping into your network. If you are having a hard time opening the right doors and finding the right people, a business coach can help you make the right connections.

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With the help of a business coach, you’ll be able to minimize the daily sources of risk to your business, build up your network, and keep the right perspective on running your business. And, best of all, you’ll have the peace of mind that somebody else is keeping an eye out for all the things that can hurt your business.