THE 7 WONDERFUL ADVANTAGES OF A SMALL BUSINESS
THE 7 WONDERFUL ADVANTAGES OF A SMALL BUSINESS:You want to start a small business or you already run a small business and you wonder what the advantages of being an SME are
It’s easy to get lost in the hassle of running a small business, staying up late and working long hours just to keep your business afloat. And to forget or not even know about the benefits you get as a small business.
Knowing the benefits of being a small business will not only encourage you not to give up in the face of the many challenges you may encounter, but will also help you better channel your efforts to maximize those benefits.
Here are the top 7 benefits of running a small business:
1. Better customer service
While this isn’t the case for every small business, running a small business gives you the opportunity to provide even better and faster customer service than larger businesses in the same niche.
While larger companies are overwhelmed with complaints, a smaller company may have more time to respond to customer needs.
The process customers have to go through to get their inquiries answered is usually short and less cumbersome when it comes to small businesses.
2. Flexibility
A small business is more flexible in its decisions, implementation and strategy, especially when it receives new information. While a large company will have to go through a long bureaucracy to implement an idea, a small company can easily pivot in any direction to save its business.
As an SME, you are in a better position to meet the challenges because you have very few ties to protect when navigating these issues.
3. Speed of implementation
While larger companies are still pushing the idea through the various departments and waiting for approval, a small company will have implemented the idea and already reaping the rewards.
Being a small business gives you the ability to make and implement decisions quickly. You can quickly take advantage of any situation that requires a quick response. It can be a new government regulation or an opening in the market.
4. Reduced business running costs
The cost of operating a small business is generally lower and the capital required to operate and manage it is less. Most small businesses are seeded by their owners, while larger companies sometimes have to seek investment from outside sources to stay afloat.
Overhead costs such as staff salaries, inventory, and rent are significantly reduced or even eliminated in some types of small businesses, keeping the cost of running the business low while making a profit .
5. The ability to offer more personalized offers
A small business is usually closer to its customers, has more time to listen to their complaints, and takes action. These actions can lead to more personalized offers for specific customers, which would have been almost impossible in large companies.
Customers tend to trust companies that provide more personalized offers to meet their needs, and as a small business, you can grow your business by offering more targeted products to specific customer segments.
6. Smaller exterior control
In a small business, the control is more limited and more targeted because, most of the time, the owner is the only one to make the decisions. This can lead to a faster, and sometimes more effective, response to the situation.
It can also allow for a riskier and more rewarding approach that cannot be taken in larger companies due to outside influence.
Most large companies have many investors who must be consulted before major decisions are made. These investors are risk averse and would prefer a more conservative and rigid approach to protecting their investments. While this can sometimes be a good thing, at other times it stifles innovation and slows down business.
7. Satisfaction
The satisfaction of helping your customers solve recurring problems is happiness in a small business, because you are closer to the customers and their joy is easily felt.
A small business is a tighter unit, with workers having a more personal relationship with each other and customers having their complaints handled more effectively.
With every big win in the company, the euphoria is felt all over the company. Whereas in a larger company, leaders are mostly cut off and isolated from their customers.
Conclusion
While large companies seem to have all the advantages when it comes to loans and access to credit facilities, small companies stand out for these advantages. You can take advantage of this and more if you run a small business. If you are looking for small business ideas to start your entrepreneurial journey, there are several ideas you can choose from.