Starting your own business is incredibly exciting. But, naturally, in any adventure there are challenges, and in many cases, those are extreme for new business owners. From typical money problems and not having enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done, obstacles can appear that jeopardize the future of the endeavor. Below, we discuss the most serious problems startup owners face and ways to prevent or minimize the impacts of these on the growth of a fledgling portable restroom rental company.
6 Big Risks for Small Portable Restroom Rental Businesses
Most new business owners rely on essential principles to grow a thriving company with financial strength, a strong team, and a winning reputation. The intent of the best portable restroom rental company owners is always to outperform competitors in service quality. But, reality sets in for new operators when unpredicted problems threaten their development strategy:
1. Too little time
Many successful portable restroom rental businesses start out with a solo operator. If that’s you, it means you’re probably driving the truck, selling, doing bookkeeping, cleaning units, doing repairs, and much more. So, it’s tough to find time for adding value to services, ensuring top quality, and promoting the business.
Keep your day job, if possible, and plan to grow more slowly, splitting your time and energies to build your business on your off hours. Or, try recruiting temporary free help from family and friends, if possible, for some hours weekly over the early months of the startup. Call in favors, just ask for help, or promise reciprocal projects in the future for anybody who is productive and willing to help you get up and running. Also, consider outsourcing some tasks like processing receivables and payables, bookkeeping, setting appointments, etc., to low-cost online services.
2. Too little money
Portable restroom rental businesses often start out with big challenges just meeting basic expenses. If a client pays late, it can be devastating to a new small company. One of the most common causes of failure of new small businesses is running out of money. Meet with your local Small Business Administration expert and people you know who are great money managers and get advice on your specific situation.
Generally, cut deep to reduce your business and personal expenses. Again, try to obtain volunteer help from any personal resources you have. Consider applying for personal loans, if necessary, to help finance the growth of your new business.
3. Trouble attracting and keeping talent
As a small startup, naturally, your resources for competing with better-established operators for the best recruits are likely to be very limited. To complicate the problem, you probably need someone with a wide range of skills, not a single specific highly-developed skill set. The right candidate also has the prized soft skills that contribute best to growth, team building, and flexibility through years of continuous changes. Finding that person is often a huge challenge.
First, expect some trial and failure. Think in terms of individuals’ raw potential vs. fully developed skill sets. An inexperienced person may be more eager to work for a new small business and prove their worth and may have minimal expectations. But, consider industry veterans too, who may be excited about switching to working for a smaller business.
4. Too hard to maintain quality and grow
So many small business owners suddenly find themselves in a predicament trying to meet a big new client’s array of needs and expectations. The team becomes overwhelmed and quality begins to diminish. Success in growing the business becomes the problem! The enthusiasm of the client and the employees wanes and the big account is at serious risk.
First, manage expectations. Don’t over-commit on what your team can consistently deliver. You can sell well without doing that. Actually make it a selling point! Tell the prospective client that you want to build relationships, so you don’t over-promise. Determine your top priorities in scheduling. Include downtime. You need it to maintain morale, the first essential for quality and sustainability. Hire hard workers and expect high productivity and commitment to quality.
5. Poor web presence
New portable restroom rental businesses with very low cash flow cannot afford the usual formal marketing program. Any advertising can break the budget. Word-of-mouth for a new company often cannot bring in enough new customers to make ends meet during the early years.
The World Wide Web is a mega resource for tiny startup businesses of any kind. It offers a seemingly endless abundance of opportunities to attract prospective customers. In the modern local marketplace, you need a viable website. Educate yourself on what you need for SEO to make your web presence work as it can for you. Build a social media presence too. Have a Facebook page and use it to network around the community. Also, ask every customer to post a good review for your business on Yelp and other review sites.
6. Unbalanced work and personal life
You may reason that your body and health are not at risk when you devote all your time to work, because you truly love what you’re doing so much. You also probably assume that this is simply a time for your loved ones to step up along with you and be strong and persevering while you build a company that will support the family throughout the future.
But, the most successful business owners in the industry, and in the broader business sector, emphasize the critical importance of their home time and familial relationships as their source of enrichment. At home, they find their greatest joy, confidants, and companionship. Share quality time with loved ones. Celebrate the achievements with them. Nurture those relationships. As the years pass, you will realize the benefits to your mental and physical health, pleasure in success, stability, and overall quality of your life from investing sufficient time in your personal life.
Better Control Over Big Challenges in a Small Business
The small business subsector in the United States is currently growing at an accelerated rate. Business analysts assess this period as an ideal period for a small business startup. But, some big challenges can be expected when starting from scratch. Those can derail growth plans and even the profitability of small operations. From inexperienced leadership to staff performance issues, to poor spending management, to many other struggles, operational problems make startups vulnerable to failure.
So, refrain from moving forward full-time until you have created a business plan that you believe will succeed. Comprehend the competitive environment. Make sure you have enough resources to break away from your current employment before cutting off that income source.
Build a winning internal culture. Screen new employees well, systematize coaching time and incremental group training moments, and other team development strategies. Make service quality your core principle. Control spending. Take advantage of any good leadership self-development resources you can find. Identify the best solutions for specific problems you encounter and reach out for the help you need when you need it.