The Setbacks All Businesses Must Face

No matter how strong your business idea is and how talented you are as an entrepreneur, at some point, your business will face setbacks. These are the moments that will make or break your business. However, with any challenge, no matter how tough, comes an opportunity to bounce back and to learn. Some setbacks will be unique, but others are so common that the entrepreneur community has dealt with them many times. Therefore we can gain some insight into how to handle them before they occur. We asked Justin Cobb for some tips on dealing with some of the most common setbacks.

Unscalable Business

Lack of scalability is a setback that can often be nipped in the bud before it even appears. Many founders and entrepreneurs don’t take the time in the early days of their business how to create a business model with enough scalability. This means they are inherently unprepared for success. One of the most common issues is with entrepreneurs attempting to do everything themselves. Eventually, your business will reach a size where the workload becomes too much for one person. You need to train your people to take some of the weight off your shoulders. Otherwise, a sudden growth could cripple your business.

Losing Key Clients

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of believing that just because everything is going well with a client that they can rest on their laurels. However, it would be a mistake to rely on one client or a small group of clients for the majority of your business. Clients leave for a variety of reasons. It could be as simple as cutting costs, changing strategies, or even just no longer requiring the services you provide. Never forget that no matter how big the client may be to you, you are always in competition with many other businesses. Always be prepared to lose clients by having a large and diverse client pool and strategies in place to deal with losses. 

Personal Challenges

Perhaps one of the toughest setbacks that an entrepreneur may encounter could be on a personal level. We can prepare for many things in business. But it can be more difficult to prepare for a personal tragedy or negative event. If we are the key to our business’s success and we are unable to focus or keep the right mindset, this could be devastating for our company. Always make sure you have a reliable and strong number two who will be able to take the pressure off you when needed. 

Justin Cobb is an international entrepreneur, based in the US, with a network of companies spanning the globe.