Last night, I got a call from a former colleague, Winston Williams, who explained that he was working on his dissertation and needed to know what five challenges I see most commonly in todays small business climate. I did not have long to think about it, given that my dinner was on its way to the table, but I took a stab at them, anyway. I told Winston these are the five challenges I see in order of increasing importance: (5) A lack of strategic foresight; no comprehensive plan for growth or scaling the business (4) Few, if any, documented best practices and/or operating procedures; typically no business-continuity or succession plans (3) A misreading of the state of market; improper assessment of the competitive environment (2) An inability to identify and retain long-term talent (1) Limited access to capital It seems, interestingly enough, that I am not alone in my thoughts about bankability and capital constraints. Thanks for this afternoons documented reinforcement, Harvard Business Review.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 21:20:43 +0000