What has been your greatest challenge in business? How were you able to overcome it?

The biggest challenge for most business owner I've talked to and in my experience is getting that momentum in their business and start seeing positive cash flow. I've always heard "work on your business, not in it" while that sounds great its not easy to follow in the beginning. I've also heard that if you work in the business you just paid to make a job for yourself. In my experience that in the beginning you need to work in the business, but get systems in place to replace your job and work more on the businesses. I also Buy, Fix and flip properties and it is a must to set up systems or you'll over leverage yourself and burn out mentally and financially. Systems are the key to a smooth running business. That is my opinion.

I have found that a lot of entrepreneurs feel this way.  I have felt this way as well.  However, what I have found to work for me is to focus on the process, not the results.  Your attention should be focused on income producing activities such as calling, setting up meetings and closings.  Every thing else is really administration and should be done either before or after 'normal business' hours.

Turn your income producing activities into a game.  Focus on how many 'No's' you can get in an hour.  The 'Yes's' will come based on the law of averages.  Remember 'No' just stands for Next Opportunity.

I hope this helps!

For me, it was what I wanted from my business. I had always been pushed by mentors and coaches to build a business where I would be a CEO, have a large staff, and eventually sell the business. None of that sounded like what I wanted to do. My vision of what I want from my business and what success means to me is my own, and I'm good with that. 

The biggest challenge is to rise above rejection to quotations. Always remember that you can't win them all. Try to find out what you can do for your potential customers and adjust all the time to meet their demands. See what your competitors are doing and the key thing is that if you take care of your staff they will take care of your customers, who will then promote the company with word of mouth recommendations, which is the most proven sales tactic.

Integrity. Cutting corners, omissions, and the desire to succeed is stronger than the moral code is more prevalent in today's society than ever before

Resource Management. A/R issues can kill a business and understanding how to handle your A/R is paramount.

Competition. Crazy amounts of competition everywhere. Ease of starting a business, lots of cowboys and fewer professionals. The cowboys create distrust.

Marketing and Customer Loyalty. Marketing is huge. Who What When Where is overwhelming sometimes and then getting those solid loyal clients, customers or patients is harder too.

National and Global Uncertainty. This creates such a burden on the entrepreneur, employees, contractors and vendors.

Risk Management.you have to identify and assess the risk, then how do you mitigate. People, financial capital and economy

Staffing. In my homespun Roy Rogers accent: "Employees ain't what they used to be"! Totally different values and compensation package design. Also, motivation and loyalty viewpoints are different. All have to be addressed.

Sorry for the length of the answer but i feel strongly about these. Lot's of issues to digest and address but each one as vital as the next.

I would say my biggest challenge has been engaging parents who need help but are afraid to ask for it for one reason or another. We often don’t know help is out there or don’t like asking for it. I never like to push people. I just keep on being there. I write my column and I send out newsletters with articles and tips regularly and have an active Facebook page. 

My greatest challenge as an entrepreneur was starting a community print magazine in a new town where I knew about three people. I totally immersed myself in the community by volunteering, joining the chamber, visiting networking groups, attending events, etc. I signed up about 12 sponsors that believed in my mission and within a few months, I published my first issue three years ago and have been going strong. Hard work, perseverance and belief in myself and my service kept me going. 

You can’t take rejection personally.  Be as pleasant as you can with people whether they use your services or not.  It will be remembered.  They may not use you, but they may recommend you in the future.

I think right now for me is staffing. It’s hard to find staff that works with their heart and not just be there for an hourly wage. Even being short staffed if someone hired isn’t working from their heart the job is not the correct job for them so with Rome the right people will eventually come that love their job and will make the store a better success 

For me, the challenge is educating the general public. Working in Adult Day Care means teaching people that it isn't selfish to "leave" a loved one and take some time for yourself, it's smart. Most caregivers think they can "handle" their loved one and don't need help. You can't give your "best" care if you are worn down. "You can't pour from an empty cup!" If you are less stressed because you have been able to go pay bills, to the grocery, run errands, or work at a job, your loved one, in turn, will receive better care. 

What better place to leave them than in the hands of trained staff who will not only fill their needs but make sure their day is filled with activities and friendship!  Educating the public on Dementia in general as well as the many other disabilities that families deal with daily is, unfortunately, an ongoing challenge. But we continue to try to meet that challenge daily, for those in our care and those that could benefit from our care.