When you own a business, it can be easy to compare yourself to others in your space and feel negatively when you identify the ways in which you come up short. However, existing business weaknesses are an essential aspect of the growth and development of your company, and how to turn weakness into strength in business is one of the most critical skills an owner can have.
Let’s examine six common business weaknesses that you can take in stride while also being willing to take steps to overcome them.
6 Business Weaknesses and Strengths
1. You lack visibility in your space.
This can be one of the most prevalent business weaknesses owners face. The phrase “if you build it, they will come” may as well be a myth. If no one knows what you have to offer, it doesn’t matter how innovative, helpful, or transformative your product is – it probably won’t sell.
The best cure for this business weakness can be to put yourself out there in as many mediums as possible. If your business is brick-and-mortar, consider attending events in your local community. If you reside mostly or entirely online, try hiring an expert to help you with a campaign to become more visible in the search engines.
2. Your business isn’t self-sustaining.
When you believe in your business, you may give it your all – including financially. You may continually dip into your savings and borrow from other sources. You might tell yourself you have to invest money to make money, and to some extent this is true. But when your entity can’t pay for itself, it becomes a weakness of a business.
To clear this hurdle, consider creating a pro forma report for your business that details the profits coming in versus the expenses going out. Try to look for ways to increase the former and decrease the latter and be realistic about whether your current operational structure supports your business’s financial independence.
If you are offering something special that customers desperately need and can’t get elsewhere, they may be willing to pay a premium.
3. Your customers aren’t sold on your product.
Perhaps your product or service is new in a crowded marketplace with already-established brands. Maybe you pride yourself on high-quality, and therefore your offering has a higher price point. Whatever the case, when you have trouble persuading customers to come over to your side, it’s a business weakness.
Try to surmount this obstacle by taking the time to clearly understand your product or service’s unique value proposition. If you are offering something special that customers desperately need and can’t get elsewhere, they may be willing to pay a premium.
4. You can’t hire the right employees.
In the post-pandemic era, labor shortages are universal – especially among frontline employees. Your business weaknesses might include difficulty finding and keeping reliable workers to staff certain areas.
One of the most sensible ways to win the talent war is to treat the employees you have well. Pay them at or above the industry standard and offer attractive benefits and perks where you can. If you’re really struggling, you could also consider hiring contractors or freelance workers to cover urgent needs.
5. You can’t compete with discount online retailers.
It’s admittedly hard to debate the convenience, ease of use, and lower cost of many e-commerce competitors. But failing to acknowledge the challenge and brainstorm ways to succeed in spite of it is a business weakness.
For example, what if your business’ strength was the personal and memorable experience you offer to your customers? Try to think about creative touches that will build that experience, while also planning to add features (such as fast delivery) that customers can appreciate about the larger online retailers.
6. Supply chain management is not a business strength.
Supply chain disruptions are a reality of the 2020s. However, being unable to function properly in the wake of external delays is a business weakness. The last thing you want is a bottleneck that prevents your product or service from being delivered to the customer in a prompt and efficient manner.
You can help turn this weakness into a strength in business by increasing your company-owned inventory, building solid relationships with a variety of suppliers in diverse geographic locations, and using automation and other technology to streamline the process from end-to-end.
The Takeaway
Turning business weaknesses into strengths can be entirely possible once an owner looks at their situation objectively and identifies the opportunities and obstacles ahead. While your own business weaknesses may vary, taking action to remedy them can be one of the most crucial ingredients for long-term success.
A version of this article was originally published on May 30, 2017.
Photo: Getty Images
