Small businesses face all sorts of daily challenges, like technology glitches and sales numbers that aren’t as high as they need them to be. However, they can also face major threats that have the capacity to derail their business operations entirely.
If you’re a new small business owner who wants to ensure you have a solution for every potential problem, here are some of the biggest threats your business and others might face in 2022.
Cyber Attacks
Without disaster recovery solutions in place, the average small business owner can be in dire straits when faced with a cyber attack. Cybercriminals can steal customer and business information, disable networks, and even cause significant financial losses.
For some business owners, that can mean years of essential data lost, along with consumer trust and hard-earned profits. Fortunately, there are several measures you can put in place to limit the risk of a cyber attack and reduce its impact if one happens.
Your first steps should be to teach your staff about the importance of computer safety and work with disaster recovery solution providers to back up critical data.
Supply Chain Disruptions
Business owners and customers have always enjoyed accessing what they need almost immediately or with minimal wait times. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant supply chain disruptions.
When you’re unable to secure the stock or materials you need to run your business, you’re not able to make money. There might be no way to stop supply chain issues the entire world is experiencing, but employing a supply chain risk management strategy wouldn’t hurt.
Consider diversifying your supply base, creating a supply chain emergency plan, and partnering with logistics experts to reduce the impact.
Decreased Sales
People are spending less time with other people, which can sometimes mean they’re spending less time wandering city streets and browsing the aisles of their local stores. As a result, many small business owners are noticing decreased sales.
While some have made up for the shortfall by selling their goods online, not all business owners have adjusted to the digital world, and their bottom line is suffering. If you’re a small business owner in this same position, working with digital service providers to boost your online presence might be how you future-proof your business.
Increased Costs
Everyone wants a bargain, but small business owners are finding it harder than ever to provide shoppers with that experience. Inflation is rising, and the consumer price index increased by 8.5% in just over a year.
Some business owners are experiencing cost increases of 20% or more, and they have to decide whether to pass these on to consumers or absorb them themselves. For many, that’s a bitter pill to swallow.
Higher-priced goods might put consumers off, but keeping prices the same might mean many business owners are barely breaking even or are operating with significantly reduced profits.
Changing Customer Behaviors
Customer behavior is changing at a rapid rate. Many shoppers never used to blink an eye regarding product and packaging sustainability, ethics, and eco-friendliness, but now they do.
While facing supply chain problems, increased costs, decreased sales, and cyberattacks, they also have to look for more sustainable and ethical products and packaging to keep their customers happy. This is good news for the planet and consumers alike, but it’s an added layer of stress for small business owners.
Small business owners face challenges every day, but those they’re facing today are among the most challenging of them all. By being aware of these challenges, you will be in a much better position to tackle them head-on.
