Perhaps your business is struggling right now, and you’re not exactly sure how to determine the main issue. Maybe you know the exact problem but aren’t sure where to start. Don’t worry: a lot of people find themselves here. Let’s focus on the most common areas that businesses experience challenges.
In this episode, you’ll learn the top nine challenges most businesses face then we’ll break down one of those areas: relationships. You’ll hear a case study from my business life and take away principles you can apply to your own business.
The Top 9 Challenges Businesses Face
Every problem or issue that businesses face falls into one of these nine categories:
- Process
- Capital/Money
- Time
- Product/Service
- Strategy
- Relationship
- Mindset
- Leadership
- Skill
Let’s Start with Relationship Problems
Relationships are very complex and complicated. You may manage one (or more) of these types of relationships:
- Business partner/Co-founder
- Employee (senior to junior level)
- Vendor/Supplier (lenders, landlords, etc.)
- Customer/Client
- Investor
- Public/Media
- Peer-level
- Competitor/Fellow Industry
“In business, there are many types of relationships and you’ll need to learn how to manage and deal with all of them.”
A Relationship Problem Case-Study
In my time working with various firms, I’ve run into more than a few relationship problems. Here, I share a relationship story that involved these relationships:
- Firm to firm
- Firm with the company we invested in
- Firm with vendors
- Firm with end-user
- Firm with competitors
“The relationship with the customer is important, but you can’t neglect the other relationships you need to manage… It all comes down to people.”
In this situation, I had to understand the business we invested in, which look like spending time with competitors and getting to know this specific industry. An important question to ask as you evaluate for problems is: What makes one company better than another?
How I Solved this Relationship Problem
- We offered vendors the first three months free if they signed a longer term lease.
- We stopped offering concessions but opened up opportunities to local restaurants.
- When you force a sale — especially too early — you can kill the valuation of a business.
- Relationships are at the core.
“At its core, business is about relationships and relationships are about people.”
Previous Episodes Mentioned
Episode 1: Five Lessons I’ve Learned on my Business and Entrepreneurial Journey
