If you are a small business owner, it is likely that the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it a host of challenges for your enterprise. Whether you had to cope with increased employee sickness and juggling tasks around your team or the need to make remote working a reality, the last few years have been tough. While society adapts to the new normal and hybrid models of working become commonplace in the world of small businesses, there are also pressing challenges that have become more prevalent moving through 2022. Three of these challenges are discussed in this article, with examples of how to overcome them.
The need to operate sustainably
In an age that is characterised by increasing awareness of the effects of climate change and environmental pollution, small businesses need to be seen to operate within a sustainable framework. Young people, especially the millennial generation, are increasingly choosing companies that are environmentally friendly and promote sustainable business practices. All businesses can recycle effectively without it being at too much of a financial cost for you. For example, the cardboard your business uses can be easily compressed using a cardboard recycling baler before being sent to recycling facilities, making it a cheaper way to get rid of waste.
Even old computer equipment can be effectively recycled, with a massive 98% of the components of a computer being fully recyclable. Small businesses can promote their environmental credentials to the public on their website and in promotional materials to ensure that they are viewed favourably by their increasingly environmentally aware consumers.
The move towards eCommerce
Small businesses with brick-and-mortar premises during the pandemic felt severe challenges. Lockdowns that restricted the movement of the public at large were witnessed in almost every country across the globe and had significant effects on smaller retailers who were based in physical premises. As a result of this and the general decline in high street shopping, there is an increasing need for small businesses to have a greater online presence. For some, this has meant the abandonment of business premises and the move to a completely online platform of trading. The world of eCommerce has its own challenges, most noticeably building a strong customer base and brand loyalty in a sea of other online competitors. Some key strategies to boosting the online presence of small businesses is to ensure that your website is search engine optimized and can be picked up effectively by Google and other internet providers that crawl webpages. Hiring an SEO specialist is now a priority for a lot of small businesses, in addition to ensuring that the company has a strong presence on social media channels.
Managing the work-life balance
As small businesses adopt a more prominent online presence and both employer and employee are likely to be working remotely for at least some parts of the working week, the need to harmonize a healthy WLB is greater than ever. It can be all too easy to get caught up in computer-based tasks when working from home, only to find that it is evening time and there is little opportunity to relax before the start of the next day. Both small business owners and employees of small businesses should recognize the need for “down-time” and keep working lives and home relaxation time separate and distinct wherever possible.
