ACADEMIC YEAR :

2022 - 2023

RESEARCH WORK:

THE CHALLENGES OF STARTING A SMALL

COMPANY

TEAM MEMBERS :
 ADOM JULIEN TEACHER’S NAME :
 BOUTCHUE PAUL
Mrs KOUADJO
 KOFFI GRACE
 NIOULE AXELLE
 SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION
I-A SMALL COMPANY
1-Definition
2-How to start a small company
II-THE CHALLENGES OF STARTING A SMALL COMPANY
1- Insufficient Capital or Cash Flow
2- The Right Business Location
3- Trouble Finding Good Employees
4- Find your marketing strategy
5- Face the competition
6- Difficulties Balancing Growth and Quality
III-PROPOSAL OF SOLUTIONS
1- Stick to Your Business Plan
2- Find ways to Prevent Burnout
3- Invest in social media
CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION

Starting a business is a significant achievement for many entrepreneurs, but maintaining one is
the larger challenge. There are many common challenges every business faces, whether they are
large or small. These include hiring the right people, building a brand, developing a customer base,
and so on. However, some are strictly small business problems, ones most large companies grew
out of long ago. Throughout our work we will talk firstly about the definition of a small company,
the real challenges of starting a small company and we will finish with some proposal of solutions.
 I- A SMALL COMPANY

1- Definition
A small company is a company whose size, defined from the number of employees, balance
sheet or turnover, and does not exceed certain limits.

2- How to start a small company

- Plan with efficiency: Every effort you put into planning will multiply your success in the
execution phase. For a new business, it all depends on the business plan. Successful business
owners write down specific goals. These individuals devote considerable effort to key tasks such
as researching target markets, developing marketing strategies and compiling cash flow
forecasts. They also develop beneficial connections within the industry.

- Define an effective value proposition: It may sound complicated, but it's all about making
sure that your product or service attracts more customers than your competition. Successful
business owners know that no matter how good their offerings, only those with a clear
comparative advantage will attract customers.

- Surround yourself with the right people: Even if the person excels in a particular area,
entrepreneurs rarely become experts in all areas (sales, accounting, operations, legal, etc.).
Talented business owners know how to surround themselves with high-performing teams to
achieve the desired results.

- Plan the financing: This critical step is often part of a good plan. Funding is essential oxygen to
the survival of a business; if it runs out, it is likely to die, even though it has great potential.
Successful business owners plan ahead to ensure they can secure the necessary financing.
Potential investors, partners and lenders are better able to support businesses if they have a
detailed plan from the start.

- Find sources of help: Federal, provincial and municipal governments and agencies offer a
range of resources to help business owners start their new business. Moreover, more and more
incubators and accelerators are focusing on start-ups. These organizations are ideal for business
owners who wish to develop their business network and work in a collaborative space. You
should also check with your chamber of commerce, economic development center or business
association. Many of them have mentorship programs that pair new business leaders with
experienced business leaders.

- Think long term: When entrepreneurs start a business, their efforts naturally focus on the first
few weeks or months. However, in many industries, supply cycles can be much longer. For
example, someone who develops new software in the first year will then have to spend
considerable time marketing it. By “thinking long term,” business owners can ensure they have
sufficient resources to put their business on solid footing.

II- THE CHALLENGES OF STARTING A SMALL COMPANY

1- Insufficient Capital or Cash Flow

Nothing can hold a business back like money troubles. This is even truer for small businesses.
While larger companies have enough cash to meet payrolls and keep the lights on, smaller
companies are often in a less stable situation. Online businesses often fail to reap the benefit of
full-fledged advertising and gain the most brand exposure. Additionally, small businesses lack
the proper training in profitable practices compared to larger businesses. "Startup costs often
exceed budget, that's the hardest fact for them to accept. This often results in layoffs, price
hikes, and overall benefits crises for employees and their business owners. On the contrary,
events such as late customer payments, rising overhead, and unpaid customer bills often cause
them to "jump from the frying pan into the fire." There are many stories of small business
owners giving up their own wages to pay their employees and suppliers. And, sadly, there are
many more stories of small businesses failing because they ran out of funds.
As an entrepreneur, it helps to have a team behind you who knows your vision and is able to
provide investors with additional information and a good feeling so they can put money into
your business. You have to try to convince investors of something that doesn't exist which is
certainly a challenge, especially in this time of economic recession, trying to make them
understand that you are trustworthy and up to the task especially when you're starting your
first business and need to prove to the world that you're up to it. There is more to raising capital
than just asking for money. Most investors want to invest in established businesses with
minimal risk and they want to be sure of getting returns for the risk they have taken. Most
brilliant business ideas never make it to venture capital because the entrepreneur isn't prepared
or doesn't have what it takes to raise the necessary capital. As Robert Kiyosaki says:
"The world is full of brilliant ideas and great products, but the world is short of seasoned
entrepreneurs."

2- The Right Business Location

Unless you are starting an online business only, you need to be wary about selecting your
business location. You cannot just start a store in any random location and expect the business
to boom. For example, imagine opening a store on a barren island. It will fail. Similarly, it would
be best to look for a location with an increasing population, a good road network, and available
at the right place. As a result, your chances of generating more traffic in your store significantly
increases.

3- Trouble Finding Good Employees

In many instances, your small business’ benefits package won’t be able to compete with what
large companies offer. Additionally, while large businesses can hire people for one specific task,
you may need employees who can handle multiple tasks. You’re also likely to need people who
have the personality necessary to succeed in a small business environment, where change is
common. All of these factors can make finding the right employees challenging.

4- Find your marketing strategy

The market today is very competitive, both online and offline. Moreover, with each passing day,
competitiveness will only increase. Therefore, having an excellent product and service will not
be enough. You will need to devise an effective marketing strategy to maximize your return on
investment. However, marketing in general can cause a number of problems for small
businesses. Advertising is expensive and word of mouth is slow. The internet offers the
opportunity to find customers without breaking the bank, but many small businesses don't do
enough with their online presence. Large corporations have entire departments devoted to
online activities, but small businesses often struggle to keep up with all the ways the internet
can help and hurt business.

5- Face the competition

Competition is the next challenge you will face when starting a business. Without competition
there will be no innovation and without innovation your business will become stagnant.
Competition keeps us on our toes and pushes us to constantly improve our products and
services. However, competition can cause your business to lose relevance in the eyes of your
customers, so you should always be on your toes and on top of your game.

6- Difficulties Balancing Growth and Quality

Although you have started your own business and run it for a while, there will come a time
when you need to make changes. A business can only grow with the same proven strategy.
Unless one is okay with the current state of their business, they will have to constantly seek the
growth of their business. And business growth is never easily achievable. Therefore, you will
need to make changes to your current structure and develop new strategies. Also, you may
need to expand the size of the team you are currently working with. However for small
businesses, growth often comes with growing pains. In many cases, you have to choose
between working long hours and asking your staff to do the same or finding ways to take
shortcuts. Neither is a great solution, which means that ultimately you'll have to find a way to
grow your business without hurting your business.

III - PROPOSAL OF SOLUTION (HOW TO FACE ALL THE

CHALLENGES AND REACH GOALS)

1- Stick to your Business Plan:

First of all, a startup business plan is a fundamental written document any business should have.
It is where all your ideas and strategies can be found. It defines in detail a company's core
business activities, objectives, and how it plans to achieve its goals. A well-constructed business
plan can be crucial to the success of any startup and old businesses. We also have to keep in
mind that business plans evolve. Sometimes a new plan arises to replace the old one and set
you on a greater path to success.
Benefits of an efficient plan?
More than 90% of companies use project management practices to successfully meet their
objectives.
a. Defined objectives
For things to go well, it is essential to have clear objectives. Thanks to the work plan you will be
able to list your goals and guarantee their execution in a certain time. If you don’t have one, the
goals may not be clear and resolved wrongly or directly.

b. Organized work teams

The objective of making a work plan is to establish the tasks and activities to be carried out to
carry out a project. This results in the organization of departments and work teams that will
help create an effective participatory and collaborative process. Thus, thanks to the assigned
tasks, a sense of individual responsibility will be created focused on a specific objective.

c. Identifying problems in time

One of the main reasons why work plans are necessary resources is that they make it possible to
identify failures or problems as soon as possible and thus address them as soon as possible,
immediately and efficiently.

d. Know your limits

It is no use playing blind to our own weaknesses, because in the end they take their toll. It is
much better to name these limitations, think about how you can overcome the obstacles they
involve and how best to move forward.

e. Get results
Achieving results is the goal of every business. That’s why a work plan needs to be carefully
thought out to meet your goal. If everything is well organized and stipulated, there will be no
surprises and the objectives will be achieved within the corresponding deadlines.

2- Find ways to Prevent Burnout

According to the Entrepreneurial Operating System blog, Business burnout is the feeling of
exhaustion and lack of interest in daily work, resulting in poor performance. It's caused by an
extended time of feeling heavy stress and constant pressure to live up to a certain standard.
Having a burnout will prevent you from working efficiently. It is a challenge to maintain our
well-being otherwise we wouldn’t be able to face any challenges. A burnout comes with a sense
of failure, helplessness, loss of motivation, and decreased satisfaction

The first step to prevent burnout is time management.

Time management is the initial step towards preventing burnout.
If you want to manage a demanding workload without becoming overly stressed, effective time
management is crucial. When you have too much work to complete, time management gives
you direction and reduces long-term stress. It puts you in control of where you are going and
helps you increase your productivity.

The second step is setting boundaries.

Reduce the amount of time you spend online by limiting Wi-Fi access, for example. Work-life
balance is impacted by spending a lot of time online, on social media, surfing news, or watching
videos on YouTube. Not having unlimited access to the internet will ensure a more balanced life.
Keeping a clear separation of work and non-business-related activities is crucial.

The last step is practicing Self-care

Taking the time for the things you love. You have to engage in relaxing activities and hobbies.
Getting enough sleep, alimentation and physical activity are also part of this process. Practicing
self-care can also involve setting aside time for self-reflection and personal growth, as well as
finding ways to de-stress.

3- Invest in social media

The main reason why a startup company should invest in social media is the easy interaction
with customers. Getting feedback may help you find solutions for your problem. It is a way of
getting support from your customer and also get to know their demand.
 CONCLUSION
In conclusion we have to say that to start a small company you should have enough confidence
to go forward, which following the different step such as:
Plan with efficiency
Define an effective value proposition
Surround yourself with the right people
Plan the financing
Find sources of help
Think long term
You will encounter problems of capital, investment or scarce resources but the most important
thing to do is to stick to your business plan and all it include.
 WEBOGRAPHY

https://www.bdc.ca/fr/articles-outils/demarrer-acheter-
entreprise/demarrer-entreprise/7-cles-demarrer-petite-
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https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/business/resource/top-
five-challenges-small-business-owners-face
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/12/small-business-
challenges.asp
https://www.opengrowth.com/resources/challenges-of-
starting-your-own-business1