The likes of Tesco
Over regulation and mandates by the government. Small business run with a very slim margin of profit. Adding in expenses of providing medical coverage, family leave, and the increasing minimum wage puts quite a strain on their operating expenses. Not easy for a company with a small staff to keep a job open for 6 weeks and still try to function.Competition is the secondLack of skilled employee pool
Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, Peter Mandelson.Actually you could make a pretty big list 1. Government (increased corporation tax on small businesses, increased employers national insurance rates). 2 Local government (high business tax rates). 3 Large companies (like if you re a newsagent or sandwich shop owner and Tesco Express opens a branch nearby). 4. Lack of available finance through banks not lending. 5. Economic climate - recession, reduced sales. etc etc
What we see as one of those small businesses at Viper Mailer is that marketing making customers return more often is important. Keeping the customers you have happy and aware of you at all times is important. For the money (and yes we are self promoting here) try to keep in touch with customers about 1 time a month perhaps more often during say seasonal opportunities because keeping the customers you have is less expensive then finding new ones.See if email-marketing is good for your business, it usually is at http://www.emailmarketingauthority.com it offers 6 steps to beginning email marketing as one of your marketing angles. Nothing for sale just 5 mintues of good reading and sharing.
Customers who do not pay on time, or at all.Carrying stock that is not turning over, therefore money tied up and not making you a profit.Time wasters.Having to spend time on book keeping, especially if you are someone like a gardener or plumber.
Taxes. A key aim for any small busness is to break even.
TaxesRegulatory compliance
Walmart