Internal and External Challenges After Having Established a Start Up Business…

Internal and External Challenges After Having Established a Start Up Business…

It is a great feeling to be a small business owner starting out on a great journey with endless opportunities. Every small business owner has dreams and hopes for success, as should be the case.

However, as the business begins to flourish, it will outgrow its organic structure, and this is where challenges begin to surface for many new start up enterprises. The objective of every business is to remain competitive in the face of changing trends, and new businesses must have the ability to grasp new opportunities while hedging risks and threats. Along with growth comes the need for evaluation of INTERNAL FACTORS that influence the very nature of success. So, why should small business owners be cognizant of internal factors that affect the business organization, and what are they?
Some critical internal factors affecting a business organization are:
• Structure
• Culture
• Resources (both financial and human)
• Values, mission, and vision
At the inception of a new small business, the structure is relaxed and tasks are easier to manage. Shared values, customs, and assumptions (which form the culture) are also simple because of the small number of employees. Initially, financial resources may be sufficient to kick start the business and human resources may have a sufficient knowledge base to keep up with the competition. Shared values, mission, and vision are in alignment with the simple structure of the new business. As the business grows, so do other demands. Internal factors are only a part of the equation that are critical in growth and development of a small business enterprise.

Another source of challenges arise from EXTERNAL FACTORS such as changing economic conditions, political and legal environments, technology, competition, and trends. Unfortunately, these external forces are beyond the control of business organizations. Therefore, organizations, whether large or small, should not undermine the importance of their capacity to recognize where and how changes will need to be made in the future to maintain business sustainability and a healthy lifecycle. Organizational strategy of all businesses must include change initiatives that can be helpful in making the organization more adaptable or transformational in the face of the ever-changing business environment.