5 Facts and Myths about Small Businesses

Starting or running a small business can be daunting. From the time and effort you put in, all the way down to the investments, being a business owner is no joke. However, that shouldn’t stop you from starting your own business or pushing it to greater heights, especially if you’re in a comfortable situation.
Here are a couple of statements about owning a small business, and the corresponding facts and myths about them.
1. You need to know what you’re doing
Myth: Being a master in whatever field or industry you want to enter in will ensure your success; knowing everything will make sure you won’t fail, and you need to know everything before you start your business.
Fact: While it’s important to have background in and have some research on the field or industry, you don’t have to be an expert at whatever it is you’re starting. Most of the time, when you’re starting a business, you learn as you go and grow. There’s no set rubric that will guide you, nor will there be a staple source of information that will help you know everything. After all, life does like to throw curve balls that take you by surprise, so it’s best to just be ready for anything and be adaptable.
2. You need a fool-proof business plan
Myth: You need to have an air-tight business plan, complete with logistical, marketing, finance, and operational plans before you start your business in order to make sure it succeeds.
Fact: As stated in the first fact, life likes to throw curve balls, so you can never be ready for anything, even with a solid business plan. You really just have to get the basics down, and continually evolve it in order to ensure the viability of every function in your business. Make sure everything is as it should be and is constantly being optimized, and you’ll eventually find a fit to your business.
3. You need to devote your life and time to it/You have all the time in the world
Myth: Having your own business means being on call and working 24/7. You need to be reachable and working all the time for your business to succeed. Inversely, having your own business means working whenever you want, meaning you have your own time.
Fact: There needs to be a balance betweenworking all the time and working whenever you feel like it. Being a small business owner, you get to determine where and when to work; however you need to have judgement on when to do this, listening to whatever your business needs. For example, there will be times when you’re going to be working 20-hour days, training people, fixing the payroll, meeting marketing partners, and so on; but there will be days when all you need to do is check your e-mails because everything else is running accordingly. You are flexible with your time as a small business owner, but you need to spend it wisely
4. You need people with a lot of experience to work for you
Myth: You need to hire seasoned experts in order to bring your business into glory. They will bring years of experience that will make sure you do everything in best practice.
Fact: While it’s important to have some experienced members in your team, the edge of start-ups and small businesses are the fresh and new ideas they bring into an industry. As such, fresh minds will definitely help you continue creating engaging and innovative ideas that will continue to push your business to the forefront. Additionally, these fresh minds are more passionate with their work, and they will help you run your business as if they were co-owners.
5. You need to have a lot of money
Myth: You need money to make money… and that money you put in will be all yours
Fact: We’ve had a couple of blog posts about relatively cheap businesses to start as well as cheap improvements you can do to optimize your business. In reality, if you’re a resourceful and innovative person, you don’t need a lot of cash to make a good business better. You just need to have a capital amount that you work around with wisely, making sure it goes to where it is needed the most and where it will reap you greater rewards. That being said, you shouldn’t expect too much cash to go into your personal pocket within the first year of operations because you will be cycling the money you earn to make your business grow.
If you’re in need to cash for your business or otherwise (like an unexpected expense that’s not part of your budget), you can look to PawnHero for some help! PawnHero is your traditional pawnshop digitized, making it easier for you to transact anytime, anywhere. To get a free and fair appraisal, all you have to do is download the PawnHero App on the Google Play Store or visit the PawnHero Website. It’s that simple! Get to it and don’t fall for the myths that stop you from achieving your best!