As a small business owner you are probably dealing with the same predicaments most other small business owners suffer from. Do you take the most needed vacation with your family or stay home and work? For most business owners the challenge of leaving their work and their earnings is a challenge with no easy solution. Time off work equals sales lost, work accumulated, issues unresolved, accounting problems that need to be taken care of, etc. etc.
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Small business weakness: Not understanding the numbers
We likely should listen when Dave Gay talks about suburban small businesses: Less than two months into retirement from his 21-year role as head of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at College of DuPage, Lisle, Gay responded quickly when I asked where the weaknesses might be in small businesses.
Topping a shortlist: “A lack of understanding of financials and what the numbers say,” Gay begins. Too many business owners “just don’t understand their financial records,” he says.
Next, but related: Lack of a transition plan, especially among now-aging Baby Boomers hoping their businesses will fund retirement.
Small Business Owners Pick Sales Over Sun and Fun
Many small business owners who took a vacation last summer have opted to keep on working this year instead, says a survey by American Express. Those with startups find it’s hard to tear themselves away when they’re nurturing a very young company, and many owners want to capitalize on momentum. Others are working because sales are down.
Jerome Cleary was on the verge of taking a trip to Hawaii this month when he started getting emails and phone calls from potential clients. He had to choose between new business for his public relations firm and the white sands of Waikiki.
He stayed home and worked.
“Things are supposed to die down during the summer. People go out of town or go on vacation. But suddenly people wanted to get started on projects,” says Cleary, who is based in Los Angeles.
Small Companies Power Ahead with Big Gains
In an economy that is expanding slowly, many companies are finding growth hard. But smaller companies entering new niches can grow quickly. Many are part of the Russell 2000, an index of small-company stocks that has outperformed other major indexes in 2013, suggesting investors are more comfortable buying stocks of smaller, riskier firms.
You may be unfamiliar with some of the best stocks on Wall Street this year. Small, mostly unknown names are leading the surge in stock markets. Companies like Entravision Communications, a Spanish-language media company; SunPower, a maker of solar panels, and MannKind, a biopharmaceutical company, have more than tripled in value. All are part of the Russell 2000, an index of small-company stocks that has outperformed other major indexes in 2013.
