The 3 Things That Can Break Your Momentum

The dream of every entrepreneur is to finally get their business to find real success in its activities. For some, it can take a few months, for others it’s a matter of years of build-ups and hard work to hit the ground running. But there is no feeling that can match the sense of satisfaction and somehow pride when your company has developed a stable, growing pace. Ultimately, when things are eventually moving, your main priority as an entrepreneur is to deploy the right strategies to maintain and preserve the momentum.

In this purpose, customer understanding becomes your primary objective. Of course, you’ve been able to reach out to a target audience to get there in the first place. But now, you need to engage in a conversation with your customers to make sure that you can gather productive feedback for continual improvements and that your offering works for your audience. Customers are only one pillar of the growth strategy. Your team and its performance and motivation are the second and equally essential pillar. You need to maintain the equilibrium between your target and your assets to preserve your momentum. Ultimately, for a lot of entrepreneurs, success lies in treating your audience and your employees with the same tactical respect. But there are, nevertheless, elements that can drive you off track and break your momentum.

What causes your momentum to fail?

#1. Unexpected downtime

There is no business without an IT system, on which you rely for your financial, administrative, customer service and operational processes. Turning up in the morning to find your computer disabled by a surprise update, and waiting for an undetermined length of time until you can go back to work again can cause downtime along the production line. That’s precisely why you need to implement a planned maintenance system to avoid unnecessary delays and update bugs during your working hours. Keeping updates at times that suits your business ensures that you can maintain your productivity during the day.

#2. Unforgivable social media mistakes

Social media platforms are not for self-promotion anymore. Consequently, while you want to be visible where your audience is, you shouldn’t extend your presence beyond 3 to 4 relevant platforms. Additionally, most customers turn to social media to ask questions or complain. It’s a common practice for SMEs to ignore negative feedbacks, which can have a devastating impact on your reputation. Indeed, your audience wants to know you take them seriously. As negative comments are made public, the lack of response is a dead giveaway that you don’t care about customer satisfaction.

#3. Unpaid overtime

In July 2013, Miwa Sado died of exhaustion caused by overwork in Japan. Ultimately, your employees might not work themselves to death, but overtime is common and accepted practice in most companies. In fact, most job descriptions will insist on hard-working employees. In other words, overtime is part of a business culture. Over time, you will find that the productivity and the quality of work decrease, as well as your team’s motivation.

Protect your momentum by ensuring that your team has the right tech to work at the time they need it. You also need to implement non-overtime policies and to accept that a productive team is a team who maintain a healthy work/life balance. Finally, show your best side on social media, where customers can judge you.