Hiring & Pricing

The 2 biggest problem areas for small business owners (1 -99 employees): Hiring & Pricing.

Most small businesses price their services too low, just to grab any revenue they can -- even if it is at a loss. You have to know what it costs to provide the service before you can price it. And selling below water doesn't help your business grow. Can you charge more? Probably. And you will lose 10%, but so what? You lose the cheap-o and gain someone giving you more money. You are in business to make a profit, right?

The other problem area is HIRING. How do you grow without human resources? You need to hire slow and fire fast. Interview at least twice and with at least two people, so you have at least 2 different perspectives. Expectations have to be managed from day 1. If you expect your new salesperson to cold-call and door knock in your service area, then make sure it is in the offer letter - and reenforced often. Track all work with CRM.

How do you get revenue without sales? How do you sell without a salesperson? How do you find salespeople? Tough one. Networking. Ads. Monster.com. Employee referrals. Steal from a competitor. Realize that you will probably churn salespeople.