So you want to start a business, but first would like to know the challenges and risks you will face along the way – that’s great! You’ve taken the wise road, and for that, we salute you. To help you, here are some of the obstacles you will face in starting a business and some workarounds or solutions to these problems.

Obstacle 1 – The Business Idea

It takes a lot of research (or experience) to know whether a business idea will work out or not. It will also take a lot of market idea to know if a business idea is good to go. For example, opening a restaurant may be good for one person or location, but not for others. A business idea therefore needs to be personalized to you, the entrepreneur to take advantage of your interests, abilities, passion, education, connections, and access to funds or unsecured business loans when necessary.

Many start-ups risk too much and try to go too big, some do succeed, but most fail.  Opening multiple business may not be a good idea right now, so start small as much as possible. Some small wins are needed to be won before going for the big league.

Obstacle 2 – Financial Access Concern

Most entrepreneur has faced lack of capital at some point. While some businesses can be started without a cash injection, most will need some capital to help it get the resources it requires. This obstacle is especially hard for aspirants who have a bad credit score, that’s why alternative unsecured business loans are gaining popularity these days.

You can also consider crowd funding or get donations via fundraisers and grants. As they say, if there’s a will, there’s a way.

Obstacle 3 – Inability to Market the Business Effectively

Many start-ups also face not having an idea how to effectively promote or market their business. Oftentimes, people’s idea of a marketing strategy is simply to post about their business on social media channels such as Facebook or hand out collaterals and business cards.

You need to have a good marketing plan that suits your unique business offering, one that speaks to your target customer effectively.

Obstacle 4 –Weak Business Planning

You’ll be surprised that not all starting business has a well-executed plan. The true value of business planning is to clearly assess the obstacles and risks and plan around them before they even happen, rather than getting blindsided when the business has already started.

Therefore, business planning is a way to evaluate the business in a comprehensive way. It also assists you in aligning the vision for your company’s product or service, giving you increased leads and profit potential.

Obstacle 5 – Legal Concerns

Start-up entrepreneurs also struggle with understanding three key legal issues: how they should structure the business for incorporation; the permits and licenses necessary by their city, state or country; and the level of protection for the new business in terms of copyrights, patents and trademarks.

The good thing is you can simply read this up even online or have a talk with an attorney. They can point you in the right direction for your businesses’ legal concerns.