Most business owners know how to deal with difficult situations and unwanted outcomes. After all, to be a business owner you have to accept that others are trying to compete with you. That means many otherwise friendly business owners would love nothing more than for your business to fail and for them to take over your market share.

That’s not a vindictive or personal preference, it’s the same kind of hope we have when advocating for our own sports team - in order for us to win, often someone else has to be less successful or lose entirely.

So, this is quite frustrating when you think about it. It would be preferable for every business in our industry to accept our presence and invest resources to help us get along. But of course, that’s not how reality works. So, if the foundational idea of running a business in a tight market requires the ability to deal with frustration, learning to apply those skills to other outcomes is helpful.

Better yet? If you can avoid unnecessary frustration, you might not have to waste energy in so much resilience after all. But how can we achieve that? In this post, we’ll help you through and through:

Ensure Full Insurance Coverage

Don't skimp on coverage to save a few dllars, it could cost you big time if something goes wrong. Review your policies regularly too, as your business grows, your insurance needs will change. After all, some insurance might be optional - such as protecting your entire inventory - others might be mandatory, like public liabilities insurance. With the right business insurance, you can focus on running your business without worrying about what might go wrong.

Vet Your Staff

Many firms say they “vet their staff,” but sometimes just asking for two written references isn’t that thorough. After all, it’s pretty easy to fake these. If you’re in a sensitive industry, you need to do more than just this, but actually, thoroughly check references completely. You can look into their work history and ask about any gaps. 

If the job involves handling money or sensitive information, you might want to do a background check. During interviews, ask situational questions to see how they'd handle real-world problems to get an idea of how they think - this can help you avoid those lying about past experiences. Check social media activity, and call past employers. Better this than bringing the wrong person into a team and every difficulty that can cause.

Consult On Regulations & Updated Parameters

Business regulations can depend on many things, perhaps long-held tradition, good sense, or just the expansion of a blossoming industry. You can bet that cybersecurity standards and mandatory practices are likely to evolve and keep evolving, as we’ve seen with Biden’s cybersecurity executive act that added stringent new requirements to any business contracting with the government.

Keeping up with rules and regulations can be a true headache, sure, but it's crucial for your business. Laws and industry standards change all the time, and you need to stay on top of them. It's worth finding a good consultant or lawyer who specializes in your field. They can keep you updated on any changes that might affect your business. Don't wait for problems to crop up, be proactive.

Continually Review Your Market

One of the main frustrations of a market is that it will change over time. After all you’ve invested to dominate a corner of it, this can seem a little annoying, but ultimately constant motion and development will define you as a better business. 

Of course, this doesn't mean obsessing over every little shift, but you should keep an eye on the big picture. Watch what your competitors are doing, but don't copy them blindly. Look for trends in what customers are buying and how they're shopping. Are there new technologies that could change your industry, for example, and what could that say about your audience? 

Don't forget to listen to your own customers too, luckily most of them talk. They can tell you a lot about what's working and what's not, especially with regards to how they focus on your announcements and how they react to innovations you’re making.

Putting it simply - you don’t want the market to get ahead of you. This is why even larger firms will invest in focus groups and constant market research to make sure they’re headed along the right route. Consider this the cartography of your business operational and decision-making.

With this advice, we hope you can avoid most of the obvious business frustrations out there, even if some of them we can never solve.