In this article we will continue discussing the remaining mistakes that most small business make.

Not Getting Paid Fast Enough- That’s right, the old cash flow issue. As long as you are actually making enough money to pay the bills, this problem can be solved, prevented or at least made to be not as bad as it could be. Here’s the deal:

First off all, bill customers very promptly. it is not uncommon for small business to not have the proper systems in place to insure that their accounts receivable are sent out on time (more about this in the next segment). I know, this wouldn't seem to be the way it is, since that's why we do the work in the first place - to get paid. But, it's not uncommon for the staff responsible for sending invoices to be too busy or unorganized, which prevents this from happening in a timely manner.

The other factor to stopping an ongoing cash flow problem is to set-up the quickest paying deals with customers and the slowest paying deals with vendors. If you can set it up to not pay your employees more than twice a month, do it. Contractors always have an issue with this. But, if you have no choice but to pay weekly, then let them know when they're hired that their first week's check will be held back, basically giving you an extra week. Trust me, it will help.

Part three involves credit. A credit card for your business will be helpful. This allows for certain important things to be bought (that you can afford) that might come up during a cash flow crunch. Even better is a business line of credit, which will help, especially if you have customers with long payment periods. This is a must if you plan on selling to the government or doing commercial service work. These types of entities typically have 60-90 day payment periods.

Not Implenting the Proper Procedures and Systems - Having too many procedures or red tape is the reason why some individuals start their own businesses to begin with. Unfortunately, having no procedures and systems in place at all is not an alternative. It is important for business owners to find a happy medium or chaos could set in. A few areas where systems and produres are necessary include billing, collections, payroll and human resourses (hiring, firing, benefits, etc).

Even a one person show needs to have some admin procedures in place. This will make it easier to hire temps and subcontractors and control what they are doing for you. Without at least a watered down version of a system or procedure to do everyday work, you will be to blame for causing many major headaches as your company grows. I can’t emphasize how important this is for when you bring on new employees. I’m sure you heard this before, but I am also a big proponent of having an employee handbook even for one employee. It’s amazing the trouble people can cause business owners just because they allow you to pay them.

Spreading Yourself Too Thin - It seems that every business owner makes this mistake. The key is to figure out when you are at that "wearing too many hats" point and start getting some help. The thing to do is know what your strengths are and realize when you're not making the most of your skills. If you are the best sales person on the company, you can’t get caught up in day-to-day operations. If you were to do that your sales would decrease and at some point you will not need to worry about everyday operations, because you won't have them. Think about this to help you figure out if you are spread too thin: Did you really go into business for yourself to work 80+ hours a week?

Not Hiring Help Soon Enough - Make sure to set goals s to when you need to hire people to assume certain tasks. Waiting too long to hiring help can hurt a business. Most people who start a business do it because they are good at the technical end or the sales end. If you know the best way to make a widget, then your strength is in production and that is where your time should be spent. Until you can hire employees to do certain things such as marketing, etc. you can outsource them. You should not try to be something in your business that you are not. Doing so will only hurt you.

You should look for these types of problems in your business periodically, but usually at the end of each season, for example, is a great business interval to check and make sure these mistakes aren't being made. You need to make sure you allow the time to fix any of these issues. If you don't know how to resolve a particular problem then you should get some help.