New York – August 11th, 2021
Like any type of business, small firms have a series of barriers to overcome to grow; and a series of advantages that they can make use of to do so. As a small company, our experience allows us to reflect in this article how it is like to grow in a sector traditionally governed by large companies with huge resources. Although initially it could look difficult, it is possible to face them to the point of excelling in the market.
Here are some advantages to being taken into account when starting a small business from scratch:
Flexibility
Large companies with dozens of departments and thousands of workers are slow to deal with unexpected changes. When a customer reports a failure or requires a new service, a supplier fails the delivering, or the market undergoes a modification, corporations must mobilize many people. This requires difficult and exhaustive communication that rarely achieves the right understanding.
A small team in constant communication will not take long to give an order or report what has occurred. Each member will receive instructions from the same source, and as if they were all one, they will adapt quickly. In addition, everyone will be able to contribute ideas directly to the whole team. Together, they will come up with the best solution.
Faster communication and decisions
Again, in small firms, everyone is in constant contact, so everyone will be 100% aware of what is going on. One of the big problems of large companies is excessive bureaucracy: an executive gives an order to his/her subordinates, and these, in turn, transmit it downwards in large chains. In the meanwhile, they need to resolve any doubts that each member may have. In conclusion, a long wait until each worker is aware of everything.
With a small team, a simple meeting is more than enough for everyone to understand the situation and know what role they play. When everyone is on the same page, they will all give their best and the expected result will be excellent.
Familiarity and learning
Constant communication creates bonds between employees, a sense of family. This allows them to support each other in bad times and to get through them better. Moreover, there is another positive effect related to the work. Because of their closeness, everyone learns each other’s tasks and multitasking is achieved: everyone can help in any area and carry out any job.
At the same time, new employees joining the company will need less effort to adapt to the company and learn their functions. Since their sources of knowledge will be the company as a whole, the learning process will be constant. Familiarity will also give them enough courage to contribute with new ideas and give freshness to the solutions, thus increasing the worker’s added value.
Close relationship with the client
By getting to know each customer more closely, the company knows their needs better, even the most specific ones. This way, they can provide much more individualized services. This creates a climate in which the company and the customer sail in the same boat because each customer matters more than just a number. Cooperation and mutual goals allow both parties to achieve their objectives in a unified way.
Since every customer matters, direct and comprehensive communication allows a huge degree of knowledge between both of them. The customer can take a step back and leave everything in the hands of the supplier.
However, a small business must be conscious of the risks to which it is exposed. Knowing how to overcome them will mean the difference between commercial success or failure.
Multitasking
New employees must be aware that in a small business, it is very likely that extensive skills will be needed. They will have to immerse themselves in projects that go beyond their initial capabilities. Usually, multitasking is the rule and they will have to step out of their comfort zone to face new challenges in a wide variety of scenarios.
Bad habits
The sense of familiarity can also lead to a series of negative habits. Being a close team, there can start to be word-of-mouth transmission of information without the whole team having access to it. Tasks may also be executed without following a clear and concise protocol. The entire company must be aware of every move to avoid this problem.
Habits can lead to the isolation of a department that, out of confidence or excessive repetition, act on their own without the support of the rest of the staff. Everyone must be informed about everything. In addition, the routine can lead to accommodation, meaning that in an alert situation the worker may not be quick to detect the root of the problem and seek an ingenious solution promptly.
Prejudices
Many customers are lulled into believing that a large company has more capacity to operate simply because of its size. After all, they are big for some reason, right? The small company must demonstrate that what makes a firm good is not the size of its team, but its quality. When the team is exceptional, the product is competitive and the people are focused on what really matters, things work and size becomes merely anecdotal.
Remember: David defeated Goliath. When a product is the best and offers results that certify it, success will come by itself, it is a matter of time. After all, that’s what customers are looking for. Show that no matter how small your company is, your client will be satisfied.
Lack of resources to grow
Funds to grow your business are important, but it is often difficult to find a source that allows you to achieve your goals. Every penny counts, so the company must manage the money very carefully. Investing as much as possible in improving your product and making it well-known will be the key.
How does Athena meet these challenges?
Our team is composed of professionals who have learned to carry out all the tasks that the rest of the team performs. Each individual will be able to help wherever it is needed. In addition, our processes are well broken down: each member knows step by step what to do to extract the maximum potential and communicate it with the highest efficiency. Our entire team knows what is happening, where it is happening, and what will happen next. This makes it possible to detect any problems.
To address the problem of prejudices, we simply show our customers how our software, Spark, works. We always show the clients what they can gain from it, and its great effectiveness, versatility, and adaptability. With a live demonstration they can see for themselves how much they can improve with us, as well as having important references from other satisfied customers. And, of course, far from spending our money on ambiguous things, we invest everything in improving our software day-by-day to better meet the needs of our current and future customers.
About Athena Systems
Athena Systems is the provider of Athena Spark, the leading solution for investment decision support and automation. Athena provides managers and prime brokers with complete front office and back office functionality to ensure their trading and portfolio management operations are handled as efficiently as possible.
Used by 50+ firms globally, Athena uses state-of-the-art technology to provide Portfolio Analytics, Risk, P&L, Compliance, Order Management & Accounting while providing security, control and integration beyond compare. Athena has offices in New York, Boston, Madrid, Austin, Texas, Mexico, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Málaga, Spain
For more information, please visit www.athenasystems.com, email info@athenasystems.com or call us at +1 866 655 2663.