Small Business Performance & Challenges

This assignment delves into the critical factors that impact the performance of small businesses. It examines the role of entrepreneurial orientation in driving success and explores the various challenges faced by these enterprises. The analysis draws upon academic research and real-world examples to shed light on the complex interplay between internal business practices and external environmental factors affecting small business growth and sustainability.

Small Business Enterprise

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.......................................................................................................................................3
1.1..........................................................................................................................................3
1.2..........................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2 ......................................................................................................................................4
2.1..........................................................................................................................................4
2.2..........................................................................................................................................5
2.3..........................................................................................................................................6
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................7
3.1..........................................................................................................................................7
3.2..........................................................................................................................................8
3.3..........................................................................................................................................9
TASK 4.....................................................................................................................................10
4.1........................................................................................................................................10
4.2........................................................................................................................................11
4.3........................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Small business enterprises are having a small investment of amount and they cannot
generate more revenues due to not having a high volume of sales. The small business is
privately owned and operated by small number of employees. These enterprises are operated
by owners in the form of sole proprietorship, partnership or corporations. The term 'small
business enterprises' is different from by country, industry in which not more than 50
employees were there. Small businesses are very common in many countries which depend
on the economic system of the country (Ackermann, 2012). The present report is based on
Dragon's Den which is a British television series that is hosted by the Evan Davis. Swing
Patrol UK Ltd provides the classes of dance and organise swing events for people.
Furthermore, the assignment considered the structure of Swing Patrol and the strength and
weaknesses are explained.
TASK 1
1.1
Swing Patrol has a community of 1000 dancers and passionate team of teachers with
four amazing troupes and small team of staff and volunteers. The troupes is divided into four
parts so that people can enjoy different styles of dance and these are Brat pack in this dance
style is lindy hop or Charleston, in this approximately member are 16 couples. Second is
Fred in this dance style is well, lindy hop or Charleston, approximately 10 couples can do
dance at a point of time. Third is the Down And Outs in this the dance style is blues and
approximately 6 couples can enjoy this dance style at a point of time. The last one is The
Dixie Dinahs in this the dance style is Solo Charleston and twenty ladies can dance (Aremu
and Adeyemi, 2011).
Strength of this company is that it provide the different styles of dance form to people
thus, customers can be easily attracted towards this enterprise. They provide an effective and
healthy environment so that people can easily dance. In a day 1000 people are dancing
toghter and they all are supervising with each other The business has achieved several

milestones in the last two years and it has broken the Guinness world record from the largest
Charleston dance. This organisation have capacity to to teach a dance up to people of 1000
per day. All are also cooperating with each other. As there are so many competitors of this
company so the managers are cooperating with each other to maintain the strong position in
market. On the other side, major weakness of this company is that this organisation is not
providing dance classes in outside the country. So, its brand image is not good in all over the
world (Blackburn, Hart and Wainwright, 2013). The team members are not guiding the
proper dance steps to people. All dance experts are not coordinating with each other as well
as the management style is also bad. One of the weakness is also that they are not providing
the online class to dancers. So they are facing the problems.
1.2
Performance of Swing Patrol can be measured in terms of market factors as there is
high competition in the UK market. Company has to improve their overall performance in
order to hit the targets on time. On the basis of employee’s work, the managers can take
feedback form them to improve their quality of services which are being provided to
customers. All the departments of this company have to work in coordination to improve
their financial position so that they can easily meet their expenses. The cited company run
two successful flagship festivals in London i.e. Swing festival and Blues Baby Blues. The
large multiple events are also getting successful which provide the variety of sponsorship
opportunities. The marketing areas of this company in Dragon den series is not better because
this department is not doing their job properly. They use low quality of service to convey the
message of company. The organisation can use different techniques of proper channel of
communication so that people can easily understand organisation’s work
(Bridge and O'Neill, 2012). Through this, the image of Swing Patrol can improve their brand
position in market to beat other small companies. Human resource department uses new
technologies to give proper training to dancers. They hire experts to provide training to staff
so that it can be easy for them to supervise the employees. The managers of this organisation
provide training and development programme to employees whenever they need the same.
Hence, it also increases the knowledge of staff and volunteers to do work in an effective
manner. Dragon Den is a companion series that provide the main programme to their
customers. The competitor of this company Deborah Meaden who is also providing an so

many dance facilities to customers. This company is trying to target the customers of their
competitors in order to retain in market for a long period of time.
TASK 2
2.1
Small business enterprises use different tools and techniques which assists in doing
effective management so that it will help the firm to attain objectives on time. There are many
tools and techniques which can be used by Swing patrol to overcome their weaknesses (Çakar
and Ertürk, 2010). In cited company, the finance position of this organisation is weak and in
this market, there are less competitors of this business entity. The firm can use different
methods to overcome their weaknesses. Company can use the concept of training and
development programmes to staff so they can learn more steps in dance along with new dance
style forms. The team members can provide identical services to people which are related
with other competitors so that they can attract large number of customers. If identical services
are provided then it can beat the competitors in market. Through this it can increase the
number of people then it can generate more revenues to meet out its expenses (CGA, 2010).
Team members have to use strong marketing strategies which help in attaining the goals and
objectives of company. If the marketing strategy is properly used then it can open its
branches in other countries also. Swing Patrol can also use the new innovative technologies
to increase their number of customers and can provide the online dancing class to people.
Another method is bench marking, if at any point of time any person lags behind from any
step then expertise should guide them properly. They should guide the proper dance steps so
that they can learn easily and can get prepared to do it again. In the dance hall, team members
should exactly know that how much they have to prepared the dance step for the people in a
day. If it is clear then it will be easy for them to guide the dancing people properly.
By using different methods, Swing Patrol can find out their problems and through
this, it will be easy for them to find out those methods which will help them to attain the
success. These techniques and methods help the organisation to overcome with their
weaknesses (Curran and Storey, 2016). Team members have to provide proper facilities to
people to do proper dance. The managers has to use proper tools and techniques so that they
can provide online classes also. Through this the more customer will attract and it will also

maximise the profits of company. Proper training should be given to employees so that they
can maintain strong relationship with them.
2.2
There are so many small business enterprises who are performing their business
operation through out the world. It is important for every organisation to maintain its
strengthen position in the market. There are some following ways in which Swing Patrol can
maintain the strong position in the market:
 Keep on line communication with the customers – It is beneficial for the
organisation to keep continue communication with the people so that they can more
strong position in the market. The most effective communication in incorporate shows
that people are updating with the company information.
 Customer opinion should be ask – The owners of small business enterprises not
only gain much insight from the trusted clients but they also establish the values and
respect of people (Dauda and Akingbade, 2010). The organisation can get the opinion
of customers through mails, personal phone calls etc.
 Should know the stages of customer royalty – The marketers and business
executives can work together to provide the proper dance training to people and to
build the strong relationship between them.
 Performance record – The managers of Swing Patrol have to monitor the
performance of staff and volunteers time to time so that the organisation can improve
their quality of service. The performance record should be analyse on monthly,
weekly basis.
 Provide the customer support – For making the strong position in the market it is
also necessary to support the customers as it help to build the strong relationship. The
cited company can provide the customer support through Facebook, newsletter and all
encompassing social media through which customers can get the support.
The market penetration also includes some different activities which aid in increasing
the market share of the products and services which are provided by the company. The
performance review of the people should also be written to meet out with the objectives. As
performance review include the goal setting because it is essential force (Davies and Crane,

2010). The goals which are set within the performance review are based on some actions
which are taken by the company.
2.3
The staff and team members of Swing patrol have to captured those opportunities in
which the organisation can expand their business. It is important for the organisation to
expand their business in different sectors because there are so many customers who supports
them. In global competitive market there are so many opportunities which can be considered
by the managers in oder to make more strong position in market. For large and small business
enterprises it is significant to expand there business in different areas to attain the more
profits and to make more strong position in the market. The new opportunities which are
available in the market give benefit to existing business enterprises. There are some new
following opportunities in which existing can get the benefits from them:
 Re-Branding – When the products and services are rebranded in the market then it
become appealing for new customers. It also creates market penetration by
introducing the new rebrand product and services to customers. This add the value of
organisation in terms of customer retention, brand image of the firm and the customer
confidence (El-Gohary, 2010).
 Research techniques – Research techniques and development plays a crucial role in
competitive market. Hence, it also creates the new opportunities for Swing Patrol. The
research can be done on the bases of qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative
technique deals with the opinion, perception, view of people with in the organisation
as well as from outside the organisation. On the contrary, quantitate technique deals in
to evaluate the issues and problems in terms of percentage, assessing the actual
performance with the last year performance.
 Market development – The new opportunity for Swing Patrol is that there is a
continuous increasing in the market development. So it that process that marketing
department have to take new methods through market development to target the new
customers, culture, locations and perception about the people.
 Identification of new area for expansion – Swing Patrol have to identify those new
areas in which it can easily attract the customers (Fairoz, Hirobumi and Tanaka,

2010). It is the responsibility of team members to expand their business activities to
outside the area.
 Collaboration – There are many more companies in different sectors so it gives an
opportunity to Swing patrol to expand the business in other areas. Through this it also
increase the brand awareness of company among the different places.
In Dragon Den series there are many small business who can expand there business in
different areas. While expanding the business it also make the strong brand image of the
company to beat their competitors.
TASK 3
3.1
For any business successful, it is quite crucial to clear the objectives and goals of the
business. If the staff and employees are not clear about the objectives then the result can be in
divergence of the approach to gain the best possible outcomes. The team members of Swing
Patrol have to do their work in beat and qualitative work to avoid the poor performance of the
people. The existing business objective of the cited company is that to provide the proper
training to people who are interested to do different style dance. As this organisation provides
the different style of dance to attract the large number customers. It also organise the some
events and programmes for the other company. The team members have to take proper
actions according to the needs of customers (Fassin, Van Rossem and Buelens, 2011). The
online service should also be provided to customers so that they can learn the different
various form of dance style from their homes only. The managers has to monitor the business
plan on regular basis so that they can make appropriate strategies to accomplish the goals of
company. The plan should be made in considered to the needs of employees and customers
so it will be easy for them to satisfy the requirements of customers.
The company can use SMART objective strategy to achieve them on time period.
This strategy also help to set proper targets that which have to be achieve earlier and which
have to be achieve later on. The company should ensure that their goals are clear and
reachable and each of them should include the SMART objectives.
S stands for Specific which means that the goals should be simple, sensible and give
benefit to the organisation. M stands for Measurable it means the goals of the company

should motivate the staff and team members to supervise the people properly. A stands for
Achievable in means that the goals should be attainable and it should be agreed by every staff
of the organisation that this objective can be achieved by them with in the time period only. R
stands for Relevant it means that the information which are collected by the managers these
information should be relevant. The results after using these information should be realistic
and reasonable so that Swing Patrol can increase their profits and revenues. T stands for Time
bond in this very goal needs a targeted time period so that the organisation should also focus
on the deadlines to achieve the targets on time (Islam and et. al., 2011).
3.2
For large and small business enterprises the business plan is important for the growth
of the organisation and to survive them in the competitive market. Swing Patrol is making the
business plan to implement the strategies to get the success in the market. The company
should use those strategies which are suggested by the customers to change their business
plans. In modern times, the people are having different choices and these are changing from
time to time so it is responsibility of managers to provide those dance style or organise those
events which can attract the customers. The business entity should make a flexible plan so it
can be change any time when the needs of people are changing. The team members of
dancing should also conduct a survey to identify the preferences of the people. By conducting
the proper market analyse then through this only Swing Patrol can attract the large number of
customers. The managers have to ensures that all the activities of the organisation should run
in consistently with the mission, vision, aims and objectives (Malhotra and Temponi, 2010).
In reviewing the plan, the volunteers and staff have to collect the information from different
sources to attain the targets. The members have to continue review the business plan that is
there any changes required to be done with external and internal environment. If any changes
are required then appropriate actions can be taken on time and can implement the proper
strategies to hit the targets of the company.
Whenever any changes are done in business plan of Swing Patrol then it also provide
the level of satisfaction to people who are coming there to learn the different forms of dance
styles. The sometimes the business plans should be made according to the \needs and wants
of customers so that they can enjoy the entertainment programmes which are provided to

them. It helps the organisation to increase the number of customers and to maximize their
profits (Muller, 2012).
3.3
The team members of the cited company have to implement the proper action plan to
get the success in competitive market. The aims and objectives are the first stage for every
organisation to set them clearly to implement the proper action plan. There are some
following steps which have to be followed by the team members of Swing Patrol and they are
explained as below:
 Determine the Goals – The first step should be considered that the continuous
changes should define the sustainability goals. The goals which are prepared should
be analyse that what desired outcomes will be get over a period of time. The goals
should target those customers in which the company can attract the large number of
people.
 Assess institutional rules, roles and tools – After analysing the goals, the next step
is that to analyse the rules, role, of the staff and team members that whether they are
able to achieve these goals or not. The rules may include the formal and informal
rules that affect the work place of employees. Roles, the people in the organisation
who are important and helping the company in achieving the sustainability goals.
The last one is tools, at the work place what techniques, system, process are used to
meet the particular needs of customers (Pajo, Coetzer and Guenole, 2010).
 Develop the action plan – The business enterprises have to set those strategies to
target the specific audience and to revise these strategies in a long run. While making
the action plan it must include the appropriate metrics and strategies.
 Implement the plan – Swing patrol should implement the action which is made by
the organisation and analyse that what changes have been done to attain the
objectives of the business enterprises. The implementation of plan involves some
metrics for some elements such as:
1. communicating the current situations
2. Evaluating the progress towards achieving the goals
3. Last one is identify those areas in which improvement are needed.

 Measure and evaluate – This step is crucial to ensure that the changes which are
done in the organisation should give a successful results (Schaper and et. al., 2014).
For Swing Patrol it is significant that to measure the success, an evaluation is needed.
TASK 4
4.1
For the development of small business enterprises, the team members of Swing Patrol
have to considered all those factors which affect the business objectives. The suggestions
which are given by the staff or members it should be implement properly so that people can
be motivated in the dance hall. There are some positive and negative impact which affect on
the business management operation activities. In modern times, the changes are done on
regular basis because it is very essential for every organisation to cope up with the dynamic
environment. The changes which are suggested for Swing Patrol it is important for them to
implement the task into the action plan (Shigang, 2010). On the contrary, if the proposed
changes have been done then it will help the organisation in conducting the smooth flow of
all management activities and operations. The following are the some factors which impact
on the business:
Political factor – This factor is related with the government regulatory policies which
also affects the objectives of Swing Patrol. This company have to follow those rules and
regulations which are made by the regulatory bodies.
Economic factor – The business objectives are affected by the people needs and wants
because they are changing from time to time. If the income level of people are increased then
they will enjoy the dance facilities which are provided by the cited company.
Social factor – These factors are related with the culture, beliefs and values of people.
If Swing Patrol is not providing the different dance styles according to the people culture then
it will affect the business objectives.
Technological factor – The organisation have to use new technologies to improve
their quality of services. It will easy for the company to provide the online services to
customers. It can also use new equipments to improve their dance quality and to guide the
people properly (Soininen and et. al., 2012).

4.2
The changes which are done on regular basis can be result in the overall success of
Swing Patrol. The good strategic plan is develop and discussed is very important for the
organisation. The cited company need the effective development strategies and action plan
for management to make appropriate changes in in the organisation. The members of the
cited company have to develop a effective team who are the responsible for the management
changes. While implementing the plan the managers to make the proper coordination with
other departments. The team members have to coordinate with each other so that they can
provide quality of services to customers. The different models can also be used by the team
members to implement the appropriate actions which help in attaining the success of the
organisation. The small business enterprise can use different methods for doing the
evaluation in the business objectives. The evaluation can be done by top authority in a
particular point of time interval to motivate the employees time to time. The team members
can use the benchmarking to see that no people are lagging behind the dance step or to miss
any events which are organise by the cited company (Stokes, Wilson and Wilson, 2010). The
volunteers have to find out those people who needs proper training in different forms of life
style. Then it also required that the management should provide the best training and
development programme through the expertise so that it will be beneficial for them.
However, it will increase their knowledge and skills to prepare the dance with the time period
only. When they provide training to people then the organisation can analyse the business
performance through out the year. It can also compare their current year performance with the
last year performance to make more appropriate action plans. The managers have to proper
monitor the activities which are done in the organisation, which help them to identify the
frauds in the organisation. When the staff members of Swing Patrol have resolve their
problems then it will beneficial for the organisation to work in a coordination to achieve the
targets on time (Storey, 2016). Through implementing the plan it is responsibility of the
organisation to provide proper training and development programme to new as well as
existing customers.
4.3
It can be seen that the performance of Swing Patrol have been improved over the last
two years. The managers of the company are using modern technologies to guide the people.

While using the new technologies the organisation have start their online class also which
provide to the people. It will easy for many customers to learn the dance from their homes
only (The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act receives Royal Assent. 2015). The
using of effective management technologies will directly result in the best possible outcomes.
Over the past few years, the competition among the various organisation has become very
intense, so it sometimes become difficult for Swing Patrol to retain in the market for a long
period of time. It can also be stated that the proposed changes will also result in the best
possible outcomes to hit the targets on time. Along with this the selected organisation, has
also face many problems to attract the large number of customers and retain in the market.
The issues or challenges which are facing by the organisation in terms of achieving the higher
growth due to intense competition in the market. The profits of the organisation are also
increased which also improved the brand position of the company in Dragon Den series.
Through this company will also able to provide the high quality of service to people which
ultimately improve the overall performance of the cited firm. Therefore, it is significant for
the organisation to managed the properly changes which are done in the company. In modern
era, the team members are providing the more quality of services to teach the dance to
customers. However, they are using many techniques in which they can teach the difficult
step to dancers. The mangers have to provide proper training and development programme to
employees which increase their knowledge, efficiency regarding their work. The action plan
can make the huge difference between the success of business and failure of business
(Understanding Enterprise Entrepreneurship and Small Business. 2015). The implementation
of action plan should be done in such a manner so that managers can maximize their risk and
set the targets according to the company stability. The managers have also considered the
financial position of the company so that they can implement the action in which areas they
want the implement the plans. Thus, the changes in business objectives can provide varieties
of new choice to make the plans according to the needs of customers.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that Swing Patrol have to adopt different
strategies to overcome with their weaknesses. For a new start-up business it is very difficult
to retain them for a long period of time. In starting it consumes a time as well as expensive
also. On the other side marketing strategies are essential to improve their quality of service

and to reach in those different places where this company can make strong relationship with
the customers. The team members of the cited company have analyse their strength and
weakness and apply the approach of SMART to set the proper targets on time. The staff and
volunteers have to use proper knowledge to guide the people in different forms of dancing
styles. In last it is best opportunity for the organisation to expand their business in new areas
because it make strong position in the market. The customers can also easily attracted toward
to new firm.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ackermann, S.J. ed., 2012. Are small firms important? Their role and impact. Springer
Science & Business Media.
Aremu, M.A. and Adeyemi, S.L., 2011. Small and medium scale enterprises as a survival
strategy for employment generation in Nigeria. Journal of sustainable development.
4(1). p.200.

Blackburn, R.A., Hart, M. and Wainwright, T., 2013. Small business performance: business,
strategy and owner-manager characteristics. Journal of small business and
enterprise development. 20(1). pp.8-27.
Bridge, S. and O'Neill, K., 2012. Understanding enterprise: entrepreneurship and small
business. Palgrave Macmillan.
Çakar, N.D. and Ertürk, A., 2010. Comparing innovation capability of small and medium‐
sized enterprises: examining the effects of organizational culture and empowerment.
Journal of Small Business Management. 48(3). pp.325-359.
CGA, H.C.B., 2010. External environmental analysis for small and medium enterprises
(SMEs). Journal of Business & Economics Research. 8(10). p.19.
Curran, J. and Storey, D.J. Eds., 2016. Small firms in urban and rural locations. Routledge.
Dauda, Y.A. and Akingbade, W.A., 2010. Employee’s market orientation and business
performance in Nigeria: Analysis of small business enterprises in Lagos state.
International Journal of marketing studies. 2(2). p.134.
Davies, I.A. and Crane, A., 2010. Corporate social responsibility in small‐and medium‐size
enterprises: investigating employee engagement in fair trade companies. Business
Ethics: A European Review. 19(2). pp.126-139.
El-Gohary, H.O.A.S., 2010. The impact of E-marketing practices on market performance of
small business enterprises. An empirical investigation (Doctoral dissertation,
University of Bradford).
Fairoz, F.M., Hirobumi, T. and Tanaka, Y., 2010. Entrepreneurial orientation and business
performance of small and medium scale enterprises of Hambantota District Sri
Lanka. Asian Social Science. 6(3). p.34.
Fassin, Y., Van Rossem, A. and Buelens, M., 2011. Small-business owner-managers’
perceptions of business ethics and CSR-related concepts. Journal of Business ethics.
98(3). pp.425-453.
Islam, M.A and et. al., 2011. Effect of entrepreneur and firm characteristics on the business
success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh. International
Journal of Business and Management. 6(3). p.289.
Malhotra, R. and Temponi, C., 2010. Critical decisions for ERP integration: Small business
issues. International Journal of Information Management. 30(1). pp.28-37.
Muller, E., 2012. Innovation interactions between knowledge-intensive business services and
small and medium-sized enterprises: an analysis in terms of evolution, knowledge
and territories (Vol. 11). Springer Science & Business Media.
Pajo, K., Coetzer, A. and Guenole, N., 2010. Formal Development Opportunities and
Withdrawal Behaviors by Employees in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises.
Journal of Small Business Management. 48(3). pp.281-301.
Schaper, M.T and et. al., 2014. Entrepreneurship and small business.
Shigang, Y., 2010. Competitive strategy and business environment: The case of small
enterprises in China. Asian Social Science. 6(11). p.64.

Soininen, J and et. al., 2012. Entrepreneurial orientation: Growth and profitability of Finnish
small-and medium-sized enterprises. International Journal of Production
Economics. 140(2). pp.614-621.
Stokes, D., Wilson, N. and Wilson, N., 2010. Small business management and
entrepreneurship. Cengage Learning EMEA.
Storey, D.J., 2016. Understanding the small business sector. Routledge.
Online
The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act receives Royal Assent. 2015. [Online].
Available through:
<http://www.icpa.org.uk/portal/money_laundering/the_small_business_enterprise_and_
employment_act_receives_royal_assentl>. [Accessed on 10st February 2017].
Understanding Enterprise Entrepreneurship and Small Business. 2015. [Online]. Available
through:<https://he.palgrave.com/page/detail/understanding-enterprise-simon-bridge/?
sf1=barcode&st1=9780230308091>. [Accessed on 10st February 2017].