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On a cloud: Grow your business
Business

5 common SME mistakes - and the solutions from cloud technology

  • Common accounting and planning errors, such as overlooking cash flow and setting the wrong price, can lead to real business consequences
  • New technology tools, such as access to real-time accounts data, invoice automation and latest payment methods will help firms achieve good financial health

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Cloud technology provides a convenient platform to help small businesses keep track of financial health and avoid simple mistakes. Photo: Shutterstock
Eric Cheung
When Hong Kong’s billion-dollar start-up Tink Labs ended its business services in many of its markets this year, it provided a cautionary tale that even the most inspiring business could collapse if entrepreneurs make critical judgment mistakes.
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The company, which offers hotel guests free-to-use Handy smartphones, rose to fame in 2012 after becoming one of the few local companies with a “unicorn” valuation – a status for start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion. At one point, its devices were used in more than 82 countries and 600,000 hotel rooms.

However, in July it announced an end to the service in most of its markets after failing to “match vision with profits”, a study by the Financial Times revealed. The reason, according to the report, was that the company lacked a well-thought-out business plan.

Tink Labs’ woes have highlighted the need for SMEs and start-ups to focus on formulating long-term business plans with a path to profitability. To do so, they should always have a clear strategy in place based on data and facts.

“Successful entrepreneurs are people who constantly focus on product development and enhance competitiveness,” says Kim Shin Cheul, who heads iDendron, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub at the University of Hong Kong.

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Tink Labs, a Hong Kong billion-dollar start-up that offers hotel guests free smartphones, ended its business in most markets in July after failing to ‘match vision with profits’.
Tink Labs, a Hong Kong billion-dollar start-up that offers hotel guests free smartphones, ended its business in most markets in July after failing to ‘match vision with profits’.
The demand for constant reinvention has been only heightened as the US-China trade war continues to loom large. In fact, the outlook among small businesses has become more pessimistic now compared with the past few years, the latest small business survey conducted by the professional accounting body, CPA Australia, revealed.
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