Five Things to Do When Your Business Is Failing
It is easy to talk about all the great things that should be done to successfully grow a business. But what do you do when you can see that you are on the path to failure?
What do you do when you are running low on cash, business is not coming in quick enough, or there is too much overhead and no matter how hard you work, things just are not going well enough? When your competitors are beating you, customers are not buying, and your workforce is not getting it done?
First you have to recognize, or have someone tell you, that you are in a crisis. Then take action! Tackle the issues head on with a fierce focus that will give you a fighting chance to pull out of the downward spiral while you can still do something about it.
While you are going through these steps on the road to recovery, stay optimistic and work hard. A negative attitude will be noticeable and could infect your workforce and scare off your customers. Instead, be confident that you are taking the right steps to turn things around. Besides, the worst case of business failure is not all that bad if you have put in place the things you need to do to prevent personal bankruptcy. Many successful people had one or more companies that failed while they were were on the path to greatness. Treat it as a learning experience and move on. But don’t give up yet — fight for giving your company a future while you still can!
Here are five things you can do when you recognize that your company is “In Extremis” and you need to change what you are doing fast.
- Grow the Top Line With Quick Sales
- Aggressively Triage and Cut to Focus on the Core Business
- Don’t Let Your Business Fail Alone-Ask for Help
- Think About the Worst Case Situation and Prepare for It
- Keep Your Personal Core Protected So You Can Do It Again
I think I am an optimistic person and in many cases look at the positive part of a situation. But one of the things that I do to make sure things are always going well is think about what the threats are that are facing my company. There are many families who depend on the paychecks that my company provides, and if a little bit of paranoia helps keep things profitable and on track, then I am all for being paranoid!
Author: Rolf Versluis
Published at Priority Queue
This was originally posted March 10, 2012, reposting because now is a good time for people to read this.
