Your business is on life support and you know that it is struggling. Maybe you just started to look at the financials or you were embarrassed when you went to the bank. What are tips that entrepreneurs can use to resuscitate and save their business from the entrepreneurial burial ground?
Q: How Do You Pull A Struggling Company From The Grave?
One thing that most businesses overlook when they are struggling is to raise their prices. Especially in a tough economy, most people are trying to cut overhead but they often cut their prices as well in an attempt to get more customers. This usually just gets them more work and more expenses for less profit. By raising prices, they will make more money per sale. They may lose some customers, but it often allows them to reduce payroll and overhead expenses by working less and this leads to higher profits. This is contrary to what most people think, but I have been able to help several companies survive the economy and save a business while working less to get it done.
Thanks to Bill Watson, Business Buy Sell Value!
When a business is struggling and on life support, some things they can do to save their company are: 1) Change their payment terms so that they get paid more faster. 2) Re-evaluate all customers credit and adjust as needed to reflect the economy and business structure as it suffers. 3)Offer early pay discounts to customers who make large purchases, this gets your cash in the door faster and saves your customer money. 4) Gather up and sell all inventory you aren't using at a discount, have a sidewalk sale if possible and sell the items for cash.
Thanks to Michelle Dunn!
My advice is to get organized. Make sure your accounting is updated and then find your focus. More often than not, businesses fail because they aren't focused or organized. Make sure you have a clear destination in mind and work on creating a path to get there. Put milestones and expectations in place to make sure you aren't wasting your time. If you are on life support, take a second to breathe and look to see where your real issues lie. It might also be good to get third-party advice.
Thanks to Cathy Iconis, Iconis Group!
As a business coach, I am called in when businesses are struggling and the number one problem is generally that the entrepreneur/business owner is trying to do too many things at one time. This is why a business plan for all businesses is an important strategy — it keeps the owner focused, with a plan. The most successful businesses today are niche businesses. Trying to be all things to all people never succeeds in our global economy. Being the best in your niche wins! I've worked with entrepreneurs who are ready to close the doors only to find out that if they just pull back and focus – stick to their knitting, as they say – they are able to stay in business and stabilize the business.
Thanks to Vicki Donlan!
If you are struggling, don't forget advertising. Cutting off advertising makes as much sense as turning off you open sign to save electricity.
Thanks to the Internet Marketing Expert, Spiral Cities!
Having to make cutbacks is an inevitable must; people need to be let go and office pretzel jars may no longer be purchased. After that, admit what the mistake was that caused your company to crash. Locating the problem leads to fixing said problem. If things are looking bleak, why not try one last radical move? Put your team's heads together and come up with some brand spanking new concept to offer–whether it be a product or service. Yes, it may fail, but it looks like you were headed down that road anyway. It may also be insanely successful, so what's the hurt in trying?
Thanks to Deborah Sweeney, My Corporation!
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