Dark Times Strategy (con't)

Nervous System Health

Taking care of yourself needs to be in your list of priorities. Tough times can be tough on the body and mind. If you are not sleeping or are incurring depression/anxiety, your nervous system is taking a big hit. If mind, body and business are ailing--not an uncommon trio right now --you must do things to neutralize this toxic cocktail. Get anti-depressant medication or sleeping helps from you doctor. Forget anything you have heard about taking these medications. Most are not true and these meds can be worth their weight in gold. There are various ones in each category and your doctor , with your input, will arrive at the right one. Your regular doctor can now prescribe most medicine that only a psychiatrist could before. These nervous system medicines will not solve your problems but they give you your fight back so that you can deal. If you are already taking medication, keep doing so but add in twenty minutes of cardio exercise daily. All this gives your nervous system needed help which in turn gets you a clearer head and renewed energy to fight another day. The health of your business may depend on your own health.

War Zone Strategies

Much of what is going on in the economy and your business probably feels negative. Dropping profits, pay cuts, lost customers, tight cash and all the rest can easily make it look like there is little light out there. The truth is that there is always something that can be done. There is. You have to find it and put energy into strategies that will improve your situation. Just deciding to head in that direction gives needed positive boost. Here are a few tactics to use. You will find more of them in my book Going Out Of Business By Design: Why 70% of Small Businesses Fail.

• Allocate your time smartly. Owners may hunker down too low. They may feel the best thing is to take the sales floor or call on customers as a salesperson or do some of the repair work if they have technical background. That is the equivalent of the pilot leaving the cockpit. It gives the allusion you are doing something to solve things. Most likely it will amount to only a blip. Your work is the big "A" tasks such as motivating your staff better, being more creative, staging promotions, advertising smartly, establishing cash conservation plans, getting a bank loan, adjusting pricing, liquidating cash robbing inventory, hiring needed expertise, looking for a merger/acquisition opportunity, and holding regular meetings with your employees. These actions are the ones that move the moutains.
• Hire a constultant. When you are in tax trouble you call a CPA. When in legal trouble you call a lawyer. When your car is broke you get a mechanic. There are all sorts of specialists in this economy and these are all examples of hiring a consultant. There are many in the business world too. I am one with certification from the Institute of Independent Business. You can go to this site and search for a consultant that may help or ask local banks or chambers of commerce to recommend one. The only way a consultant should be hired is on a month to month basis at no more than $2,000 a month. The $2000 does need to be in advance to free the relationship of any hindsight quarterbacking by the business owner. You will get your money's worth if you provide good information. Do not sign a long term contract either.
• Add a new product. The best way to find additional revenue is to start selling additional products. Find something similar to your company's skills that would appeal to your customer base. Conduct training on it and then get out there!
• Adjust pricing. It is possible you are overdue for a price increase. You should raise your prices 5% yearly to keep up with inflation. If you have not raised prices in, say three years, you have a 15% cost burden to overcome just to break even. The government does this with Social Security and the like and calls it cost of living adjustments because most costs in our lives go up yearly. Same for your business. Most vendors are probably raising prices to you similarly. These are not large to any one customer but are a significant source of needed revenue for your top line.
• Eliminate free things. The "Baker's Dozen" term came from the baker giving 13 instead of 12 of what you ordered because this generated goodwill -- a good thing. In this economy though, most people are not thinking about such and are just trying to figure out the survival strategy. Nobody is expecting you to give them free goods and services. So don't. You can't afford it. Look at things you have been doing free and add something, anything, to your invoice. Late charges, mileage charges, expedite charges, "we had to deliver it up three flights of stairs" charges, after hours charges and so on. Ever looked at your bank statement, credit card statement or tire bill? There are no free lunches here.
• Reach out. Business owners are fiercely independent types that do not like to let anyone know their bad news. Yet, all owners get plenty of it. It is how the bad stuff is handled that makes all the difference. By letting people in, and that means all employees, friends, professionals and family, you tap into a great deal of help. If you fell into a dark cave nobody is going to know you need help but if you cry out you may well save your life. Same here. You cannot solve everything by yourself even though you would like too (died in pride?). Ask around. Share your pain. Seek suggestions. Hold company meetings with financial statements in hand. Take people to lunch to talk. Hell, have the waiter bring a bottle of wine while he's at it!
• Demand what you need. Nobody knows better than you what is needed for your company to be well so demand it piece by piece from those who can get you there. Demand admin find needed cuts. Demand salespeople make more calls. Demand your vendor reduce a price. Demand your service people be quicker and watch parts usage closer. Demand a better sense of urgency from everyone including yourself.
• Invoke Law of the Pinball. This principle applies to all owners and salespersons. Hopefully you are old enough to remember a pinball game. They were replaced by video of course. The pinball gets set in motion and the object is to keep it in play as long as possible by using all manner of concentration, body english, quick judgement and good instincts. If you did this it guaranteed the ball would run into more things that lit up, rang bells, and otherwise said you hit something for a big score. Same for you. Put another way, stay in motion and don't stop until you score--and don't stop then either.