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Previous: Consumers Look To Web For Help Achieving Financial Goals
by Brad Egeland I'd like to say that this article can provide you with what the title suggests - ways to actually keep your business out of harm's way in the economy that we find ourselves in right now. But it can't. Life's not fair and there are few guarantees in this world. Sometimes we learn that as kids and sometimes we have to learn that the hard way as adults. What we can discuss here are some good ways to safeguard your small business against the perils that businesses are currently facing. There's no perfect way to combat the risk of losing your customers and possibly your business, but by taking prudent actions and measures, you can certainly put yourself in better position to weather this long-term economic storm. Proactive Measures If you're in a steady mode and you're looking to maintain your business while those around your are failing, then you are acting wisely and proactively. There are a number of things that can be done to decrease your operating expenses - at least for the short-term - while allowing you to really not sacrifice your service level or quality. It's all about making smart choices now to avoid needing to make rash decisions on the fly later. Here are a few actions the small business owner can take to help ensure that their business remains somewhat healthy until the storm passes - which may be a few years:
Last Ditch Efforts If you're at the last ditch effort point, it may be time to start that fire sale that you've been trying to avoid. However, taking the following actions may help you stay afloat longer while you work to either liquidate your business on your terms, pray for a miracle, of find a workable solution to remain solvent.
Feedback These are just a few actions that the small business owner can take to keep their business moving forward in these very difficult financial times. Customers are leaving in large numbers or looking for the best deal they can get and it's increasingly difficult to meet their needs while still keeping your business afloat. I would appreciate hearing suggestions and thoughts from our readers that I could incorporate into a follow-up article. If you have thoughts or feedback on this article and possible measures that you think would be helpful, please post them in the comments section below. Brad Egeland is an IT/Project Management consultant and author with over 24 years of development and management experience leading initiatives in Manufacturing, Government Contracting, Gaming and Hospitality, Retail Operations, Aviation and Airline, Pharmaceutical, Start-ups, Healthcare, Higher Education, Non-profit, High-Tech, Engineering and general IT. Mr. Egeland is married, a Christian, and father of 7 living in sunny Las Vegas, NV. Visit his web site at www.bradegeland.com. Posted on March 8, 2010 at 12:52 PM| Comments (12) Comments For me, the best thing has been to go back to the basics of personalized customer service, making sure that my best clients especially know how valuable they are, and demonstrating appreciation and enthusiasm for each new solid client. Taking nothing for granted. I too have relied more on the past year on pre-paying, and this has helped my cash flow keep the business rolling and has helped me reduce time spent on lower-quality leads so that I can spend more time on the profitable parts of the business. Your tip about spending the most resources on the parts that customers want the most is right on. I think an upbeat attitude helps too, even in tough times. I don’t think customers, or prospective customers, want to hear about our troubles, they want to hear about what great value they’re going to get for their hard-earned dollars. Posted by: Peyton on March 28, 2010 at 9:55 PM Great article and advice. Pre-committing is a very proactive idea and great way to get a step up in this shaky economy. Also, reaching out to your current customer base and asking for referrals would be a great way to drum up extra business without a big out of pocket advertising expense. That’s why keep a great followup system and excellent customer service is so important, not only in a bad economy but in any economy. Great tips. Posted by: relationshipsellingbuffs on April 28, 2010 at 8:13 PM I agree with Peyton. I moved to a small town and the person-to-person service really spreads fast through a community. In my opinion it’s essential to any new , and existing business. Posted by: Casey on April 29, 2010 at 1:22 AM To your point about the value of cash now, a lot of companies make a habit of selling their receivables at a discount. Let someone else worry about and take the risk of collection while you take the money immediately. Posted by: Steve on May 9, 2010 at 9:24 AM Nice steps for businesses to sustain in any situation.Starting any business is not a hard task, but maintaining its growth in difficult situations is more important. These above steps will help any businessman to come out of any kind of situation and better concentrate on its core function. Posted by: Transcription Service on May 13, 2010 at 3:08 AM I think one always has to keep an idea of what the bare necessities are. Just in case. It can help keep you afloat in the rough times. Posted by: Superstar - web design on May 16, 2010 at 5:05 PM I especially like the concept of getting the money upfront whenever possible. If you have to get the customer to commit early, thats fine, as long as it doesn’t pressure them too much and scare them off completely. Like you learn in every single finance class - A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. Posted by: Jim on June 17, 2010 at 11:46 AM hey brad. Great article and i agree that there is no way to absolutely bullet proof a business. In addition to your ideas I’ve found that in tough situations its necessary strong focus even more on marketing. Also cutting away marketing that doesnt work is critical. It sounds weird that anyone would put money into marketing that doesn’t work but surprisingly many businesses actually do that. Posted by: Pat on July 25, 2010 at 11:08 AM I would add to this by saying consider going online. This can greatly reduce the over head costs as you may no longer need a shop front. Work can be done from anywhere. Also you can employer people in different parts of the world who may be cheaper. Posted by: Joe on July 25, 2010 at 10:18 PM I’ve always lived by the rule that “You should always give more to your customer than they expect.” Give more value, whether it’s a free surprise dessert from a restaurant, that’s hand delivered by the chef; or whatever. You can figure it out. Too many businesses advertise to get a new customer in, but then they don’t know how to KEEP the customer. You want to create a feeling in the customer that they KNOW your business is special. And they KNOW that you will surprise them, because YOU SINCERELY APPRECIATE THEIR BUSINESS. Imagine the owner or the chef coming out of the kitchen with some fresh baked ravioli, and he says, “Let me know if you like this, it’s something we’d like to add to the menu.” Is THAT showing respect for you and your opinions? You bet! Think about what YOU can do in YOUR business. Give it some time right now. What ELSE can you do, that they’re NOT expecting, that can possibly BLOW THEIR MINDS! They’ll buy from you and return to you, you’ll see! Posted by: Joe on July 26, 2010 at 5:55 AM Thank you for your article. It gave a lot of good info. I agree that the #1 thing to make and keep customers is good customer service. There is not enough of that in the world today. If you have a quality product and good service, people will return and bring others with them. Posted by: Karen on July 27, 2010 at 4:50 PM |
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Bullet-Proofing Your Business in Today's Economy
Great article.
I just started a business (after being laid off from a company that had to “cut some fat” so to speak) and I am trying to stay as lean as I can to limit my costs.
I work out of my home.
I have no employees, but if I have a large enough project I have access to several sub-contractors I can call on (including my former employer).
I have done all of the work on my website, my blog and my social media profiles. I know not everyone has the skillset to do this work themselves and have an end product they will be happy with. However, you may be able to find a good website builder who would be willing to do some work in exchange for a byline on your site or permission to include your site in their portfolio that may lead to future work for them.
I periodically (every 3 or 4 months) double check my vendors to see where I am getting the best cost per unit on my supplies. But I also factor the shipping costs into those comparisons.
I use Vistaprint.com for my brochures and business cards. They have some free “starter” products, but if you use enough of the customized features and pay the few dollars extra for the upgrades in paper stock, gloss finish, etc. you can have a really well done marketing product. I am VERY pleased with everything I have ordered from them.
I also use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to network with other professionals in my industry and to promote my business to potential clients.
Posted by: James on March 10, 2010 at 8:43 PM