You can control your own destiny!
It’s never wise to wait until external events spur you to action. If you wait until the signs are obvious, it may already be too late. Far too many leaders play catch-up with their business or organization, especially these days. It’s as if people are afraid to act, given the perceived economic uncertainty of our country and the world. However, now is the crucial moment for you to take charge and secure your future; otherwise, you risk becoming a victim of your circumstances and succumbing to the same reality that everyone else is concerned about but isn’t really addressing.
- When everyone else is selling, it is a good time to buy.
- When other companies are laying off talent, find creative ways to hire them.
- Increase your investment in professional development for you and all your key staff.
- If your peers are cutting their business development budget, then you should invest more.
- Search for opportunities to acquire competitors who are struggling but still have some value left in their business.
- Sell/divest non-performing parts of the business.
- Enter new markets and introduce new products.
- Invest in enabling technologies that enhance efficiencies and inform better decision-making.
- Ramp up your online presence.
All of this may sound counterintuitive, but it’s true. Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have a license to make poor financial decisions, but it does mean that you still need to take calculated risks to achieve business success. Don’t ever act like everyone else!
If your financial situation is challenging, take decisive action to overcome it.
- Strive to become cash flow positive. Don’t try to do it incrementally; instead, get there as soon as possible.
- Balance your A/R and A/P properly.
- Restructure and/or pay down existing debt responsibilities.
- Implement operational strategies that allow you to flexibly adjust your direct and variable expenses as needed, such as subcontracting.
- Consider targeted price increases.
- Fire unprofitable clients.
- Rethink your labor model.
- Make your back office someone else’s front office through outsourcing or shared administrative functions.
- Minimize fixed/overhead expenses.
- Invest in your sales capacity. Never stop selling!
Make it a priority to operate from a position of relative financial strength ASAP. Don’t just hunker down and wait for the market to recover. It may end up being too late…
Courage still matters in business and in life. Many of us avoid tough decisions or talk ourselves out of taking risks. We strive for comfort where only pain and discomfort exist. Investing in yourself and your business, even if it means facing the consequences, is more beneficial than living under the shadow of others or settling for mediocrity. The goal of a business should always be to stay ahead of, not behind, the market trends. Stop worrying so much about survival and build your own conditions for success.
Create your own destiny!