So you’re running your own business. You’ve left cubicle life behind for good to be your own boss and it’s been an exciting ride. But now you’re in trouble. Your seemingly loyal customer base is drying up, and your operating expenses are only growing. You had a leg up on your competition, though now it seems the tables have turned and you can’t keep up with them. A lot needs to change but you don’t know where to start, or even how to. Many dedicated business owners find themselves in similar situations every year, so let’s take a look at a few simple ways to help turn things around.
What’s happening in your market?
The economist Ludwig Von Mises once wrote that “…consumers are merciless. They never buy in order to benefit a less efficient producer and to protect him against the consequences of his failure to manage better. They want to be served as well as possible. And the working of the capitalist system forces the entrepreneur to obey the orders issued by the consumers.” This simple observation is excellent advice for the prudent business owner. Survey your market and see how you can better serve your customers.
This is especially important in the digital age. For example, are you efficiently reaching your customers by optimizing your web and social media presence? If your website doesn’t show up when potential customers Google your product or service, you’re leaving money on the table without even knowing it. Similarly, could you eliminate labor costs by letting your customers partially serve themselves online? How you answer these questions will depend on your industry, and that leads us to the next point.
Get expert help
A mentor once told me that “if you want to learn how to do something, someone else has already done it really well and written a book about their success. Go read their book.” The same advice applies to struggling business owners. There are myriad consultants with ample experience who serve your industry. I guarantee it. Look them up and heed their advice as you mount your comeback. Their advice is likely expensive, but they will help you pinpoint your mistakes and correct them before its too late. This could be as simple as redesigning a bad website or instituting a training program for your inefficient staff.
The point here is very simple: find someone with an outside perspective who can tell you what you need to do. Many business owners struggle with change, and this blinds them to simple innovations that could save their companies. An experienced industry expert who lacks your emotional attachment and operating routines (“We’ve always done it this way!”) may be able to help you pull the trigger on the right change at the right time.
Get Some Working Capital
Through no fault of their own, small businesses commonly find themselves in circumstances where they need additional working capital to cover short-term costs like payroll and other daily operating expenses. If you find yourself in this situation, search out a reputable lender who can provide you with a working capital loan to keep your business moving. Banks are not necessarily your best bet in this situation because they have a habit of walking away from small and mid-sized businesses when the market conditions worsen, which is precisely what happened during the financial collapse of 2008.
Nonetheless, be judicious when choosing a lender. Find out what kinds of business they have funded in the past and what their previous customers have to say about them. If they’ve worked with other small businesses in your industry, they probably understand your needs better than a bank or some other financial institution and may be a better choice as a result.
The business world is a challenging place. Sometimes you make mistakes and don’t experience the repercussions until years later. Other times forces entirely out of your control derail your operations and leave you struggling to recapture your former success. Whatever the case, there are ways to recover. All you have to do is search out the right solutions and take advantage of them.