How to Manage Tough Times For Business

Is your business facing tough times?  Are you facing the choice to fix the problem or exit the marketplace? Let’s look at some alternatives here. Yellow belt.

Do You Want To Fix The Problem?

It might seem, on the face of it, that any business would want to fix the problem if they are experiencing tough times.  However, there are at least a couple of situations where this may not be the best choice.

Has the market changed to the point where the business is no longer viable?
Examples:
1. Music Retail Industry:
Vinyl records → cassettes → CD’s → streamed onto personal devices.
As a consequence, the main street retail music stores have almost disappeared.

2. Video Industry:

Video tapes → CD’s and DVD’s → online streaming.

1. Have you had enough of your business?
2. Alternatively, have you decided that the business is unlikely to be very profitable. Therefore, you are thinking of trying something else.

The first tough choice to ask yourself:

“Is my business likely to thrive in the longer run if I can turn it around now or am I better to cut my losses and get out.”

Exit

You decide you want to get out:

Firstly, Exit immediately by closing the business down:
Depending upon the structure of your business, bankruptcy is a possibility, either business and/or yourself.
Because of this, seek professional advice.
Get advice from an accountant about how to manage the process.
Additionally, legal advice if you have to break leases etc.

Secondly, Have a controlled exit from the business:
Position the business and make it as attractive as possible to a potential buyer.
Go to the article: Profitable Business Exit Sale for more detail on this option.

Triage For Tough Times

The alternative strategy to exiting is to do a rapid remediation on your business to stabilise it.

When a very ill patient is admitted to hospital, a professional team makes a rapid evaluation of the cause of the problem and how to stabilise the patient as rapidly as possible. This process is called Triage.

Your business is sick, apply Triage to it as soon as possible. This stabilises it and prevents it from getting any worse.

12Faces has developed 3 Campaigns:

• • Turnaround90: Rapid Stabilisation of a Business in Trouble:
    Stabilise your business in 90 days.
    Rapid remediation strategy
  • Go to the Campaign introduction to learn more and signup: C4.0 Introduction to Turnaround90 (T90)

Once your business is stabilised after tough times, it is time to look at a strategy to improve and grow it.

• • Optimise100: Streamline My Existing Operation: 
    Streamline your existing business in 100 days. 
    Make as much profit as possible from what you already have.
    If your business has been running for any length of time, it has probably acquired a few “barnacles” that are slowing the whole ship down.
    Removing these barnacles in our 100 day push allows this ship to speed up without making any other changes to eg. the size of the ship’s engine.
  • Go to the Campaign introduction to learn more and signup: C2.0 Optimise Your Business Enterprise in 100 Days (Optimise100)

• • Grow365: Grow Your Business in 365 Days: 
    Grow your business as fast as possible.
    A group of strategies relating to growing your business over the next year with a goal of further doubling the Profit.
  • Go to the Campaign introduction to learn more and signup: C3.0 Introduction to Grow Your Enterprise in 365 Days (Grow365)

These strategies are designed to be done one after the other or as necessary.

There is very little point in trying to grow your business if it is not already streamlined.

You will be expending energy in the Grow365 phase unnecessarily. Remove the “barnacles” with Optimise100 rather than polishing them.

If you are sceptical that doubling your profit is even possible, have a look at these case studies that might show what can be possible.

Go to the article “DIY Failing Business Turnaround” for more information about a troubled business.