Businesses owners that find themselves in crisis often will ask, can we save our business.  I always answer them the same way.  It depends on you.  Saving your businesses is really about asking yourself the right questions. 

Many businesses start their business without asking the biggest question.  Should I start this business?  Does this business venture  make good business sense?  These are the deciding factors of starting up a business.  But what happens if the business owner fails to ask the "should" I do this business venture and only asks "can" I do this business.

If you find your business in crisis you may very well have be one of many businesses that didn't truly understand the complicated matrix of starting your own business.  Here are some quick tips on what you can do about it now, that your business is in crisis.

 

Tips:

 

Start by telling yourself the truth about your situation.  Being optimistic will not generate the revenue.  Just as in the fairytale "The Emperors New Clothes" I find that business owners only associate with "yes people" and fail to recruit advisors in their business that will provide them with the truth.  In the "Emperor's New Clothes" they only person who tells the Emperor he has no clothes on is a child.  The rest of the Emperor's trusted advisors tell the Emperor only what the Emperor wants to hear.  I often ask myself what if the Emperor had trusted advisors that told him the truth, and the Emperor was unhappy about hearing the "truth".  Where would those advisors go?  They would "quit" the Emperor and the Emperor would hire those who will tell him what he wants to hear. 

 

So, as a business owner, ask yourself.  Have I associated myself with advisors who will tell me the "truth".  In recent studies this is one of the factors that cause a business owner to lose their business.  I recently read a business book (left unnamed for a reason) that business owners should surround themselves only with people who believe in them.  Okay, it's nice to have a cheerleader, but what if they are making decisions that are detrimental to the future of the business? If you only associate yourself with people who will agree with you, you will lose the competitive edge.  Being an expert in your industry doesn't mean being "right" all the time. If you do nothing else enroll business practices that allows you to question your business strategies.

 

The second business mistake business owners make that can cost them their business is they fail to understand elements of their business that they can control and elements of their business they can't control.  For us control freaks, this is a difficult concept to comprehend.  The "truth" is that we can only control our responses to many of the elements that effect a business.  Knowing the difference is an advantage for a business owner.

 

The last mistake I will address here, is that a business might be top heavy.  They will be overextended financially, and failed to accurately address projections with a realistic expectations.  If you find that your overhead is taking your profits, you need to seek additional help. You can take the sos series to discover elements that you can change about your business, you can hire an consultant to help you with the organizational issues. But you must hire your accountant to assist you with a budget that you can achieve. 

E-mail: Geneal@vila-cc.net