Experts say 1/4 of all businesses will never reopen because they were operating on the edge anyways. Only the most stable businesses will ultimately survive to become legacy enterprises. Here are some helpful hints on how to ensure that you’ll have a fighting chance to not only make it through another downturn in the economy but that you will be able to prosper in the future.
Funding
Most businesses fail because they begin underfunded. Just because you have a vision for the latest widget or gadget doesn’t mean you are ready for business. You must consider funding. The vast majority of businesses are operating in the red from the very start and stay that way until a calamity occurs destroying their vision.
Banking
Businesses best friend is banking. During the Pandemic of 2020, the Federal government started the PPP Paycheck Protection Program, which made monies available to the hardest hit businesses. All owners had to do was apply at a local bank. Large businesses were the first to apply and receive these funds.
When you looked under the hood, it was discovered that many small businesses not only didn’t receive funding, but they didn’t even apply. The reason, they never had a working relationship with their local bank.
Cost
There are several things that business should be aware of and they all determine your bottom line, profitability. Take away the veneer and business at its core is profits. If you spend more than you make then you can not make profits. Take a look at your total cost of doing business and make adjustments. Without profits why are you in business in the first place.
Planning
The Bible of business is your Business Plan. If you don’t have a roadmap how can you know where you are going and when to make a turn or adjustment. Many businesses would fare much better if they just had an overall gameplan of what they hoped to accomplish.
What Planning does is set out timelines, benchmarks and costs associated with your endeavor. Take the time to plan your next 5-10 years. In the end it could mean the difference between winning and losing.
Marketing
You’ve opened your doors, now what? Tell the world about your product, goods or service. I am flabbergasted at how little businesses put effort into marketing. If people don’t know where or what you are selling how will they ever buy from you.
Worse yet is business owners won’t put all of their information online or in areas where people can find them quickly. This is tantamount to saying, “I don’t want to sell”.
If it takes a customer more than 30 seconds to find you, they will move on. Make it easy for them to know all about you. Put your information everywhere your customers can find it readily. They want to make you successful.
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