So what now? You have bludgeoned costs to the bone for more than a year now. You have amped up efficiency in every way you can, squeezed vendors for every dime and gone after collections like never before. Your marketing is fever pitch, you’re seeking sales in areas you never thought to look before and maybe you have even handed out some pink slips.
And still you have a sinking feeling in the pit of your entrepreneurial stomach. What’s left? How about this: Try attacking the problem more with brains than with brawn. There’s much you can do as chief cheerleader for your business that involves leadership and insight, rather than handing out paper clips or turning off the lights.
• Ask better questions: Don’t feel like you’re the only “answer person” around. Too many business owners feel pressured to come up with all the solutions themselves. But that’s too limiting.
• Change things up and take some risks. Doing the same old things may have gotten your business into current difficulties. Don’t be imprudent, but recognize that not taking a risk could in fact be the riskier course.
• Spotlight your optimists: If you have certain employees who always seem to have a “can-do” attitude, put them in more prominent positions. Encourage them to share ideas. Optimism tends to be contagious, so others may catch the spark and help accelerate your business growth.
• Help customers win their own recession war: The best way to cement relationships with top customers is to be totally tuned in to their fiscal health, not just your own. Take time to find out about the unique challenges and difficulties they may be facing, and how your business can help.
• Remind employees the current situation is temporary: When the media inundate us with gloomy economic news day in and day out, we all get gloomy. By assuring employees and anyone else who you rely on in your business that the recession isn’t permanent, you create positive energy that can help pull your business out of the slump.
• Invest in your more promising people: Make a list of your most prized employees – the ones who show the strongest energy and desire to help move your business forward. Maybe it’s just one person; or maybe it’s five or 10. Then invite them to participate in strategic discussions about your future. Helping these people realize their importance to your business, and how decisions get made, will help them contribute more to your business success. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@business.com.
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