So you have had a tough year or quarter, but don’t give up there are many things you can do to help your business.
Firstly lets’ look at why some businesses fail in the first place, businesses can suffer all or a combination of these factors but below are the most common.
1. FACE THE PROBLEM
So have you got your head stuck in the sand? Sometimes we can hide away from the issue or create excuses. Before you can move forward you need to face the facts so you know what you can do to remedy the situation.
Is your product still needed by the market or has the market become saturated? Have you lost your purpose and what set you apart? Is the competition doing something better than you now?
2. CASHFLOW
Cash is king, get a clear look at your finances and your cashflow. can you pay your teams wages, can you renegotiate terms with suppliers/landlords?
What help is their available from government/grants?
Be clear on what do you need to keep your business running.
3. EXPENSES
As part of your cashflow look at your expenses. what is nice to have and what is a necessity to keep you going. Eliminate the non-essentials.
4. FORECAST
Reforecast your budget and your sales targets. These need to be reevaluated based on how you are currently trading and how you project to trade in the future. You will need to revisit these frequently until things start to settle down. What decisions do you need to make based on these results?
5. MAKE DECISIONS
Remain calm and don’t panic. Make decisions don’t wait until its too late. The decisions that you are going to make may not be easy but they are the ones that will make sure your business is still trading in 12-18 months.
6. PRODUCT & PIVOT
Relook at the product that you are committed to, how is it trading? Do you need to reduce or increase certain categories – eg loungewear sales increased during the pandemic and more formal clothing companies would have switched their mix.
Do you need to pivot completely and go after something else?
7. PEOPLE
Keep your teams informed on what is going on.
What do you need them to focus on and ensure that is crystal clear to them.
Look at your structure do you have the right people in the right place, do you have the right talent to help you manage the situation.
8. CUSTOMER
Relook at your customer – are you still communicating well, do you know what they need? When was the last time you had feedback from your customer. Revisit your purpose and your business model is it still relevant to what the customer wants.
9. TAKE STOCK
Keep learning, what is going well through this process what isn’t working.
How are you applying that and what are your wins. There will always be wins even if they are small.
10. LOOK AT YOUR STRATEGY
Break your strategy into short, middle and long term what are the weak links? What do you need to address? Is it still the right strategy to achieve your vision.
I hope that you continue on your journey to success and if you need any extra help then check out my free resources on my website and blogs or get in touch at nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com
