The Wholesale Forums

[matty2012]

Guys, little report here giving some useful tips to help your business to survive these tough times!

1) K.I.S.S. your internal business operations - KISS stands for 'Keep It Simple Stupid' and when it comes to your internal business operations like accounting and account management, it's time to get back to basics. Simplify your processes, procedures and reporting so that key strategic decisions can be made faster which will only be made possible with better data flow and less internal friction.

2) Be militant about cutting costs - Every expenditure no matter the size should be examined. All non-essential costs should be identified and cut. Be relentless about cutting costs. It should be your prime directive to streamline your business down to the bare essentials. When in doubt, cut.

3) Find ways to group and share operational costs - If you have office space, this is the time to find ways to shrink your office footprint and find another company to share space with. If you are locked into a lease, find out if you can sublease and look for a co-tenant to take some of the extra unused space you may have. Share expenses wherever possible as well. Your overhead needs to shrink and one way to do this is to group-purchase things like office supplies etc.

4) Collective decision making can be a good thing - You will inevitably be expecting more from your employees during this difficult time, so top-down decision making can really hurt morale. Be as inclusive and transparent as you can when making decisions and your employees will appreciate being 'in the loop'.

5) Identify who your best customers are and hug them regularly - When the economy is rolling along, the focus is on getting new business. In times of economic contraction, you want to hang on to what you have. Know who your best customers are, and do everything you can to massage your relationship and provide them with better service wherever possible. The stronger your relationships are, the harder it will be for them to cut you off.

6) Resist adopting new technology - This may sound counter-intuitive as many new technologies offer the promise of making your business better. However, with new technology comes training. At a time when you will be leaning more heavily on your employees, burdening them with additional training can hurt office morale and short-term productivity.

These are just a few tips to keep in mind, but the most important tip of all is to persevere. Stay focused and have a steadfast commitment to do whatever it takes to stay in business.

Hope this is of any help