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Get Help. There's a lot of help available out there. Accountants, business advisors, debt collection agencies and the government are a good place to start. |
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Look at yourself. Are you OK? See your doctor, take a self-improvement course, learn to meditate and get in shape. Learn how to delegate. |
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Look at your business. Success is not guaranteed, is your business good enough? What effect does the competition have? Does the place need a spruce up? Is my marketing working? |
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Examine financial records. Are there any blow outs on the profit and loss statement? How do past financials compare? How do my figures compare to the industry average? |
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Conduct research. Get someone to do it for you or do it yourself. Business students from university can often do research on your business as part of their course and it usually costs nothing. |
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Examine your industry. Is it just you or is it industry wide? Is the industry in growth, maturity or decline? What are the latest trends in the industry? |
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Check your margins. Can you buy cheaper? What deals are out there? Can you access higher margin products? |
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Review employees. Get employee feedback, Is everyone pulling his or her weight? |
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Ask the customer. What does the customer want? Do a customer survey and act on the results. Use your database. |
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Marketing. Find new customers. Get existing customers to come back more often, Get existing customers to spend more each visit with ideas like up selling (would you like some fries with that?) and bundling (If you buy this product you can get a complimentary product at a discount) |
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Think about training. Find out what is available. Can your employee's join in the training from other companies? Send one employee who then brings all the information back. Get training with new equipment. Buy training tapes and videos. |
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Deal with your creditors. It is better to have them on your side than chasing you. Get a payment plan in action. Develop your relationship with your bank |
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Review unprofitable areas. Your operations may be spread too wide. Delete unprofitable lines or operations. Expand profitable lines or operations. |
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Get creative. The answer is out there. Try something new. Try niche marketing. Is exporting an option? What about e commerce? |
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Keep it positive. Elvis failed music at school. This is Australia, you can do anything. |
