Riding out in Storm

If you have already a  Business,  probably you are experiencing low of sales and a few customers in time, They are spending less because they are fearful and fear can be both pervasive and intense. A number of reasons can be cited for disappointing sales including the recent stock market meltdown, persistent unemployment, As your customers continue to spend less money, you will need to take action.

Fearful times are not overcome by passively “riding out” storms. Every ship has a point of no return. The moment a ship rolls to its degree of no return it will keep rolling and capsize. So in a hurricane a ship must take immediate survival action by making adjustments to course, speed, balancing cargo and battening down hatches. In a business, the point of no return occurs when you run out of cash. If you are a business owner, here are some survival measures to help navigate through these times, here are some advice from a business foundation founder.

• As prices drop, seek out opportunities to buy merchandise at deep bargain prices. Pass these savings on to your customers.
• Carefully reschedule your employees to reduce overall hours on your payroll.
• Benefits are expensive. Begin blending in part-time employees to save on rising health care and retirement benefit costs. Give part-timers who do exceptionally well a shot at full benefits.
• Follow up on the emerging trend to outsource job functions that can be fulfilled by outside providers. At the same time you can focus better on your core operations.
• Is there opportunity to shorten your hours of business without significant loss of sales?
• Keep focused on your specialty. Provided your business has intrinsic value to begin with, stick with what you know best.

Your overall goal should be to avoid reaching a point of no return: running out of cash. Your key management role should therefore be the practice of forecasting future cash flow. Each month, make a projection of cash for each of the oncoming six months. If any future negative cash is indicated, now is the time to make whatever adjustments are necessary to maintain.