No, we don’t have $700 Billion earmarked for small businesses. We can’t go hand out to our legislatures for financial assistance. We don’t make the 6:00 pm news as a “business in trouble”. We are small businesses who have to provide our own bailout.
How do we do this? We look at ways to support one another and our customers and our employees. We check our budgets, roll up our sleeves and get down to work.
1. Check Budgets
Are there areas where we can cut expenses? Can we bring our lunch to work and not eat out as often? Can we initiate “green” assistance by turning off lights, recycling paper, and keeping better inventory control on supplies?
We are all wasteful – we waste paper, water, time, energy, food, and everything else. If we just took a look at what we could reuse or save, think about the money we can save.
2. Roll Up our Sleeves
Can a project be completed at home or by someone else? If you have staff that you are responsible for, have you thought outside of the box to see if some of your business associates would be interested in “sharing” a worker or “renting” an employee. Maybe if you have 4 employees you can work with an associate company with no employees who may be looking for a temporary person.
3. Prepare
If this is the end of your fiscal year, prepare a budget that is as complete as you can possibly make it and be prepared to follow it. As you prepare the budget, talk to your staff, especially your supervisors and managers to get their input. This will not only help them understand the situation but provide them with the opportunity to possibly share a good idea.
4. Dust off the Business Plan
Many businesses write the required business plan and then file it away. This may be a good time to get it out and look at the research you did in preparing the plan to determine if you are still on track. If not, why not? If you are, did you plan for any emergency? This is the time you can update your plan to accommodate the current financial crises. This, along with your budget, may offer the road map you need to navigate through the next few months.
5. Think Out Side the Box
Is this a good time to look at a new product or service? Are you in a position that might help other businesses make it through the economic downturn? Only you know your business and what you might do to make a difference.
Will it be easy? No. Will there be a need to make hard decisions? Probably. But, if you are honest with yourself and your staff and your clients, hopefully you will find a way to make it all work. Good luck to all of us.
Not enough credit is being given to the high gas prices this past year and it’s serious damage on our economy and society. That one factor alone has caused serious stress in both individuals and businesses. A record number of homes and jobs have been lost as a direct result. And, while we are doing the happy dance around the lower prices at the pumps OPEC is announcing cuts to manipulate the prices upward again. We must get on with becoming energy independent.We can’t take another year like this past. There is a wonderful new book out about the energy crisis and what it would take for America to become energy independent. It covers every aspect of oil, what it’s uses are besides gasoline, our reserves, our depletion of it. Every type of alternative energy is covered and it’s potential to replace oil. He even has proposed legislative agenda’s that would be necessary to implement these changes along with time frames. This book is profoundly informative and our country needs to become more informed and move forward with becoming energy independent. Green technology would not only provide clean cheap energy it would create millions of badly needed new jobs. The Book is called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW. Our politicians all need to read this book. http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
Of course as we all are aware about the economic recession but we can’t do anything. I think everybody wants to work but unfortunately the situation is very critical so companies are not able to afford workers that are why they are Retrenchment to their workers. I hope the situation will improve very soon. Great post i look forward to reading more.
Sydney
Home Based Business
Hi,
Very good post and especially the business plan advice is the most important, most businesses don’t realize the importance of business plan other than just a starting document, but business plan is a very good tool to judge performance of your business also.
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Talha
Custom Business Plans
Any Crisis is what make winners. This is Darwin theory applied to small business. these times are when reading books like “It is not the biggest but the fastest” worth. If you are smart enough to realize what is going on your surrounding and adapt, you will grow your business in regular situation.
.-= Daniel´s last blog ..Flowserve Wins 8 Million Dollard Project =-.
I think the best you can do is plan and ahead and be ready for the worst. If you can anticipate the hard times in your small business before they happen you can possibly prevent them from happening and at the very least be planned for it.
Thanks, the business tips are really great and is very practical. Would also share this to my colleagues here.Kudos to you!
.-= byan@ms small businesses´s last blog ..Aug 15, Small Business Registration- Alaska =-.
Small businesses need to be more efficient in these tough economic times. Poor business decisions could crush a small business. Re-evaluating your business plan is a good first step in the process.
Business plans get stuck in a drawer for a reason — they are out of date the moment they are written. I’d suggest to sit down and make a 1 page plan. Figure out what business you are reall in, what your target market reall is, how much money you need to run your business, what your goals are, what you need to do now and soon, and what lessons you’ve learned over time, both successes and mistakes. Keep this one page plan handy and update it regularly. If something works, follow up on it. If something doesn’t make a change. This will keep your business planning current and flexible.
.-= Ed Martin´s last blog ..Is Your Home Biz Legal? =-.
The best tip you said is tackled in this post is number 5 – “think outside the box”. These is often what is neglected by marketers and Internet marketers alike, they tend to do the same thing over and over again.
.-= Mark Calua@solar roof tiles´s last blog ..Farmers Turn to Solar Energy =-.