People that have been in business for an extended amount of time understand that the road to success is not a straightforward path. There are valleys and peaks to travel through – external events are a constant threat to normalcy and may cause changes that nobody anticipated. The best leaders are always interested in being ready for anything – so one should always be on the lookout for ways to survive, or even thrive, during times of difficulty. All it takes is a little forward thinking and a few key adjustments to prepare an operation for a recession. Here are five actions you can take to improve your chances of surviving a troubled economy:
- Self-Evaluate – Are the services or items you provide essential – or do you provide more of the “bells and whistles” variety of options? It is important to realize that during an economic downturn, your clients will be evaluating their options and most likely deciding to trim the fat off of their expenses – thereby cutting off any expenses that require time to develop ROI or simply abandoning everything deemed non-vital to the survival of the operation. If your business is centered around providing non-essential services, then it may be a good time to consider diversifying your operation. Find other channels of income by serving the most basic needs of your clientele, the kind they will need during good times or bad.
- Exercise Financial Control – It is way too common to see business owners that do not have adequate or proper control over their finances. This is unacceptable even during good days, but spells near certain death in the face of a volatile economy. Ensure that you are knowledgeable about your financial situation – then prepare for the future by establishing financial contingency plans in the case of a recession. Identify “lever points” in your business that can be scaled up or down depending on the status of economy and society.
- Seek Internal Optimization – During times of plenty, some companies have a way of adding a lot of unneeded weight. But in a recession, the burden of having redundant or unnecessary personnel, poorly used software, and outdated policies weighs heavily on a company just trying to make it out alive. Identify who your key core employees are and make sure a plan is in place to retain them, and only them, during tough times. Have your IT experts keep all essential software updated and running on a regular basis. Finally, find ways to remove waste from your work procedure, so that everything is running in a balanced state. Running an optimized organization will be easier to command in troubled waters, so staying in top shape is vital for when the economy deteriorates.
- Rely On Change – While many businesses remain resistant to change, others have made the realization that change, in many different forms, is inevitable. Those that have embraced the idea of continuous development understand that being able to “ride the wave of change” greatly increases the survivability of any organization, improving corporate resiliency. Take note of important changes that need to happen to improve any aspect of the business and put them aside for later – as forcing these changes during times of stability may negatively impact the flow of business needlessly. Once a major disruption arrives, act by making the necessary changes in one go. This way, you can turn a time of uncertainty into a time of progress.
- Form Client Retention Policies – When it comes to preparing for bad times and pondering on how best to help your company survive, the best question to ask is “what can i do to help my clients?”. Are there ways you can lower your price by cutting low priority tasks out? Can you extend any form of discount to build good will and show your client that you are thinking about their well-being as much as your own? How about renegotiating terms so that you can offer to address more essential needs than the ones you are currently addressing? If so, explore how you can deliver these client-friendly adjustments prior to any economic volatility. Doing so would strengthen your relationship with your client-partners while providing them great value for key services they can rely on.
Simplifying your work process can also help when looking to survive an economic recession. Call Tukko Labs now and find out how we can help optimize your workforce by letting you delegate nuisance tasks to us.