“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anaïs Nin

I hear it everyday from someone or the other. “Things are so bad right now, I don’t know how we are going to make it through next year.” One of my usual follow up questions is how the current downswing affected their business? There is a usually a pause for a while and then I get generic answers such as, “no one will buy our product/service”. All this talk of negativity has become viral to the extent that just about everyone is telling you how bad things have become without really rationalizing to themselves what this means to them and their respective businesses.  I do also come across individuals who are aware of the implication of the current downswing on their business, but have shut out the possibility of looking for ways to navigate themselves through this time.

Every business owner needs to give his/her business a reality check during these turbulent times as soon as possible. During the good times we become complacent, inefficiencies tend to set in, payroll gets inflated and expenses hit the roof. When all of a sudden things go from one extreme to the other, we begin to panic and do not know where to start from. There are four main business areas one needs to look into when assessing their business:

1. Customers & Sales: A common first reaction to the recession seems to be that suddenly their customers are going to stop buying. There needs to be a thorough analysis here. Start with understanding your customer’s needs and requirements. How has this changed due to the current climate? What can you offer them which suits their needs at the moment? It could be a longer payment plan, a scaled down version of your product/service or a completely new product line altogether. Other steps could include shifting more business online where you have lower overheads and increased margins. Steps need to be taken to get closer to your loyal customers and to do whatever it takes to ensure that their business remains with you.

2. Human Resources: Take a closer look at your current talent pool. Use performance benchmarks to analyze which employees are making the cut and those who are not. Low performers need to be weeded out and one needs to get closer to your stars. Your stars are critical to your future business success. Provide opportunities for your staff to train themselves with new skills. Adjust your recruitment practices and utilize tools such as linkedin to help identify talent in your network.

3. Operations: During boom times a business tends to add extra expenses. These may be in the form of increased perks, higher head counts and fancy offices. All these expenses need to be analyzed carefully and cuts need to be made wherever possible. Google which is well known for such perks, was forced to cut quite a few of them in the past couple of months due to financial pressure from shareholders. In other sectors, identify ways to move inventory faster. Also look into outsourcing non core functions which could be done at a fraction of the cost by a third party vendor.

4. Finances: I recently wrote a series on financial metrics. I would recommend paying attention to the ones mentioned in my series along with others which are reliable measures for your business. Redo your sales forecast and projections and set realistic goals in accordance to industry averages. Avoid any large outlays which do not justify a reasonable ROI. At times like this, cash is king, and one should do whatever one can to remain liquid. Increase credit terms with suppliers and vendors, ensure customers are preferably paying  a large amount upfront or soon after purchase. Subscription models are a good and stable form of revenue and should be looked into.

Most of the things I have written about above should be done on a regular basis whether we are in a boom or a bust cycle. However research shows, on average the pain of a loss is about twice as much as the joy of a gain. I know I can identify with that. In good times it is easy to take for granted all the things which are working out right. The true test of a business owner comes during nasty downturns like the ones we are in, and the ability to deal with them effectively.