How to Save a Failing Business
Is your business failing?
It can be really tough to admit that your business is failing. Your business is your baby; you’ve put your heart and soul into it, not to mention most or all of your savings.
Turning your business around and getting it back on track isn’t a choice, it’s your only option. So how do you do it?
Well luckily, it’s not impossible. With a little elbow grease, some honest reflection, and help from your friends here at the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce, you can turn your business around and get it back on the track to success.
Here’s how to start:
1. Find the problem.
Maybe you think you know what the problem is. Hint: you don’t. If you did, you would have fixed it a long time ago and your business wouldn’t be in trouble. But it is because you don’t.
You have to take a step back and look at your business with an objective eye. This can be really tough to do, and maybe impossible for some people. That’s when you ask for help. Ask friends, family, acquaintances, and even us! Ask them to go through the customer or client experience with your company and give you very honest feedback.
Be a blank slate. Don’t get insulted or defensive by constructive criticism. Be open to it, and know that it is the only thing that will help your company get better.
2. Get your staff on track.
Once you find the problem and get a plan to fix it, you have to look at the people who really make up the company: your team.
Should you just get rid of them and start fresh with a new team of superstars? NO!
You hired these people because you already thought they were superstars. You believed in them, and they believed in you and your business. Don’t let them go just because things are getting tough. Instead, be honest with them about the changes that need to happen. Retrain them into the ideal staff you need, and that you once believed they were.
3. Win Small. Then Win Big.
Unsurprisingly, when a business is failing, morale is a problem. How do you fix moral? Set SMART goals.
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time Based
Your business’s health is based on how your employees interact with customers. It doesn’t matter what sector or industry you’re in. So when your employees feel like their work matters, is helping, and things are getting better, then that translates into your customer’s satisfaction. And that translates into a better bottom line.
