Every single entrepreneur goes through a business slowdown. When things change, usually it’s down to seasonal trends and a lack of demand, but often it can be a shock when your usually thriving business suddenly has a loss of profits. One minute it’s all booming, and the next you’re looking at a desert wasteland of nothingness. It’s not always easy to deal with, and in some industries, there is no coming back from a slump. Imagine trying to be a party planner during the coronavirus pandemic, where events are being cancelled and people are not allowed to leave the house? That there is one of the very big reasons that a business needs a backup plan! If you’re currently dealing with a company slow down, you need to think about what to do about it.
Economics and recessions are two of the biggest reasons that a company can experience a slow down in their industry, and no matter how big the business is it can still be affected. Things to worry about include the benefits that you are offering your staff, how much you’re paying people, the bills you have to pay – and your own income! The slow down can really make your business suffer, and it can get you stuck in a position where you cannot see a way out. So, the only thing that you can do is learn how to “unstick” yourself from your business slowdown.
Below, we’ve put together 14 things that you could do about it all. Some things are directly aimed towards your business practices, and others include your life. Handling a slowdown can bring your business back from the brink of failure. So, let’s take a look and see how you can make things right.
Get Marketing
It’s such an obvious solution to a problem with your business – to market it. The thing is, so many people don’t think about this when they are trying to save their business. They don’t realize that something as simple as their marketing plan could save the day. You can learn a lot about your industry if you look at the current marketing practices that are being used. If you ensure that your marketing is up to scratch, you are staying put in the face of a challenge and your customers will keep you on their radar.
Promote Yourself!
It’s important that you remember that it’s about you and not just your business. If you’re ensuring that you work on your personal branding, you’re going to ensure that people remember you. In a recession especially, this is vital! You need to be known, and the more known you are, the better the opportunities come flooding your way. Self-promotion may not seem like the right thing to do, but it’s the way that people will connect the dots with your business. If they can link you to your company, they’re going to pay attention to one or the other.
Rethink Your Strategies
Right now, how are you embracing technology? No business will get everything right but it’s a good place to start. Technology is something that we should all be embracing if we want to succeed, and from upgrading your internal cloud systems to embracing Call Cowboy for your auto-dialing services, you should get started with a plan. During a slowdown, it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate what you’re doing and how you can do it all better next time. Refining the way that you do things allows you to come back bigger and brighter than before.
Evaluate Your Goals
When you first started your business, you set up your goals. You identified the markets you wanted to conquer, the customers that you had to attract and the trends that you want to stick with, and you dictated these in your business plan. Is your current strategy to hit your goals still working for you or are there new things that would be worth it? You need to go back to your business plan and re-read those goals. That’ll help you to know whether you are on track or not.
Get Some Advice
Do you have a business mentor? If you don’t, you need to get one – especially now in the trying times. It can be hard to ask for help when you feel like you already know everything. It’s exceptionally hard to admit when you are wrong or when there is a problem, but if you admit it and ask for some help, you can get out of this rut you’re stuck in.
Take A Break
Yes, the business is slowing down, and yes, you have some tough decisions to make. You need to take a break. It may not seem like the right time to grab a few days away from the business, but it’s now that burnout is REAL. So before you can dive in and fix any issues, you need to think about taking some down time to give yourself some room to think. It’s going to be the best thing that you do for yourself and for your business. Stepping away can give you perspective, and you definitely need that!
Learn Something New
Progression comes with improvement, and if you want to progress your business, you need to learn where to make those improvements. Learning something new to be able to expand your business is a good place to start. Creative thinking and innovation are just two of the pieces in the puzzle that’ll fit together to help you to light a fire under your business. You should think about online classes that you can take at night to fit your schedule. The more you are willing to learn, the better a leader you’ll be!
Seek Enrichment
Your staff morale is going to be pretty low while you are dealing with a slowdown. Not only is there a danger of you needing to let them go as you cannot afford to pay them, you will have put them in a position where they feel helpless. If you plan to keep your staff, go and do something together. Whether it’s a wine tasting or a cookery course, you need to do something as a team that brings you together and enables you to learn, too.
Look At Other Industries
The longer you are involved in an industry, the longer you have rose tinted glasses about it. It’s easy to only work in that specific industry than try something new. So, you need to look at other options and see whether they have solved their issues. Are they able to move freely toward something new as a company? If so, you could join them easily!
Network – Kind Of!
In the midst of a pandemic that is killing your business, you need to consider how you get out in front of clients. You can’t just turn up and start an event where you can meet people and shake hands – not in this age we are in! However, you can get involved with business groups online and start staying in touch with former colleagues. Networking is going to improve your business in every way.
Diversify
You’ve got time to consider something new for your business, whether it’s a new service or a new product. Take the time now to plan as much as possible – you’ll be surprised what you can come up with when you have a step back from the office.
Research
What is your competition doing in these trying times? Are they staying open? How are they doing it? No matter what you do next, you need to work out how you can keep your business going, and often, that means researching the competition and paying attention to their movements. The competition will be busy trying to stay relevant just as much as you are. So, you need to pay attention!
Strengthen Your Important Relationships
Outside of your business, you need to think about your own personal relationships. If you know that you are going to need your friends to lean on while you are going through such a trying time, then identify on whom you can rely. Once you have done that, you’ll have no problem keeping up with others.
Redesign Your Office
Whether you have a home office you can reimagine or an office in the city, you need to consider how you can make changes. Whether you expand the sales team or you redecorate entirely, your office is going to need to be on point when things do resume once more.
Every business needs to have an action plan when it comes to a slowdown. The more you pay attention to the world around you, the better you can recover when business resumes all over again. Take these steps and you’ll be able to embrace a better future for your company and all of your staff. Slowdowns don’t have to slow you down, and now you know how to fix it!
