22/10/2023
WHEN BUSINESS IS NOT WORKING PART 1
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Things are not going as you would like in your small business.
Maybe it's the sales lacking or there is no growth.
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Sometimes, you will feel like you are working hard at business but there seems to be no change.
What should you do? In part one here is what you need to do:
*ASK 5 HARD QUESTIONS*.
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❇️1. Which part of my business REALLY isn’t working?
Why REALLY? Because in the face of difficulty, denial is sweet. It’s that protective cover we use to keep ourselves from facing the pain of reality. What are some difficult things we need to become brutally honest about? Is it sales, marketing, finances, leadership, market position…etc
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❇️2. Your Team
“The team makes the dream work”. Is this the team that can make YOUR DREAM work? Take a hard look and be honest about it.
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❇️3. Are you keeping someone you should have fired a long time ago?
Here is another adage “it’s not the people you hire who can bring down your business but it’s the ones you fail to fire that often do. “
This might happen when you are in business with a friend or even a relative or you are a soft-hearted person. It’s quite possible you might be uncomfortable talking to that person about it because it can ruin an important relationship or you just dislike confrontation. Well, you are bleeding money on their salary and presence.
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❇️4. Is it time to fire yourself as CEO?
Sometimes it’s not your business partner, friend or relative that you work with, but you as the business owner, who is doing a less than satisfactory job(I would say crap job, but I mean…). Facing this possibility calls for both humility and courage since it’s easier to continue blaming external factors.
Let me give an example of myself. For a long time, my web design business was not doing well. I had some clients but the cash-flow was very bumpy. I really had to ask myself honestly why isn’t this working? I ended up concluding that I had no passion for the work. It's hard to be excellent at something you don't enjoy or love doing.
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❇️5. Do you need to close the business?
The toughest one of all. Closing a business can be an emotionally devastating decision. I should know because I have done that before. I did it years ago after enduring enough stress and pressure, low sales and accumulating debt. If you are passionate about your business, it could literally be the love of your life and more than likely, you have devoted so much time, energy and resources. You might be saying let me try harder and as entrepreneurs, we run by the motto never quit. That’s true and I agree but sometimes you need a fresh start.
Which of these have you observed?