Survival in 2012!

Posted by Geoffrey Prince on Dec 22, 2011 in Guru Geoffrey |

gurugeoffrey

Thursday 22^nd December 2011

Going through life just hoping things will get better is what a lot of people think and indeed do! Unfortunately, this does not give us or our family a quality of life that we should have, or expect but I’m sure that you already know that without me saying it.

We are now coming to the end of a very eventful year, one that I think, as most free thinking individuals will agree, has not been the best of years for the business world and for us as well. We have faced so many businesses in crises, with more businesses going under in the United Kingdom and personal bankruptcies, this year, than ever before, in a single year.

So what are you going to do about it? We generally start to think about New Year resolutions at this time of year don’t we? I feel now, more than ever, that four words come to my mind every day that should kick start our thinking for the New Year; they are:

Ø Confidence: - “If you think you’re beaten; YOU ARE.” So combat that by bringing back that original confidence you had when you first started out in business, that same confidence that got you to where you are now. Any mistakes made this year, just take them on the chin, except them, learn by them and get on trying to better things. Remember, without making those mistakes you don’t learn, so, have the confidence to carry on.

Ø Commitment: – What have you committed to so far to get where you are now? You’ve probably worked for long hours, not been there to see the children off to bed, given up family weekends and holidays, for what; to make sure your business survives. You’ve probably had many sleepless nights worrying about where the energy and money will come from to survive. One thing that has always been with you has been your commitment to what you’re doing, a very commendable attribute that you have and should be proud off.

Ø Communication: - One of the failings of a lot of small businesses and therefore budding entrepreneurs is the lack of communication. What do I mean? Well firstly our family, they take the brunt day-in day-out and yet we don’t keep them informed as to problems facing us on a daily basis. We are frightened to admit to our loved ones that we are having problems. That we are not coming up to the standards we set them when we first had this business venture. We don’t want them to think, we’re a failure. Well that’s wrong, communicating with your family is one of the keys, remember they have put up with everything so far, they have stuck with you so far. Give them the satisfaction of helping you NOW. I know that sometimes it is very difficult, I’ve been there.

Ø Control: - This is when we have to really dig very deep into our mental reserves. You have managed to keep control up to now, possibly with difficulty but you’ve managed, so don’t give in now. I know over the Christmas period with so many businesses closed, with so many companies using the excuse, “the cheque’s in the post” and you’re relying on those monies to survive and carry on over the shutdown.

What should I do?

The first thing that’s needed is to prioritise. Prioritise what YOU require during 2012 and then having done that, look at prioritising what your business requires.

By focusing in this order you are going to receive the help required from your family to be able to tolerate you during the year because they will understand, by standing Full Square behind you. Take it from me, it will mean that things will be easier for them later in the year.

Your business, is it over staffed? An emotive question, remember you’re looking at you and your family’s survival first for in 2012.

Start looking at reducing your overheads further:

· Are you carrying too much raw material?

· Are you carrying too much finished product?

· Are you giving your debtors too long to pay you?

These are just a few things that you should be looking at going into the New Year; there will be many more when you start looking into your business dealings.

Have you stuck to your Business-plan during 2011, or is it just stuck in the bottom draw of the filing cabinet gathering dust? Is your market research up to date?

Remember I have been through all the above at different stages of my life and am only trying to give you a few warning signals.